“Mama… Morgans, make sure everything here is broadcasted through the newspapers.”

Big Mom turned to look at Morgans in the distance.

She still didn’t know that News King Morgans had been providing real-time reports the entire time.

“What?” Morgans was stunned as he looked at Big Mom.

She wants me to spread the news herself?

He wondered if Big Mom had lost her mind in anger.

Who in their right mind wouldn’t be embarrassed by this? Who would want their failures broadcasted to everyone? It took an enormous amount of courage.

“An Emperor’s wager, betting themselves, of course the whole world needs to know.” Big Mom flashed a self-satisfied smile.

The stakes were enormous.

She was scared that if Kuke lost, he wouldn’t honor it.

That would be troublesome.

Big Mom had no other way to ensure it—even written agreements wouldn’t have much effect.

To avoid such a situation, it was better to make it well-known, so if anyone broke the deal, they would forever be a laughingstock—the most dishonorable person on the seas.

Despised by everyone.

“Perospero, notify every newspaper agency you can. Spread the news.” Big Mom turned to her eldest son.

She worried that Morgans might fear Kuke and refrain from spreading it.

By sending it to multiple news agencies, the news would spread faster and wider.

Perospero looked at Big Mom with a serious expression. “Mom… do we really need to do this? To bet everything… once it’s out there, there’s no turning back.”

Whoever regrets it,

Whoever breaks the promise,

Would become a laughingstock. While being mocked wouldn’t necessarily make them lose anything material, it would destroy their reputation on the seas.

Even if they later became the Pirate King, no one would acknowledge them—they’d always be mocked.

The shame would follow them forever.

If they lost, they could still gain respect by winning back later, but breaking their word could never be undone.

“Do it.”

Big Mom scolded her eldest son.

“Understood.”

Under her intense gaze, Perospero called numerous newspaper agencies and clearly conveyed the terms of her and Kuke’s wager.

Finally, she felt relieved.

Now,

There were no issues left.

“If anyone leaves Cake Island or asks someone for help, it’s an instant loss.”

Big Mom sealed another possible loophole.

She feared Kuke might flee before he lost.

While Big Mom was confident in her strength, she also knew Kuke wasn’t weak. If he wanted to flee, she wouldn’t be able to stop him.

If he escaped,

Would that count as losing?

He might use it as an excuse to break the deal.

Similarly, Big Mom feared that Gion and the others might help.

“Fine.”

Kuke merely waited as Big Mom closed off every route of retreat.

Big Mom felt even more pleased with herself.

Suddenly, she felt her mind becoming sharper.

Big Mom thought it over again—

There was no problem left.

“Move far back, don’t get in my way,” she shouted, shooing Perospero and the others away.

All of her family members began to retreat, moving far, far away.

“You all move back too,” Kuke instructed Gion and the others.

After all, Big Mom was still an Emperor of the Sea, and her attacks had considerable range.

He didn’t want weaker members like Makino to be caught up in it.

“Then I’ll return to the ship and start preparing dinner.” Makino nodded and headed toward the Radiant Eclipse ship at the harbor.

It was currently around 1:30 PM.

Dinner was usually at about 6 PM.

There were still four and a half hours left.

Makino estimated that, when they fought Kaido last time, the captain had taken a little over four hours. So, this time, it should be similar—just in time for dinner.

“Too early,” Kuke muttered.

“?????”

“Captain, aren’t you overestimating Linlin a bit? Even if she’s stronger than Kaido, it’s not by much—dinner time should be perfect,” Shakky said, puzzled.

She also didn’t know exactly how strong Charlotte Linlin was now.

But she could estimate.

The difference between her and Kaido couldn’t be that significant.

“It’s too early for dinner—preparing afternoon tea would be more fitting.”

Shakky: “…..”

“Black tea and some buttery biscuits,” Kuke said, recalling the snacks he had wanted earlier.

“Okay, Captain.”

Makino cheerfully left.

“Afternoon tea?” Shakky and Stussy, strong warriors in their own right, stared blankly at Kuke.

Kuke usually had his afternoon tea around 3:30 PM.

They remembered such details.

It was just two hours away from 3:30 PM.

Two hours to defeat Big Mom?

Defeat an Emperor of the Sea?

Was that even possible?

Even Gion found it hard to believe. It had taken her nearly two hours just to defeat Katakuri earlier.

