Whole Cake Island

Part Eleven

Neo settled between Sanji and Law. Holding Law's hand, she pinched a hold of Sanji's sleeve despite the fact that Pudding had moved under the carpet shortly after they had left the ship.

"So your sister, Lola, was a master at chocolate?" Sanji asked.

"That's right." Chiffon nodded. "Lola was the chocolate minister of Cacao Island. Even since she's been gone, that minister seat has been vacant. And despite the fact that everyone would let Pudding take it, she's continuously refused that post."

"B-but to me." Pudding poked her head from the roll of the carpet she was hiding in. "The only fitting chocolate minister of chocolatown is sister Lola. I always hoped she'd come home one day."

"So Lola from Thriller Bark was a famous chocolatier, huh?" Sanji said.

"That's all well and good, Pudding, but can you get of of there already?" Chiffon asked.

Pudding laughed darkly. "If I sit on the same carpet as that man while wearing this wedding dress, people will think we're some sort of couple or something."

"Suits me fine for her to stay there." Neo huffed.

"Who'll think that?" Chiffon asked.

"It's annoying! Annoying!" Pudding said.

"Sorry for being annoying, but promise me you don't fall, okay?" Sanji said.

"Sh-shut up, dummy! I get to decide whether or not I fall!" Pudding flushed.

"She is so annoying," Neo grumbled. "I wish she would fall."

"Her mood swings are getting dangerous, aren't they?" Sanji leaned closer to Law.

"Yeah." Law nodded. "At least she won't carry them out."

"We'll be at Cacao Island soon," Chiffon said.

Neo looked forward to the island they were heading for. A heavy feeling of dread fell over her. She glanced back over her shoulder. "Uh?"

"What is it, Neo?" Law asked

"I have a bad feeling about Luffy," Neo said.

"Don't worry about him. That rubber idiot is too stupid to die," Law said.

"You three are going to need to hide," Chiffon said.

"We can switch places with Pudding." Sanji looked at Neo. "Can you fly us?"

Neo nodded. Wrapping her winds around them, she hovered them in the air while Pudding climbed back on the top of the rug. In placed the rug wrapped around them. They flew for a few more seconds before hearing words from men.

"Lady Pudding! Lady Chiffon! Ah! Fluffy minister!"

"It's okay. Chiffon here wasn't the culprit behind the mutiny. Her husband Gang Bege, is the one to blame."

"My, my, Lady Pudding, all that's happened to day. I heard the story. To think your joyous wedding celebration was dashed."

"Joyous?!" Neo growled in a whisper. "How stupid are the people who live here?! Do you think they don't know about Big Mom forcing people to marry her kids by threatening others?"

"Hard to know for sure." Law glared at Sanji. "You better not be touching her."

"What?! Of course I'm not!" Sanji said. "I'm drawing the cake so we can make it look the same."

The carpet moved again.

"Okay, you can come out now," Chiffon said.

The carpet lowered them to the floor.

Neo glanced around the large kitchen with wide eyes. "So big! Imagine the food I could cook in a kitchen this big!"

"It wouldn't fit on the sub," Law said.

Neo sighed. "I know. But maybe you can make me one when we settle down. Like when you promised to make me a huge library." She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Right?"
"I get the feeling we're going to need a ton of money when we retire." Law's eyebrow rose. "But, fine. You'll get your wonder kitchen."

"You're such a good boy." Neo pushed up on her toes and kissed him.

"We're pretty short on time, so I drew up a diagram for the design of the cake while wrapped up in there," Sanji said.

"You remember what it looked like?" Chiffon asked.

"More or less." Sanji held up the paper he had been scribbling on.

"It's pretty." Neo looked at it. "Those I'm not a fan of the skulls."

"What?! I get that you know what it looked like, but how do you have any idea what it was made with?" Chiffon looked at the paper.

"By its smell." Sanji started to light a cigarette but put it back in his pocket.

