Charlotte Family Leader

"The Marines’ movements seem a little strange too…" Yota frowned.

The deployment maps looked no different at first glance, but a closer look made it clear. The Marines seemed to be weaving a net around the Whitebeard Pirates.

In theory, the Whitebeard Pirates had grown far stronger now. Meanwhile, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, fellow Four Emperors, had weakened considerably, and Red Hair was the type who never bothered with anything. So there was nothing unusual about the Marines keeping a close eye on the Whitebeard Pirates.

Yet Yota had already begun to sense that this operation was most likely aimed at him.

Just like how, ever since he had left the Holy Land Mary Geoise, both the Marines and the World Government had seemed to ignore him completely.

Yota did not believe the Marines and the World Government were truly afraid of him. Those people were clearly holding back something big, and the most likely target was the Whitebeard Pirates.

Although the Whitebeard Pirates were powerful now, if the World Government truly made up its mind, they were by no means impossible to deal with. It would merely cost them dearly.

He put down the intelligence report. There was nothing he could do about it anyway. A thief might steal for a thousand days, but who could guard against a thief for a thousand days? Yota could only deal with whatever came his way.

He believed the World Government would never expect him to grow so much stronger in such a short time. When that time came, it remained to be seen who would outmaneuver whom.

After reviewing all the intelligence, Yota counted the cards in his hand and turned his gaze toward Pudding.

"Pudding, do you have the confidence to defeat Charlotte Linlin now?"

"Ah!?" Charlotte Pudding’s face filled with shock. "Boss Yota, what are you talking about?"

"I found two more Devil Fruits for you in Impel Down: the Vampire Bat Fruit and the Fox Bat Fruit. I fused them into your original Vampire Fusion Fruit. Your strength should be above Charlotte Linlin’s now, shouldn’t it?" Yota said bluntly.

"If you defeat Charlotte Linlin, I’ll let you take command of the Charlotte Pirates!"

"Even if you say that, I… I think…" Charlotte Pudding’s face showed hesitation. Clearly, the psychological shadow Charlotte Linlin had left on her was no small thing.

"Do you really not want to return to the Charlotte Family? Think about it. If you defeat Charlotte Linlin, you’ll become the rightful Captain of the Charlotte Family."

As Yota spoke, Charlotte Pudding’s breathing grew heavier.

That girl had never been one to follow rules. On the contrary, rebellion ran deep in her bones.

But because she had spent so long in the Charlotte Family, she had developed that gentle personality on the surface. Whenever she was with Yota, however, her rebellious, little-devil-like nature showed itself without restraint.

Now that Yota had said he wanted her to face that terrifying mother who had always weighed on her heart like a mountain, Charlotte Pudding initially felt fear and panic. But before long, a restless urge to try rose from the depths of her heart.

Defeat her mother and become the Leader of the Charlotte Family! The thought instantly took root in her heart and grew like wild grass.

Charlotte Pudding’s ambitions might not have been especially great, but the Charlotte Family was special to her. If she could become the head of the family…

"Alright, stop grinning over there." Yota covered his forehead and remarked, "It seems your choice speaks for itself."

"What? I was smiling?" Charlotte Pudding asked in surprise, only to see Violet and the others all nodding in unison.

"Uh… alright, I admit it. I’m very tempted by your proposal, Boss." Charlotte Pudding stuck out her tongue. "But… Mother won’t be that easy to deal with, right?"

"Don’t worry. I’ll give you special training. We still have at least another week or two. That’ll happen to be when the Charlotte Family holds its gathering, and it’ll be your best chance to challenge her!"

"Uh… don’t we have Biological Chips? Do I really need any special training?" Charlotte Pudding shrank back. She was hardly a diligent person. When she had first followed Yota, even her Haki training had been mediocre. Her Observation Haki was fairly good, but she could not even harden her Armament Haki.

One had to remember that she was Charlotte Pudding’s daughter. No matter what, her physical talent definitely ranked among the best. She had also remained in the Charlotte Family all along and was not someone lacking in knowledge. With such exceptional talent and such an excellent environment, her Haki cultivation was still not high. That could only mean she truly was not a diligent person.

It was only after she boarded Yota’s ship and left her comfort zone that she began seriously training her Haki.

Her Haki only truly began improving by leaps and bounds after Yota gave her the fusion-type Vampire Fruit and installed a Biological Chip that allowed her to train automatically.

Only now had she mastered the various applications of Armament Haki. Combined with her Mangekyo Sharingan and Devil Fruit abilities, she could truly be considered to possess Four Emperor-level combat strength.

"Although on paper, your strength should be above Charlotte Linlin’s, what you lack is real combat experience… especially combat experience against opponents of the same level!"

"Your mother, Charlotte Linlin, may be considered one of the laziest among the sea’s top fighters, but she is not someone who merely lives off past achievements. At the very least, when she was young, she fought every kind of monster. Her combat experience and fighting spirit are both worthy of praise."

"So during this period, the main focus of your training will be actual combat! I’ll make you completely adapt to Four Emperor-level battles!"

"Still, don’t worry. With my healing abilities, even if you only have one last breath left, I can instantly restore you completely without leaving behind any aftereffects."

At those words, even the smile on Charlotte Pudding’s face could no longer hold. "Th-this… isn’t that a bit too harsh…?"

Yota gave her an indifferent look. "Only those who truly walk out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood can reach the peak of the sea. Which top powerhouse on the sea hasn’t had seven or eight near-death experiences?"

"Even a freak with extraordinary talent like your mother must have gone through life-threatening bitter battles when she was young!"

Hearing that, Charlotte Pudding could only curl her lips. Then, as though she had suddenly thought of something, she looked at Yota and asked, "By the way, Boss, have you ever gone through any life-or-death battles?"

Hmm… Yota thought back for a moment. It seemed that, at most, he had experienced several evenly matched battles back when he was with the Spade Pirates. But because he possessed ninjutsu skills, his ability to preserve his own life was exceptional, so they could not really be called bitter battles.