Chapter 205: Dividing The Cake (part 1)
‘Whole Cake Island’ was not built in a day.
After Rocks died and his pirate crew fell apart, Big Mom had already begun preparations for establishing ‘Whole Cake Island’.
With the entire Cake Island as the core, Big Mom led her own pirate crew, gradually encroaching on the surrounding islands step by step.
From the current Candy Island to Biscuit Island; from Cheese Island to Cacao Island; from Jelly Island to Loving Island…
During this period, the territory of ‘Whole Cake Island’ continued to expand, and the population grew larger and larger.
Many people who could no longer endure the ravages of war and heavy taxes in their hometowns fled here, trading a portion of their lifespan extracted each month for a peaceful environment and satiating food.
Those who found a sense of security in ‘Whole Cake Island’ all praised this beautiful and kind queen, praising her for saving them from hunger and war… until they witnessed her other side as queen.
In fact, joining ‘Whole Cake Island’ and becoming residents here did not mean they could truly rest easy.
Although ‘Whole Cake Island’ would not let them suffer external oppression, internally it harbored a massive time bomb.
…
“Gluttony”—this is the name of a disease, and also the nightmare of all ‘Whole Cake Island’ residents.
When it flares up, the normally kind and generous queen instantly transforms into a demon god of slaughter and destruction.
Even more terrifying is that once this condition erupts, before she eats the food she craves, Big Mom will lose her reason and keep destroying everything until she annihilates the entire ‘Whole Cake Island’.
There was once an incident where Big Mom’s gluttony flared up, and due to an accident, the food she wanted wasn’t prepared immediately… then the entire Cake Island instantly turned into a living hell.
According to descriptions from survivors at the time—that was not a posture a human should have, more like a monster wearing human skin that devoured everything.
Therefore, Cake Island and all the other islands are equipped year-round with the most professional chefs and pastry chefs.
Precisely so that at the first moment Big Mom’s gluttony flares up, the target food can be prepared and delivered straight to her mouth.
For the people of ‘Whole Cake Island’, this is akin to some unpredictable calamity, after all, no one knows at which second Big Mom will suddenly crave some thing.
Of course, it’s not entirely unpredictable; specific foods that only appear on certain occasions will almost certainly become the trigger for Big Mom’s gluttony.
For example, a custom cake that only appears at a long-awaited celebration or on her own birthday.
“That bastard Kaido!”
Big Mom looked in the direction her palm was pointing; in her Observation Haki perception, Perospero and the others were rushing here from that side with the mirror!
And the celebration birthday double cake in the mirror—even Head Chef Mont-d’Or couldn’t make an identical one in a short time.
In this situation now, once her gluttony flares up, the ‘Whole Cake Island’ she had painstakingly built would be destroyed by her own hands.
“No wonder he chose to cause trouble today, what a clever scheme!”
This is a threat!
A blatant threat!
A blatant threat against her, the queen of ‘Whole Cake Island’!
“Sure enough, men become unlovable once they reach a certain age…”
Big Mom narrowed her eyes and gnashed her teeth.
She had considered capturing Ra swiftly before he could react, but in the future she foresaw, everything about Ra was pitch black.
She simply couldn’t predict this golden brat’s next actions.
Ra’s Observation Haki was superior to hers!
…
Seeing the expression on the opponent’s face, Ra withdrew his hand… such things were enough once pointed out.
“Right, I also have a small souvenir I made myself here.”
He took out the super-sized rice pudding from the Millennium Puzzle and handed it to Big Mom.
Although it had been stored for quite a long time, the pudding was still as fresh as when it was just made.
The space inside the Millennium Puzzle is very strange; when Ra and the other two were inside, the time flow felt identical to the outside world, but when non-living things are placed inside… it comes out exactly as it was when placed in.
“Lady Charlotte can try it first; the taste should be similar to that cake about to be delivered.”
“Huh?”
Big Mom was puzzled by this statement; no one present had tasted the celebration cake, so how did he know the flavor?
With curiosity, Big Mom took the spoon handed to her by a subordinate and scooped a large mouthful right there.
“？!”
“This…”
The moment it entered her mouth, Big Mom’s eyes widened.
How to put it; although she hadn’t eaten the real ceremony cake yet, the taste of the pudding in her mouth was exactly the same as the cake taste in her imagination!
『How is this possible?』
『This thing is clearly just pudding, right? How could it taste like cream and fruit!』
『Could it be a Devil Fruit ability?』
Big Mom looked in astonishment at the pudding in her hand, then raised her head to look at Ra in front of her.
The power he had just displayed should be related to flames, so how…
Wait, he is that red-haired brat’s sister, so…
“Mama~ Mama~”
“You even prepared a backup plan~”
“You really gave me a huge surprise.”
To verify her suspicion, Big Mom scooped another large spoonful of pudding into her mouth.
『As expected, the flavor is changing with my thoughts…』
If she could stockpile this kind of food long-term, Big Mom’s gluttony would no longer be an issue.
For ‘Whole Cake Island’, this is no different from national-level strategic supplies.
『I really want it… this ability.』
Big Mom looked at the golden girl before her, an irresistible greed rising in her heart.
Powerful strength! Rare race! Plus a special cooking ability!
Why did that kid Kaido get to her first!
Looking at Perospero huffing and puffing as he hurried over, and the people from the other factions around with varied expressions, Big Mom did not rashly invite Ra.
She would gather all intelligence on Ra first, then offer conditions she couldn’t refuse when the timing was right.
Before that, she wouldn’t alert the target.
“Hey! Where are Morgans and Field’s group? Get them over here.”
“Also, clean up this place again; I want to see it spotless in half an hour!”
“Yes! Mother!”*n
Seeing the celebration cake about to arrive, Big Mom planned to restart the banquet directly.
Although the venue was now riddled with holes from the earlier battle and an eyesore, ‘Whole Cake Island’ fortunately had no shortage of talent who could handle such things quickly.
Half an hour later, the original plaza was surprisingly restored almost completely, and even the returning Perospero used his ability to recreate those uprooted green plants and flowers on the spot.
All the guests had reseated themselves, everything as if nothing had happened, even the kids’ table was moved back beside Big Mom as per convention.
…
“Rayleigh, I won’t pursue the matter of these two brats anymore, and I can let you see that thing too.”
“But in exchange, Roger must come personally and tell me the secrets of that thing he knows, understood?!”
Big Mom sat in the main seat, speaking to Rayleigh and the others in a commanding tone.
Rayleigh didn’t refute, just nodded; after all, his side was at fault.
Moreover, this was essentially a win-win.
For Big Mom, her possession of the Red Poneglyph was already known to Rayleigh anyway, and it wasn’t even a secret to begin with—everyone who entered the Treasure Vault on Hachinosu Island knew.
And knowing Roger as she did, that guy would never give up on something he had his eye on.
She might as well go with the flow and use this chance to fully uncover the secrets of those Poneglyphs.
For Rayleigh, it was the same; after years of searching land and sea, the Roger Pirates had finally found their first Road Poneglyph.
This meant they had finally taken the first step toward their ultimate goal.
As for the rest, even if Big Mom learned the secrets of the Final Island, it didn’t matter…”As long as we collect all the Road Poneglyphs before everyone else, right? Hahahaha!”
That’s what that guy Roger would surely say.