"Sanji's amazing." Neo smiled. "You did it by smell?"

Sanji nodded.

"All right! Snap to it! Every minute counts!" Pudding walked into the kitchen dressed in a simple dress, cooking jacket, and apron.

"Whoa! Pudding looks so cute as a cook!" Hearts popped into Sanji's eyes.

Pudding fainted under the praise.

"Lady Pudding! What happened?!" a cook asked.

"What's her problem?" Neo crossed her arms. "Why does she keep doing that? Acts one way then another?"

"Seems she has multiple personalities," Law said.

"Really?" Neo looked at him.

"Who are you two?" the man asked.

"They're friends of mine!" Pudding said.

"Okay." The man walked off.

"This doesn't excuse you for what you did to Sanji." Neo glared.

Pudding nodded.

"Okay! Let's give it our best, Mister Husband!" the man said as he turned to Sanji.

"Sanji is not Puddin-"

Law clamped a hand over Neo's mouth. "I know you're upset about what happened, but they can't know the wedding didn't happen."

"Hm?"

"They don't know what happened. Pudding must have done something. Devil fruit power."

Neo nodded.

Pudding stepped over and whispered, "I removed the incident today from the chefs' memories. In other words, as they're concerned, our ceremony went off without a hitch and we're m-married. However, due to unforeseen bad weather, the cake was ruined. Mama got mad and now we have to remake it as fast as possible. That's the story we're working with. Their memories of making the cake for the first time are still there, clear as ever. Those will be quite helpful."

"Gotcha," Sanji said.

"Wh-who drew up this diagram and wrote out this recipe?" a cook said.

"Let's me know if I got anything wrong, okay?" Sanji said.

"Mister Husband, you did this?!" the cook said.

"Do they have to call him that?!" Neo crossed her arms and shimmered.

"It's absolutely perfect! You've even included the hidden flavors that Streusen took over a week to come up with." The cook nodded.

"I heard you were quite skilled, but this is something else, Mister!" another cook said.

"And, oddly enough, this cake making process will be both or your first cooperative task as a married couple," a cook said.

Sanji rubbed his head and grinned as Pudding fell over steaming.

"Oh, no! What's the matter, Mrs. Pudding?"

"Quit it! You'll kill her!" Chiffon held up her hands.

"If you try to order me around as a husband, I'll strangle you, Sanji!" Pudding growled.

"I don't know how much more of this I can handle." Neo blew her bangs from her forehead.

"As long as you don't have to fight," Law said.

Neo sighed. "I hope Luffy's okay."

"This is a race against the clock!" Sanji said. "Chiffon, the baking of that huge chiffon cake, and Pudding, the tempering of the chocolate! Can both of you finish your work in two hours and forty minutes? I'll put my secret plan into motion then. I'll show people the true face of sweetness! I'll take them to paradise!"

"The true face of sweetness?!" Pudding grabbed her cheeks.

"Well, set sail in three hours. And, while the cake is cooling, we'll add the decorations at seat. We'll have the ultimate cake ready by the time we rendezvous with the Sunny," Sanji said.

"I see. No time wasted, huh," Chiffon said.

"We'll help if you need us," Neo said.

Sanji smiled and nodded.

"But... we'll be so rushed!" the chef said.

"You have no choice! Do you want Mama to raze this place to the ground?!" Chiffon yelled.

"We're so sorry!" three chefs scream. "We'll follow your lead!"

"All right! Let's cook!" Sanji said.

Neo and Law tucked themselves against the wall. Letting the more experienced cooks work, they watched. As she watched the cooks rush about the room, breaking eggs, stirring this or that, getting more items out of the pantry, her eyelids became heavy. She had no idea when Law pulled her down to the floor, but when he did she laid her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.

...

Neo woke to the sweet smell of cake. Her stomach rolled. Pressing a hand over her mouth she held it in.