Previously, Yamato had taken over ten hours to defeat Cracker.

The gap between Katakuri and Gion was enormous.

“Captain, have you grown even stronger? Stronger than you were in Wano Country?” Shakky asked, stunned, looking at Kuke.

Could he really have gotten stronger?

The Kuke she had seen during the Wano Country arc—

In Shakky’s eyes, he was already on par with the peak Rocks, unmatched in one-on-one combat.

He was already unrivaled in this era.

Logically, he should have reached his power’s limit.

Becoming stronger was supposed to be nearly impossible at that stage.

“Something like that, I might’ve grown a tiny bit stronger,” Kuke replied, glancing at his combat power.

Just a little bit.

With the addition of Smoothie, Yamato’s improvements,

Not much had changed.

Combat power was just about to hit a million.

“Just a little bit?” Gion looked skeptically at Kuke.

Just a little?

“How does Kuke get stronger, anyway?” That question,

Had been hanging over Gion for a while now.

In terms of effort, she worked as hard as Kuke did.

Perhaps even harder.

Kuke still had to train many of the crew members, which took up a lot of his time.

With questions, doubts, and amazement, the crew headed back to the Radiant Eclipse.

Kuke’s words,

Big Mom hadn’t heard them.

But Smoothie and others who were now among the Sun and Moon Pirates heard them.

Their whole worldview began to collapse.

“How could anyone in this world defeat Mama within two hours? Could it be possible?” Smoothie knew her mother’s strength.

Smoothie thought for sure that, facing her mother, she would quickly be defeated.

“Could it be that our captain likes to boast?” Custard pondered as she glanced back at Kuke.

His grand figure looked a little less bright in her eyes.

She didn’t like boastful people.

“If he really does it, then I, Amande, will willingly serve in the Sun and Moon Pirates for the rest of my life. Even if I were allowed to leave, I wouldn’t.” Amande chuckled.

If he couldn’t do it,

Then staying in the Sun and Moon Pirates while keeping her loyalty mostly for her family could be justified.

…

The battlefield was cleared.

“Mama… Napoleon, Zeus, Prometheus!”

Big Mom gave her command.

Her three strongest Homies transformed.

Thundercloud Zeus, and Sun Prometheus, immediately flew into the air above Kuke.

They turned into a sky full of dark clouds, and a massive fireball, resembling the sun.

Meanwhile, Big Mom held her giant sword, Napoleon.

“Thunder!”

“Heavenly Fire!”

“Ikoku Sovereignty!”

Big Mom swung her giant sword, unleashing a massive, column-like shockwave of sword energy that tore the ground apart.

A gigantic bolt of lightning fell from the sky.

The fireball crashed down, setting the forest ablaze.

Three ultimate attacks,

Each capable of destroying a city or kingdom.

The moment she attacked, the power of an Emperor of the Sea was clearly demonstrated.

“Terrifying.”

“Mama is furious.”

“Get back!”

Perospero and the others retreated in panic.

Yet they were excited to witness their mother’s tremendous power—she could win.

“BOOOOM!”

A massive explosion engulfed the area where Kuke stood. The lightning, fire, and sword energy obliterated everything inside, covering an area of a thousand meters.

“Mama… could he be dead already?”

Big Mom smiled with satisfaction at her work.

She had watched closely and saw Kuke had no time to use any techniques to counter it.

Rely on his own body?

He would definitely be in a miserable state.

“Kaido wasn’t lying—he’s not that strong. He lacks experience, standing there like an idiot.”

“Whoosh!”

A figure enveloped in golden flames shot out of the explosion.

Big Mom’s pupils dilated.

She watched as the figure instantly appeared in front of her.

The supreme Haki burning on him made her skin tingle painfully.

Kuke was now right in front of Big Mom.

He jumped up.

And placed his hand right on her head.

“Mama… getting into a close-range fight with me, don’t you realize my strength is immense? Don’t you know I have a body of steel—”

BOOM!

Big Mom unleashed her full strength, her mocking laughter still echoing in the air.

And then her head was instantly smashed into the ground by Kuke with irresistible force—her head meeting the earth in an intimate encounter.

Embedded in the center of a crater that spread for thousands of meters, Big Mom’s eyes swirled with stars.

She was stunned.

“I… I quit… I don’t want to bet anymore…”

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DONT FORGET POWER STONE

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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up 40+ chapters at patreon.com/Emik01.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep