"This guy…! How can the captain of just one division of the Straw Hat Pirates possess this much power!?"
Inside Uta's world, beneath the grand platform,
the six children of Charlotte all stood in utter shock.
Katakuri's pupils suddenly shrank; his mind was shaken.
For a brief moment, he even suspected he was hallucinating.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Just five or six days ago, Roronoa Zoro hadn't even awakened his Conqueror's Haki—
and Katakuri could have defeated him with a single blow.
Yet now, in such a short time, Zoro's Conqueror's Haki had reached a level comparable to his mother's.
Katakuri suddenly turned his gaze to Luffy, who floated high in the air, suppressing the horror that crept into his heart.
"This world… is it fake? Answer me, Straw Hat Luffy!"
Luffy ignored him completely.
Katakuri's mission was already done.
Now, all he could do was silently watch the clash between Zoro and Big Mom unfold.
But, of course, the six Charlotte children had no intention of simply standing by.
Perospero muttered grimly,
"First, we'll get rid of this Roronoa Zoro—then find a way to deal with the Straw Hats!"
He gripped his candy cane tightly in one hand, raising the other toward Zoro.
With a loud shout, violet syrup burst from his palm and shot rapidly toward the swordsman.
It was a substance that solidified almost instantly.
Once it trapped its target, it would invade the body and rob the victim of every physiological function—breathing included.
Perospero didn't think this attack would defeat Zoro;
he only wanted to create a brief opening—just long enough for his mother to finish him.
Seeing this, Luffy frowned slightly.
Even though Zoro's Conqueror's Haki had reached Level 5,
his overall strength was still below that of a Yonko.
"You guys really don't listen, do you..."
He slammed his fist against his side.
BOOM!
In an instant, the air cracked, and a wave of force spread outward,
intercepting the purple syrup before it could reach Zoro.
"Straw Hat…!"
Perospero's expression hardened, and he yelled,
"Let's attack together! If we can just create a moment of distraction—"
Before he could even finish,
Luffy—who was floating in midair—vanished from sight.
The speed was beyond what the naked eye could follow.
In the blink of an eye, Luffy appeared right in front of Perospero
and landed a clean punch across his face.
"Don't interrupt Zoro's fight!"
Perospero's pupils constricted as his body reacted instinctively.
Red syrup burst from his pores, forming a purple armor around him.
At the same time, he focused all of his Armament Haki on his face.
However—
BAM!
With a single punch, the syrup armor shattered like glass.
Even without using a special move, Luffy's strike tore straight through Perospero's defense.
The blow landed squarely on his head.
Perospero's body twisted unnaturally; his feet lifted off the ground.
He lost consciousness instantly.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
From the moment Perospero attacked to the moment Luffy struck him down—
only a heartbeat had passed.
Katakuri couldn't even foresee this future.
"Damn it…!"
BOOM!
A surge of Conqueror's Haki exploded outward as Katakuri roared,
"I'll hold him off for three seconds! Go help Mama!"
With that, his trident lunged forward toward Luffy.
He activated his Awakening.
The water beneath his feet turned into sticky spheres,
condensing into six high-speed spinning lances.
Each one was coated with dense Armament Haki,
turning pitch-black as they curved through the air—
launching from a blind spot toward Luffy, who had just felled Perospero.
The execution speed was incredible.
Yet even so, it couldn't escape Luffy's Observation Haki.
"Three seconds? You can't stop me for even one."
Luffy's expression remained calm.
While dodging the attack, he was already beside Katakuri—
and kicked.
Katakuri reacted instantly.
Sensing danger, he raised his trident to block,
channeling his own Haki to reinforce it.
But the trident shattered on impact.
BANG!!
Katakuri's body twisted violently as the kick connected,
leaving deep grooves—ten centimeters long—across his waist.
It was too late to evade.
WHOOOSH!
Blood sprayed from his mouth as he was launched hundreds of meters away in an instant.
"Katakuri…!"
The faces of the remaining four siblings changed drastically.
Oven clenched his teeth and thrust his hands into the water.
The seawater instantly boiled, releasing dense steam that filled the air,
trying to obscure Luffy's vision.
Cracker clapped his hands rapidly.
Crumbs as fine as dust rose into the air,
and in the blink of an eye, dozens of powerful biscuit soldiers materialized.
In the original story, Luffy had needed to activate Gear Fourth to fight just one of them.
Meanwhile, Daifuku rubbed his waist;
thick steam erupted from his body as the genie warrior burst forth,
flying straight toward the sky platform—
clearly targeting Zoro.
The three brothers' actions synchronized almost perfectly.
Just as Luffy was about to move again,
Charlotte Snack rushed forward, attacking him head-on.
"Not bad teamwork,"
Luffy said with a small grin, actually a little impressed.
The next instant, his body shimmered—
and he entered Gear Fifth.
Ignoring Snack entirely,
he shot upward and kicked the genie's attack into vapor.
"So fast…! Damn monster!"
Daifuku's face turned pale.
As his attack dissolved into mist,
the air itself trembled—
the sound of the sea roaring in response to Luffy's movement.
The impact speed of his strike had surpassed the speed of sound.
And then, in the next instant—
the white figure above them vanished once more.
---
(End of Chapter)
Merry Christmas everyone!! I'm a few days late but it still counts haha