"Is it over?"
Usopp stood up, walked toward the seven Charlottes, crouched down, and extended his hand to check their breathing.
"They're sleeping peacefully, hahahahaha! The Yonkos aren't that special after all—she was completely fooled by my incredible acting skills!"
"You idiot, it's Miss Uta who's amazing." Sanji patted Jinbei on the shoulder and said in a melancholy tone, "Don't worry too much, it's just a marriage. And she's a mermaid— even if she's Big Mom's daughter, she won't be ugly. Uh… well, at least I think so."
"I'm not the one getting married...!" Jinbei sighed.
"Hahahaha~ The power of a Yonko is nothing compared to my music!"
Uta laughed proudly, placing her hands on her hips.
"Thank you very much, Uta."
Luffy put down his black tea, stood up, and patted Uta on the head.
He had never really planned to accept that original marriage proposal.
But since it wasn't directed at him, he decided to go along with it. Uta's ability was just the cherry on top of the cake.
With this, he would practically have full control over Big Mom and wouldn't have to worry about her betraying him.
"Luffy, you said before that Big Mom has two Poneglyphs in total."
At that moment, Robin put away her notes, looked at Luffy, and said, "Aside from the Road Poneglyph's historical text, there must be another one, right?"
"Nami and the girls will help you find it," Luffy smiled.
There are about thirty Poneglyphs, including four Road Poneglyphs.
So far, Robin had seen at least five or six pieces and had completed three-sixths of the total.
He remembered that in the original story, Jinbei also found one piece and gave it to Big Mom.
"Jinbei, do you know the location of any Poneglyphs?" he asked casually.
Jinbei thought seriously for a moment, then shook his head.
"Then, lead the Fifth Division to search the nearby islands, please."
"Understood."
With Big Mom asleep, the atmosphere in the hall became more relaxed.
Everything was going smoothly.
We can only say that Uta's Devil Fruit power is extremely useful.
Without knowing how to counter it, her ability is completely terrifying.
"I can't do it, Luffy."
Suddenly, Law stood up and said solemnly, "Even though Big Mom is unconscious, her body is still subconsciously protected by her Haki. I can't take her heart."
He threw the hearts of the six remaining people onto the table, powerless against Big Mom.
"Subconsciously protected?"
Brook approached, drew his sword, and stabbed Big Mom's arm.
The result was unbelievable—it didn't even pierce.
"Yohoho~ What should we do, Luffy?"
Luffy naturally knew how tough Big Mom's body was.
However, no matter how strong her body was, that didn't matter in front of the Ope Ope no Mi.
It wasn't her monstrous physique that prevented Law from taking her heart, but rather the Haki that subconsciously protected her.
Just like how Luffy unconsciously releases Observation Haki while sleeping, even though Big Mom's consciousness was trapped inside Uta's world, her body in the real world was still wrapped in a powerful Haki.
Law frowned and said, "I can awaken my fruit and try again, but I don't think I'll be able to pierce through her Haki."
"Don't worry, I can handle it."
Luffy sat back down and said to Uta, "Take me inside. I'll weaken that woman's spirit a bit, and her Haki will naturally weaken as well."
In truth, there was another way—but it was better to enter Uta's world directly and beat Big Mom senseless.
Soon after, Luffy slowly closed his eyes.
---
Cake Castle – Highest Platform
"It's so quiet…"
Smoothie crossed her arms and sat in a chair, swinging her legs restlessly. "It's been almost half an hour, and there's still no news from them."
There was no sound of fighting, which meant the meeting was still ongoing?
If it were just an exchange, it should've been over already.
If it wasn't, then were they stuck negotiating the marriage terms?
She could use her Observation Haki to check, but she was afraid of causing unnecessary misunderstandings, so she held back.
All they could do was wait for the result.
"Let me ask—why don't you use your Observation ability, Brulee?" Amande suggested.
"I already tried…"
Brulee also looked uneasy, her witch-like face full of anxiety. "There aren't any mirrors where they are!"
She had eaten the Mira Mira no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allowed its user to become a human mirror, capable of creating mirrors and gaining a variety of reflective powers.
With this fruit, Brulee could create something called the Mirror World.
The Mirror World is an alternate dimension that can be accessed through mirrors surrounding all of Totto Land. It is built with curved walls and floors, and winding staircases going every which way. There are mirrors scattered everywhere throughout this dimension, and if someone inside the Mirror World crosses a mirror, they can be seen by others outside it. The only ones who can access this dimension are the Mira Mira no Mi user (Brulee) or anyone in direct contact with her.
Otherwise, anyone outside or inside the Mirror World has no way to enter or exit. The mirrors within the dimension can respond when spoken to and are perfect replicas of the originals in the real world. They can even transmit sound between both dimensions, allowing communication to be possible.
Brulee had already tried sneaking in to investigate.
But the Straw Hats seemed to already know about her ability, and the place they had chosen for the meeting had nothing that could be called a mirror.
"Should I use the Den Den Mushi?" She thought for a long moment before suggesting it to everyone.
"No, if we do that, there could be uncontrollable consequences. Let's wait a little longer."
"That damn Straw Hat bastard is really cunning! By deliberately setting the meeting point in the sky, he rendered all our preparations useless."
Suddenly, Smoothie frowned.
She stood up and walked toward part of the platform, looking down at the ground beneath her feet.
"Was that… an illusion?"
---
At the same time—
Inside the castle, in front of a massive iron gate, stood a large number of soldiers.
And where the soldiers couldn't see, a ghost passed through the wall.
"This is the place, hehehehehe, sneaking in is too easy~"
Perona smirked mischievously as she looked at the situation inside.
On the second floor of the mansion, two Poneglyphs were placed behind the iron gate, one of which was red.
Perona smiled, staring fixedly at the two Poneglyphs, and silently recorded them.
And above her head, in several corners of the room, two surveillance snails quickly detected her presence.
---
(End of Chapter)