Almost everyone sat around the dining table as they ate, only Jinbe remaining outside to keep the ship on course. Sanji had prepared a right and proper feast for Luffy's triumphant return, and Cherry had promised to save enough for Jinbe from Luffy's blackhole of a stomach.
There was even a carrot cake for Carrot, much to the young rabbit mink's delight.
"How did the fight with Katakuri-chan go, Luffy?" Cherry asked curiously. She wondered if the man had gone easy on her little captain or not.
"It was so annoying! He kept predicting all my moves with his haki and I could barely hit him or dodge any of his attacks!" Luffy spoke through a mouth stuffed to the brim with surprising eloquence. He did have a lot of practice, though, Cherry supposed.
Pekoms couldn't get over the fact that Cherry had just said 'Katakuri-chan'.
"How did you beat him, then?" Chopper asked curiously.
"I took a break on a peanut island. Rayleigh told me a little about people who could see the future with haki, so I figured out how to do it myself," Luffy drained a jug of water to wash a bowling ball sized mass of food down his throat.
"Pffft," Cherry burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Name asked her.
"Most people never manage to see the future with observation haki, but our favorite idiot here did it just because he decided to; and in a ridiculously short amount of time, no less. That's hilarious," Cherry explained.
'As expected of a child of destiny. Completely unfair,' Cherry thought.
Even thinking as such, she wouldn't trade places with him in a million years. Too much trouble came with that much of Fate's attention.
"It is indeed quite impressive," Pedro complimented.
Chopper and Carrot watched Luffy with wondrous eyes, whilst Pekoms was choking on a chicken bone that he swallowed in shock from that revelation.
"What happened when you went back?" Cherry asked.
"We fought like men! I won!" Luffy declared simply.
"Mm, sounds about like I expected then," Cherry nodded, like what he said wasn't glossing over a bunch of details.
"WE'VE GOT SHIPS INCOMING!" Jinbe called out from above.
"The Big Mom pirates sure are a bunch of busy bodies," Cherry sighed. "Why can't they just sit back on their haunches and relax? I guess I'll go kick their asses again, you guys just enjoy yourselves."
Carrot and Pedro shared a look. Carrot said, "Let us handle it. It would be a shame to let a beautiful moon go to waste."
"That's not cryptic at all," Cherry said, causing Carrot to giggle. "I'm guessing you're talking about that secret weapon Dogstorm and Cat Viper talked about?"
"That's right. Are you coming, Pekoms?" Pedro asked.
"I think I've betrayed my old crew enough, thank you very much," Pekoms said. "It may not be enough to repay everything they've done for our people, but I do still have my pride."
Pedro nodded in understanding.
As Carrot and Pedro stood to go outside, Cherry gathered up Jinbe's share of the meal to bring it up to him.
Reiju stood to go as well, though only out of interest in what the minks' secret weapon could be. She was sure that whatever it was, Judge would love to know about it and she would be delighted to know something that he doesn't.
The others started to shovel food into their mouths so that they could be ready by the time they made contact with the enemy. Luffy seemed to take that as a challenge, because he sped up too.
"Here you go, Jinbe. I'll take the helm," Cherry said, handing over a bundle of food.
"Thank you," Jinbe said. "Perhaps I should eat afterwards, though?"
"Those two have it handled, apparently," Cherry said, gesturing to the two minks who stepped out with her.
And as it would soon turn out, they most certainly did have it handled.
The fleet of ships ahead of them neared quickly on account of the fact that they were paddle boats. While they needed a lot of fuel to keep themselves going at speed, in the distance between the islands of Totto Land, this wasn't an issue.
Carrot and Pedro cast their gaze up at the full moon. A change beset them that Cherry marveled at even more than the others since she could see what was happening on the inside.
Their fur lengthened and became stark white, and their eyes sharpened with barely contained fierceness. Their claws and fangs caught the moonlight, gleaming and ready to draw blood. Electricity buzzed across their entire bodies, making the hair of everyone else stand on end.
"Incredible," Cherry muttered. Sadly she didn't think that this was an ability that she could replicate, a power that was buried deep in their bloodlines. "Carrot, you look so cooool~!"
Carrot, who had taken on a colder and more serious appearance, had her ears twitch and she turned away to cover her face in embarrassment.
"No time to waste, Carrot," Pedro said, leaping clear across the large stretch of ocean between the new fleet and the Sunny in a single bound, and making it look easy too.
Carrot leapt over to the other side of the approaching fleet, her own jump looking much more graceful compared to Pedro's show of raw strength.
From there, the two of them began to tear the enemy ships apart. Masts were snapped like twigs, helms ripped from their decks, the large paddles jammed or outright shattered.
"Pedro?!" That was a voice that Pedro didn't expect to hear again. Perospero glared at him hatefully, still bearing wounds from his close encounter with death thanks to Pedro and still missing an arm from the experience. "How are you still alive?! I watched you blow yourself up!"
"Tsk, why could I have blown that tongue tongue off instead of your arm?" Pedro responded. "No matter, I can remedy that right now!"
Pedro let out loud, bestial growl as he leapt at Perospero, who panicked at the sight of his speed. The lackeys aboard the ship couldn't even muster the courage to attack Pedro, cowed by his ferocity.
Arcs of electricity lit up the night like a light show made just for the Straw Hats to watch.
Not even ten minutes after it all started, Pedro and Carrot returned to the Thousand Sunny with most of the enemy fleet disabled, or in some cases outright sinking.
The two minks heaved large sighs of relief as they hid their eyes from the moon, their bodies returning to their normal state.
"It really sucks to come down from that…" Carrot complained.
"It can't be helped. That is the price we pay for such power," Pedro said.
"Are you okay? Are you injured anywhere?" Chopper asked, even as he looked them over.
"No, no. We'll be fine," Pedro explained. "Sulong is powerful, but consumes a great deal of stamina. A major downside is that you can't even tell how much energy you've used up until you drop the transformation, so it is very possible to inadvertently fight until we drop dead. That's why it's better in short bursts."
"Oh! You two should go rest, then! Don't let us keep you," Chopper insisted.
Cherry overheard Chopper start muttering about possibly altering his rumble ball formula to draw out that transformation in minks, even without the full moon. She scooped him up in a hug, "You little genius! I like the way you think! I'll help, so let's get started right away!"
"Eh?!" Chopper yelped in surprise. "P-put me down, you bastard! Don't call me a genius!"
He said that, but he had a goofy smile adorning his face.