Belial, Tregear, new members of the Straw Hat Pirates

Just as the castle was being destroyed, BIG MOM's highest-ranking head chef, Longbread, used his ability to turn the castle into a cake.

The people in the castle thus escaped disaster.

The Charlotte family, having survived the ordeal, breathed a sigh of relief. Perospero said, "That damned Belial! We can't let him get away with this! And the Straw Hat crew too!"

"Where is the Green Willow Guard Captain?"

He said he went to the toilet.

"Why would I need to use the toilet in this situation?" Perospero shouted in despair. "That bastard, I should have killed him! Now, assemble the army and hunt down the Straw Hat crew!"

But then, the last thing they wanted to hear rang out:

"My wedding cake!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, and the scene they least wanted to see happened: BIG MOM's food craving had flared up!

BIG MOM smashed things around her and yelled, "Bring me my wedding cake!"

Seeing this, everyone could only go to the head chef of the long bread, but to their surprise, the long bread was knocked unconscious due to the unstable landing.

Just then, Pudding, who had been deeply moved by Sanji at the wedding and had been carried to safety by him, came over and said, "I can, I can make a cake."

"Stop spouting nonsense, you good-for-nothing!" Charlotte Daifuku shouted. "Do you know how long that cake took to make? And how many precious ingredients it used? Do you know that? Stop talking nonsense!"

But Pudding said confidently, "I can do it, as long as I find Sister Chiffon, I can..."

"Shut up!" a woman said. "Look, it seems like Perospero just had a solution."

As everyone watched, Perospero had already arrived in front of BIG MOM.

Just as everyone was filled with anticipation, Perospero's words struck them like a bolt from the blue:

"Mom, we have a wedding cake!"

……

In the forest, Belial had already caught up with the others. Bege and Chiffon had led their men in a retreat much earlier.

"How are you all? Are you alright?" Belial had already returned to his human form.

"fine."

"That scared me to death! I thought Belial had turned evil again," Nami said.

“Who says dark power is corrupted?” Belial laughed. “Besides, I’m not so easily corrupted anymore.”

"However, I haven't fully mastered the power yet, and it will take some more time."

At that moment, Belial saw the castle in the distance that had turned into a cake, and his eyes narrowed as he said, "It's not going to end so easily."

"You guys go first, I'll take care of things here."

"Wait, Belial, what do you mean?" Nami asked. "Are you planning to fight alone?"

"Absolutely not!" Luffy shouted. "We can't leave you behind! We're comrades, we can't leave you behind!"

“If no one stops them, we’ll have a hard time leaving!” Beria said. “Someone has to stay behind.”

"Then let's fight together!" Luffy said firmly.

"Then none of us will be able to leave!"

"Then let's..."

"Luffy!" Before Luffy could finish speaking, Belial shouted, interrupting him.

Belial looked at everyone, and at that moment, everyone could clearly see the complex emotional fluctuations in Belial's eyes.

Belial said calmly, "Just now, when I was on the verge of death, that bastard Reiblood appeared again. He tried to take over my body and soul again, just like before."

"But I didn't let him succeed, do you know why?"

Belial took a deep breath and said, "Because this time, I don't crave power to rule, but rather I want to protect what I don't want to lose."

"As you all know, before I met you, I only had that bastard Jian as a friend. Later, I lost everything, including my feelings. I have nothing left."

"Even after I died, I still had nothing."

“Until I met you, I felt what I had lost, what I had discarded. Things I once considered foolish, I now do not want to lose, so that I am not possessed by Reiblood.”

"If I can't protect you, then this power is meaningless to me. So, I can't let you die, I can't let the people I care about die!"

"do you understand?"

Listening to Belial's words, everyone fell into deep thought. From a rational perspective, Belial's choice was correct. One person had to stay behind to hinder the retreat and reduce resistance.

However, emotionally, they didn't want Belial to take any risks.

“But…” Nami was about to speak when Luffy spoke up.

Luffy put on his straw hat and said with a smile, "Well, alright then, I, as the captain, agree to your choice!"

"Luffy, you..."

“But I have one request,” Luffy said solemnly. “We will wait for you. You must come back, back to the ship, back to our side.”

"We will wait for you until you come back."

"You must come back alive! That's my order to you!"

"Luffy..." The others also looked at Luffy in shock, they didn't expect Luffy to say such a thing.

