Turning Hostile

"Mamamamamama!"

Amid a burst of strange laughter, Charlotte Linlin emerged. She was huge, dressed in a pink gown, and holding a tiny parasol so small it could only serve as a hair accessory.

Honestly, that outfit was painfully hard on the eyes… Looking at her now, it was impossible to imagine that she had actually been considered a great beauty in her youth.

…That was why Yota had always felt that if the Rewind Fruit opened an elderly beauty salon, it would definitely be popular.

"Today is Mother’s birthday tea party again!"

"Mother is so beautiful! She looks so young."

The moment Charlotte Linlin appeared, her children immediately showered her with all kinds of exaggerated praise. The so-called giants of the underworld also came forward one after another and began flattering her as well.

Yota narrowed his eyes, speechless. Beside him, Page One pulled down his hat, while Kyros lowered his head slightly. Ulti and Violet looked as though they could not bear to watch.

Fortunately, their group was standing on the outskirts, and no one paid them much attention.

What followed was the part where the underworld bosses presented treasures to Charlotte Linlin, which was basically the same as paying protection money.

The Charlotte Family’s intelligence network was said to be the best in the New World, largely because of its deep cooperation with the underworld.

Aside from Doflamingo, whose main business was selling weapons and who had therefore been taken in by the war-loving Kaido, the people involved in loan sharking, news, smuggling, and brothel businesses all had the Charlotte Family as their backer.

Yota looked somewhat coldly at the humanoid albatross known as Big News. This was Morgans, the man who had ruined his reputation.

Other than that, the only person who caught his attention was Stussy, a seemingly young and beautiful woman among them. She was said to own the Pleasure District, but according to Yota’s already vague and muddled memories, she also seemed to be a member of CP0.

However, seeing how she interacted with Charlotte Linlin as an equal, Yota had no idea how old she really was. Still, she was clearly no ordinary person.

A moment later, an enormous birthday cake was wheeled out. Charlotte Linlin looked delighted, grabbed a huge piece of cake, and devoured it.

With that kind of binge eating, plus giving birth almost every year when she was young, she still managed to retain the combat strength of one of the Four Emperors. She truly deserves to be called a monster.

Among the Four Emperors, Charlotte Linlin’s talent was unquestionably the greatest. Even in the entire world, her talent should have been at the absolute pinnacle.

If someone like Kaido, who loved training so diligently, had possessed this kind of physical talent, there probably would not have been any room left for the other Four Emperors by now.

Before long, Charlotte Linlin had eaten the gigantic cake, nearly as tall as she was, down to nothing. Yota had originally assumed that a birthday cake would at least be cut up and shared with the guests. Unfortunately, such rules were utterly useless in front of Charlotte Linlin.

After all, she was a monster who might swallow people whole once she had eaten her fill. Trying to snatch food from her mouth—were they tired of living?

After she finished eating, Charlotte Linlin patted her belly with a satisfied expression. Then her face changed, and she clapped her hands.

Big Mom’s children, along with a large number of pirates and Homies soldiers, immediately surrounded the entire venue.

"Linlin, what are you doing?"

"Mother, this…"

Charlotte Linlin’s sudden turn against them right after eating and drinking her fill left the entire crowd stunned. Everyone looked at her with utterly lost expressions.

"Mamamamamama, it’s nothing really. I suspect that one of you guests has taken something you shouldn’t have, so I’m preparing to conduct a search," Charlotte Linlin said with an unconcerned look.

The underworld bosses wanted to argue their case after hearing this, but when they saw Charlotte Linlin’s impatient expression, they swallowed their words.

Seeing the underworld bosses acting so obediently, Charlotte Linlin finally spoke with satisfaction. "Good, that’s what family should be like. Once Pudding has checked your memories, you’ll still be friends of the Charlotte Family, right?"

"What?! Check our memories?!"

This time, the underworld bosses could no longer hold back. As leaders of the underground world, many of the memories in their heads absolutely could not see the light of day. The moment they leaked out here, they might be killed somewhere else. How could they possibly let someone inspect them so easily?

Some of them had even secretly done things that betrayed the Charlotte Family. If those memories were discovered, would they not be finished on the spot?

Not to mention, if Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District, were exposed as a spy, the Charlotte Family would not even need to act. Her "companions" in the underworld organizations would tear her to pieces.

Thus, the instant Charlotte Linlin finished speaking, many underworld bosses angrily rose to their feet.

Then, with a bang, two so-called underworld bosses collapsed to the ground with their brains blown apart. Two tiny jelly beans bounced across the floor.

Katakuri sat there with one leg crossed over the other, his face cold as he said, "Anyone who tries to escape will end up like that!"

Clearly, trying to escape in front of Katakuri, who possessed Observation Haki that could foresee the future, was nothing but wishful thinking.

With that display of killing chickens to frighten the monkeys, the underworld giants quickly behaved themselves. Though these people appeared to command considerable underworld influence, their individual strength was all terribly lacking. Even Stussy, the strongest among them and a former CP0 agent, was at most around the level of a Marine rear admiral or vice admiral.

To Katakuri, people like them were essentially one-shot kills. It would not take even a minute to slaughter them all, much less if they faced Charlotte Linlin. Charlotte Linlin could probably steal all their souls with a single sentence.

Seeing the underworld bosses trembling and quiet as chicks, Charlotte Linlin clapped her hands. "So, would you like Pudding to inspect your memories…"

"…Or would you rather die immediately?!"

"Of course we choose to let Miss Pudding examine our memories!"

"That’s right, that’s right. It’s only checking our memories. What’s the big deal? We haven’t done anything to betray the Charlotte Family!"

The remaining underworld bosses all spoke with righteous expressions. If their eyes had not been darting around while they spoke, perhaps they would have sounded more convincing.