"Roger!! How dare you trespass into Mama's territory!"

Charlotte Linlin's furious roar shook the sky. Riding on Zeus, she burst out from the collapsed castle gate, the giant sword Napoleon crackling with violent purple lightning.

"Kuhahaha! Long time no see, Linlin! Don't get so worked up, you'll get wrinkles, you know?"

Roger slowly drew his famed sword, Ace. "Just let me take a rubbing of the Poneglyph and I'll be on my way. What do you say?"

"Go ask Hell for permission, you bastard!" Linlin raised her sword high. "Elbaf Spear: Ikoku!"

"Divine Departure!"

Linlin's giant blade came crashing down, unleashing a slash powerful enough to tear through an island straight at Roger!

The moment their attacks collided

BOOM—!!!

Whole Cake Island shook violently. Cracks like spiderwebs spread across the earth, and the sky split open into a massive vortex of clouds.

They clashed head-on Roger remained rooted to the spot, while Linlin was forced back three steps, the ground beneath her crumbling with a thunderous crash.

She gave a feral grin. "Roger… you're still as infuriating as ever! But if you're willing to give me a child, maybe I'll let it slide."

"Sorry, I'm not quite ready to settle down yet."

And while that earth-shaking battle raged on—

"Heh heh, taking advantage of chaos is the true romance of a real man!" Oden crouched low, sneaking into the castle.

Wearing his signature orange kimono, the famed loincloth-wearer of the Roger Pirates clacked down the ornate floor in his wooden sandals. Like… did he really need to crouch this low?

"Left turn… then right…" he mumbled while dashing through the halls, Observation Haki fully unleashed, a mental map of the Poneglyph's location appearing clearly in his mind.

"If I weren't in such a rush, I'd honestly love to take a good look around this castle."

He pouted, swiping a piece of chocolate cake off a nearby dessert table and stuffing it into his mouth. "Mmm! Sugoii~ No wonder the sweets of Totto Land are so famous! Sooo good."

Suddenly—

"INTRUDER SPOTTED!" A furious shout echoed from the corner. Charlotte Oven came charging out like a humanoid steam engine, his body radiating scalding heat. "Heat Wave Attack!"

"Whoaaa! Hot hot hot!" Oden jumped dramatically, but his hands moved fast. "Two-Sword Style: Paradise Ten Fists!"

Swish swish swish! Blades bloomed like cherry blossoms. Oven's chest armor exploded, and two deep gashes appeared across his burly chest.

"Eh? Why do I suddenly feel a bit breezy?" Oven looked down to find his upper body completely bare only his underwear remained. "Oi! Where's my armor?!"

"Sorry, kiddo! I'm in kind of a hurry!" Oden grinned, waving cheerfully. He really didn't want to hurt some punk kid, so he kept moving.

Oven stood frozen, taking several seconds to process what just happened. "Wait… what the—"

But Oden was long gone, his cheerful laughter echoing through the halls. "Thanks, Oven! Nice bod!"

Oven: "…" (mentally collapsing)

"INTRUDERS MUST DIE!" Smoothie charged in with a ten-meter greatsword, slamming it down with terrifying force. The sword aura blasted tiles off the floor.

"Whoa! That's a huge sword!" Oden's eyes widened, but he didn't flinch. He crossed his blades into an X. "Move it, move it, I'm in a rush!"

BOOM! The impact shattered the floor tiles beneath his feet, sinking him half a meter into the ground.

"You've got some strength!" he grinned. Then suddenly "Now's my chance!"

He released his power, using the momentum of Smoothie's swing to roll into the next room. As he passed, he even patted her on the shoulder. "Thanks!"

Smoothie: "???"

Following him into the room, Smoothie barely registered what happened before her vision blacked out. Behind her, Oden stood with his blackened fist raised.

"You youngsters sure can nap instantly. You're welcome."

The Poneglyph stood right in the center of the room, radiating an ancient and mysterious aura.

"Whoa! Finally found it!" Oden rubbed his hands together excitedly and pulled out tracing paper from his robe. "Scritch scritch scritch!" A perfect copy!

"Done!" he nodded in satisfaction. But before the ink could dry, Smoothie's massive blade came crashing down, fury in every swing. "DIE!!"

"Wow, you're up already?"

"C'mon now, don't be so grumpy!" Oden flipped backward without even looking, the tracing paper spinning through the air in a graceful arc before landing perfectly in his hand. "Got it!"

Smoothie stomped in frustration. "Damn it! Get back here!"

"See ya! Next time, treat me to a drink!" Oden laughed heartily and vanished down the corridor.

Meanwhile, on the coast, Ritter was hacking through cookies with his Black Tide greatsword.

He'd originally planned to absorb all their life force, but these things had so little to begin with. Cracker's army of biscuit soldiers crumbled into crumbs the moment they stepped into the blood mist.

"This was supposed to be an easy job, but it's just boring."

"Damn it! My Observation Haki isn't working!" Cracker's real body was horrified to realize his most prized Haki was completely useless in the fog.

"Mist Erosion: Thousand Needles!" Ritter spread his fingers. Countless fine needles condensed from the blood mist poured down like a storm.

The biscuit soldiers were instantly shredded into colanders. Cracker managed to shield himself with Armament Haki, but three poisoned needles still pierced his shoulder. He let out a pained grunt and dropped to one knee.

"Kid, even your mama can't beat me. What are you doing here? Gonna bore me to death?"

"Future Sight told me to strike here!" Katakuri's mochi-coated fist suddenly emerged from the fog, wrapped in advanced Armament Haki, aiming straight for Ritter's temple.

"Good guess. So what now?" Ritter's voice came from behind. His greatsword cleaved through the air.

Relying on years of battle instincts, Katakuri barely managed to twist around. The sword smashed into his hardened back with a loud boom, sending him flying like a cannonball. He crashed through three buildings before stopping.

In the blood mist, Ritter's silhouette floated like a ghost. His long, straight black hair fluttered in the haze. He looked utterly unfazed. So this was the mighty right-hand man of an Emperor? Meh. He could body any of them now right, Marco?

Ritter shamelessly swept Observation Haki across all of Totto Land. He wasn't even hiding it anymore. Just full-on scanning. And then he spotted someone interesting.

Why is he here? Could this be the butterfly effect from his own little flutter?

Oh boy. Things just got really fun.

High above, a massive azure dragon coiled through the clouds Kaido, once known as the "Tiny Salamander," now vaguely hailed as the world's "strongest creature."

He reverted to human form, overlooking the battlefield below. His spiked club, Hassaikai, rested on his shoulder. A wild grin curled at the edge of his lips.

"That crazy hag Linlin actually had the nerve to target my turf? Guess I'll just turn Totto Land into a wasteland today!"

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Hooked already? Let me know what grabbed you leave a review and fuel the journey forward! and if we hit every 250 Power Stones, a bonus chapter drops!

Things are just heating up. Read ahead in Unbound Evolution and stay ahead of the crowd.

[email protected]/_tey

Change @ to a.