Whole Cake Island Arc

The Whole Cake Island Arc, also known as the Sanji Retrieval Arc, is the twenty-ninth story arc in the series and the second in the Yonko Saga of One Piece, continuing from the Zou Arc.

Monkey D. Luffy, accompanied by Nami, Tony Tony Chopper, Brook, and the minks Pekoms, Pedro, and Carrot, heads to Whole Cake Island, where Big Mom of the Yonko resides. Nicknamed the "Sanji Retrieval Team", they seek to rescue their crewmate Sanji from his arranged marriage with Charlotte Pudding, set up to finalize a political alliance between the Charlotte Family and the Vinsmoke Family.

Totto Land is the fourth location the Straw Hats visit in the New World.

Myths and Realities: Encountering Germa 66
Aboard the Thousand Sunny, calm returned as the crew sailed through a snowstorm. In Sanji's absence, Luffy cooked for the crew and presented them with his "random curry"; however, it proved to be inedible, and the crew was outraged when they learned that he had used their entire rations to make it.

A few days later, the Big Mom Pirates' ship sailed to the #28 Tarte in an area with cotton candy snow. On board the ship, Sanji and Tamago argued over Sanji's unwillingness to fully cooperate with the Big Mom Pirates and Germa 66. Tamago informed Sanji that his father had set up the arrangement, but Sanji irritably responded that he severed ties to his father long ago and is only there to talk. Tamago further tried to persuade Sanji by informing him that Big Mom was impressed by his skill set and would likely offer him a good position in her crew, but Sanji continued to refuse. Vito eventually passed on to Sanji a photo of Charlotte Pudding, sent from Whole Cake Island as a pre-wedding courtesy; while Sanji was immediately enamored with the photo, he maintained his position that he will not go through with the wedding.

Later, Vito tried to engage Sanji in a conversation about a comic strip called Sora, Warrior of the Sea, in which the protagonist, Sora, fought against the evil Germa 66. The comic was meant to glorify Marine heroes, but Vito had taken to Germa 66 instead. As Sanji entered his private room (in which the captured Caesar Clown was also being kept, in a cage) and kicked Vito out, the Fire Tank Pirates' killer Gotti became enraged at the disrespect shown to Vito and threatened to attack Sanji; however, he was stopped by a woman who reminded him of Sanji's connections (and, by extension, the threat to Capone if anything were to happen to Sanji). Sanji remarked to himself on the physical similarities between the woman and another unspecified person.

A few days later, the Sanji Retrieval Team were all suffering from starvation and the intense heat. Suddenly, Luffy managed to catch a large fish, but as he dug into it, Chopper (after consulting Sanji's books) revealed that the skin of this fish is poisonous; Luffy immediately collapsed. They crossed into Big Mom's territory, and Pekoms prepared to follow protocol to enter as they were approached by a ship. To his shock, however, the ship they encountered belonged not to Big Mom, but to Germa 66. As this happened, a hooded man with eyebrows resembling Sanji's looked down on the crew.

Upon realizing that they had lost their way, the man attempted to go back, but the Straw Hats mistook him for Sanji and called out to him. The man revealed that he was actually Vinsmoke Yonji, Sanji's younger brother. Chopper begged him for an antidote to save Luffy, but Yonji coldly refused. However, Yonji was kicked off the ship by his older sister, Vinsmoke Reiju, who resuscitated Luffy. Brook then revealed that the Vinsmoke Family formerly ruled over the entire North Blue, but Reiju affirmed that they still had royal status despite no longer ruling over any land, and that they are permitted to attend Reverie. Reiju thanked Luffy for taking care of her younger brother Sanji; she further revealed that he had left the family at a young age, and that their father had been searching for him ever since, ordering the Marines to apprehend Sanji when his first wanted poster was released. However, due to the bad depiction of Sanji, the Marines ended up pursuing Duval. When an accurate picture of Sanji came out two years later, their father immediately ordered that his bounty be raised, and that the bounty conditions be changed to state "Only Alive". Yonji and Reiju then departed, agreeing to maintain silence about their meeting with Luffy's group, in order to prevent the imminent wedding being called off.

Meanwhile, Aladine saw the affair from underwater, contacting Jinbe to confirm that the Straw Hats are indeed up above him.

Exploring Totto Land: Big Mom's Unified Paradise
The Thousand Sunny docked at an island, with Pekoms claiming to a guard that he hijacked it in order to avoid arousing suspicion. As Nami and Carrot tried on their disguises, Pekoms told them about Totto Land, a 35-island archipelago in which people of all races lived in harmony. The island they were on was Cacao Island, which had a town built entirely out of chocolate. It was legal to eat the structures, with the exception of the roofs. Pekoms prepared to fit Luffy into his disguise, but to his shock and fear found out that Luffy had already entered the island. Luffy and Chopper ate an entire cafe, and were arrested by a police officer. However, the owner flew in and claimed that Luffy and Chopper were there to dismantle her cafe, berating the pirates for not eating all of it. The policeman understood and congratulated the owner, Pudding, on her upcoming wedding. Brook, Pedro, Nami, and Carrot watched this in shock, and Pedro was approached by a wolf mink who was eager to meet him; Pedro managed to keep him quiet to avoid drawing attention.

Pudding took the Sanji Retrieval Team to her home to feed them. The team got along amiably with her, but Nami knew that they had to leave soon. Pudding prepared them tea and asked them who they were. Luffy revealed his name, which shocked Pudding.

At Whole Cake Island, Big Mom and her underlings, most of whom were not human, danced and sang as they prepared for the tea party to be held in three days' time. Big Mom used her crew members to gather banquet ingredients in faraway locations by murdering their owners, and stated that she knew that Luffy was present in her territory.

The Straw Hats revealed to Pudding who they were, and Pudding revealed to them that she was Big Mom's daughter and Sanji's bride-to-be. Pudding became scared because they were pirates and held a knife at them, causing Pedro to hold his sword to her neck, but Nami assured her that they came in peace. Pudding talked to them about Big Mom marrying her and her siblings off, revealing that she had 38 sisters and 46 brothers, conceived by Big Mom and 43 husbands. Chopper asked if she had met Sanji, and Pudding said she did, and was attracted to him because of his looks, mannerisms, and their shared love of cooking. The Straw Hats were surprised to hear this, but Pedro suggested they bind her in order to prevent her from telling Big Mom about them. However, Pudding said that Sanji had refused to marry her, stating he had to return to his crew. In response, Luffy, Nami, Chopper, and Brook are shocked to hear that Sanji rejected a women and Luffy was happy that Sanji still wanted to travel with them and Pudding stated that she would help the Straw Hats rescue him despite her feelings for him. She showed the Straw Hats a secret route to get to Whole Cake Island, where she would meet them. Some officials came to Pudding's home and ordered her to cease working before her wedding, and she sent the Straw Hats on their way with a large amount of chocolate. They returned to the Thousand Sunny, but discovered in shock that Pekoms was not there and there was a message in the bathroom saying to turn back.

On Broc Coli Island, Germa 66 ended a war that had been raging for two years. Receiving payment for their services, two agents prepared to leave for Whole Cake Island to attend their little brother Sanji's wedding.

The Sanji retrieval team set off on Pudding's route to Whole Cake Island, and came toward Jam Island. However, Nami decided to steer clear of the island in order to avoid surveillance, and Pedro revealed that he had been to Totto Land once before after he shared more information about it. The crew then encountered a giant sea centipede.

On Whole Cake Island, Big Mom developed a craving for croquembouche, causing her to enter a state of tantrum and eat anything in her path. As her subordinates rushed to prepare croquembouche, Big Mom's son Charlotte Moscato attempted to stop her, but she pulled out 40 years of his life and killed him. Jinbe then arrived and fed Big Mom some croquembouche tourists, immediately returning her to normal. Big Mom thanked Jinbe for the poneglyph he gave her, and Jinbe asked if he could discuss something with her, causing Big Mom to ask in anger if he wanted to leave her crew.

A few hours ago, Jinbe asked his crew for permission to leave and join the Straw Hat Pirates, and they happily agreed. However, they worried about what would happen to them if Big Mom got angry about this, and they prepared to flee. The only issue was that their vice captain, Aladine, was married to her 29th daughter Charlotte Praline, but Praline agreed to accompany her husband away. In the present, Big Mom seemingly allowed Jinbe to sever ties with her, but then said that to compensate for her loss, he would have to lose something in return, and she pulled out a roulette wheel with pictures of body parts on it.

