Pekoms' Cacao Island Escape Plan

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Four minutes remain until the promised meet-up. The Sunny's crew sees Cacao Island surrounded and panics: "Noooo, we're gonna die! Hurry up, Luuuuuuuffffy!!" Jinbe warns them, "Make sure to keep a distance to the island! They'll trap us if we get close!!" They identify the ships nearby: "That's the Grand Fleet!!" and, "Sure brought a bunch of people here..!! And it looks like they've seen us..!!" On Whole Cake Island, Mont-d'Or receives the report through the transponder snails: "I just heard about the situation over there." Smoothie studies the map and orders the back of the fleet reinforced, because if anyone escapes after this, Cacao Island will be their final destination. On the island itself, the crowd roars, "Come on out anytime, Straw Hat...!!!" while Sanji waits in hiding and thinks, "Please... hurry, Luffy!"

Inside the mirror world, Pekoms runs with Luffy and Brulee, explaining the last desperate option. Brulee notices what he means and says, "Sulong...??" Pekoms answers, "That's right, Gaoh!! I've always had trouble controlling it." When he transforms into his Sulong form, he admits, "I'm just a rampaging monster... and I go into a mindless state where I can't hear anyone, except for one man..." That man was Pedro. Pekoms remembers Pedro stopping him, and he says he has no idea why he could only hear him, but Pedro always managed to calm him down even when he was only a mindless beast. In other words, there is no one left in the world who can stop Pekoms' rampage if he transforms now. Still, Pekoms intends to use that danger to create an opening for Luffy.

Pekoms tells Luffy the plan plainly: "Listen up, Straw Hat... Tonight is a full moon!! When my rampage begins... use that chance to escape from Cacao Island!!" Brulee calls him a traitor and warns, "Even if you do transform into your Sulong form, you'll be suppressed in an instant!! And that'll be the end for you!! A war-ready army is waiting on Cacao Island!!" Pekoms snarls back, "Shut it, Brulee...!!" and tells Luffy, "Get ready, Straw Hat!!" Luffy, exhausted and still breathing hard, understands: "I understand!! Thank you!!" Pekoms refuses to let Pedro's sacrifice be wasted, roaring, "I definitely will not... let big bro Pedro's sacrifice go to waste!!" as they rush toward the mirror staircase.

On Cacao Island, the crowd hears a voice from within the mirror. Someone asks, "Isn't that big sis Brulee's voice...?" and another shouts, "There's a voice... coming from within the mirror!!" The troops realize Brulee has been caught by the enemy and conclude, "It has to be Straw Hat!!" Orders fly across the plaza: "He's coming!! Snipers, ready your guns!!!" The mirror begins to swirl, and everyone raises weapons toward it. Sanji, hidden nearby, reacts with a sharp "Huh?" while Pudding and the others watch in shock. The tension is exact: the army has correctly guessed that Brulee is the key, and the moment the mirror opens, every rifle and blade on the island is aimed at the place where Luffy should appear.

The mirror erupts, and Pekoms bursts out while dragging Brulee, the crowd screaming at the shock of seeing him instead of Katakuri or Luffy. The soldiers shout, "Pekoms!!" and, "Pekoms!! Why are you the one who's coming out of the mirror?!" Pekoms growls and keeps Brulee close. Brulee cries, "Save me, everyone...!!" but Pekoms holds her hostage and warns the army, "If any of you try any tricks, your precious family member, Brulee, will have her head blown off!! Gaoh!!" He tosses a pair of sunglasses aside while Brulee's siblings scream, "Brulee!!" and "Big sis Brulee!!" Pekoms also warns the Big Mom Pirates not to move. His escape plan begins by turning Brulee's value to the family into a shield for Luffy.

Pekoms declares his loyalty to Pedro's sacrifice: "I'm going to let Straw Hat escape!! He's the man that big bro Pedro gambled his life on!!" Then he begins transforming beneath the full moon. He roars, "In any case, I'll be exposed by this transformation...!! But it doesn't matter!!" The soldiers panic: "He's transforming into his Sulong form!!" and, "If you do that, you're going to go on a rampage!! Suppress him!!" Brulee screams for him to stop, but the transformation has already started. As Pekoms' eyes change, someone observes, "It's too late..." Oven, furious that Katakuri and Brulee have both emerged in unacceptable circumstances, orders, "Prepare yourselves!! Gaoh!!" and then commands the troops, "Aim your guns at him!!!"

