The Idea of Flipping the Table

"So your Devil Fruit ability can not only plunder Devil Fruits, but also special bloodline powers—and even give those bloodline powers to other people?"

After listening to Yota’s explanation, Pudding was initially excited by the power of the Sharingan. Once she calmed down a little, she suddenly seemed to think of something and asked.

"You’re pretty sharp," Yota said with a nod.

"That’s right. It’s also why my strength has improved so quickly. Not only that, through human modification, I can directly replicate the body structures of all kinds of powerful people. Even without absorbing any bloodline powers or Devil Fruit abilities, I could become the strongest in this world through sheer physical strength alone!"

"What an absurd ability!" Pudding sucked in a breath, but a trace of delight appeared on her face instead. After all, Yota was her boss now. The stronger he was and the more abilities he had, the more solid her backing would be.

Having recruited such a promising prospect as Charlotte Pudding, Yota naturally had no intention of taking her Memory Fruit. Instead, he turned his attention to Charlotte Brulee, the user of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit.

Charlotte Brulee lived in a wooden cabin in the forest. The woods were filled with gloomy tree Homies, and the large cabin deep within the forest gave off an eerie feeling. Combined with Charlotte Brulee’s own appearance, if someone called her a witch, probably no one would doubt it.

However, judging people by appearances was not a good habit in the Pirate World—mainly because people here looked far too random. If one truly judged entirely by looks, then ninety percent of the men in this world would probably be villains.

At the very least, although Charlotte Brulee had the face of a witch, she truly was not a bad person. One could even say she was one of the few members of the Charlotte Family with a conscience. She did not even have a bounty on her head.

…The only problem was that she went berserk whenever she saw a beautiful woman. That was why she liked living alone in the forest. Although quite a few of Big Mom’s daughters looked rather random, quite a few of them were genuinely beautiful as well.

Thinking over the information Charlotte Pudding had given him, Yota, in his phased state, entered the cabin and saw Brulee snoring away in her sleep.

Without wasting any words, he swept her up with black mist and pulled Brulee into Dark Space. Though she woke up briefly during the process, she had no ability to resist.

A moment later, Brulee was thrown back out. At the same time, a fruit in Yota’s Dark Space had transformed into the Mirror-Mirror Fruit, which he took out.

"Damn it, who are you?" Brulee’s eyes widened as she glared furiously at Yota. The moment she saw the Mirror-Mirror Fruit in his hand, she was struck dumb.

"How… impossible… You’re Marauder Yota!"

"I’ve taken the Mirror-Mirror Fruit. In return, I treated your face," Yota said. Then he phased and sank into the ground.

"What?! Come back here!"

Brulee shouted for a long while, but Yota never reappeared. Panic immediately appeared on her face. "Oh no, the Mirror-Mirror Fruit was stolen… I’m so beautiful!"

Turning her head, Brulee saw the enormous mirror behind her. It had originally served as one of her transportation passages, but now it reflected her appearance. The scar on her face had vanished without a trace, and Brulee immediately cried out in delight.

Well, of course, most people with normal standards of beauty probably would not think she looked particularly beautiful…

After all, Yota had only removed her scar; he had not given her plastic surgery. So she still looked like an old witch, at most an old witch without a scar.

But that did not stop Brulee from admiring herself in the mirror from every angle, looking utterly pleased with herself.

Only after staring for quite some time did she suddenly realize, "This is bad! The Mirror-Mirror Fruit was taken by the Marauder! I have to tell Brother Katakuri and Mother right away!"

Then she rushed forward in a hurry and slammed headfirst into the mirror. Only then did she realize that she no longer had the Mirror-Mirror Fruit’s ability. She could only run out of the cabin and rely on her own two legs to deliver the news.

Fortunately, there were quite a few Homies in the forest that could help her. Thus, before dawn, news that the Marauder had come to Cake Island had already spread throughout the Charlotte Family.

The Charlotte Family clearly became nervous after receiving the news. By the next morning, Yota could see that security throughout Cake Island had become far tighter than before.

However, strict security in the Pirate World was little more than a joke. In a world where most people suffered from face blindness and occasionally had their brains short-circuit, expecting such methods to catch Yota and his group, who possessed the Transformation Technique, was nothing more than wishful thinking.

Trouble was one thing, but they had heard that Big Mom’s Tea Party would have plenty of delicious food and desserts. Both Violet and Ulti were looking forward to it, so Yota planned to fill his stomach first.

Unfortunately, their identities definitely would not qualify them for the main table, so they could only eat on the outskirts. Still, Cake Island truly deserved to be called a gathering place for food lovers in the Pirate World. The chefs’ skills were exceptional. Though the food could not compare to what Big Mom served her principal guests, it was still a heavenly feast.

The two girls ate with great delight, but Yota was somewhat uninterested. It was not that Cake Island’s food was bad; he was simply a thoroughgoing member of the Savory Party. He only sampled desserts lightly. Eating too much of them just made him feel sickly. The fruit, on the other hand, tasted quite good.

At the same time, Yota kept watching his surroundings. He could vaguely sense that quite a few Homies, as well as Big Mom’s sons and daughters, seemed to be quietly surrounding the Tea Party venue.

"Is it because of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit? Makes sense. For a pirate like Big Mom, flipping the table is completely normal."

What if they could not find the enemy hiding among the guests? There was actually a very simple solution: capture everyone, then use the Memory Fruit to search through their memories. Wouldn’t that make everything clear?

As for how the guests might react… they could simply use the Memory Fruit to alter their memories. These so-called underworld giants looked imposing, but in the eyes of the Four Emperors, they were no different from dogs. Even Doflamingo, the number one figure in the underworld, was practically a vassal when facing Kaido.

The reason they had not acted directly last night was probably because Big Mom had the same idea as Yota—as a thoroughgoing foodie, no matter what happened, she had to hold the birthday banquet properly and finish the cake before worrying about anything else.