Meanwhile, the Thousand Sunny got trapped in a sea of syrup as it froze overnight. As they worked to melt the sea before they were attacked again by giant wood-eating ants, Pedro revealed that he and Pekoms were once pirates who explored for poneglyphs, but he was defeated in Totto Land. He told Luffy that they need to get their hands on Big Mom's Road Poneglyph, offering to steal it while the others rescued Sanji. Luffy agreed as the crew came under attack by the ants again. The next morning, they reached Whole Cake Island, and Luffy noticed someone standing on the shore.

Arrival at Whole Cake Island: The Straw Hats in Over Their Heads
Pedro and Brook began the mission to steal Big Mom's Road Ponegylph and took the Shark Submerge III under a river toward Big Mom's castle. The Thousand Sunny docked onshore and Luffy called out for Sanji and Pudding, whom he saw on the shore, but the two had mysteriously disappeared. As Nami struggled to comprehend Luffy's claim, Luffy, Chopper, and Carrot then saw Sanji standing against a tree and raced toward him, but he disappeared once again. They became distracted by the forest of candy in front of them, and Nami wondered why Sanji would hide himself from them. Luffy decided to just follow their instincts to find Sanji, which Nami was not happy about, and they crossed a doughnut bridge as they eagerly eyed the candy forest. Suddenly, a giant crocodile attempted to eat the team, and they barely leaped out of its way. However, the crocodile, who was wearing a bowler hat and suspenders, spoke to them and noted that they were just humans. The crocodile walked away on its hind legs, bewildering Nami. She wanted to go back wait on the coast like Pudding told them, but realized that they were stuck due to the bridge collapsing.

Suddenly, Luffy saw another version of himself, and the two Luffys acted and spoke the same as though they were reflections of each other. The team then saw Sanji lying on a tree branch, and Luffy knocked into his reflection when trying to get to him. This caused the two Luffys to get angry and attack each other while ordering the others to go on ahead. Nami, Chopper, and Carrot ran into a large man buried up to his neck, who was there because he wanted to be. Suddenly, they were attacked by a rabbit riding a crane, and began panicking as their watches and compasses stopped working and everything in the Seducing Woods started talking.

Nami, Carrot, and Chopper continued to be pursued by the rabbit, Randolph, but Carrot fell back and attacked the rabbit, who she knew was not a mink due to its inability to use Electro. Carrot disabled Randolph's crane steed with Electro and ran back to the others, but Randolph threws its spear at the pirates. The spear ended up stabbing the buried man in the head, and the Sanji Retrieval Team met up with Luffy, who split off from his reflection as they ran in opposite directions. The Luffy running away from the Sanji Retrieval Team suddenly said that the one running with the team was not him, but the Luffy running with the team quickly shut his mouth. The Sanji Retrieval Team leaped over the river, but encountered the buried man yet again. They turned around and jumped back over the river, but ended up in the same place yet again. The Sanji Retrieval Team started noticing that everything in the Seducing Woods was talking, and it was revealed that the Luffy who accompanied them was actually the reflection as he transformed into Charlotte Brûlée, the eighth daughter of the Charlotte Family. Brûlée grabbed Nami and prepared to injure her and Carrot.

Meanwhile, the world's only maritime country, the Germa Kingdom, began to converge at Whole Cake Island in preparation for the wedding. Inside its royal castle, Sanji reunited with his family after 13 years separated from them. Reiju attempted to convince Sanji to return to the family and embrace the privileges of his royal status, but he reiterated his refusal to either marry Pudding or associate himself with his family again. Their father, Vinsmoke Judge, then arrived to talk to Sanji, but Sanji called him a "bastard" and refused to acknowledge him as his father. Judge then called on Sanji to step outside and settle matters physically.

As Yonji received treatment for the facial injuries he sustained in an earlier, unseen fight with Sanji, Judge and Sanji began their duel in a courtyard outside the Germa castle. Reiju and the onlooking Germa 66 agents were surprised and impressed at Sanji's combat prowess, while Sanji and Judge traded verbal as well as physical blows. Sanji reiterated once again that he was no longer a member of their family, and that he did not care about any potential reprisals from Big Mom if the Vinsmokes broke their marriage pact. Sanji recalled snippets from his childhood, during which he was bullied by his three brothers for feeding rats, and was denounced by Judge as a disgrace to the family name. Back in the present, Sanji blocked Judge's lightning spear with a leg imbued with Busoshoku Haki, which surprised Judge. Father and son continued to trade blows before Judge wrestled the upper hand. The fight eventually concluded when Judge called forth a "wall" of Germa 66 soldiers to stand between him and Sanji; as Sanji yelled at them to get out of his way, Judge sent his spear through one of the soldiers, shocking Sanji and catching him off guard before he channelled electricity through the spear's tip and blew Sanji backwards.

Back inside the Germa castle, Reiju treated Sanji's wounds while voicing her surprise at his vastly improved strength. Sanji responded by telling both Reiju and Judge that, while he'd hoped that they might have improved since he last saw them, they were actually worse now than they were back then. He repeated his intention to return to his crew, but Judge explained that an alliance with Big Mom would guarantee the success of their attempts to retake the North Blue. Judge also revealed that he only sought Sanji out in order to meet Big Mom's terms for an alliance; as he did not want to give over one of his "precious" sons to marriage into the Charlotte Family, he arranged that Sanji should be the groom because he did not consider Sanji a true son. While Sanji was distracted by Judge's statements, Reiju fastened exploding wristlets onto Sanji's wrists. Judge then explained that the wristlets would destroy Sanji's hands if he tried to escape, and that Big Mom was the only person with the key; he concluded by declaring that he would see Sanji married to seal the alliance, no matter what it took. Sanji went outside as he grew more and more angry at his confines.

Meanwhile, Brook and Pedro infiltrated Sweet City as they overheard the citizens talking about the latest news. Jinbe had retracted his request to leave the Big Mom Pirates, causing the citizens to label him as a coward. Brook recognized Jinbe and grew concerned about the fishman, as he thought he would join their crew. Pedro then spotted Pudding trying on wedding dresses inside a shop, although she wanted to leave and tend to a prior engagement. Brook and Pedro were shocked, as this meant that the Pudding Luffy saw on the beach was fake and that Sanji probably did not know they were here. Pedro then noticed Tamago walking out of the shop as some soldiers talked to him. The soldiers revealed that Pekoms was not with the Straw Hats after they set sail from Cacao Island, and they had confirmed that all but two of the Straw Hats were in the Seducing Woods and their capture would be imminent. The soldiers revealed that Brook and Pedro had yet to be caught, and Tamago recognized Pedro as Pedro and Brook grew frightened about their every move being tracked. Tamago told the soldiers to go search for Pekoms, as he wanted to keep his old partner around, and Brook and Pedro continue getting scared about their dire straits.

At the northeastern coast of Whole Cake Island, Capone Bege played around a little with his wife, the 22nd daughter of the Charlotte Family Charlotte Chiffon, and his infant son Capone Pez. Bege then turned his attention to the chained-up Pekoms at the edge of the cliff, and he prepared to dispose of Pekoms, as his compassion and empathy was of no use. Bege asked Pekoms if he had any last words as he pointed the gun at the mink, causing Pez to cry. Pekoms told Bege that underestimating Big Mom would be his downfall, and Bege shot him, causing him to fall into the shark-infested waters below.

Meanwhile, Caesar Clown was brought before Big Mom in the Whole Cake Chateau. Big Mom asked Caesar how his research was going, as he had been commissioned by her to find a way to make her family members the same size as her. However, Caesar had long realized that it was impossible without side effects, as shown with the children he experimented on in Punk Hazard, and so he spent his funds on alcohol and women, counting on Donquixote Doflamingo to protect him. Caesar told Big Mom that Luffy and Trafalgar Law had ruined his research and destroyed his lab, but she replied that she had the Minister of Candy construct and exact, stronger, replica of his old lab. Big Mom gave Caesar two weeks to finish his experiment, shocking him, and her first son Charlotte Perospero, the Minister of Candy, then arrived with Caesar's heart and threatened to turn him into candy with the power of the Pero Pero no Mi should he fail.

As night fell, Luffy crossed the bridge in the Seducing Woods carrying people who looked like Sanji and Pudding, and he wondered why his crewmates were acting so weird as there were two of each of them and they were making animal noises.

In Chocolatown, the citizens were asked a question biannualy: Leave or Life? One woman chose life, and a dark ghostly being removed a small ball from her chest.

