Thick and Fluffy

A flashback recalls the Minister of the Right urging Neptune to take back the Tamatebako before it could blow, only for the court to learn in dismay that Luffy had already passed it to the Emperor with the rest of the tribute. In the present, the blast at the foundation tips the chateau over as the people of Sweet City scramble to flee. High on the falling tower, the Straw Hat, Fire Tank, and Germa alliance regroups while a triumphant Bege declares the Big Mom Pirates finished. The Emperor herself drops from the venue, and Caesar and the Vinsmokes ferry the allies far from the wreckage.

Driving his sword into the structure, Streusen slices the upper portion into something soft, letting the buildings below break it apart and cushion both the citizens and the crew's fall. Landing on Zeus, the Emperor bites into a piece of the chateau and grumbles that his cooking fills the gut but tastes dreadful. On the northwestern coast, Bege ejects the Straw Hats and returns Caesar's heart, sending the scientist off in delight. Warned that escaping Totto Land will take a full day's travel, the Straw Hats ready their departure, while Bege spitefully drives a marker into the ground to point their pursuers after them before drifting away.

The castle is escaped by Luffy's party, by Bege's crew, and by the Vinsmokes. Streusen wields his Kuku Kuku no Mi to soften the toppling chateau into cake and spare his crewmates. With the alliance among Caesar, the Sanji Retrieval Team, and the Fire Tank Pirates now dissolved, Bege hands Caesar his heart back. Brook and Chopper peel off to retrieve the Shark Submerge III. The Big Mom Pirates organize to hunt both fleeing parties, and the Emperor starts showing signs of a craving illness, crying out for wedding cake.

This chapter belongs to the Whole Cake Island Arc. The color spread casts the crew as the Mugiwara 56 in raid-suit styled outfits, each bearing the number 56 in a nod to Germa's 66. The installment ran on the series' twentieth anniversary of publication. Stussy is shown using Geppo, and Morgans proves unable to fly despite his wings.