Chapter 835

Nami explains that it was someone impersonating Luffy who had tagged along with them as they tried to leave the woods. The woman then revealed herself to be Charlotte Brûlée. Nami asks where the real Luffy is, and while Brûlée is answering, Nami was able to pull out her Clima-Tact and escaped Brûlée’s hold by hitting her in the stomach with its expansion feature. Brûlée tries to attack again, but Carrot attempts to fight her. Using a mirror, Brûlée rebounds her Eleclaw attack back at her.

Brûlée explains that she ate the Mira Mira no Mi, a fruit that gives her the ability to reflect back anything she wants. Carrot tries to attack again, but this time is pulled inside the mirror, a move Brûlée calls Mirro-World. Carrot is now a prisoner inside Brûlée’s mirror. Nami demands Carrot back, but Brûlée tells her not to worry, as she doesn’t plan on killing them, and asks if they realize the situation they are in. Brûlée informs them that Big Mom is well aware of their presence in her territory.

In fact, the only reason Brûlée, Randolph, and the parts of the talking landscape are there is because Big Mom ordered them to. They were ordered to let them wander around aimlessly for a bit, but they absolutely cannot meet with Sanji, and to make them aware of what happens when they defy Big Mom. She then commands the talking wilderness, calling them “Homies”, to make sure they don’t lose sight of Nami and Chopper. A tree root grabs Chopper’s leg. Chopper tells Nami to find Luffy while he holds them off.

Nami realizes that they have significantly underestimated the power an Emperor wields. She promises to come back with help. Brûlée marvels at Chopper’s abilities, saying her mother would love to add him to her collection. Nami concludes her recount, saying that she’d been running like crazy through the woods ever since. Luffy calls it absolutely crazy and asks where Chopper and Carrot are.

Nami tells them it all happened right where they were standing, but there is no trace of them now. She then turns her attention to the buried giant. She demands to know why neither Brûlée or her henchmen so much as touched him, assuming that he must be an accomplice. The giant tells them that he wouldn’t exactly say they were enemies and promises to tell them more if they bring him some juice from a nearby river. Luffy tells him that if he can tell anything useful, he will gladly bring him all the juice he wants.

The giant remarks that Luffy seems pretty strong, but not so much for Nami. Nami angrily assures him that she is plenty powerful. He explains that he thought Chopper was pretty strong too, but the trees still jumped on him no problem, saying they don’t stop until they’ve completed their mission. Luffy asks how they are able to move in the first place. The giant explains that every six months, each citizen is required to give a month’s worth of their lifespan, in the form of their soul, to the country in exchange for protection.

Luffy asks how that is even possible. He explains that Big Mom is a Devil Fruit user who ate the Soru Soru no Mi, giving her the ability to control souls. The pieces of soul are then spread throughout the islands. The souls then inhabit nearby objects, giving them sentience. The newly animated objects are called “homies”.

The collection is carried out by pieces of Big Mom’s own soul, the “ïncarnations”. Nami remembers being in Chocolat Town and seeing things that should not have been alive. The giant also affirms that the souls can settle into animals. The giant explains that all the fakes Luffy gathered are animals transformed by Brûlée’s ability. Luffy then angrily asks why he didn’t say anything and the giant explains that he didn’t want to get involved. He then explains that long ago, he was Big Mom’s husband. After giving her two daughters, she discarded him. A figure comes up from behind and grabs the giant by his ponytail and pulls him out of the ground. It turns out that the giant is really just a large man with an even larger head. The one to pull out his head was Charlotte Cracker, the 10th son in the family, Minister of Biscuits, and one of the three Sweet Commanders. The man pleads with Cracker to allow him to see Chiffon again, so he can congratulate her on her marriage. He also mentions that Lola ran away, and Nami is surprised to hear that name.