Before Pekoms' Sulong rampage can become Luffy's opening, Oven strikes. A heated pistol shot rings out with "Bang!!!" and Oven's power burns through the scene as he shouts, "Heat...!!" Pekoms cries, "It's hot!!!" and Oven follows with "Wave Fist!!!" smashing Pekoms with a burning blow. Pekoms is knocked down hard, and the troops immediately realize the truth: "It's Straw Hat Luffy!!" and, "Luffy came out!!" Sanji also recognizes the moment: "This is Sanji!" and sees Luffy fall from the smoke. Pekoms' attempt to create chaos is cut short almost instantly, but it still draws enough attention for Luffy to emerge from the mirror into the middle of the enemy trap.

The army spots Luffy and erupts. The cry spreads through the plaza: "It's Straw Hat, kill him...!!!" Luffy is seen exhausted and breathing, "Huff... huff..." while some enemies celebrate, "Yeeessssss!!" Others realize Pekoms had been hiding him and admit, "It's almost worth some praise that he was able to outwit big brother Katakuri and make it out here..." Luffy jumps away, but the soldiers spot him over the rooftops: "He's over the roof!!" Sanji prepares to intercept him, but someone warns, "You should know... That jumping makes you an easy target!" The page turns Luffy's escape into a shooting gallery. He has reached Cacao Island, but his body is spent and every enemy can see him.

Raisin moves to cut Luffy down. He unsheathes his blade and says, "Now, let's make this simple...!!" Luffy, barely moving, groans, "Ugh...!!" as Raisin closes in. Before the blade can finish the job, Sanji arrives and kicks Raisin away in a single clean strike. The sword flies loose, and the soldiers cry out in surprise. Luffy calls, "Sanji!!" while the crowd asks, "Who is that guy!?" Someone identifies the attacker as "Big brother Raisin!?" The page is direct: Sanji reaches Luffy at the crucial instant. Pekoms' plan did not fully protect Luffy, but it bought enough confusion for Sanji to cross the killing zone and take Luffy into his arms.

Sanji leaps away through the sky with Luffy slung over him. Luffy asks, "So you won," and Luffy answers simply, "Yep." Sanji says, "As expected of you!" but the enemies are ready for aerial escape. One warns, "How naive... We were prepared for something like this... Anyone can... use something as simple as Moonwalk-yu!!" Fighters launch after them through the air, and Oven gives a cruel order: "Gouge out his eyes, so that he'll never be able to see a full moon again!!" The soldiers attack Pekoms while he screams, "Stooooooppp iiiitttt, Gaoh!!" and Luffy calls out, "Pekoms!!" Sanji and Luffy are getting away, but the cost is immediate: Pekoms is being brutalized for trying to repay Pedro's sacrifice.

Sanji looks back toward Pekoms, but Luffy reminds him that turning away now is foolish. Luffy says, "To look away...!! It's foolish..." Sanji and Luffy keep moving, yet the sky is packed with armed pursuers. One shouts, "Shoot him dead!!" while bullets and attacks pour upward. The attackers mock Sanji and Luffy's attempt to flee, and the chase becomes a hail of gunfire and airborne strikes. Sanji carries Luffy through the barrage as Luffy hangs exhausted, unable to fight back properly. This page shows the escape narrowing to a single line: if Sanji slows down to help Pekoms, Luffy dies; if he runs, Pekoms is abandoned to the army. The enemy pressure gives them no clean choice.

An explosion tears through the port. The soldiers look toward the coast in confusion: "Hey!! What's going on!?" and, "The ships by the coast are burning!!" Another report follows: "There's an explosion at the port!!" The Charlotte forces realize the escape route itself is under attack, and someone warns, "There's another fleet, Master Snack!!" Snack demands, "Who the hell is it!?" while shots ring across the plaza and ships burn in the distance. The troops trying to stop Sanji and Luffy are suddenly under fire too, shouting, "We're screwed...!!" and, "You don't have enough help to succeed!!!" A sniper is hit mid-attack. This page changes the battlefield: Sanji and Luffy are no longer alone against the whole island.

The attackers identify the new arrivals: "It's Germa's fleet!!!" The Germa 66 ships advance with soldiers preparing cannons, and one command rings out: "Next, ready the cannons!!" The Big Mom Pirates panic because those ships were supposed to have been wiped out hours ago: "Why are they here!?" Judge's forces arrive in full formation, and the Vinsmoke siblings stand among the smoke and chaos. Judge glares and says, "You bastards...!!" while the Germa side declares, "Thanks for taking care of us during the tea party... Big Mom Pirates...!!" Sanji, still holding Luffy, asks, "Why are you guys...!?" Reiju answers from the side, "We also wanted a chance... to shake things up!!" The chapter ends with Germa 66 unexpectedly entering the escape battle and breaking the Charlotte blockade.

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