@Megaman:
Well you yourself think the cake won't be enough to stop her from killing the crew as you mention how Pudding showing Streusens memories of carmel is the bigger factor. In other words, there's no point to this cake it is completely unnecessary as it doesn't even save the day. It will simply waste 3 or so chapters only to lead them back into the situation they are currently in, which is big mom still wanting to kill them.
As for Sanji's "kindness", he's displayed that when he decided to save the germa, and it was more so that he won't disappoint Zeff rather than oda turning him into some "super kind" character that he never was. For one he sure didn't care about streusens chefs getting the soul taken from them. Sanji suddenly caring about big moms illness makes no sense either nor does it have something to do with his chivalry, seeing as how he has no issues with Luffy punching her, or even capone trying to poison her.
A lot of these plotlines being solved here prevent the Big Mom arc in Elbaf. If they are neutral or allies, then there's no point in Luffy beating her anymore. Rather than waste the potential of both this arc and elbaf, oda could continue the conflict between them simply by "kidnapping" pudding just for example. She won't kill anyone as long as they hold the only way she can become pirate king, and so the main conflict resolves in elbaf. Characters like pound and pekoms can still play a role this arc as it's not over yet, it doesn't require her to eat a cake for them to show up.
Um… Are you trying to say that there can only be one factor and one factor alone that makes Big Mom want to forgive the Straw Hats, even though one of your initial complaints was that Big Mom forgiving them just for the cake wasn't enough? And now you're saying that it should just be the cake or else it's redundant? That doesn't make sense. Having multiple factors at play makes Big Mom's decision more reasonable and deep instead of forced and shallow. It's about what they add up to together, not what they solely do on their own or somehow canceling each other out in effectiveness. The difference between this situation and now is that before the cake exploded, she was about to kill everybody from anger. After she has calmed down, she might still be angry, but will no longer be in that position. And then all of the other factors needed to fully quell her rage will come into play. It's not being repetitive, it's adding in extra necessary steps to reach a solution.
Sanji doesn't need to only display kindness once in this arc. And expressing kindness towards the Germa was the second time he did it in this arc. The first was when he wanted to make a deal with Big Mom to spare the Straw Hats, which she ended up lying about. And about Oda not wanting to turn Sanji into a "super kind" character, I beg to differ:
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This page is as cheesy as it gets. And Sanji has been seen being selfless and self-sacrificial throughout the entire series. Sanji just doesn't proclaim being nice and kind everywhere as his main personality. But when it gets to ultimatums where he can save somebody who needs help, he mostly or always does so. Sanji was busy flying and saving Pudding, so he didn't see the chef's souls get sucked. But he did negatively react to both Judge using one of his minions as a meat shield in their battle and seeing Germa 66's clone technology. And I'm saying that Sanji's chivalry plays into Big Mom being delirious and principles about feeding people, not just helping Big Mom out solely because of chivalry. He had no problem with any of those things when Big Mom was out to kill them. But when Big Mom is both suffering from an illness she can't control/be responsible for and threatens the lives of her family and kingdom, that will prompt Sanji to act.
Does Big Mom even need an arc in Elbaf? She could likely appear there, but I don't think it's completely necessary. And even if she appears there, lie ARTEMIS said, she doesn't need to be an antagonist. If anything, we could just have Lola (especially if she got married to Lucky Roo in that 500,000,000 Beli Man cover story), or nobody from the Charlotte Family present. We didn't need them for Totland, so why do we need the Charlottes for Elbaf besides Big Mom clearing up a bad reputation she doesn't care about? Her story is more tied to Gigantification than wanting Elbaf to like her (especially given how she hates them in return). Of course, what can also happen is that Big Mom makes a loose truce with Luffy instead of a friendship. Meaning that she spares them, Fishman Island, and the Baratie in gratitude, but still declares that they will be enemies the next time they meet or have their interests clash (which would be in Elbaf). She also benefits from letting Luffy go to fight Kaido, which only helps weaken/eliminate competition for her no matter who wins. Everyone gets their cake that way. Although I still doubt that they're ever going to fully fight. And how can these plotlines even be solved in Elbaf?
And continuing the conflict past this arc doesn't really work because Fishman Island and the Baratie should be destroyed by the Big Mom Pirates while the Straw Hats are in Wano Country since that is guaranteed to be the next arc. Big Mom will still bitter about the Straw Hats if they escape, and she has no problem sending decapitated heads of loved ones to people for the trivial reason of not attending her latest Tea Party. What role can Pudding have in Wano Country when her plot relevance is tied to Big Mom? And her memory powers need to come into use soon somehow or else they end up being a complete waste of plot contrivance. Big Mom wants to know what happened to Carmel, Streussen knows but didn't tell her because he's manipulative scum, Pudding can read memories, and Stussy may have a connection to the CP0 agents that Carmel sold children to. Connect the dots, they're practically flaring with neon signs right now.
It's hard for me to see how Pekoms and Pound can contribute to a situation where raging Big Mom is on the loose.
