Chapter 868

Chapter 868 is titled "KX Launcher".

Cover Page
The Stories of the Self-Proclaimed Straw Hat Grand Fleet: Vol 5, Cavendish Arc: "...So, as I've been saying, those are not enemy ships, and therefore there is no need to fire on them, Suleiman." "That explanation was way too long."

As Cavendish finishes telling his story to Suleiman, they encounter two pirate crews that are huge fans of Cavendish.

Short Summary
63 years ago, Linlin's role in Carmel's disappearance caused her to be even more reviled by the giants, and caused a nearby Streusen to take interest in her. Together, Linlin and Streusen formed the beginnings of the Big Mom Pirates, and Linlin's power quickly caused her to become infamous at a young age. Linlin turned the island where the Sheep's House was into Whole Cake Island, where she sought to achieve Carmel's ideals.

In the present, the Fire Tank Pirates shoot their KX Launchers at Big Mom, but the power of her scream destroys the shots before they hit her. The Big Mom Pirates then regain their composure, and Caesar attempts to fly in the mirror for the alliance to make a getaway, but Big Mom's scream shatters the mirror. Surrounded by enemies, Bege transforms into a giant fortress and tells his allies to get inside him.

Long Summary
Big Mom continues screaming at the unexplained disappearance of Mother Carmel and her housemates 63 years ago, not knowing that there were two witnesses to the event that day. One of them was a warrior of Elbaf who cared about the Sheep's House, and when he saw what happened, he was so repulsed that he ran away, never to set foot on the island again. His account was spread throughout the giants, causing them to despise Linlin so much they refrained from even saying her name. The other witness was the chef and failed pirate Streusen, who found the event hilarious. He had the Kuku Kuku no Mi, which gave him the ability to make ready-made food out of natural objects, and he decided to maximize on Linlin's potential by joining her. He approached her, and though he could not help her with the disappearance, he offered to work with her and feed her whatever she wanted.

In the present, Streusen is unable to move due to Big Mom's scream, and he begs her to return to her senses before the Fire Tank Pirates shoot her. Bege, Vito, and Gotti then fire their KX Launchers at her, and the alliance looks on in anticipation while the Big Mom Pirates stare in shock. Big Mom remembers Carmel expressing her desire to make the island they were on into a country where all races could live together and see eye to eye, and Linlin thought that meant everyone else would be the same size as her in that country, which caused her to share that dream. With Streusen, Linlin revealed that she had obtained Carmel's Soru Soru no Mi power by creating a flower homie, and the two decided to make the island their dream country. They entered a life of piracy, and Linlin quickly grew infamous, earning a bounty of 50,000,000 not too long after meeting Streusen. Her power was stated to be dangerous by Cipher Pol and her bounty grew to at least 500,000,000 before she was even an adult as she razed villages with Zeus and Prometheus at her side. In return for sweets, she promised to let all her victims live together in her dream country, threatening to kill them if they refused. To this day, Big Mom notes to the deceased Carmel that there have always been "selfish" people who refuse to agree with her dream, and she will never forgive the Straw Hats for trampling on Carmel's memory by breaking the portrait of her. Big Mom then emanates a great blast that detonates the KX Launcher shots before they hit her, shocking the Fire Tank Pirates.

Katakuri manages to cover his ears with mochi earplugs, and distributes the earplugs to his crewmates, allowing them to regain their composure. With their plan having failed, the Fire Tank Pirates run away in fear, and Caesar prepares to fly in the mirror, angry that his KX Launchers were destroyed. Bege motions for the Sanji Retrieval Team to get into the mirror as his crew races toward it, but as Caesar comes in, the pressure from Big Mom's scream shatters the mirror. The alliance now has nowhere to run and no chance of fighting as they are surrounded by the Big Mom Pirates' forces, but Bege suddenly transforms himself into a giant humanoid fortress as he orders his allies to get inside of him.

Chapter Notes

 * Although it is not directly mentioned, Charlotte Linlin is heavily implied to have unintentionally caused the mysterious disappearances of Carmel and the Sheep's House children.
 * However, two people are revealed to know the truth behind the incident: a giant from Elbaf and Streusen.
 * Because of the giant relaying his account of what occurred, Linlin's reputation with the giants became even worse.
 * Linlin is able to use Carmel's ability not long after the incident.
 * Linlin and Streusen formed the Big Mom Pirates together.
 * Streusen is revealed to have eaten the Kuku Kuku no Mi.
 * Due to her intellect and young age, she translated Carmel's words literally when she said she would make a country where everyone can live eye-to-eye. This is what inspires her to have Caesar start the gigantification experiments.
 * The island that was the second home of the Sheep's House ended up becoming Whole Cake Island.
 * Big Mom’s first known bounty was 50,000,000. A few years later, it increased to at least 500,000,000.
 * This marks the first time that an Emperor's bounty is shown.
 * Pandaman made a cameo in a flashback during Linlin's early pirating career.
 * Bege’s attempt to use the KX Launchers failed because Big Mom’s scream combined with her Haoshoku Haki destroyed the rockets before they could reach her.
 * The escape mirror is also destroyed by Big Mom’s scream.
 * The Big Mom Pirates and Charlotte Family are provided earplugs created by Katakuri's Devil Fruit abilities. They soon mobilize to surround the Straw Hats and the Fire Tank Pirates.
 * With nowhere to run, Bege transforms into a fortress to save the alliance members.