Chapter 694: Skypiea Crisis
After spotting the traces of Big Mom and Perospero, Law spoke into the video Den Den Mushi: "Urouge, Waldo, how about we go for something big?"
"What do you mean by something big?" Waldo and Urouge were both taken aback upon hearing this.
"Hmph! Of course, it means taking down a Yonko!" Law grinned and said, "Don't you think it would be interesting to see the captain's expression if we took out Big Mom before he gets here?"
"..." Waldo and Urouge fell silent, but after a moment, Urouge's laughter came through the Den Den Mushi. "Interesting, very interesting! I'm starting to get a bit interested in this too!"
Waldo, however, voiced his concern from the side: "Isn't this a bit too much? And can we actually kill Big Mom?"
Law replied, "Do you have no confidence in your invention?"
Hearing this, Waldo reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, immediately shouting, "How could that be?!"
"Good!" Law raised his binoculars and continued observing below. "Now, based on my report, adjust the cannon's angle..."
And so, two reckless Supernova rookies, along with Waldo, a scientist eager to test his newly invented weapon, set their sights on Big Mom, planning to take a shot at her...
Down on Whole Cake Island, Perospero was sitting on Big Mom's shoulder, doing his best to deceive her. He had no idea how the battle between Katakuri and the Dragon Hunter Pirates was going, but just moments ago, Perospero had suddenly felt a strange unease in his heart.
This unease didn't come from Big Mom, but from...
Perospero turned his head, gazing back toward the castle on Whole Cake Island. He knew something had gone wrong—likely involving one of his younger siblings...
"Damn it!" Perospero was burning with anxiety. Ian and the Dragon Hunter Pirates, the major threats, had yet to be eliminated, and now Mother was in this state. Everything was going wrong on Whole Cake Island today.
His only hope was that the chefs could quickly finish the wedding cake to cure Mother's food craving disorder, so he could lead her back to the battlefield.
Once that was done, whether it was Ian or Capone Bege, they would all have to die to atone for this!
"Are we there yet?!" Big Mom's voice rang out again. She punched a building blocking her path, sending it flying, and roared impatiently, "Hurry up! I want cake! I want to eat cake!"
Perospero could only try to calm her again: "Mother, almost there. It's just ahead. The cake we prepared is stored up front."
But perhaps he had said this too many times, and Big Mom no longer believed him. She suddenly reached out and grabbed Perospero off her shoulder!
Holding Perospero like a doll, Big Mom brought him close to her face and roared, "You dare lie to me! Where is the cake?! I'll kill you!"
"M-Mother!" Perospero was terrified and pleaded desperately, "I'm not lying to you! I really am not! There really is a cake!"
But Big Mom wouldn't listen. She opened her mouth and lunged at Perospero, as if she intended to eat him!
Seeing this, Perospero was so frightened he nearly lost his soul. He screamed, "C-Candy Substitute!"
Since Big Mom was in a confused state, she hadn't used Haki when grabbing Perospero, giving him a chance to escape. In a flash, he left a candy-made replica in her hand while his real body slipped out.
Big Mom bit into the candy figure Perospero had created, tearing off half its body in one bite and chewing it noisily.
Having narrowly escaped death, Perospero was drenched in cold sweat. He seized the opportunity to run, knowing that reasoning with Mother was useless now.
"Sweet..." Big Mom tasted the candy figure, but soon grew even angrier. She flung the remaining half of the candy figure away and, in a rage, smashed through trees and buildings around her as she chased Perospero, shouting, "That's not the flavor! That's not the flavor! Bring me the cake!"
Up on Skypiea, Law watched this scene through his binoculars, finding it hard to believe. "She... she tried to eat her own son?!"
"What? Eat her own son?" Urouge's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"N-Nothing!" Law said. "Are you ready?"
"We're good!" Urouge replied.
"Then have Waldo fire!" Law gave the order.
The next second, the bottom clouds of the Barron Gray Terminal on Skypiea were suddenly illuminated by an intensely bright white light...
Perospero, being chased by Big Mom, was running for his life. In his panic, he instinctively glanced back to check the distance between them. That's when he noticed a blindingly bright light in the sky.
It was as if a second sun had appeared in the sky!
Before he could figure out what was happening, he saw Big Mom behind him engulfed by a massive ball of white light!
The moment he witnessed this, an intense stabbing pain and burning sensation shot through his entire body, and his mind went blank in an instant!
