Chapter 52

The Clockwork Rose sailed into the waters of Totto Land not as a pirate ship, but disguised as a tart delivery vessel. Carmen’s Atsu Atsu no Mi (Heat-Heat Fruit) allowed her to mold the ship's outer hull with colored wax, making it look like a giant floating pastry.

"Cotton Candy Snow," Perona stuck her tongue out, catching a pink flake falling from the sky. "It tastes like strawberry! This place is heaven!"

"It's a graveyard with icing," Kurumi corrected, standing at the helm. She wore a simple baker’s outfit to blend in, but her weapons were concealed under her apron.

She checked her internal clock.

Caloric Reserves: 85%. Lifespan: Stable. Haki: Flowing.

"Listen up," Kurumi addressed her crew. "Big Mom has a soul network. The flowers, the trees, the ground—everything is a Homie. If we step on a blade of grass wrong, she knows."

"So how do we get to the Poneglyph?" Laki asked, adjusting her scope. "We can't shoot the ground."

"We use the chaos," Kurumi pointed to the distant island of Whole Cake. "Luffy is already here. He’s going to make a scene in the Seducing Woods. While Big Mom is distracted by him… we infiltrate the Treasure Room."

The Seducing Woods

They docked quietly on the coast of Whole Cake Island. The forest loomed ahead, the trees whispering to each other.

"Intruders… intruders…" a tree murmured.

Slash.

Kurumi drew her rapier. She didn't cut the tree. She cut the air in front of it using her new Temporal Edge technique. The shockwave severed the tree's connection to its soul without physically chopping wood.

The face on the bark went blank.

"Silence," Kurumi whispered. "Perona, scout ahead. Use Negative Body to phase through the trees. Don't touch anything."

Perona nodded, turning translucent. She floated into the woods.

Minutes later, she returned, pale.

"Luffy is fighting a guy with too many legs! And Nami is running from a giant lady with a big sword!"

"Cracker," Kurumi identified. "One of the Sweet Commanders. And Brûlée. Good. That means the heavy hitters are occupied."

She turned to Laki.

"Laki. Take the high ground. Cover us from the branches. If a Homie sees us, snipe its soul."

"Snipe a soul?" Laki raised an eyebrow.

"Use the Sea Prism Stone bullets," Kurumi ordered. "They disrupt Devil Fruit powers. Even Big Mom's soul fragments can't ignore the sea's energy."

The Mirror World

While Luffy battled Cracker in the forest, creating an infinite biscuit war, Kurumi and Carmen slipped into the Mirro-World.

They found a mirror in a clearing. It reflected the interior of the Chateau.

"Brûlée’s power," Kurumi noted. "A pocket dimension. Dangerous, but a shortcut."

"How do we get in?" Carmen asked.

"We don't break it," Kurumi placed her hand on the glass.

Zafkiel: Fourth Bullet – Dalet (Rewind).

She didn't rewind time. She rewound the state of the reflection to ten minutes ago, when Brûlée had passed through it.

For a brief second, the mirror surface rippled, remembering the passage.

"Go," Kurumi shoved Carmen through the liquid glass.

They tumbled out onto a checkered floor inside the Chateau.

"We're in," Carmen whispered, looking around. "Where are we?"

"Third Floor. Guest Rooms," Kurumi checked her map. "The Poneglyph is in the Treasure Room on the Fourth Floor. Guarded by Sweet Commander Smoothie and Baron Tamago."

"Smoothie?" Carmen gulped. "The juice lady? She wrings people out like towels!"

"She's formidable," Kurumi agreed. "But she has a weakness. She gets bored."

The Treasure Room

They crept through the halls. The Chateau was buzzing with wedding preparations. Homies sang songs about murder and cake.

Finally, they reached the massive golden doors of the Treasure Room.

Standing guard was Charlotte Smoothie. She was tall, calm, and currently squeezing a giraffe into a drink.

"Boring," Smoothie sighed, sipping the giraffe juice. "Why do I have to guard a stone while Cracker gets to fight?"

Next to her was Baron Tamago, spinning his cane. "Because Mama trusts you-bon. The Poneglyph is vital-swoir."

Kurumi watched from behind a pillar.

Direct combat is suicide. Smoothie's bounty is 932 Million. Tamago is tricky. I need a distraction.