Meanwhile, Luffy discovered that the real Nami was among the various figures of his crewmates making animal sounds. Nami revealed to him that Charlotte Brûlée, the woman posing as Luffy, had attacked them, although Nami repelled her with her new Clima-Tact. Carrot then attacked Brûlée, but she created a mirror that reflected Carrot's attack back at her. Brûlée revealed that she ate the Mira Mira no Mi and could create mirrors, and Carrot tried breaking the mirror. However, Brûlée trapped her inside a mirror and revealed that Big Mom knew the Straw Hats were here all this time. It was their mission to let the intruders roam around before showing them the consequences of going against Big Mom. Brûlée then commanded the flora of the forest to come to life and attack, and Chopper tried to buy them time by activating Monster Point as Nami realized how in over their heads they were to go against a Yonko.

In the present, Luffy and Nami spoke with the buried man, wondering what he saw and why he was not attacked. The man revealed that he saw the trees relentlessly attack Chopper, and Nami wondered why the trees eventually stopped chasing her and why they were alive in the first place. The man revealed that every citizen gives up a month's worth of their soul every six months in exchange for safety and protection, which was performed by incarnations of Big Mom's soul that she created with her Devil Fruit, the Soru Soru no Mi. The scattered pieces of soul then made their way everywhere, bringing life to the flora, which were known as Homies, and could also settle into animals like Randolph and the talking crocodile. The man revealed that the animalistic Straw Hat clones were created by Brûlée's ability, however, and Luffy and Nami got frustrated, wanting to know who he was. The man revealed that he was married to Big Mom and gave her two daughters, but was later cast aside. Suddenly, the tenth son of the Charlotte Family and one of the Three Sweet Commanders, Charlotte Cracker, arrived and pulled the man out of the ground, angry that he was giving away secrets to the enemy. The man then pleaded with Cracker to let him see his daughters Chiffon and Lola one last time.

Nami realized that Lola was the daughter of Big Mom and the buried man, and Randolph suddenly ambushed the Straw Hats again. However, Cracker brought Randolph down with his voice and berated him for interfering in his fight. Cracker revealed that Big Mom had sent him to ensure the Straw Hats' defeat, as they may have been too much for Brûlée and the homies to handle. This offended Brûlée and the homies, including the master of the Seducing Woods, Baum. Cracker resumed his execution of the buried man, but Luffy blocked Cracker's sword and freed the man. Nami regrouped with the man, who revealed his name to be Pound, and they ran off as the homies chased them. However, Nami pulled out the vivre card Lola had given her, and the power of Big Mom's soul contained within it caused the homies to shrink back in terror. Meanwhile, Cracker overpowered Luffy as he used an ability to multiply his arms, but Luffy was intent on not giving up or holding back against him.

Cracker easily overwhelmed Luffy with his sword, Pretzel, and his Busoshoku Haki. Nami became more and more frightened at the power they were facing, and Brûlée confronted her, saying that just like the rest of the Worst Generation, they would hit a wall in Big Mom. Fellow Supernovas: Eustass Kid, Scratchmen Apoo, Capone Bege, and Urouge had previously entered Big Mom's territory, and Bege became subservient to them while the rest fled. The only one to make an impact was Urouge, who had defeated one of the former Four Sweet Commanders. However, Cracker was sent in and Urouge was forced to flee. Brûlée threw a mirror down in front of Nami and emerged from it, grabbing Nami and attempting to pull her inside. However, Pound attacked Brûlée and freed Nami, and Brûlée stated that Pound was now an enemy of the Charlotte Family. Nami then struck Brûlée with Thunderbolt Tempo, and the homies ran away from her in fear as Luffy and Cracker continued fighting. Cracker continued to overwhelm Luffy, until his taunts concerning Sanji's royal status antagonized Luffy into activating Gear Fourth; Luffy then successfully hit Cracker with Kong Gun, sending him tumbling away.

Cracker got up and tried attacking, but Luffy split him in half with another punch. However, a figure emerged from one half of Cracker's body and cut Luffy's outstretched arm, sending him recoiling in pain. Cracker then showed his true body to Luffy, revealing that he was actually inhabiting a suit of biscuit armor with the power of the Bisu Bisu no Mi. Cracker reveled in his great power as he created biscuit puppets identical to his old suit of armor. Luffy attacked the puppets, and Cracker had them shield him as he leaped out from behind them and jabbed Pretzel at Luffy, narrowly missing his head. Meanwhile, Nami stood confidently on King Baum as she continued forcing the homies to shrink back in terror at Lola's Vivre Card.

Inside Brûlée's Mirro-World, Chopper developed a plan, having realized that this pocket dimension connected to all the mirrors on Whole Cake Island. He and Carrot then decided to use Brûlée's power against her. As night fell, Brook and Pedro hid inside a biscuit soldier patrolling Sweet City in order to infiltrate the Whole Cake Chateau.

The Day Before the Wedding: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire
The next morning, Big Mom went over the plans for the Vinsmoke Family to meet with hers, saying that rescuing Sanji would be impossible once he entered the Chateau. Meanwhile, Vinsmoke Ichiji and Niji arrived at the Germa Kingdom, receiving a hero's welcome from Germa 66. Ichiji and Niji wished to see Sanji again, and Sanji began trembling upon seeing them.

The Vinsmoke Family ate breakfast together, discussing the war in Broc Coli Island and the possibility of being barred from Reverie if their goal is achieved. Sanji told Niji to eat the food left on his plate, but Niji refused, causing Sanji to get angry. Annoyed at Sanji's actions, Niji complained to the head chef Cosette that Sanji ruined his food as he threw his plate at her. Sanji caught the plate as the food fell on the floor, and he examined it before eating it, calling it delicious. This appalled Cosette and Niji, and the latter attempted to kick Sanji, but was told to stop by Judge. Niji, Ichiji, and Judge berated Sanji for bringing shame to their royal status, but Sanji replied that he was shamed to be associated with them. Judge then held up a picture of Zeff, revealing to Sanji that he would have the chef killed if he continued challenging and defying them. As Sanji remembered Zeff raising him, Judge told him to make himself presentable for their lunch meeting with Big Mom and Pudding.

Sanji later discovered Cosette unconscious and severely beaten, causing him to seethe in rage at Niji. Yonji then appeared and offered to take Sanji to Niji, but ended up taking him to a large facility containing dozens of clones inside large tanks. Yonji revealed to Sanji that Judge was a brilliant scientist who worked with Vegapunk and several others before they were born. They had discovered the lineage factor of living organisms, allowing them to manipulate genetics and create clones. When the World Government discovered this, they arrested Vegapunk and drove the others apart; Judge escaped and continued this research on his own, creating the incredibly loyal Germa 66 soldiers that caused other nations to envy them. Sanji expressed his disgust for this as Ichiji and Niji entered the room, mocking Sanji for his continued weakness. An enraged Sanji attacked Niji for beating Cosette, but Niji quickly retaliated as Sanji was unable to fight back due to Ichiji threatening Zeff's life. Sanji's siblings mocked his dedication to Cosette, and Ichiji reminded him that he would always be the failure of the family.

Many years ago, Judge prepared to train the very young Reiju, Ichiji, Niji, Sanji, and Yonji in order to get them to surpass human limitations. However, Sanji continually lagged behind his siblings, and was beaten up and by his brothers as a result. As time went on, Judge observed notable progress in everyone except Sanji, who still retained the human traits he had at birth. Judge found Sanji in his room feeding a rat, and he angrily berated Sanji for preparing food, saying that Sanji had no option but to train even harder in order to catch up with his siblings. He then blew the rat and the food out the window as he told Sanji to never make food again, causing him to cry. Sanji continued to fail to progress, causing Judge to pretend his son died in an accident; in the meantime, he had Sanji locked up in an iron mask forever in order to begin a new life where his third son was effectively never born.

Sanji remained in the cell for six months, though he was still given fancy meals. He remembered when he started cooking in order to feed his sick mother, and how many obstacles he faced in getting his first dish to her. By the time he got to the medical ward, his dish was ruined, and the nurse Époni did not think it was safe for his mother to eat. However, Sanji's mother ate all of it and complimented it, wanting more. She eventually died, and while he was inside his cell, Sanji got cookbooks and utensils as he learned more about cooking. However, his brothers discovered him and resumed bullying him, and Reiju tended to his wounds, revealing that they were heading to the East Blue across the Red Line. Sanji wanted to escape, and Reiju bent the bars of his cell. As Germa 66 attacked the island of Cozia, Sanji looked for the keys to take off his iron mask, when he was confronted by Judge. Judge allowed Sanji to leave, but requested that Sanji never identify himself as his son. Sanji and Reiju went outside as Reiju told her distraught brother to run to a nearby cruise ship and not look back, which Sanji did in tears.

Back in the present, Sanji's brothers left him as Reiju approached, ordering the doctors away from Sanji and expressing her disappointment that her brother was reduced to this because of his loyalty toward Zeff.

