In the New World, on a stretch known as the "Dessert Route", famous for its volatile weather and treacherous currents, Vice Admiral Onigumo's fleet was locked in a bitter struggle.
Over a dozen warships, shaped like giant bean pods, had them completely surrounded.
This was the fleet of Minister of Beans Charlotte Daifuku, its crew members exceptionally skilled and coordinated.
The most troublesome was the man standing at the prow of the flagship, Charlotte Daifuku himself.
Tall, burly, and witha stern expression. Just by standing there, he exuded a suffocating sense of pressure.
"Genie!"
Daifuku rubbed the belt at his waist with both hands. A massive genie composed of steam emerged from his body, roaring as it swung its giant fists. Each attack easily smashed the deck of a marine warship to splinters.
Onigumo, wielding eight long swords, moved spider-like along the ship's railings, barely parrying the steam genie's attacks, but he was already in grave danger.
"Damn it! When will Headquarters' support get here?!"
He shouted while parrying another scorching strike, his body marked with multiple burns.
Just when he was about to give the order to force a breakout, a silhouette slowly appeared on the distant horizon.
The Endless Sheep.
It flew no battle flag.
Its speed was so slow it looked like it was out for a casual afternoon cruise.
The sail displayed a dozing sheep with closed eyes, an image so out of place amid the explosions that it felt almost… mocking.
"What ship is that?!"
Daifuku's men finally noticed the intruder.
Daifuku paused his attack, squinting at the harmless-looking "vacation ship."
"A marine ship?"
He frowned.
"The flag… is that an Admiral's emblem?"
But what kind of admiral sails in that?
While they hesitated, the Dreaming Sheep drifted leisurely right into the center of the battlefield, positioned perfectly between the navy fleet and Daifuku's.
"Hey! Ship up front! Leave this sea immediately! This is BIG MOM territory!"
One of Daifuku's men shouted through a loudspeaker Den-Den Mushi.
The Endless Sheep did not respond.
On its deck, Renzo lay sprawled on his personal reclining chair, covered with a blanket, completely indifferent to the surrounding chaos.
Sanji leaned on the railing, cigarette in mouth, coldly staring at the enemy fleet.
Potts hid nervously behind Renzo, clutching a medical kit.
"Looks like some idiots who don't listen."
Daifuku snorted.
He ordered the genie: "Go. Smash that eyesore of a ship."
The genie roared and hurled a blazing fist toward the Dreaming Sheep!
Onigumo's fleet erupted in panic; that fragile-looking ship would be obliterated instantly.
But Renzo didn't even lift an eyelid.
Annoyed, he muttered:
"Too damn noisy."
[Sloth's Declaration]
A wave swept across the entire battlefield.
The genie's destructive punch froze, no more than ten meters from the Dreaming Sheep.
The superheated steam forming its body lost all energy at once.
It collapsed, cooled, then drifted away as harmless white vapor.
Daifuku's expression froze.
He felt the connection to his genie severed by an unknown force.
He tried summoning it again, but even raising his arms felt impossibly heavy.
It wasn't just him.
Across the battlefield, every marine and pirate slowed to a surreal crawl.
Cannonballs drifted through the sky, losing all momentum before dropping softly into the sea.
Battle cries jammed in throats, reduced to meaningless "hh, hh, hh" sounds.
The entire battlefield fell into an unnatural, absolute silence.
"W…hat… is… ha…pp…ening…"
Onigumo could barely roll his eyes, stunned at the impossible sight before him.
On the Endless Sheep, Renzo rose lazily and stretched.
Ignoring the frozen scene around him, he strolled to the bow.
His gaze cut straight across the sea, locking onto Daifuku, who was stuck mid-motion.
"Hey. You steam bun."
His voice wasn't loud, yet everyone heard it clearly.
"I want to ask you something."
He took one step and vanished.
A heartbeat later, he was standing right in front of Daifuku.
[Spatial Sloth]
Daifuku's pupils shrank in horror.
He tried to move, to resist, but every muscle felt filled with molten lead.
Renzo tilted his head, examined him, then casually reached into Daifuku's pocket and pulled out a beautifully wrapped block of chocolate, rich cocoa scent wafting out.
"Is this the 'Life Chocolate'?"
He unwrapped it, sniffed, and nodded in satisfaction.
Then, slowly, deliberately, he took a bite.
The exquisite flavor melted in his mouth.
He closed his eyes in bliss.
"Mmm. Not bad."
He commented, then glanced at the trembling Daifuku, whose fury had already turned into fear.
"That, and the Rainbow Frosting shipment you're blocking, I'm taking both."
"Y…ou…r dr…eam…"
Daifuku squeezed the words out with difficulty.
"Oh? Really?"
Renzo shrugged.
He turned toward the dozen pod-like ships and waved his hand lazily.
[Judgement of Sloth, Concept Extraction, Will of Existence]
And then, everyone witnessed a nightmare they would never forget.
The warships began dissolving from the bow backward, silently erasing themselves as if an invisible eraser wiped them from reality.
Planks, masts, sails, every piece of matter simply lost the will to exist, turning into invisible particles and vanishing into the air.
The pirates aboard screamed, silently, and dropped into the sea like dumplings.
In less than a minute, the mighty fleet ceased to exist.
Only terrified swimmers and an ocean of silence remained.
Renzo turned back to the petrified Daifuku and popped the last bite of chocolate into his mouth.
"Well? Still think I'm dreaming?"
He brushed chocolate crumbs off his fingers, speaking in a tone as casual as asking about the weather.
"Clear the route. Hand over every dessert on your ship."
"Or your muscles might also start finding 'existence' way too troublesome."
Daifuku shook violently.
Not from anger, but from pure, primal terror.
The man before him wasn't a mere admiral.
He was something that bent the laws of the world, a demon in human form.
The effect of [Sloth's Decree] gradually dissipated.
Sound returned to the battlefield.
But nobody dared move.
Every eye, marine and pirate, stared at the man standing on Daifuku's flagship like he was a monster.
Onigumo's marines were struck dumb with fear and awe.
The pirates floating in the sea clung to debris, too terrified to even swim.
Daifuku swallowed hard.
Finally, from between clenched teeth, he forced out a word he had never spoken to an enemy:
"...Understood."
For the first time in his life as Big Mom's son, he submitted.
And he did so with such willingness, not daring the slightest resistance.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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