Chapter 359: Brulee's Trap

Chapter 359: Brulee's Trap



The Thousand Sunny dropped anchor outside of Whole Cake Island shortly after dawn. "Don't worry about Pedro-san and I! We'll retrieve the road poneglyph etching as well as keep an eye out for Pekoms-san," Brook reassured the others in his gentlemanly manner. "Taken right out from under us and I didn't even notice. I'm ashamed," Pedro sighed. "Fortunately it seems Cherry caught wind of it and gave chase. I hope she and he both are still okay."

"If there's anything you can bet on, it's Cherry's safety. I'd sooner believe the World Government controls the weather than that Cherry is in any real danger," Nami sounded confident.

"Big Mom can control the weather..." Pedro said.

"""Huh???""" came cries of disbelief.

"Within a certain range of course, but... easily for kilometers around." Pedro elaborated, thinking he probably should have done so earlier.

"Don't fret, Nami. A navigator of your skill, one with such a hardy crew by your side, needn't worry about Big Mom's storms at all." Jinbe added genuinely.

Pedro and Brook went below deck and launched the shark-shaped submersible with the latter piloting it. The rest went ashore.

"Look! It's Pudding and Sanji, up there! Just like Pudding said she would!" Luffy became excited and ran ahead.

"Don't get out of sight, Luffy! We're in hostile territory, remember?" Nami called out behind him, sighing when it was unclear that Luffy even heard her. "Why is he always so reckless?"

The group followed after him, but didn't make it far before Luffy stopped and looked around in confusion. He shouted out, "Hey Sanji!!! Pudding!!! We're here!!!"

"Where could they be? We're here just on time," Chopper wondered.

"I saw them just up there, but they're gone now..." Luffy pointed out a hill.

"We should be wary. This stinks of a trap." Jinbe reasoned.

"Pudding wouldn't trick us! She's nice!" Luffy refuted.

"Perhaps her plan was thwarted, and now the Big Mom pirates have disguised two of their crew as Pudding and Sanji to lure us in. That would explain why they disappeared before we got close." Jinbe advised.

"Hrmmm..." Luffy scrunched up his face in annoyance. He couldn't complain about pirates fighting dirty, but he didn't have to be happy about it.

"What if it isn't a trick, though? Then Sanji would think we didn't come for him..." Chopper spoke dejectedly.

""'You guys go get Sanji! I'll hold this joker off!"" Luffy and Bru-Luffy called as they clashed together.

Jinbe didn't immediately follow after the others who heeded Luffy's command, instead studying the two and rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Sadly he had lost track of which one was the true Luffy due to the distraction and Luffy's struggling against the imposter.

"Do you trust me, Luffy?" Jinbe asked.

""Of course I do!"" Luffy and Bru-Luffy said immediately whilst pulling at each other's stretchy faces.

"Then don't dodge!" Jinbe reared up and plunged his haki-coated fists down towards the two's heads!

One Luffy jumped out of the way and the other got smashed into the ground.

"Why'd you try to hit me Jinbe?! What if you'd hit the real me?!" the Luffy who dodged cried

out.

"I did hit the real you," Jinbe said without a hint of doubt in his voice. "Isn't that right,

Captain?"

The Luffy on the ground slapped his fist down on his hand. "Oh! You're so smart, Jinbe! Shishishi!"

The two of them looked up at the Luffy who had dodged to find that he was gone, before Luffy hopped up and brushed himself off. Then they both left to follow after the others.

'That Jinbe is even more decisive than I gave him credit for. To think he'd attack his own captain just to root me out,' Brulee pondered, realizing that she'd have to step up her game. 'Straw Hat is a fool, though. What if Jinbe himself had been an imposter? That thought didn't even occur to him. I can use that...'

...

Cherry was having a very nice breakfast at a very fancy hotel, observing her crewmates movements on the other side of the island via Life Sense and chuckling to herself. She found the fact that the entire damned forest was animated by Big Mom's devil fruit to be especially

funny.

"What's so funny?" a long limbed, rather beautiful woman asked her as she approached.

"I remembered a joke, but I would just mess it up so don't ask." Cherry said. "Who are you?" "I am one of the sweet generals, Charlotte Smoothie. You will NOT be leaving my sight until after the wedding, do I make myself clear?" Smoothie asked, though Cherry suspected that there was only one answer that the tall woman would accept.

Cherry considered saying no just to see what she'd do about it, but she had a better idea. An idea that would undoubtedly infuriate the woman than a simple refusal to cooperate would, if she could only read Cherry's mind.