It all happened so fast. There was no earth-shattering explosion, no deafening roar. The attack from the Sky-Based Thunder Stone Cannon had simply descended...
Though called the Sky-Based Thunder Stone Cannon, no matter how much it was improved, it was still a Thunder Stone Cannon. Using Thunder Stones as its energy source, the shells it fired were plasma spheres. Compared to Waldo's previous creations, the plasma sphere from this cannon was enormous!
It was a plasma sphere about one meter in diameter. Traveling at the speed of lightning, it went from launch to impact in an instant. At such speed, it could hit any target with precision!
Law, acting as the spotter, had directly aimed at Big Mom for the shot...
When the plasma sphere struck Big Mom, it exploded instantly. The intense white light radiated out, illuminating the entire Whole Cake Island, though it vanished just as quickly.
But even though the burst lasted only a moment, the consequences were astonishing. Aside from the high temperature released by the plasma shell, the countless ultra-high-voltage lightning sparks that spread in all directions created a terrifying electrical surge...
No one knew exactly how powerful the plasma sphere from the Sky-Based Thunder Stone Cannon was, but conservative estimates put it at least above the voltage of the final lightning strike Ian had unleashed back on Sabaody Archipelago.
In other words, it was a lightning blast exceeding one billion volts!
Perospero was caught in the electrical surge. The intense current flowing through his body caused him to collapse to the ground in less than a second.
When he fell, Perospero was completely charred black, his entire body emitting smoke and smelling like roasted meat...
Though not directly hit like Big Mom, Perospero was still killed by this Thunder Stone Cannon blast! By now, even his brain was likely cooked...
But it wasn't just him. The electrical surge continued to spread outward, turning everything within a one-kilometer radius—trees, buildings, everything—into charred remains...
Originally intended to clear out Big Mom's pirate crew's underlings, the Sky-Based Thunder Stone Cannon had now been used to directly attack Big Mom and Perospero. Law stood at the edge of Skypiea, watching the entire plasma sphere explosion through his binoculars, but he frowned slightly, feeling that the power didn't quite match his expectations.
The spread was smaller than expected... According to Waldo's original estimates, this shot should have destroyed nearly half of Whole Cake Island.
After all, Waldo had designed the Thunder Stone Cannon to rival the ancient weapon Pluton's cannons. Though he had never seen Pluton, the legendary weapon capable of destroying an island with a single shot was the goal the Thunder Stone Cannon aimed for.
Just as Law was puzzled, a sound suddenly came from the charred crater below. To his astonishment, Big Mom, who had been directly hit by the plasma sphere, slowly stood up!
"How is that possible?!" Law was utterly shocked.
In his expectations, even if it couldn't kill Big Mom, it should have left her severely injured. But through the binoculars, aside from being equally charred black, Big Mom seemed to have no significant trouble moving.
When she stood up, a black cloud crackling with lightning floated out from beneath her!
That was Zeus!
Law's calculations weren't wrong, but the problem was that he didn't know Big Mom had Zeus, a thundercloud imbued with a soul, by her side. Zeus had been following Big Mom all along, so when the plasma sphere exploded, most of the lightning around Big Mom was absorbed by it!
Having absorbed the lightning, Zeus had transformed dramatically, becoming a massive dark cloud. Its human-like face even wore an expression of blissful intoxication.
The lightning just now was like an unparalleled delicacy to it...
So instinctively, Zeus looked up at Skypiea in the sky, licked its lips, and felt there might be even tastier lightning up there. It began to float upward.
But just then, a hand suddenly grabbed it!
"Zeus, where do you think you're going?!" Big Mom, still in her rampage state, glared at Zeus with a ferocious expression.
Perospero had died right in front of her, but she felt nothing. Instead, anything trying to escape her now caught her attention.
Caught by Big Mom, Zeus quickly said, "Sorry, Mother, I thought there might be something tasty up there..."
"Tasty?! Is it cake?" Big Mom's mouth watered at the mention of cake. She looked up at the island clouds of Skypiea.
Law, still holding his binoculars, saw Big Mom's dazed eyes as she looked up, and his heart skipped a beat.
Could it be...
The next second, his fears came true. The massive dark cloud shot under Big Mom, lifting her enormous, obese body and flying straight toward Skypiea!
"D-Damn it!" Law snapped to attention, cold sweat pouring down his face. He had never imagined that this attack would instead draw Big Mom's attention to Skypiea!
Skypiea was in danger...