Meanwhile, Luffy and Cracker continued their 11-hour fight, with a now-obese Luffy adopting a strategy of fighting, running, and eating Cracker's Biscuit Soldiers, which annoyed the Sweet Commander. Luffy was intent on chipping away at Cracker's stamina, while Cracker eagerly waited for Luffy to explode from overeating. Cracker created more Biscuit Soldiers as he told King Baum that his insubordination would be reported to Big Mom, and Baum stated that Nami and her Vivre Card were keeping them at bay. However, Cracker did not accept that excuse and complained that with the homies' help, Nami was able to produce rain that made his Biscuit Soldiers edible. Nami told him to stop complaining as she created rain yet again, and even though Luffy's stomach was at its limit, he continued eating the Biscuit Soldiers. Meanwhile, the people of Sweet City talked in shock as many of them had seen Chopper and Carrot run inside their mirrors. Inside the mirror world, Brûlée chased Chopper and Carrot with a scythe.

In the Germa Kingdom, Reiju repaired Sanji's swollen face with a shock mask in order to make him more suitable for the gift exchange with the Charlotte Family, and she asked him where he got his chivalry from. Sanji replied that he was simply following an age-old rule as he recalled Zeff teaching him that men are never meant to hit women. Sanji was then brought outside to travel to the Whole Cake Chateau with his family, and the Germa 66 soldiers cheered him on and wished him luck.

Back at the Seducing Woods, Cracker prepared to finish the battle as he charged at Luffy himself, but Luffy expanded even more as he activated a new form of Gear Fourth known as Tankman: Full Version. Cracker and his attack were fully absorbed into Luffy's large body, and Luffy shot Cracker out through his remaining Biscuit Soldiers into the far-off distance, severely injuring Cracker in the process.

Cracker flew into the Whole Cake Chateau, shocking the citizens and his siblings Mont-d'Or, Opera, and Galette, who deduced that Luffy had sent him there and activated a lockdown of Sweet City. In the Seducing Woods, Nami was excited that Luffy managed to defeat Cracker, and Luffy began shrinking as Gear Fourth dramatically burned calories. However, Pound warned Nami that they would surely attract Big Mom's wrath, as when former Sweet Commander Snack was defeated, Big Mom summoned a thunderstorm while Cracker's fleet attacked, causing Urouge to be swiftly defeated. Big Mom had two entities, Zeus the thundercloud and Prometheus the sun, at her side, allowing her to control the weather. However, Luffy did not care and ordered King Baum to take him to the Whole Cake Chateau.

As the Germa Kingdom carriage approached Sweet City, Luffy and Nami rode Baum out of the Seducing Woods. Nami communicated with Chopper and Carrot through a mirror shard, and they assured her that everything was all right, although their screams suggested otherwise. The connection was cut off, and the Germa 66 troops noticed Baum running towards them. Excited to see Sanji again, Luffy then jumped off of Baum and onto the Germa carriage. As the Germa guards confronted Luffy, Sanji looked stressed as he considered the implications of escaping. As Nami called out to Sanji, he suddenly kicked Luffy off the carriage. Sanji told Luffy that he had fully embraced his royal heritage, including his last name, and degraded his crewmates as lowly pirates. Luffy did not believe what Sanji was saying, and the two prepared to fight.

Sanji continued degrading Luffy as he kicked him in the face with Diable Jambe, sending Luffy flying back. Luffy refused to fight Sanji, but also refused to leave him, and Sanji kicked him again. Nami shouted at Sanji to stop mistreating Luffy after all he had went through, but Luffy interrupted her, not caring about the outcome. Sanji assaulted Luffy with a barrage of kicks, with both sides refusing to give ground. Sanji then leaped into the air and smashed an axe kick into Luffy's head, knocking his captain out. Nami then approached Sanji and slapped him in anguish before letting him go on his way. Judge remarked that Sanji had severed his old bonds as Sanji returned to the carriage to resume its travel. Suddenly, Luffy got up and yelled at Sanji, saying that he knew Sanji was lying and that he would stay in this location until Sanji returned. Luffy further stated that he would not resume his quest to become the Pirate King without his cook and resolved to stay there. Sanji broke down in tears while hearing his captain's words.

As Luffy remained in his spot, thunderclouds started forming as Zeus and Prometheus went to work creating a thunderstorm. As the Germa Kingdom carriage entered Sweet City, they ran into a massive army of Big Mom Pirates. Niji and Yonji were happy at the thought of the Straw Hats meeting their ends at the hands of the army, especially against heavyweights like Bobbin, Amande, and Mont-d'Or. The thunderclouds began pouring down sweetened rain, which Luffy refused to ingest at all.

In the Whole Cake Chateau, Big Mom's daughter Anana asked her for knives so she could mutilate her stuffed animal. Big Mom told her sons Dolce and Dragée to get them for her and did not care for their complaints, being fine with her daughter's psychotic behavior. She then headed into a dining hall to begin the lunch meeting with Pudding and the Vinsmoke Family. The exchange went well, but Pudding gave a note to Sanji which told him to meet her alone later. Later, they talked in Pudding's quarters, with Sanji revealing that due to the precarious situation he is in, he has decided to cut himself off from everyone he cares about in order to protect them. Pudding sympathized with Sanji, and he resolved to continue with his life as best he can by marrying her tomorrow.

Luffy and Nami took on Big Mom's army in battle, and Nami managed to summon a massive lightning bolt, but Galette immobilized her with a liquid substance. Meanwhile, Amande attacked King Baum, vertically bisecting him slowly in order to make him feel maximum pain. As Mont-d'Or mocked Luffy while standing on floating books, Opera attacked the pirate with massive amounts of cream. By increasing the cream's "sweetness", Opera burned Luffy, and the pirate attempted to strike back. However, Mont-d'Or put Luffy inside the setting of a book, preventing him from seeing his attackers. As Luffy snapped out of the illusion, he was punched from both the front and back by two Big Mom Pirates, sending him falling to the ground. Amande then acquired Lola's Vivre Card from Nami, and the Big Mom Pirates were shocked to see Lola's name on it, wondering if the Straw Hats had killed her. They then took the Straw Hats back to Sweet City to report to Big Mom. Luffy refused to come along, causing one of the pirates to stomp on his head.

In the Whole Cake Chateau, Big Mom agreed to a deal with Sanji that she would let his crewmates go in exchange for his complicit participation in the wedding, despite the Straw Hats' egregious actions against her. Meanwhile, inside the Room of Treasure, Tamago and Sweet Commander Charlotte Smoothie guarded the three poneglyphs in the room, one of which was a Road Poneglyph. Tamago braced for Pedro's invasion, recalling how the mink escaped Totto Land five years ago as a result of Pekoms' help. Brook overheard the exchange with his detached soul, and he reported Smoothie's presence to Pedro in the alcohol storehouse. Pedro grew increasingly concerned as their chances of stealing the poneglyph grew smaller and smaller, but Brook was intent on pressing on as a return trip would be almost impossible. Knowing that Tamago knew of Pedro's existence, the two decided for Pedro to act as the bait in their mission.

Inside Brûlée's house in the Mirro-World, Brûlée hung Carrot over a hot cauldron as she and the homies prepared to cook and eat the mink while Chopper sat in chains. However, since Chopper was chained up in Heavy Point, he knew he could escape by transforming and prepared to make his move.

Meanwhile, Big Mom took the Vinsmoke Family, sans Sanji, to her library, where she kept living creatures, including sentient ones, inside large books with Mont-d'Or's ability. Judge then asked her why, despite Totto Land's diversity, he had not seen a giant. Big Mom briefly became enraged, but quickly returned to normal, saying that he had just happened to miss seeing any. Big Mom then took her leave to handle other business, and in the Prisoner Library nearby, Mont-d'Or, Bobbin, Perospero, Opera, and Galette turned opened a book containing the imprisoned Luffy and Nami, and set down a Den Den Mushi for Big Mom to talk to them. Luffy immediately shouted at and challenged Big Mom, but she stated her intention to let them go after the wedding so long as they did not disrupt it. She revealed that a great Fishman Island national treasure called the Tamatebako was given to her by Luffy after he ate all her candy there, and stated her intention to open it at the wedding. Luffy asked to see Pudding, but Big Mom was incredulous that the two of them were friends. She then asked Nami if she really killed Lola, and Nami denied this, revealing Lola's wish for them to tell Big Mom she was well. However, an angry Big Mom revealed that she hated Lola and would send hired assassins after her if she knew her location. This was because Lola ran away from a political marriage that would have given Big Mom the power to take down the other Yonko and become Pirate King; Big Mom continued getting angry and swore to get Lola's location out of Nami later. However, Luffy continued challenging her, saying he would rescue Sanji and defeat her.

