Chapter 695: Failed Temptation
Today on Whole Cake Island, strange phenomena appeared one after another. Ian's earlier Black Cero had already caused a black flash to shine over the island, and now another one had come!
This time, it was a white flash. The alternation between black and white was noticed not only by those on Whole Cake Island but also by those outside.
Although this sea area was the territory of the Big Mom Pirates, it wasn't exclusively occupied by them. Merchant ships traveling between islands, pirate ships that had accidentally wandered in, and ordinary people living under the rule of the Big Mom Pirates—many had seen this flash.
People were uneasy and discussing among themselves, wondering what was happening on Whole Cake Island.
When the flash of the Sky Thunder Cannon erupted, the Dragon Hunter Pirates and the Fire Tank Pirates, who were engaged in battle with the Big Mom Pirates, also saw it. Capone Bege and his crew didn't know what was happening, but Ian and the others immediately thought of the Sky Thunder Cannon that Waldo had mentioned earlier.
However, Ian found it strange that Waldo hadn't attacked densely populated areas. Instead, this shot seemed to have hit the outer region of Whole Cake Island.
Who were they attacking?
It was because of this flash that Ian and the others looked up at the sky island above. But at that moment, Ian saw the obese Big Mom rising into the air on a cloud in the distance.
"Not good! What's going on!?" Ian's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't Big Mom in the midst of a hunger pang rampage? How could she be consciously heading toward the sky island!?
Ian thought that Perospero was leading Big Mom toward the sky island, so he immediately realized that the sky island might be in trouble.
He glanced around. Having quickly dealt with Katakuri and freed himself to join the battle, the main combatants of the Big Mom Pirates had been taken down. Oven, Daifuku, and Cracker—these troublesome figures—were now either dead or injured. The remaining children of Big Mom likely posed no significant threat to the Dragon Hunter Pirates. So, Ian signaled to Crocodile!
Crocodile nodded, indicating that they would handle things. With his assurance, Ian immediately entered his Super Saiyan state and shot into the sky with a boom.
King versus king. The soul of the Big Mom Pirates was Big Mom herself, and only Ian could handle her. If possible, Ian hoped to have the final battle with Big Mom on Whole Cake Island. After all, it wasn't his territory, so even if it got destroyed, it wouldn't matter much to him.
But now that Big Mom had unexpectedly flown toward the sky island, Ian had no choice but to pursue her.
Ian's speed was far greater than Zeus's. He started later but arrived first, catching up to them before Big Mom reached the sky island.
"Hey, Zeus! Prometheus!" Ian called out as he caught up. Instead of dealing with Big Mom right away, he had an idea. He lowered his altitude slightly and greeted Zeus and Prometheus from below.
Zeus was the first to react, looking at Ian and saying, "Ah, it's you!"
Before the chaos broke out at the wedding tea party, Ian had fed Zeus and Prometheus with lightning and flames. So now, Ian smiled and said, "That's right, it's me! Zeus, Prometheus, want some tasty treats?"
As he spoke, Ian condensed a ball of lightning in his left hand and a ball of black flames in his right, holding them out for them to see.
Yes, Ian's first move was to tempt Big Mom's two important minions.
Zeus had the personality of a greedy child. Seeing the lightning in Ian's hand, he was immediately tempted and said happily, "I want to eat! I want to eat!"
However, Prometheus was much more rational. Although he had tasted Ian's flames before and knew they were delicious, he restrained himself well and shouted at Ian, "Don't try to tempt us! Mom will kill you soon!"
As he spoke, he also yelled at Zeus, "Zeus! Wake up! Don't fall for it!"
Following Prometheus's words, Big Mom suddenly spoke up, "Zeus! What are you doing!? Why aren't you flying higher!?"
Hearing Big Mom's words, Zeus said hesitantly, "Sorry, Mom... but... I want to eat something delicious..."
These anthropomorphic creatures created by Big Mom using her soul were collectively called "Homies." These Homies had different levels. The lowest level consisted of ordinary pastries, plants, and animals scattered across Totto Land. These low-level Homies were made from the smallest soul fragments and, aside from being anthropomorphic, had no memories of their original soul owners.
Higher-level Homies were made by infusing a complete soul, so they retained some memories of the original owner.
The highest-level Homies were Zeus, Prometheus, and Napoleon. These three Homies were made from Big Mom's own soul.
However, although Zeus, Prometheus, and Napoleon were made from Big Mom's soul, they each had their own personalities and could act freely.
