Whole Cake Island.
Big Mom, the massive and towering emperor, devoured the cake with her bloody mouth open, her sharp eyes scanning the newspaper. A chilling smile spread across her face.
"Well! Shiki lost to a rookie who just set sail? What a disgrace to our Rocks crew. But this Straw Hat boy... he's interesting. Katakuri, when Straw Hat enters the New World, send him an invitation to my tea party!"
"Yes, Mom!"
Katakuri, tall and imposing, responded immediately.
However, a thoughtful look flickered in his eyes. This Straw Hat kid isn't bad. If he joins the Big Mom Pirates, their strength will undoubtedly rise to a whole new level.
This must be done!
That said, Katakuri didn't think it would be difficult. A newcomer trying to stand against a Yonko? That's nothing short of suicide.
New World, an island.
Once again, Red-Haired Shanks was throwing a banquet for his crew. The reason? Luffy had made the headlines again.
The Red-Hair Pirates were surprised. It hadn't been long since Luffy's last front-page news, and now, in just a few days, he was back—this time for something even more shocking. He had defeated the Golden Lion.
Shanks still vividly remembered the Battle of Edd War.
He knew just how terrifying the powers of the Float-Float Fruit were. Even Captain Roger and First Mate Rayleigh had been wary of Golden Lion.
Yet, Luffy had actually defeated him. It was unbelievable.
"Luffy, you've really become strong! If that's the case, we'll meet soon… I'm looking forward to it!"
The world was in an uproar over Luffy's victory against Golden Lion.
Meanwhile, the Straw Hat crew simply celebrated for a while before moving on, quickly putting it behind them. As strong as Golden Lion was, he had already been defeated. There was no need to dwell on past battles when they had new challenges ahead.
"Luffy, do you really have to go to Loguetown?" Carl asked, exasperated.
"Yeah. That's where it all started—and where it all ended. The Pirate King set sail from there, and he was executed there. I want to see the execution platform. I want to understand more about the Pirate King!" Luffy declared, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Because of that, the crew felt a headache coming on.
Originally, they had only planned a quick stop in Loguetown—just enough to stock up on supplies like food, a Log Pose, and daily necessities. Then, they'd leave immediately. Even if the Marines showed up, they could break through and escape together.
But now, Luffy just wanted to have fun!
This was like a bad joke. The Marines had already set up an ambush, waiting for them to walk right into it—and Luffy still wanted to play around inside their trap? How disrespectful to the Marines!
To Nami, Usopp, and Jango, if it weren't for the need to buy supplies, they wouldn't even consider going to Loguetown.
There was a Marine Admiral waiting there with an entire fleet!
Then, everyone turned to look at Carl.
At this moment, only Carl—their teacher—had a chance of persuading Luffy. But they were all mistaken. Carl might be Luffy's master during training, but outside of that, he always found ways to support Luffy's decisions. After all, Luffy was the captain!
Carl thought for a moment, then turned to Usopp.
"Usopp, you go ahead and scout the area. Since the Marines are waiting for us, they must have small warships stationed nearby. Find their positions for me!"
"Got it, Mr. Carl!"
Without hesitation, Usopp shot into the sky and flew ahead to scout.
Carl then looked at Jango.
"Jango, you once hypnotized Ax-Hand Morgan, so your hypnosis must be pretty strong. Now that you've eaten the Hypno-Hypno Fruit, how many people do you think you can hypnotize at once?"
Jango was stunned for a second before quickly catching on.
With a grin, he said, "Mr. Carl, great idea! Don't worry, it'll be easy to hypnotize a few Marines and make them spread false reports!"
The rest of the crew was momentarily surprised before realizing the plan.
Even Luffy, who was usually slow on the uptake, understood what was happening.
Soon, Usopp returned and pointed out the locations of two small Marine patrol ships. To ensure nothing went wrong, Carl decided to handle things personally. He grabbed his giant sword and set off with Jango.
Meanwhile, in Loguetown, the Marine encirclement was already in place.
The warships were hidden to prevent the Straw Hat Pirates from spotting them and fleeing before reaching the island. The Marines had put a lot of effort into this setup, and they weren't going to let it go to waste.
Vice Admirals Hina and Onigumo were stationed at a house near the port, ready to launch a large-scale operation the moment all the Straw Hats entered Loguetown.
Although Sengoku and Kizaru had warned them to be cautious, Hina and Onigumo weren't too concerned.
After all, the Straw Hats were just a rookie pirate crew. When Luffy fought Mihawk, the Warlord had probably gone easy on him. As for Golden Lion, he was old and past his prime. There was no way the Straw Hats were that strong.
With Logue town's military strength and the two of them in command, there was no way the Straw Hats could escape!
Just then, the Den Den Mushi started ringing.
Buru-buru-buru-buru…
Ghost Spider quickly answered the call, and the Den Den Mushi transformed into the face of a Marine sergeant he recognized—one in charge of maritime surveillance.
"This is Vice Admiral Ghost Spider. What's the situation?"
"Vice Admiral! Bad news! The Straw Hat Pirates didn't come to Loguetown! They've changed course and are heading straight for Reverse Mountain!"
"What?!"
The report shocked both Ghost Spider and Vice Admiral Hina.
They had never expected the Straw Hats to completely skip Loguetown and sail directly to the Grand Line.
Loguetown was the place where the Pirate King was born and executed. Most pirates made a stop there out of respect or curiosity. Plus, entering the Grand Line required serious preparation—it made sense to stock up in Loguetown first.
So why weren't they coming?
"Could the plan have been leaked?" Ghost Spider's expression darkened.
"Well, it wouldn't be surprising. We made such a grand setup—anyone with half a brain could figure out our intentions," Hina said calmly.
But if that was the case, then wasn't all their effort wasted?!
To confirm the report, Ghost Spider contacted another surveillance ship. However, they hadn't spotted the Straw Hats yet and had no additional information.
Now, there was no doubt—the sergeant's report was true.
"What now? Do we give chase?" Hina asked.
"Of course we chase! Our mission is to capture the Straw Hats—we can't let them escape!" Ghost Spider slammed his hand on the table.
Immediately, the Loguetown siege was lifted, and Marines rushed to board their warships, setting course for Reverse Mountain.
Watching the fleet depart, Captain Smoker let out a dry chuckle. That Straw Hat kid was slick—he didn't even bother coming to Loguetown, making two Vice Admirals waste all their effort for nothing.
Still, Smoker felt a bit disappointed.
It was a shame he didn't get to meet Straw Hat Luffy himself—otherwise, he would have arrested him with his own hands.
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