Meanwhile, Sanji sat in a guest room, hoping that his crewmates were safe. In the Room of Treasure, Pedro appeared before the guards, who rushed to attack him. While Pedro served as a distraction, Brook prepared to unleash his plan.

Big Mom hung up from her call, but refused to be angry at Luffy's defiance due to her excitement at getting the Tamatebako, wedding cake, and control of Germa 66 tomorrow. However, her hat reported to her that someone was causing a ruckus near the Room of Treasure, causing Big Mom to become angry. Meanwhile, Anglais rode into the Prisoner Library and told his older siblings that there is an intruder in the Room of Treasure.

In the guest room, Sanji assured himself of the safety of his crewmates and the Baratie, and tried to stop worrying in order to make Pudding happy, wanting to solely focus on her. Meanwhile, Pudding was told by an attendant that Big Mom had rejected her wedding dress pick and chose one herself; Pudding recalled how much control Big Mom was taking over her ceremony. As she stepped out into the sweet rain, she remembered Lola's departure; Lola had claimed that Big Mom would never hurt her since they were family, and she wanted to choose her own marriage.

Meanwhile, after taking down many security guards in the Room of Treasure, Pedro raced through the halls, cutting down more guards with his sword. He then ran up a wall, past several guards who were shooting at him, and threw a bomb at the shooters before landing back on the floor. Tamago kept in contact with the soldiers, planning to lead Pedro to the garden and trap him there. He then received a call from Smoothie, who revealed that Brook had snuck into the Room of Treasure and locked her out. Smoothie decided to lay in wait since there was only one exit, and Tamago told her to capture Brook alive so he could be placed in Big Mom's collection. Inside the Room of Treasure, Brook confronted the remaining security guards, and the Chess Soldiers raced to attack him. However, Brook played his guitar, amplifying his soul and suppressing the souls in the Chess Soldiers.

Pudding went to the Prisoner Library and requested to talk to Luffy and Nami, and she entered their cell via an opening created by a bookmark. Pudding apologized for the harm her siblings had inflicted on the Straw Hats, and apologized for not meeting them on the coast like they agreed. She revealed that Sanji had proposed to her, but stated that she knew he did not truly want to marry her and so she would not marry him. She then whispered something to Luffy and Nami, which shocked them, and Pudding said goodbye as she left their cell in tears.

In the Vinsmoke Family's guest room, Yonji noted that Reiju had left before asking where Sanji and Pudding would live. Judge replied that they would live in Germa Kingdom, in order to prevent Big Mom from taking advantage of them after the marriage was complete, and her trying the same tactic would not work since they did not care about Sanji. Niji looked forward to living with his brother again.

Meanwhile, Brûlée prepared to drop Carrot into a pot of boiling soup and cook her. However, it was revealed through Chopper that the Carrot hanging over the pot was actually a frog that Brûlée used her powers to turn into a body double of Carrot. The real Carrot was up in the attic, and as Randolph prepared to cut the rope holding Carrot's double over the soup, Carrot threw a rock at him. Brûlée was confused and angry about Randolph's sudden fall, and Carrot took advantage of her distraction to drop down and kick the pot at her, dousing her in the boiling soup and defeating her. In the midst of the chaos, Chopper activated Brain Point and became small again, allowing him to escape his chains and eat a Rumble Ball. Randolph and some of his comrades raced to help Brûlée, but Carrot defeated them with a large electric shock. Chopper then defeated the Noble Croc by flipping him over onto more of Brûlée's subordinates, and Diesel raced to report the incident to Big Mom. However, Carrot caught up to him and put her hands over his eyes, causing him to crash. Chopper and Carrot celebrated their victory and prepared to use the mirror world to visit their allies.

Meanwhile, Sanji prepared to cook food for Pudding in order to cheer her up. Inside the Room of Treasure, Brook defeated the remaining security guards before entering the cage containing the poneglyphs. However, Big Mom came and broke through the door of the room to confront Brook herself, and she immediately became fascinated with his unusual body. Meanwhile, Pedro was surrounded by Big Mom's forces, and Tamago confronted him. The two uncovered their eyes, revealing that they had both lost their left eyes the last time they met. Tamago wondered why Pedro returned to Totto Land, especially after he had 50 years of his lifespan removed the last time he came five years ago. However, Pedro revealed that he did not intend to return from Totto Land alive this time.

Meanwhile, Reiju was severely injured and struggled to move down a hallway.

The Truth About the Wedding: Race to a Reunion
Chopper and Carrot appeared in mirrors all across Sweet City, frightening the citizens. Inside the Mirro-World, they rode on a cart pulled by Diesel, and searched for the mirrors leading to the Whole Cake Chateau. Due to their lack of success, they tried reviving Brûlée to guide them as they continued searching.

Inside Sanji's guestroom, he finished a bento for Pudding and gleefully went out to meet her. Meanwhile in the Prisoner Library, Luffy pulled at the stake binding his arms to the cell and twisted around. Nami pleaded with him to stop before he tore his hands off, but Luffy intended to do this as it was the only thing that would prevent him from waiting there to be rescued and possibly killed.

In the third floor courtyard, Pedro and Tamago began their duel, with each combatant intending to inflict more than the loss of an eye on their opponent. Pedro remembered his crew's defeat on Totto Land five years ago, with Pekoms having joined the Big Mom Pirates and his comrade Zepo being forced to spin a roulette wheel. The wheel landed on 100 years of life, and Big Mom pulled Zepo's lifespan out. Since Zepo only had 30 years left to live, Big Mom still had to take out 70 years of Pedro's life. However, Pekoms' begging caused her to shorten it to 60, and Pedro atoned for taking out Tamago's eye by removing his own. Admiring Pedro's spirit, Big Mom decided to remove 50 years of his life, allowing him to keep living. Pedro had wished to keep living so he could return home and witness the dawn of this world, and in the present, when Tamago asked him why he had returned, he replied that he believed the Straw Hats would bring about the dawn. While Pedro was fine with not returning from Totto Land alive, he was intent on staying alive until the Straw Hats accomplished their goals. He then raced toward Tamago and bisected him horizontally, causing a giant yolk to fall out.

The door homie to Pudding's room refused to allow Sanji in, and he decided to go out to the balcony and give Pudding her gifts through the window. As he came to the window, he heard Pudding laughing and was shocked to see her talking to Reiju. Pudding gleefully cried out that she was only acting and never intended to marry Sanji, and her bangs were swept away, revealing a third eye on her forehead. In the Prisoner Library, Luffy continued trying to free himself and cursed Pudding. It was revealed that Pudding had whispered to them that she was going to kill Sanji during the wedding, and Luffy was intent on freeing himself and stopping her. Meanwhile, Pudding mocked Reiju, who was trapped in her chair by Nitro, for her family's foolishness in arranging this deal. In order to get their hands on Germa Kingdom's advanced technology, the Big Mom Pirates would massacre the Vinsmoke Family during the wedding ceremony. Pudding continued mocking Sanji and the Vinsmokes, and made various shocked faces to mockingly predict how Sanji would react when she revealed her true colors during the wedding ceremony, which caused her homies Nitro and Rabian to laugh hysterically. Outside, Sanji tried lighting a cigarette as tears fell down his face, but the rain made the cigarette too wet to light.

In the Room of Treasure, Big Mom easily overwhelmed Brook with Zeus and Prometheus. However, Brook kept getting back up, and Big Mom asked him why he was going after her Poneglyphs and not after Sanji. Brook replied that due to Sanji's desire to not be rescued and save everyone else, and due to Luffy's willingness to do anything to achieve his dreams, the two were best left to decide Sanji's rescue alone. As he stood before Big Mom, Brook stated that his mission had purpose as well, as even if Sanji was not rescued, they could still honor him by achieving something during their voyage here. Big Mom replied that death would be the worst-case scenario, but Brook chided her that no scenario should ever include one's death. Meanwhile, in Mirro-World, Carrot revived Brûlée by tickling her, and she and Chopper asked where the mirrors that led to the castle were. Brûlée had forgotten, but she told them they could communicate with the mirrors. Chopper and Carrot found the mirrors that led to the castle, but none of the mirrors knew who their teammates were, so Carrot prepared to sketch portraits of them.

