One Piece: A Warlord's Path

Chapter 917: Chapter 917: Infiltrating Whole Cake Chateau

As the days passed, the New World remained its usual brand of "peaceful," which is to say, the slaughter never truly stopped.

The Blackbeard Pirates were scouring the globe, hunting down Ability Users to seize their Devil Fruits. The Red-Haired Pirates, aside from occasionally swatting away reckless rookies who didn’t know their place, spent most of their time throwing massive banquets across various islands.

Led by the All-Stars, the Beasts Pirates were searching everywhere for Artificial Devil Fruits; Jack the Drought had even made a special trip to Dressrosa for that very purpose. As for Kaido, the man had just finished a "10,000-meter high-altitude freefall" challenge and, in the process, thrashed two Supernovas of the Worst Generation, Basil Hawkins and Scratchmen Apoo. The two immediately defected to Kaido’s side, proving just how "unyielding" they were.

Meanwhile, the Big Mom Pirates were preoccupied with preparations for the Tea Party and Pudding’s wedding. Every officer and combatant was busy hunting down the finest ingredients, seemingly enjoying the chaos.

The Seven Warlords were equally active: Dracule Mihawk drifted aimlessly on his small boat, Donquixote Doflamingo was busy rebuilding Dressrosa, Buggy was riding a wave of career success, and Edward Weevil continued his global hunt for the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates.

At the same time, the Straw Hat Pirates and Trafalgar Law, having narrowly escaped Dressrosa, arrived at Zou.

The Mokomo Dukedom, having lost its two rulers and a vast number of elite warriors, was a shadow of its former self. The entire nation was submerged in a grief that bordered on despair. To make matters worse, shortly after arriving, Luffy learned from the news that his brother Sabo had been captured by Aeridar, and the Revolutionary Army founded by his father had seen its headquarters destroyed. Luffy was left reeling.

It felt as if, overnight, everyone connected to him had met with disaster.

"I’m going to the Kingdom of Clifford!"

Inside a spacious meeting room, Luffy stood up with iron determination. "Sanji! Robin! Sabo! They’re all in Clifford... I’m going to save them!"

Silence met his declaration. Having just survived the events of Dressrosa, the crew knew all too well that they stood no chance against that man.

"We save them! No matter what, we don’t give up!" Nami gripped her fists, her expression grim but resolute.

"We set out to sea together! We see this through to the end together!"

"We can’t abandon them!"

"I’ve heard the Chris Pirates have some formidable swordsmen. This time, I need to see them for myself!"

Nami’s words ignited a spark in the crew. One by one, they voiced their agreement. Even if they had to charge through a mountain of blades or the depths of purgatory, they would face it!

"A life for a life, that’s the debt I owe. I’m going to smash that bastard Aeridar’s head in!" The giant Sloan roared, shaking his massive fist.

Pedro watched them in silence for a few seconds before speaking in a low voice. "Zou has suffered too much; we cannot spare many warriors. However, I will go with you!"

"Pedro!" Shishilian looked at his friend in shock.

"Don’t try to stop me, Shishilian. The Duke has fallen, but Master Nekomamushi is still alive. This isn’t like before; we can’t afford to lose anyone else. It will be just me and Straw Hat," Pedro said, waving off Shishilian’s protest. His eyes were steady. "Besides... in Straw Hat, I see the dawn of this world!"

Looking at his long-time comrade, Shishilian placed a hand on Pedro’s shoulder and gritted his teeth. "Pedro... I’m leaving Master Nekomamushi to you. You must come back alive!"

The room was moved by Pedro’s courage.

"Fine," Trafalgar Law said, closing his eyes and sighing deeply. He opened them again, his gaze sharp. "If we’re going to the Kingdom of Clifford, we need a proper plan."

Upon hearing Law’s consent, the Heart Pirates broke into a chorus of wails.

"Captain!"

"You’ve got to be kidding!"

"Why are we going to that monster’s territory?!"

...

Totto Land.

Whole Cake Island, Whole Cake Chateau

Pop!

On a third-floor balcony, the air rippled with a nearly invisible distortion. A dark shadow materialized, a mysterious figure draped in a black cloak.

The figure glanced left and right, adjusted the cloak, and pulled out an internal floor plan of Whole Cake Chateau.

"Stealing someone from Big Mom’s headquarters all by myself... I wouldn’t have even dreamed of this in the past," the figure muttered. "Let’s see, where is Pudding’s room?"

"Good, Chiffon’s map is detailed. The fifth floor... Let’s go."

A few seconds later, the figure tucked the map back into a pocket.

Perhaps due to the looming wedding, the figure encountered numerous patrols of Chess Soldiers while traversing the castle. There were also countless Homies acting as sentinels—doors, flowers, oil paintings... even some of the Big Mom Pirates’ officers and Charlotte Family members were visible in the halls.

"Tsk tsk... Baron Tamago, Bobbin, Moscato, Mont-d’Or, Amande... Ugh, what a disgusting fellow, that’s Opera... Raisin, Galette..."

Dodging countless Homies and slipping past over a dozen officers, the mysterious intruder successfully reached the fifth floor.

"Hm, this should be it."

The figure stopped before a door equipped with a Homie, a face with large eyes and red lips, and checked the map one last time.

The Homie Door looked suspiciously at the cloaked stranger. "Who are you? Are you an intruder?"

"Hmm... strictly speaking, yes. I’m an intruder."

To the Homie’s surprise, the figure nodded and casually admitted it. The Door’s eyes widened in horror, and it opened its mouth to scream.

"Not so fast!"

In the same instant, the figure struck. Fingers snapped together like a blade, piercing the Homie Door’s face and silencing it instantly.

Creek—

The door swung open. Pudding stood there holding a percussion pistol, aiming it warily at the hallway.

"Who are you?!"

Seeing the cloaked figure at her door, Pudding jumped, leveling her gun.

"Pudding, don’t shoot!"

The figure waved a hand and pulled off his mask, extending a hand like a gentleman. He teased, "My dear Pudding-san, are you ready to run away with me?"

Pudding’s face turned beet-red. She clutched her cheeks, stammering, "A-A-Aeridar?!"

Indeed, beneath the mask was Aeridar.

At Pudding’s request, Aeridar had personally infiltrated Whole Cake Chateau to take her out of Totto Land. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have had to take such a risk; he could have picked her up from Cacao Island. However, with the wedding so close, Pudding was required for various arrangements. Furthermore, after another of Big Mom’s daughters had fled before her own wedding, costing the crew their alliance with the Giants, the Yonko was taking no chances. Pudding was being kept under the direct watch of Big Mom’s "eyes."

Aeridar was about to tease her further when his Observation Haki flared. He grabbed Pudding’s arm, and both vanished instantly.

Stomp, stomp, stomp...

A moment later, the rhythmic sound of boots echoed down the hall. Six Chess Soldiers in checkered cloaks and white gloves marched into view.

They reached Pudding’s room, only to find the door wide open and the Homie guardian dead.

"Disaster! Something’s happened!"

The soldiers charged into the room with weapons drawn, but it was empty. Only a single window hung open, letting in a stray breeze.

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