Napoleon and Prometheus were relatively well-behaved, with more mature personalities, so they listened to Big Mom and were loyal to her. But Zeus had the personality of a child. Having tasted Ian's lightning before, he had developed a liking for it.
Although the lightning Ian created might not compare to the thunderclouds Nami made with her Weather Stick—since Zeus was a thundercloud rather than lightning itself, he probably preferred the thunderclouds from the Weather Stick—the lightning power within was still the same. And since Nami wasn't there to provide a comparison, whether it was the plasma balls from the Sky Thunder Cannon earlier or the lightning ball in Ian's hand now, both were tempting to Zeus. The trap Ian had set earlier worked. Faced with the lightning ball Ian had created, Zeus instinctively forgot their hostile relationship and only thought about eating.
The key point was that Big Mom's flight ability relied entirely on Zeus...
Seeing that this was working, Ian immediately threw the lightning ball toward Zeus.
Seeing the lightning ball flying toward him, Zeus forgot everything else and bit into it, gulping it down in one go.
Ian backed off a little in the air and threw another lightning ball. Already caught up in the temptation of delicious food, Zeus didn't hesitate. Carrying Big Mom, he chased after the lightning ball and swallowed it again.
And so, Ian used this method to gradually lure Zeus away from the sky island.
"Yes, yes, just like that, step by step!" Ian thought triumphantly. If he could lure Zeus to carry Big Mom away from Whole Cake Island, even out to sea, he could then pull the rug out from under them—snatch Zeus away from under Big Mom, and the non-flying Big Mom would fall into the sea!
Once a Devil Fruit user falls into the sea, it's game over! Unlike Kaido, who had Fish-Man blood and could breathe underwater, Big Mom would be helpless. Ian could take down this Emperor without any effort!
Ian hadn't seen Perospero and guessed he might have been killed in the Sky Thunder Cannon blast earlier. Without Perospero, no one could save a drowning Big Mom! Waldo and Law had done well in that regard.
Prometheus had already seen through Ian's "sinister" plan and was frantic. He shouted beside Zeus, trying to wake him up, but Zeus, caught up in the temptation of food, wouldn't listen.
This was the so-called "spoiled child"—accidentally screwing over his mom...
As for Big Mom, she was still fixated on the sky island, thinking there was delicious food up there, and kept staring at it.
Unable to stop Zeus, Prometheus had to think of another way. His body suddenly expanded, turning into a massive fireball, and then he charged fiercely at Ian, trailing flames behind him.
This attack could rival one of Ace's Fire Fists. Unfortunately for him, Ian was also an expert with fire. Facing the charging Prometheus, Ian reached out with his left hand and pressed it against Prometheus's face!
It was a strange situation. Because of Zeus and Prometheus, if Ian fought Big Mom normally, these two Homies would be a huge obstacle, absorbing Ian's lightning and fire attacks. They were like two protective charms around Big Mom.
Conversely, Big Mom couldn't use Zeus and Prometheus to attack Ian, because those two types of energy had no effect on him either.
It was a state of mutual restraint.
"D... damn!" Finding his charge stopped by Ian, Prometheus was stunned. But then he suddenly reacted and expanded his body again.
"Hmm!?" Ian, sensing that Prometheus, whom he was holding, seemed about to self-destruct, instinctively withdrew his hands and shielded himself.
Boom! The next second, Prometheus indeed exploded. The flames he released, though harmless to Ian, created a massive shockwave that blew Ian away mid-air.
Ian tumbled several times in the air before stopping his backward momentum. In that brief delay, he couldn't create any more lightning balls for Zeus.
Zeus wanted to fly over and ask Ian for more food, but at that moment, Big Mom, already irritable from not getting her cake, grew impatient with the sky island that seemed just out of reach. She suddenly stomped hard on Zeus's body and leaped up, jumping toward the nearby sky island!
Her posture was like a flying fat pig—it was hard to imagine how she managed to jump...
With that leap, Big Mom pierced through the clouds below the sky island and disappeared inside! Seeing this, Ian almost spat blood. He had been so close to luring Zeus out to sea, but his plan had been cut short halfway!
Without a doubt, once Big Mom broke through the lower clouds, she would enter the sky island's cloud layer and land on it.
With a kick, Ian sent Prometheus, who had returned to his original size, flying away. Then he quickly flew toward the sky island. It seemed that this battle with Big Mom was unavoidable...