Meanwhile, in order to prevent Reiju from dying or telling anyone about her true plans, Pudding used the power of the Memo Memo no Mi to reach into her head and pull out a strip of film containing her memories. Pudding then cut away Reiju's memories about their encounter, and replaced them with a soldier's memory of being hit by a stray bullet in order to explain Reiju being shot, before sending her to the infirmary. Meanwhile, inside the Prisoner Library, Luffy continued to strain and harm his arms, and Opera approached their cell. Opera had received orders from Big Mom to get Lola's location from Nami by the end of the day. Nami refused to sell out her friend, and Opera prepared to shoot her with a crossbow every five seconds until she answered. Suddenly, Jinbe entered the Prisoner Library, and Opera told him that he was not allowed on the castle grounds, but Jinbe only responded by apologizing before hitting Opera in the stomach with a powerful Gosenmaigawara Seiken. Revealing that he came after he heard Luffy and Nami were imprisoned, Jinbe prepared to free the two of them. Jinbe set the book they were in on fire, freeing all the prisoners from their bonds but setting them ablaze. He doused Luffy and Nami with Fishman Karate, and revealed to them that his crew worked under Big Mom. However, he had taken care of his unfinished business, and was now willing to revolt. As Big Mom's forces raced to address the disturbance in the Prisoner Library, Luffy struggled to get up due to his hunger, but went and raced toward the enemy pirates in order to find Sanji and let him know about Pudding's deception, despite Jinbe's warnings.

In the infirmary, Reiju regained consciousness and struggled to remember how she was injured. Sanji then revealed the truth about her injury, and Reiju believed him, having had suspicions on Pudding for acting too nice. Sanji broke down when reflecting on how he and Luffy were tricked, but Reiju stated that she would not say anything and let the Big Mom Pirates execute their plan against Germa 66. Sanji protested since she would die too, but Reiju shrugged it off and told him to escape and rejoin the Straw Hats. Sanji pointed out the threat on Baratie, but Reiju said it would be dealt with afterwards. Reiju recalled a memory of their mother, Sora arguing against their father. Sora intended on keeping their children human while Judge did not care about humanity, only their potential as war machines. Sora was eventually forced to go through the surgery that would turn Sanji and his brothers into emotionless killing machines, but tried working against it by taking a drug that was intended to conteract the surgery's effects. However, the drug only worked on Sanji, with Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji gaining the effects of the surgery and slowly losing their emotions. Sora got weaker due to using the drug, and Sanji was shocked that he was the reason she died, but Reiju assured him that their mother regretted nothing. When Reiju had once visited the bedridden Sora, Sora became hysterical as she recalled the time Sanji gave her a meal. Eventually, Sora died and Judge blamed Sanji for Sora's death and treated him as worthless. However, in the present, Reiju stated that Sanji was Sora's success due to receiving emotions and actually becoming human.

Meanwhile, Luffy raced through the Whole Cake Chateau, choking one of the Big Mom Pirates and trying to get Sanji's location out of him. Outside the Room of Treasure, Smoothie received reports of Jinbe's attack on the Whole Cake Chateau, and she ordered her soldiers to deal with the problem and not tell Big Mom about it, as Big Mom finding out yet another problem would cause her to react in an unthinkable manner. She told one of her soldiers to completely seal off the third floor in order to trap and fight the rebels, and they planned to kill the attackers for efficiency. Back in the infirmary, Reiju told Sanji to abandon his family, as they did not deserve to live and Big Mom would still treat him horribly. Sanji understood this, but did not want Reiju to die. However, despite having emotions, Reiju said that she had to obey her family and deserved to die for her actions as well. Reiju then revealed that the wristlets were fakes and encouraged Sanji to return to the Straw Hats. As this happened, Luffy continued battling through the enemy pirates while making his way through the Chateau.

In the Room of Treasure, Big Mom captured and started caressing Brook, revealing that Zeus, Prometheus, and her hat Napoleon were imbued with her own soul, protecting them from Brook's Devil Fruit power. The Chess Soldiers failed to find anything in Brook's clothing and cylinder, and Big Mom happily forgave Brook, being relieved that her Poneglyphs were not stolen again. In the past, Gol D. Roger had read her Poneglyphs using the Voice of All Things, allowing him to beat her to Raftel, and she swore to never let that happen again. However, Big Mom now had someone who could develop the same ability to read the poneglyphs, and that person, Pudding, came into the room right at that moment. Big Mom asked Pudding if her third eye had achieved true opening, and an exasperated Pudding said there was no guarantee since she was a half-breed and was not a full member of the Three-Eye Tribe. Pudding then asked Big Mom if they could talk in private.

In the third floor courtyard, Tamago evolved into Viscount Hiyoko with the Tama Tama no Mi, gaining a chicken beak and wings. However, Pedro quickly cut him in half, but the yolk began evolving into its next form, Count Niwatori. The Big Mom Pirates claimed that Niwatori was a "true knight" who could quickly defeat Pedro, but to their shock, Pedro immediately went to attack Niwatori before it finished evolving. They raced to defend Niwatori, but Pedro pulled out a line of explosives, causing a massive explosion that engulfed the Big Mom Pirates. However, Pedro was pulled into a mirror by Chopper and Carrot, having encountered them and planned his strategy earlier in the battle. Pedro revealed to them that Luffy and Nami were captured and that Brook was likely in trouble, and Carrot asked the mirrors to lead them to the other three by holding up a very effeminate picture of the team. The mirrors then revealed that Nami was with Jinbe.

Meanwhile, as Luffy ran through the Chateau, Reiju pulled him into the infirmary room, where she revealed that they had found out about Pudding's deception but Sanji was still hung up about the threats on his crewmates and the Baratie. Willing to do anything to help Sanji, Luffy jumped out the window. Meanwhile, Sanji recalled the threats on his friends and his attack on Luffy, saying there was no way to go back now. Luffy landed on someone's house, destroying it, and intended to return to the spot where he promised to be waiting for Sanji. In the Chateau, Jinbe and Nami ran from Big Mom's forces, who were intending to surround them, though were surprised to see Jinbe rebelling against them. Nami shocked several pirates with lightning, but ended up shocking Chopper as well, who had emerged from a nearby mirror to rescue them. Nami and Jinbe went into the Mirro-World, and Jinbe revealed that he had avoided spinning the roulette wheel because it would have meant certain death for him. Brûlée affirmed this, saying that no one left Big Mom's crew alive, but was interrupted as the team set off to search for Luffy, Sanji, and Brook.

In the Queen's Chambers, Big Mom commended Brook for being the first one to injure her three top homies, and decided to keep him with her due to being mesmerized by him. Brook then witnessed as Pudding revealed her true nature and she and Big Mom went over their plan to assassinate the Vinsmoke Family. Big Mom had given the Vinsmokes lots of alcohol to intoxicate them, and Pudding had verified the candy jacket bullets' capabilities. Once Sanji lifted up Pudding's veil, he would be taken aback by her third eye, allowing her to shoot him through the head and give the others the signal to start shooting the rest of the Vinsmokes.

A Chess Soldier peeked into Sanji's room and saw someone sleeping there, so it reported that Sanji was asleep. However, the person in the bed was actually Sanji's attendant. Meanwhile, Mont-d'Or held a meeting with some of the Big Mom Pirates to address the status of the Sanji Retrieval Team and the Vinsmoke Family. Count Niwatori, who had survived Pedro's explosion, reported Pedro's supposed death, while Chopper and Carrot were assumed to still be in Brûlée's custody. Mont-d'Or then inquired about Luffy and Nami's situation, as they were supposedly imprisoned but he had heard rumors about them escaping with Jinbe. However, Opera lied that he burned Luffy and Nami to death and never saw Jinbe in order to save face and avoid punishment. With the Vinsmokes in their rooms and the Sanji Retrieval Team seemingly eliminated, Mont-d'Or adjourned the meeting, but told the Chess Soldiers to keep a patrol going since he did not trust Opera.

Reiju looked out of the window at Sweet City, where Luffy was stumbling back to the spot where he would wait for Sanji. In the Chateau, Sanji accepted his oncoming death since it would be the best way to keep his friends safe. However, Bobbin appeared and was shocked to see Sanji not in his room as he took a piece of meat from Sanji's bento basket. Remembering how Luffy swore to not eat anything unless Sanji made it, Sanji became angry and kicked Bobbin into the wall. Bobbin was shocked by Sanji's actions, and Sanji, not knowing why he did it himself, grabbed the bento basket and started to run. Bobbin's crewmates raced to see what was going on, but Bobbin put them to sleep, intent on going after Sanji himself.