She looked at Carmen.

"Chef. How hot can you make this hallway?"

Carmen grinned. "Oven hot."

"Do it. But keep it subtle. Raise the temperature slowly until the Homies start to melt."

Carmen placed her hands on the floor.

Atsu Atsu no Mi: Slow Roast.

She didn't create fire. She pumped thermal energy into the stone floor.

Degrees rose. 30°C. 40°C. 50°C.

The Homie door—a face carved into the gold—started sweating.

"Hot… so hot…" the door groaned.

"Hm?" Smoothie looked around. "Why is the air conditioning broken?"

"It must be Oven-sama baking the cake-bon," Tamago suggested, wiping his brow. "I will go check the thermostat-swoir."

Tamago walked away. One guard down.

"Now," Kurumi whispered. "Smoothie is alone."

The Silent Bullet

Laki was positioned on a chandelier three floors up (having sniped a skylight open). She looked through her scope.

"Target: Smoothie. Distance: 50 meters. Wind: None. Haki: High."

She loaded a single, special bullet. It wasn't lead. It was a capsule filled with Chloro-Sleep Gas she had stolen from Caesar.

"Mantra… Lock on."

She fired.

Mosa Mosa: 50x Velocity – Silent Needle.

The bullet flew.

Smoothie, being a Commander, sensed it.

"Projectiles?" Smoothie casually raised her hand to catch the bullet. She squeezed it.

Poof.

The capsule exploded in her hand. A cloud of purple gas enveloped her face.

"Gas?" Smoothie frowned. She tried to wring the gas out of the air with her sword, but she had already inhaled.

"Sleep…" Laki whispered.

Smoothie wobbled. Her eyes drooped. "Sleepy…?"

She shook her head. Her Willpower fought the drug. "Nice try…"

She raised her sword to slice the chandelier.

Zafkiel: Second Bullet – Bet (Slow).

Kurumi stepped out from the pillar. She fired a shadow bullet into Smoothie’s leg.

Smoothie’s movement slowed to a crawl. The sword swing became a drift.

"Two seconds," Kurumi sprinted past the sluggish Commander.

She reached the door. The door face was melting from Carmen’s heat.

"Open," Kurumi ordered, pointing her flintlock at the lock.

Bang.

She shot the lock mechanism.

She kicked the door open.

The Rubbing

Inside, amidst mountains of gold and treasure, sat three massive Poneglyphs. Two red. One blue.

"The Road Poneglyph," Kurumi gasped. "It's huge."

She didn't have time to read it. She pulled out large sheets of paper and charcoal.

"Carmen! Help me rub it! Fast!"

They slapped the paper onto the stone. They rubbed furiously.

Outside, Smoothie shook off the slow effect.

"INTRUDERS!" Smoothie roared. She slashed the door, cleaving it in half.

"Done!" Kurumi grabbed the rubbing.

"She's coming in!" Carmen shouted.

Smoothie stood in the doorway, furious. She raised her sword.

"You rats! I'll squeeze you dry!"

Kurumi held the paper tight. She looked at the skylight where Laki was waiting.

"Laki! Extraction!"

Laki fired a rope arrow down. Kurumi grabbed Carmen and the rope.

Mosa Mosa: 100x Retraction Speed.

The rope yanked them upward at blinding speed, just as Smoothie’s slash decimated the Treasure Room floor.

"After them!" Smoothie yelled, jumping toward the ceiling.

"Not today!" Perona appeared at the skylight.

"Negative Hollow: Barrage!"

She sent ten ghosts down. Smoothie swatted them away with Haki, but the split-second delay was enough.

Kurumi, Carmen, and Laki vanished onto the roof and into the night.

The Aftermath

They landed back on the Clockwork Rose, breathless.

"We got it," Kurumi held up the charcoal rubbing. "The map to the One Piece. Or at least… one fourth of it."

"That was too close," Carmen panted, cooling down her skin. "Smoothie is a monster. She almost dried me out just by looking at me."

"We need to leave," Laki said, packing her rifle. "Big Mom will sense the theft."

"No," Kurumi looked at the Chateau. "Sanji is still in there. And the Wedding is tomorrow. We can't leave Luffy alone."

She looked at her rubbing.

"We have the prize. Now… we crash the party."

Next Chapter: The Wedding Cake and the Future Sight.