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Charlotte Katakuri, the second son of the Charlotte Family, is one of the Three Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates. He possesses the Mochi Mochi no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, and has a bounty of 856 million berries...
Charlotte Perospero, the eldest son of the Charlotte Family, is also one of the Three Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates. He has the Lick-Lick Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, and a bounty of 612 million berries.
Charlotte Cracker, the tenth son of the Charlotte Family, is another one of the Three Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates. He wields the power of the Biscuit Biscuit Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, and has a bounty of 533 million berries.
In addition to these incredibly powerful Sweet Commanders, the strength of the other members of the Charlotte Family cannot be underestimated...
Sitting in the second row of the conference hall, Akainu had a dark expression, feeling an unexplainable irritation.
Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Marine staff officer standing at the podium, was giving a detailed report on the Big Mom Pirates. However, Akainu wasn't listening at all.
His burning rage was clear in his eyes as he stared at the wanted poster of Wilhelm displayed on the blackboard.
"That brat..." He could still feel a dull ache in the scars crisscrossing his body—scars that had fully healed in just three or four months thanks to his monstrous endurance.
Akainu clenched his fists, his killing intent overflowing. "This time, I won't let him off!"
A fifteen-year-old kid had left such a scar on him.
For Sakazuki, a man filled with pride and arrogance, this was an unforgivable disgrace.
Sitting to Akainu's left, Aokiji suddenly spoke. "Sakazuki, you fought against that Charlotte kid before. You should have a good grasp of his strength, right?"
For this large-scale expedition, in addition to Fleet Admiral Sengoku personally leading the operation, all three Admiral candidates might also be involved.
It was clear that Commander-in-Chief Kong was not willing to stay on the defensive.
The plan was to take this opportunity to crush the Big Mom Pirates in one decisive battle and use that victory to announce to the world that Marine Headquarters was returning to the New World in full force.
This was a stark contrast to the past, when the Marines had been forced to retreat from the New World to the first half of the Grand Line, unable to hold their ground against the relentless attacks of the pirates.
Even now, the Marines stationed in the New World could do nothing but hide within the G-5 fortress, unable to exert any real control or authority over the sea.
At present, the Marines' influence in the New World was minimal.
They could barely extend their reach to Dressrosa and a few other islands near the entrance to the first half of the New World.
If the powerful Big Mom Pirates are destroyed and Totto Land is used as a strategic base to station a large number of Marine troops, it might truly be possible to change the current situation and turn the tide in the New World.
With a firm foothold established, the Marines could shift from defense to offense.
This would pose a direct threat to the New World, where the Whitebeard Pirates lead countless other pirate crews, both big and small.
Undoubtedly, if things go as planned, those major pirate forces would eventually be wiped out in one decisive strike, bringing an end to this chaotic era of piracy.
"His skin is tougher than steel—it's almost like copper and iron. Even my Lava-Lava Fruit couldn't deal any real damage to him. The only way to hurt him was by using advanced Armament Haki to destroy him from the inside... That was the only thing that truly affected him."
Sakazuki frowned.
But instead of rejecting Aokiji's question, he gave a serious response in a deep voice.
"To be honest, I wasn't careless in my fight against him last time. But even so, I was still defeated by his bizarre and unpredictable abilities. Without stable ground to stand on in the middle of the sea, I had no leverage, making it difficult to fully use my strengths. I fought him to the death, and in the end... it was a draw."
"I believe that he's an even bigger threat than that lunatic Charlotte Linlin—not just because of his talent and strength, but also his intelligence, strategy, and potential. If we let him live, he'll become an even greater danger in the future."
At that moment, Sakazuki instinctively touched the scar on his abdomen.
His expression darkened, and his face twisted into a ferocious look as he declared, "But let me make one thing clear, Kuzan. That brat is my prey. You don't need to interfere—I'll take care of him myself!"
"Ah, looks like you've got quite the obsession with this one. Don't worry, I won't steal him from you..."
Aokiji shrugged.
At just 30 years old, he was younger than Sakazuki, who was 36, and Borsalino, who was 39.
Thanks to his Logia-type Ice-Ice Fruit, he had the unique advantage of being able to freeze the sea itself—something no one else could do.
Although he was a candidate for Admiral, Aokiji was well aware that he was still a step behind Sakazuki, who was in his prime and approaching the peak of his strength.
Especially against an opponent with such an unpredictable ability—one capable of instantly teleporting even warships.
As the inevitable battle against the Big Mom Pirates approached, it was only a matter of time before both sides clashed in chaotic hand-to-hand combat.
If the battlefield isn't set on an island, then as a Logia-type Ice-Ice Fruit user, Aokiji would simply freeze the sea to create conditions that favor the Marines' attack.
Given the situation—
Since Akainu had already chosen Charlotte Wilhelm as his opponent, determined to settle things once and for all and erase his humiliation, Aokiji had no reason to interfere.
After all—
If even Akainu couldn't kill that brat, then even if Aokiji stepped in, the outcome would likely be the same.
"Sakazuki~, Marshal Kong told me earlier that I should be the one to deal with that brat..."
Sitting on Akainu's right, Borsalino leaned back lazily with his legs crossed. He turned his head and spoke in his usual strange, drawn-out tone, his lips curling into a smirk.
"But you see, this is quite troublesome for me~."
He had made two separate trips to Water 7 just to capture Charlotte Wilhelm, yet the brat managed to slip away both times before he even arrived.
Now, Kizaru found himself unusually curious about the so-called "Trembling Noble", his interest piqued.
As the user of the Logia-type Glint-Glint Fruit—
He was, without a doubt, the fastest person in all of Marine Headquarters.
So now that he had the rare chance to face someone with teleportation abilities, he couldn't help but feel a sense of competition.
Technically speaking—
The opponent's teleportation was a true spatial movement.
In theory, that meant it was even faster than his "speed of light movement," which was still far from the actual speed of light.
But human reflexes had limits.
And there were also restrictions in terms of physical endurance and stamina.
Despite being someone who believed in "unclear justice" and rarely showing aggression, even when hunting pirates, the normally indifferent Borsalino found himself genuinely interested this time.
He wanted to experience Charlotte Wilhelm's teleportation firsthand—
To test if this natural-born monster of the Charlotte Family was truly faster than him.