Meanwhile, the Sanji retrieval team in Mirro-World found Big Mom holding Brook as she slept in her bed. Brûlée tried calling out to her mother, but she and Diesel were bound and gagged. The Sanji retrieval team watched as a half-asleep Big Mom crushed a fly buzzing around, followed by her top homies viciously attacking the spot where the fly was, and they wondered in shock how they would get Brook back. They then created a fake Brook from another skeleton and seaweed in order to replace the real Brook with it. Chopper snuck up to Big Mom, but sneezed, causing her to attack his location. Carrot then tried, but was caught off-guard by Big Mom's movement and attacked by Zeus, who thought she was the fly. Pedro was forced to retreat when Big Mom started tossing and turning, but she dropped Brook on the ground. Nami then went to wake up Brook, but he screamed when he saw the fake Brook, causing Big Mom to wake up. Still believing the intruders were the fly she had attacked earlier, Big Mom threw Prometheus at Nami and Brook, but the two of them were pulled into Mirro-World by Jinbe. Brook then revealed that he had acquired copies of all of Big Mom's Poneglyphs and hid them inside his skull, and his crewmates congratulated him as they headed out to find Sanji.

Meanwhile, Sanji traveled through Sweet City to find Luffy, and he reached the outskirts where Luffy had promised to wait for him. As he walked passed the bodies of the fallen soldiers from Luffy's battle with Big Mom's army, he heard a stomach growling, and saw a weakened Luffy sitting in the promised spot.

In the Mirro-World, the Sanji retrieval team was unable to find Luffy and Sanji from any of the mirrors, and Nami deduced that they may be in the spot where they fought earlier. Jinbe noted when hearing of the fight that Sanji may be hard to retrieve due to his duties as a member of the Vinsmoke Family, but also revealed to the Straw Hats that the wedding ceremony would not actually be happening. He then asked the team about Pekoms. They stated that Pekoms was with them before disappearing, and Jinbe revealed that Pekoms was all right, though would have been killed in a plot had Jinbe not taken action, which shocked Pedro. Meanwhile, in Sweet City, Bobbin was shot by some unknown assailants, and cursed them as he collapsed from his wounds. In the Vinsmoke Family's guest room, Judge and his sons began to taper off on the immense amount of alcohol they consumed, planning to truly party the next night once they were allied with the Big Mom Pirates. They then had a toast to Sanji, reflecting on how the "dud" of the family was finally useful to them. Outside, Mont-d'Or had his Chess Soldiers guard the guest room, ordering them not to let the Vinsmokes contact anyone until the wedding ceremony.

In the outskirts of Sweet City, Sanji fed Luffy the bento he made, and Luffy happily ate it, calling it delicious despite the weather causing it to get soggy. Luffy regained his strength, but Sanji then told him to leave, saying that he could not return to the crew due to attacking his captain, the hostage crisis with Zeff, and his innate desire to save his family from being murdered by Big Mom despite his hatred of them. However, Luffy punched Sanji with great force, shouting at his cook to tell him the truth. Sanji then broke down and confessed that he wanted to return to the crew, but had no way of getting out of this situation by himself. Luffy then offered him his assistance in crashing the wedding tomorrow.

Crashing the Wedding: Alliance With the Fire Tank Pirates
The Sanji retrieval team then found Luffy and Sanji through the mirror shards that Nami had while riding King Baum toward the outskirts of Sweet City. Sanji was shocked that his crewmates were inside the mirror, but had apprehension over facing them again. Luffy talked to his crewmates, affirming that he had Sanji, and they told him everyone was rescued and that Brook had gotten copies of the Poneglyphs. Luffy then revealed that Sanji wanted to crash the wedding and save his family, and the team was shocked at the prospect of confronting Big Mom, but very quickly threw in their support for Sanji, which surprised him.

Jinbe then warned the team that the enemies they had faced were but a fraction of the Big Mom Pirates' forces, and they would also have to deal with the Underworld figures invited to the wedding, but he then brought up Capone Bege. He revealed that the Supernova was once the head of one of the Five Families of the West, five powerful mafia organizations that controlled the Underworld in West Blue. Bege had become infamous in his field for taking down the bosses of rival groups directly, and rather than taking power over the forces he defeated, he was content to watch the chaos as his rivals struggled for power after the attack. The same was now about to happen with Big Mom, as Bege had been placed in charge of security and was now plotting to take her head. Earlier, Bege had approached Pekoms and offered a partnership between the two, but the loyal Pekoms had refused, forcing Bege to shoot him into shark-infested waters to keep the secret safe. Jinbe's crew had managed to rescue Pekoms just in time, and the lion mink was currently recovering. Luffy was angry at Bege's actions, but Jinbe stated that it was in their best interests to go along with Bege's already established plan, so Luffy reluctantly agreed despite his crews' protests. Meanwhile, Bege and his crew sat in their hideout, ready to meet with Luffy. Bege was open to working with his fellow Supernova, but had no qualms with eliminating Luffy if he got out of hand.

At the Whole Cake Chateau, Streusen, Big Mom's head chef, put the finishing touches on the wedding cake. In the eastern inlet of the island, the Sun Pirates tended to the injured Pekoms. Pekoms asked if Jinbe would ensure Bege got his retribution at the hands of Big Mom, but he remained suspicious that the Sun Pirates were lying to him and protested against them forcing him to stay.

Meanwhile, Luffy and Sanji reached the Fire Tank Pirates' base, where they were greeted by Vito. They and their teammates that had emerged from the Mirro-World were all forced to bathe themselves before they could meet with Bege. In the women's bath, Chiffon talked with Nami and Carrot, expressing her happiness to hear about Lola's well-being. She revealed that Big Mom had always had a bad relationship with giants for some reason, but one day Loki, the prince of Elbaf, came and proposed to Lola. Not only could Big Mom improve her relationship with the giants, but she would also gain control over Elbaf's military, reputed as one of the strongest in the world. When Lola ran away to pursue her own husband, Big Mom tried substituting Chiffon, but the giants discovered the trick and the marriage was annulled, with relations growing worse than before. Due to Chiffon's resemblance to Lola, Big Mom began abusing her, and now Chiffon did not consider her as family anymore to the point where she felt no emotion at her planned assassination. The Sanji retrieval team then emerged from the baths, with Luffy and Brook healing their injuries with milk. The captive Brûlée and Diesel reacted with outrage to Chiffon's participation in Bege's plan, but Chiffon reminded them of what Big Mom did to her.

The Straw Hats then met with the Fire Tank Pirates, and Luffy recognized Caesar Clown among them. Caesar futilely tried disguising himself as "Gangster" Gastino, but eventually admitted that Bege had freed him from Big Mom in exchange for his help in the plot. Luffy then tried to punch Bege for shooting Pekoms, which caused an uproar, but Jinbe quickly calmed everyone down as Luffy, Bege, and Caesar went over Bege's plan.

Bege presented a weapon that Caesar created, the KX Launcher, which would quickly kill Big Mom once it penetrated her. However, the problem was that Big Mom was like an "iron balloon" who was unaffected by bullets and even cannonballs. However, she did have a weakness in a portrait of Mother Carmel, which she kept across the table from her at every tea party. If the portrait was damaged, she would suffer a mental breakdown and unleash a shriek that would cause everyone nearby to collapse. Her body would also be significantly more susceptible to injury during the breakdown. Thus, Bege planned to cut the portrait in half, and with earplugs in his ears, he could gun down Big Mom in a five second window. However, it would take three seconds for Big Mom to react to the portrait's damage, so he would use Luffy as bait in order to keep Big Mom's forces occupied in that time. Luffy agreed to fill the role, and planned a grand entrance that he would make once Pudding shot her gun, which Sanji would dodge. Once Big Mom was killed, Caesar would emerge from the mirrors with Brûlée's assistance, and they would escape to their ships, where the alliance would be disbanded.

With two and a half hours before the wedding, Sanji returned to the Whole Cake Chateau to prepare for it. The people all around Totto Land celebrated the wedding as Big Mom's guests began flowing to the Chateau, and Big Mom herself was distraught when she believed Brook to be dead, but quickly tossed his substitute aside when she realized it was the wedding day. Meanwhile, Pudding sat in her wedding dress sullenly, not looking forward to having to alter everyone's memories to portray her as a good girl.

