_________________
Fish-Man Island:
"To think that my daughter would appear in the manga this early."
Suzan smiled as she looked at Madam Shyarly, who resembled her perfectly.
"Seems like she's come to dislike predicting the future too."
Shyarly commented, noting how her counterpart had left the crystal ball aside.
"Your accurate prophecies are your unique trait, and it looks like your role in the manga is quite important, given how soon you appeared, dear."
Suzan voiced her thoughts.
Shyarly smiled as she watched her counterpart interact with Luffy. She hadn't expected to see that scene so soon, even with her foresight.
"I see you're enjoying this. You didn't see it coming, did you?" Suzan smiled.
"For some reason, my power doesn't work on the manga. I can't predict anything." Shyarly explained.
It wasn't that she hadn't tried. She had attempted to foresee the outcome of the Marineford War. But unlike her counterpart, who succeeded because she predicted it in the real world, she couldn't because the Marineford War was still just events on paper… still far away in reality.
"At least you can be surprised, since you can't predict what's coming."
…
King Neptune's eyes focused on a particular scene, where Pappag was talking about Vander Decken constantly harassing the princess.
"A princess…? I'll have a daughter too?"
Neptune was surprised by this, and it was confirmed right after by Caimie, who said that King Neptune, known as the Sea God and ruler of this country, had four children: the three princes and a mermaid princess.
"Does that mean I'm supposed to have three princes and one princess with Otohime?"
Neptune murmured to himself, even though Rob had already left some time ago.
"Your Majesty, please don't be upset. Lady Otohime isn't the only woman in our kingdom…"
The Right Minister's voice trailed off in the second half of the sentence as he noticed the king's terrifying glare.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty…"
The Right Minister quickly apologized and went silent.
"Sigh~ How many times must I say it… My queen is one of a kind. A true queen is born to be one, Jamon."
…
Fisher Tiger froze at a particular scene.
"What!? How did this happen!? No way!"
He looked over at Jinbe sitting beside him, who wore the same shocked expression.
"So the Yonko that Jinbe submitted to… is her."
Arlong said with a strange look.
"That's unbelievable…"
"Is this really working out? The island seems peaceful enough. No signs of chaos yet."
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Chapter's Events:
— — — — — — — — — — — —
"Man, this place is cool! All these different kinds of people… All different sizes and colors!" Luffy marveled as he looked down at the various types and shapes of fishmen.
"Yeah, when two members of different races get married and have kids, it's twice the fun!"
"You gotta guess whether it'll be a merkid or a fishkid, as well as whether it'll be a boy or a girl!" Pappag explained how things work when a fishman and a mermaid marry.
"We'll be taking the fast lane from here." By Caimie pointed to the fast lane they were about to enter. But Luffy noticed a strange pirate flag hanging on a factory.
"Hm? What's that?"
"Oh… That's the sweet factory." replied Pappag.
"Nooo, no… I mean, why's there a pirate flag up there?" Luffy rephrased his question.
"You'll see flags like that one at the entrance to the island, and in the port, as well. It's that flag that's protecting our island right now!!"
Pappag explained the reason for the pirate flag's presence, then continued:
"The flag belongs to a pirate from the New World, name of Charlotte Linlin!!"
"Better known as Big Mom - One of the Yonkou!"
"Before the war, we had Whitebeard's name and that kept us safe from other pirates. These days Big Mom does the same job."
"In return, she expects a huge delivery of delicious sweets from us each month. That's what the factory's for."
"Sweets?!" Luffy swallowed his saliva upon hearing that.
"Without a powerful name like that to protect us, our country would collapse. That's just how serious the pirate problem is around these parts."
"Still, if she's protecting you just like Whitebeard, this Big Mom must be a pretty all right sort of woman." Luffy figured she must be kind.
"You could say that. Though of course, Whitebeard never asked for anything in return. To Big Mom, I suppose it's like a business of sorts…" Pappag explained.
"Big Mom, huh… A Yonkou, just like Shanks… I'd love to meet her someday…" Luffy smiled, expressing his wish to meet this powerful pirate.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
"Charlotte Linlin!? She really demands a huge share of the island's sweets every month in exchange for her protection!?"