Upon hearing this, Beria smiled and said, "That's a must."

"I've finally been given a second chance at life, but I haven't had enough of it yet."

Luffy nodded, then shouted, "Yosh! Everyone! Let's go, to the Thousand Sunny!"

"clear."

The group ran towards the sea, and Nami looked at Belial with reluctance and said, "You must come back safely."

"Well, I will."

Beria smiled gently, for what he believed to be the first time.

After saying that, Nami followed Luffy and the others, running towards the beach.

Watching Luffy and the others walk away, Belial smiled. He silently wiped his eyes and said, "The sandstorm is really strong today..."

"Alright, get ready!"

……

“We have a wedding cake!” Perospero shouted.

"Really!"

"Really." Perospero looked at Big Mom and said, forcing back his fear, "But the Straw Hats took that cake!"

Upon hearing this, everyone understood Perospero's scheme: he was trying to shift the blame elsewhere.

“Really?” BIG MOM asked, staring at Perospero.

“Really.” Perospero said, trembling with fear.

“I see.” BIG MOM intended to have Zeus take her in pursuit, but found that Zeus was already gone, so she had no choice but to take off on Prometheus.

"Hey! Perospero!" Big Mom said coldly, "If I find the Straw Hat Boy but not the cake, you're dead!"

After saying this, Big Mom flew towards the forest, but Prometheus's speed was far too slow compared to Zeus's, so Big Mom could only rush wildly towards the forest.

"This is it, we're doomed..."

Just then, someone walked over and said, "Lord Perospero, Miss Brin says she can make cakes, and she's already started."

"really?"

"Ah."

"Then I can only hope that Pudding arrives soon." With that, he led his men toward the sea.

Meanwhile, in the forest, a man with a knife walked towards the sea.

……

seaside……

After a long time, Luffy and the others, except for Sanji (who had been called away by Pudding to make a cake), arrived at the location of the Thousand Sunny.

But the Charlotte family is already on their way. "Everyone, get on the ship!"

As soon as Luffy and his crew boarded the ship, they saw a large group of people running out of the mirror.

The one leading them was Katakuri.

"Damn it! They used that woman's power to get here," Nami said.

At that moment, Perospero arrived and, without saying a word, used candy to trap the Thousand Sunny.

"Hmph, now let's see where you can run!"

"Comrades!" Luffy shouted, "Prepare for battle! We'll wait for Belial to return!"

"understand!"

Pedro and Carrot rushed down to fight the enemy, while Brook and Chopper took care of the enemies near the ship.

Jinbe protects Nami.

Luffy immediately activated Gear Second, unleashing a barrage of punches at Katakuri, accompanied by the indistinct "Gum-Gum Jet Gun!"

A red light flashed in Katakuri's eyes, and Luffy's fist passed right through it without causing any damage.

"What? What is going on?"

"You can't beat me, give up," Katakuri said coldly.

"I will not give up!" Luffy shouted. "We will not give up until my crew returns!"

Just then, a man with a knife walked over from the edge. "Looks like I'm not too late."

"It's Aoyagi!"

"Great, another helper has arrived!"

"Aoyagi, come quick and help!"

"clear."

The man drew his sword, his eyes flashing red, and murmured, "Serpent Heart Sword - Crescent Moon Wave Slash!"

The man swung his sword, unleashing a purple crescent-shaped blade of light that instantly killed many members of the Charlotte family.

Everyone was shocked by what they saw. Charlotte Raulin asked incredulously and angrily, "Blue Willow, what are you doing?"

When I turned around, the man was gone.

"Pfft!"

"what!"

Raulin screamed as a knife pierced his abdomen. Turning his head, he saw a demon-like figure dressed in orange and black armor and wearing an orange devil mask appear behind him.

"you……"

"I'm sorry, but if anything happens to them, I won't be able to get back," the demon said.

"Thank you for your help all this time. Goodbye."

The demon drew his sword and killed Raulin.

"You bastard, how dare you kill him!"

"Who are you?"

"Me?" the demon said in a somewhat morbid tone.

"I am Jugglus Juggler."

……

In the forest, Belial was resting with his eyes closed when he suddenly heard a series of loud noises.

"come yet?"

Belial stood up and took out the brass-like object: a magnifying device, and a beta device.

Throw the beta device into the sky, then press the amplification button.

Then, Beria was enveloped in red light.

"Come on, BIG MOM."