Story Impact

 * Some characters make their first appearances after the timeskip. The characters (in the order they were reintroduced) are: Dracule Mihawk, Aladine, Yasopp, Shanks, Benn Beckman, and Rockstar.
 * More of the relationship between the Big Mom Pirates and Charlotte Family, and the Germa Kingdom and Vinsmoke Family are established:
 * It is revealed that the reason Big Mom wants access to Germa 66 is because of the advanced technology they possess.
 * Unknown to both families, the other has a hidden agenda.
 * The Vinsmoke Family plans to take Pudding hostage after the wedding.
 * Big Mom only wants the Vinsmoke Family's technology for herself and wants to massacre them during the wedding along with the Straw Hats.
 * Reiju is the first to learn of this when she discovered the Big Mom Pirate's plans while investigating Charlotte Pudding, and though Pudding captures her, and used her Devil Fruit powers to alter Reiju's memories, Sanji later helped her realize the truth.
 * Sanji's family, the Vinsmoke Family, is formally introduced:
 * The family includes Sanji's younger brother Yonji, older sister Reiju, older brothers Niji and Ichji, father Vinsmoke Judge and mother Sora who is deceased.
 * The Vinsmoke Family is a royal family that once ruled all of North Blue with their military might.
 * Even though they currently have no land to rule, they remain the ruling family of a World Government-recognized nation and are thus invitees to Reverie, though they would lose those rights if the World Government discovers their alliance with Big Mom.
 * The Germa Kingdom is shown to be the world's only seafaring kingdom, whose territory is made up of the dozens of ships of its military arm, Germa 66.
 * Judge's dream is for his family to conquer North Blue once again.
 * Sanji had an unpleasant past with the Vinsmoke Family in which he was bullied by his brothers and considered worthless by his father, as it was revealed that Sanji and his siblings were genetically modified as children with only Sanji being considered a failed specimen as he was still a regular human. Despite this however, as well as his own personal feelings of preferring not to help them, Sanji chose to help his family against the Big Mom Pirates, as he would rather not let them die needlessly.
 * Due to Sanji's failures, Judge masked him and locked him in a dungeon before claiming to the kingdom that Sanji had died in an accident.
 * The reason Sanji wanted to be a chef was revealed as a tribute to his late mother due to the fact she complimented him on the meal he made for her and was willing to have food he made before she died.
 * Sanji left after the Germa Kingdom crossed the Red Line into the East Blue.
 * Reiju helped Sanji escape the dungeon and Judge allowed him to go.
 * It is revealed that Vinsmoke Judge has been searching for Sanji since he left the family at a young age.
 * It is revealed that Sanji's father was the one who sent the Marines that mistakenly attacked Duval, and later ordered the change from "Dead or Alive" to “Only Alive” on Sanji’s bounty poster.
 * It is revealed that Sora was against Judge in turning their children into emotionless beings and their modifications were done against her will.
 * She attempted to stop her husband's ambition by drinking a drug that would make her children normal, but it only worked on just Sanji and the drug made her weaker.
 * The Charlotte Family is explained in more detail.
 * Big Mom has 43 husbands, 39 daughters, and 46 sons.
 * Charlotte Pudding, the 35th daughter and Sanji's finance. She is revealed to be working with her mother and fooled both Sanji and the Straw Hat Pirates. She is also the same three-eyed girl that first appeared in the Fishman Island Arc. It was later revealed she is a member of the Three-Eye Tribe where her third eye has a mysterious power. Her Devil Fruit is the Memo Memo no Mi and removes Reiju's memories of their encounter. She also plans to shoot Sanji during the ceremony	and use her powers on the crowd after the ceremony.
 * Unlike with many of the other women he has met, Sanji doesn't fall into his usual womanizing behavior upon meeting Pudding due to the loyalty to his crew, though he later found out her true nature after overhearing her and Big Mom.
 * Lola is revealed to be one of Big Mom’s daughters and thus the Vivre Card Nami received belongs to Big Mom herself. She and Chiffon are twin sisters.
 * Lola was somehow the only one of Big Mom's children to get her mother's Vivre Card before she left as Big Mom's children are not allowed to have one due to their influence over the Homies.
 * It is revealed that Lola escaped from a political marriage to Elbaf's prince Loki, something that Big Mom is angry about since it would give her the means to become Pirate King.
 * Because Lola ran away from the marriage, Big Mom tried to pass her twin sister to the groom only to get busted, and so gave up trying to befriend the giants and began researching ways of achieving Gigantification.
 * Big Mom is fully shown for the first time.
 * She wants to create a country where all races can live together.
 * Big Mom has a collection of rare creatures stored inside books.
 * When Judge points out that there are no giants seen in Totto Land, Big Mom is briefly enraged when she hears the word.
 * It is revealed that Big Mom is hated by the world’s giants.
 * Big Mom’s Devil Fruit is the Soru Soru no Mi, which gives her the power to give life to many things and take other lives.
 * According to Pound, Linlin has the power to control the weather.
 * Her right hand control "Prometheus the Sun" and her left control "Zeus the Thundercloud".
 * Big Mom is revealed to have Haoshoku Haki.
 * Big Mom plans to open the Tamatebako that was previously found during the Fishman Island Arc during the wedding.
 * It is revealed that Gol D. Roger encountered Big Mom in the past and stole the text from her Road Poneglyph to get to Raftel.
 * She was aware that the Straw Hats were planning to do the same thing, which she revealed after capturing Brook, but is unaware that Brook succeeded in getting the copies of the three poneglyphs and hid them inside his skull.
 * A way to navigate using each individual pose on the New World Log Pose, instead of following a needle, is introduced. Pudding teaches this to Luffy's group as a way to get to Whole Cake Island undetected.
 * Jinbe intends to talk with Big Mom about leaving her crew so he could join the Straw Hat Pirates which was first mentioned during the Fishman Island Arc.
 * Jinbe delivered the poneglyph he discovered to Big Mom.
 * Jinbe informs his crew about his intention to join the Straw Hats and they support his decision.
 * Aladine appears for the first time in the present.
 * He is married to Charlotte Praline, a hammerhead shark half-mermaid and the 29th daughter of the Charlotte Family. She is the first half-mermaid to appear in the series.
 * Pedro tells the Sanji Retrieval Team about his past. He and Pekoms used to be explorers, trying to find poneglyphs for Inuarashi and Nekomamushi and he earned a bounty which labeled him as a pirate and that they also encountered the Big Mom Pirates in the past where they were attacked and defeated.
 * Pedro later reveals he used to be a pirate captain in the past, whose crew was named the Nox Pirates. His bounty is revealed to be 382,000,000.
 * Big Mom took 50 years off of Pedro’s life when he was captured five years ago, instead of 70 years off is because she admired his spirit.
 * The reason for 70 years was because Zepo only had 30 years left and one of the roulette's choices was to remove 100 years of the victim's lifespan.
 * The last time Pedro encountered Tamago, they both lost their left eyes and left scars on them, which Pedro was revealed to have taken his own eye.
 * Zepo, who was a member of the Nox Pirates, was killed by Big Mom after she removed 30 years of his lifespan upon the crew's capture.
 * Sanji is seen using Busoshoku Haki for the first time during his fight with his father.
 * It is revealed that Big Mom commissioned Caesar Clown to turn her family into giants.
 * According to Charlotte Brûlée, Kid, Apoo, Bege, and Urouge once tried to invade Big Mom's territory, but they all failed.
 * It's for this reason that Bege decided to become Big Mom's underling and married Charlotte Chiffon. Together they have an infant son named Capone Pez.
 * The Three Sweet Commanders have high authority within the Big Mom Pirates, and one of them is Cracker. There were originally four Sweet Commanders, until Urouge defeated one of them. However, Urouge was later defeated by Cracker.
 * The names of the other "Sweet Commanders" are Katakuri and Smoothie.
 * The Sweet Commander who was defeated by Urouge is named Snack.
 * It is revealed that Judge and Vegapunk were formerly science research partners, until Vegapunk was arrested for discovering the blueprint of life.
 * It is revealed that Sanji learned his chivalry from Zeff.
 * Luffy uses another variation form of Gear Fourth called Tankman: Full Version.
 * There are roughly 30 poneglyphs in the world and 9 of them reveal the truths of the world.
 * Big Mom possesses one more poneglyph other than her Road Poneglyph and the one delivered by Jinbe.
 * A hybrid of the Longarm Tribe and the Longleg Tribe is mentioned, who are called Longlimb Humans.
 * Tamago’s Devil Fruit is revealed to be the Tama Tama no Mi.
 * Various people with connections to the Underworld were invited to the wedding.
 * Bege is revealed to be one of five bosses who control the underworld society in the West Blue.
 * It is revealed that Bege was plotting against Big Mom.
 * Bege offered Pekoms to join in on the plan, but Pekoms refused and therefore was shot and sent into the shark infested waters to keep him silent.
 * Pekoms was saved by Jinbe's crew and is currently recuperating.
 * Bobbin is ambushed and shot by Vito, who confirmed his disposal to Bege.
 * Bege helped Caesar escape and made him his subordinate.
 * According to Bege, Big Mom has a weakness he can exploit, which is a picture of someone important to her.
 * Jinbe proposes to Luffy and Sanji about forming an alliance with Bege and Luffy agrees to meet him, despite the majority of the Sanji Retrieval Team against the idea.
 * The alliance between the Straw Hats, the Fire Tank Pirates, and Caesar will conclude once Big Mom is dead and all parties have made their escape.

Site Navigation
Arc Whole Cake