"That's not exactly unreasonable… But why do I feel bad about this?"
Fisher Tiger said while looking at Big Mom's flag hanging over the sweets factory.
"So the island isn't free of danger after all. During Whitebeard's era and beyond, a lot must've changed. It looks like all of that will be revealed in this arc."
"Let's just keep reading. Things are starting to get deeper. Looks like we're in for a lot of reveals here."
"Isn't the current Big Mom Rob's partner? There's no way someone like Rob would be with an evil person… right?" Jinbe asked.
Everyone now knew about Charlotte Linlin's connection to Rob.
"If the current Big Mom is good, it doesn't mean her counterpart is. We're talking about a Yonko here—top power in the seas and a pirate at that."
"With the business-like behavior just revealed, I wouldn't bet on her being a good person. Like Pappag said, it seems more like she's striking a deal just to satisfy her appetite, not out of mercy."
Fisher Tiger commented.
"I think she's the best protection my counterpart could get for the island."
Jinbe nodded, agreeing with Tiger.
"Still, why didn't he look for someone like Shanks? I don't think Shanks would refuse to lend his flag as a protective charm."
…
Whole Cake Island:
"Mama! Mama!! To think this day would come so soon—seeing the Straw Hat personally wishing to meet me! Hahaha! What a strange fate!"
Linlin was delighted to see her pirate symbol appear in the manga as the protector of Fishman Island.
And what made her even happier was seeing Luffy say he'd love to meet her.
"There will be a meeting. After all, to reach the top, one must overcome those already at the top. Isn't that right, Mugiwara Luffy?"
Katakuri looked at his mother, who was lounging comfortably on a couch, one leg over the other, inside the art store at the heart of Whole Cake Island.
"Mama. I bet Luffy will end up an enemy, and the reason will be him eating your food."
Katakuri said calmly.
"He'll eat my food? Looks like Luffy's asking for trouble then."
"I wonder what Mama's mood will be in the manga, Perorin~"
Perospero mused, since his mother's current mood was far better than it had been in her younger days as a member of the Rocks Pirates, when her temper was extremely volatile.
That fiery temper still flared up sometimes, but most of it was now under control—thanks to Rob, his adoptive father.
"Mama Mama! I'd love to see that meeting happen too. It'll be interesting, especially if they're enemies… right, Katakuri?"
Katakuri adjusted his scarf slightly and thought aloud:
"If he's to be your enemy, he'll first have to take down my counterpart. Only then should he even think about fighting you, Mama."
Hearing that, Linlin smiled widely.
She was excited to see how things would unfold with Charlotte Linlin in a world without Rob…
A world where she had been crowned an Empress among Pirates.
_________________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
_________________
Chapter 920: A Dangerous Prophecy!
Chapter 921: Hody Jones
Chapter 922: King Neptune's Appearance!
_________________
BlackStar_BH:
Join my Patreon at:
https://www.patreon.com/BlackStar_BH
To support me and unlock advanced chapters. Get ahead with up to 30 chapters in advance:
- 5 advanced chapters for $5
- 10 advanced chapters for $10
- 15 advanced chapters for $15
- 20 advanced chapters for $20
- 30 advanced chapters for $30
_______
New! With the addition of the shop feature to Patreon, you can now purchase chapters without needing a monthly subscription! For the curious individuals who like the idea of buying just one or two chapters, you can now control the number of advanced chapters you want to read. I have ensured to set the lowest permissible price on the platform for the advanced chapters! Enjoy!
_______
Hey everyone!
I'm excited to announce that I'm now on Ko-fi. If you enjoy my content and want to support my work, you can now buy me a coffee! Every contribution helps me keep creating and sharing more with you all.
Check out my Ko-fi page here:
https://ko-fi.com/blackstar_bh
There are 30 chapters available there ahead of Webnovel.
The membership tiers on Ko-fi:
- 5 advanced chapters for $5
- 10 advanced chapters for $10
- 20 advanced chapters for $20
- 30 advanced chapters for $30