"You okay, love?"
"Yeah. I think so." Neo breathed in. "All the sweetness got to me for a second. So what happened while I've been out?"

Law didn't answer.

"Law?" Neo grabbed his shirt.

"It's okay. We got information that Straw Hat's in a fight right now. The rest of Big Mom's crew is going to attack him when he comes out of the mirror world."

"He's back in there?" Neo's heart thumped her ribs.

"He's fighting Katakuri," Law said.

Neo bit her bottom lip. She wanted to help, but with no way to get into the mirror world she had no choice but to leave it to Luffy.

"It's done! The ultimate whipped cream! Sim Sim Whip!" Sanji looked at the fluffy white mound in his spoon.

"That looks so good. It it?" Neo walked over to him.

"Here." Sanji spooned some for her.

Neo placed it in her mouth. Sweet eruption of flavor flooded her tongue. "So amazing!"

"I've finished making my fluffy chiffon cake, Blackleg!" Chiffon waved at her cake.

"Hold it down! It's trying to float away!"

"Me too! I used your whipped cream to make a super sweet and silky chocolate ganache!"

"Get a lid! It's trying to jump out!"

"Looks like we're right on schedule. Is the ship ready?" Sanji asked.

"It is!" A chef saluted.

"We'll finish the cake on board," Sanji said. "And meet up with the Sunny as it heads this way. Let's go! Time to defeat the woman making our friends suffer. Down with Big Mom!"

"Everyone, make way!" Pudding called out. "We're going to carry the cake to the harbor now!"

The cooks picked up the cake and carried it outside. They placed the cake on a fancy, waiting wagon with a seal in front of it. The air erupted with people cheering that the cake is done and it smells great.

"So cute!" Neo squealed as she watched the seal move along on its ball, pulling the wagon. They stopped. "What's going on?"

"Looks like there's trouble," Law said.

Neo glanced around the cake to see a man pull Chiffon off the wagon. "She's in trouble. He's going to kill her. We have to do something."

"We can't. We'll give ourselves away." Law held Neo in place.

"Get your hands off of Chiffon, Oven!"
"Huh?" Neo turned her attention to the familiar man flying towards Chiffon. "That's Pound. That's right. He told us in the forest that Lola and Chiffon are his daughters."

Sanji kicked Oven away and grabbed Chiffon.

"Looks like Blackleg took care of it," Law said.

"I'm glad." Neo sighed. They tucked back into the shadows of the cake as Oven took Chiffon hostage then got a call on the transponder snail.

"Sounds like Bege is coming to take his wife back," Law said.

"We have to get out of here," Neo said. "Do you think you can warp us to the ocean?"

"I can. The question is should I? So far we've been lucky enough for me to now use my devil fruit much. That might change. If it does I need to save my energy for a fight."

Neo sighed. He was right. "I could try and fly us, but with this cake..."

"It's best to not chance it," Law finished for her.

Neo nodded. Now they had a way to calm Big Mom down they needed to keep it safe until it could be delivered.

Gunshots and cannons erupted.

Peering around the cake the two pirate watch as Bege's ship rolled onto the island.

"That's so cool!" Neo squealed. "Law! We have to do that to the sub!"

"Not happening!"

"Chiffon!" Bege called out. "Pass the cake over to us!"

"Are you crazy! We could never safely transfer it!"

"Hm?" Neo catches a glimpse of Sanji jumping off the wagon. He disappeared a second before they were sent flying through the air. Neo snapped out her wind crystals and lowered the cake to the ship. "That was so much fun! Huh?"

"What now?" Law asked.

"The ocean is heating up," Neo said.

"The fish are all floating! They've been boiled by the heat of the ocean!" someone called out.

"That's just the right amount of salt. They'd probably be pretty delicious," Sanji said.

"You're right. They smell good too." Neo looked over the side.

"We're next, idiots!" Bege said.

"We're fine. I've got this." Neo engulfed the ship in her winds. "Now that the cake is safe, I can help more."