Chpater 48

"Is he alright?" Kong asked the ship's doctor, a member of Zed's former bounty hunter crew.

"Don't worry, Captain. Enel's injuries should be completely healed in a few days," the doctor said, to which Kong nodded gratefully before turning his attention to Zed and Ain. Now that she had awakened Haki, Ain could use it to cancel out a target's Haki, allowing her Devil Fruit to affect those who could normally resist.

She was currently preparing to use her Devil Fruit on Zed again. The last time she tried, even without Zed actively resisting, his natural resistance had drained her of nearly all her energy.

"There's an easier way to do that," Kong said lazily, causing the two to look at him in confusion, unsure of what he meant.

"Just knock Zed out," Kong added, cracking his fingers.

"W-wait," Zed held out his hand, trying to stop him, but it was too late. In the next second, Kong's fist slammed into his stomach, knocking him out cold.

Ain and the others stared at Kong in shock, but he ignored their reactions and casually clapped his hands.

"Go ahead," Kong said, to which Ain sighed before forming a pink energy orb and touching Zed with it. As soon as she did, Zed's body began to glow before it reverted back in time by only one year.

Ain dropped to her knees, breathing heavily. Even in an unconscious state, Zed still seemed to resist the effects of her Devil Fruit. But this was far better than when he was awake; back then, she could only revert him by a few minutes. The difference between when he was conscious and when he was out cold was immense.

"Devil Fruits still confuse me," Kong said with a sigh. Some of them didn't even require the user to have powerful Haki to affect someone who did. The first Devil Fruit that came to mind was the Hobi Hobi no Mi, which grants its user the ability to turn anyone they touch into a toy.

Even if the target had strong Haki and the user had none, the fruit's power would still take effect. Kong wanted to find the person who possessed that fruit and have them touch him—why? Simple. He wanted to prove he was built different.

"Alright, I should head off to face Big Mom… after we will return to Paradise and search for the One Piece. Learning about the Void Century is our first step toward defeating the World Government!" Kong said with a grin.

Three days later, they arrived in Big Mom's territory. As one of the Four Emperors of the sea, her domain was a place even the Marines avoided, not wanting to risk a full-scale war.

Naturally, an Emperor controlled many islands under their protection, marked by their flag—territories that both pirates and Marines alike tended to steer clear of.

Totto Land was an archipelago in the New World, serving as the main territory of Big Mom and her crew, the Big Mom Pirates. The entire region extended around Whole Cake Island, forming a vast nation ruled by Big Mom herself.

"This is the first time I've come across a Territorial Sea Slug," Kong said, peering into the water. With his sharp eyes, he was able to spot a slug beneath the surface, currently emitting a signal.

Territorial Sea Slugs lived in the waters of Totto Land. They released "warning waves" whenever a foreign presence approached, the signal immediately picked up by any Den Den Mushi on the invading ship.

"That means we're officially in Big Mom's territory," Zed said, his gaze fixed ahead with excitement. Now appearing as if he were in his 30s, Zed was back in his prime. He felt confident that he could go toe-to-toe with Katakuri—his only disadvantage being Katakuri's ability to see the future. But even that wasn't an excuse. One day, he vowed, he would master that ability too.

"Unfortunately for you, I already called dibs on Katakuri," Enel said with a smirk. Now fully recovered, he was more than ready for round two. He was stronger, faster, and—most importantly—he could now see the future. Combined with his ability to use his devil fruit to enhance his Armament Haki, he saw no outcome where he would lose again.

Another thing Enel discovered he could do… was trace the waves emitted by the Territorial Sea Slugs, following the signals back to their source—to whoever was being alerted.

"Enel, hit Big Mom with a wake-up call," Kong said with a smirk.

Without hesitation, Enel raised his palm to the sky.

Over a thousand miles away, in the heart of Big Mom's territory, sat Whole Cake Island. At its center was Sweet City, the capital—an entire city made of sweets. From the buildings to the rivers of juice, it looked like something straight out of the dreambook of a little girl with an insatiable sweet tooth.

Looking toward the largest building in Sweet City, one would see the Whole Cake Chateau—a massive, three-layered castle and the largest cake-shaped structure in the entire capital. The chateau stood tall with a total of ten floors, towering above everything else.

At that moment, light began to gather above it, drawing the attention of everyone nearby. All eyes turned to the sky just as a beam of lightning suddenly shot down, engulfing the entire castle.

Destruction was expected.

But instead of reducing the entire structure to rubble, only the first few layers were obliterated before a thick cloud erupted upward, swallowing the rest of the lightning.

"What the…?" Enel said in shock, unable to believe what he'd just witnessed. Kong was equally stunned—after all, it's not every day you see a living cloud devour lightning.

"Big Mom ate the Soru Soru no Mi. She can split a part of her soul and give it to objects to bring them to life," Kong said with interest, his eyes narrowing. "Though I'm curious how she managed to give her soul to a cloud."

He ignored Zed and the others, who stood around with confused expressions—unaware of what was happening over a thousand miles away. His focus remained on Big Mom.

"I was wondering—can you condense lightning into your palm to form a lightning bolt before launching it forward?" Kong asked lightly. "I remember a story about a god who stood atop the clouds, hurling bolts of lightning down upon his enemies."

The idea instantly hooked Enel's attention. Just the thought of a god doing such a thing had him intrigued.

"That's for later. Full speed ahead," Kong said, pulling out his sword and pointing forward. At the same time, he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, a wave of overwhelming willpower that surged miles ahead, knocking out all the cannon fodder preparing to fight them.

That's right—Kong had improved his control over Conqueror's Haki. He was now confident that, even if his target was miles away, he could still lock onto them with precision. Among the three forms of Haki, Conqueror's came the most naturally to him. It was far easier to master than the other two. Kong was certain that if he could find someone who had fully mastered Conqueror's Haki to fight against, he could push himself to complete mastery.