— — — — — —
BOOM!
"Turn the rudder! Turn the damn rudder! It's the Big Mom Pirates!"
As the thunder of cannon fire echoed across the sea, the pirate captain roared furiously.
But it was no use.
The moment the Big Mom Pirates set their sights on them...
He was already a lamb waiting for slaughter.
Crack!
Suddenly, a long, slender leg swept across, smashing straight into the captain.
"Pfft!" Blood sprayed from his mouth.
The pirate captain hit the deck hard.
And right then, from thin air, Mondée appeared.
"You should've handed it over quietly," she said flatly. "It's not like you had to die."
The captain roared defiantly, pulling out his snake-head-shaped saber with a shing.
"Hah! Are you kidding me? You invisible demon... if pirates just hand over their treasure without a fight, are they even pirates anymore?!"
Mondée narrowed her eyes. "Got guts, huh? Too bad guts won't save you."
Swish—!
Her blade flashed, cleanly slicing through his neck.
Another head hit the floor.
It had been four years since she'd made her name.
---
Charlotte Mondée.
Devil Fruit Paramecia-type: Clear-Clear Fruit (Suke Suke no Mi).
Bounty: 480 Million Berries.
Title: Invisible Demon.
---
"Hahaha..."
A chuckle echoed nearby.
Hachée walked over with a cigarette in his mouth, grinning lazily.
"Jeez, Sis, still not satisfied? This is what pirates are, right? A bunch of maniacs willing to die for treasure."
Mondée clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Idiots asking for death, that's all."
---
Charlotte Hachée.
Devil Fruit Paramecia-type: Heal-Heal Fruit.
Bounty: 378 Million Berries.
Title: Fallen Angel.
---
Mondée still waved her hand and ordered, "Clean this mess up."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Immediately, her troops — the special tribes — moved in swiftly.
In no time at all, the entire pirate crew was wiped out.
Their ship?
Completely stripped bare, with all the treasure hauled back to their Biscuit Ship.
Back aboard, Mondée asked, "Everything handled?"
Hachée nodded. "All done, Sis."
Mondée gave a quick command, "Head back."
"Aye, return to base!"
Splash—!
With a creak of the sails, the Biscuit Ship began its return voyage.
It wasn't long — maybe half an hour later — before they were docking at a small, isolated island.
"Hehehe—!"
Before the ship had even fully landed, Cracker came running over, grinning from ear to ear.
"Mondée-nee! Hachée-nee! You're back! Did you get the Devil Fruit we wanted?!"
Obviously...
For trash like the ones they just fought, there was no need for the whole crew to mobilize. Just Mondée and Hachée were more than enough.
Mondée shook her head. "There was only one Devil Fruit on that ship. Too bad... not the one we're looking for."
She sighed helplessly.
Four years...
Anytime there was even the slightest rumor, they'd gone charging after it.
And every time? Nothing.
Not even a hint of success.
Honestly, it was exhausting.
Cracker grinned. "Take it easy, Mondée-nee! It's not like that's unusual!"
---
Charlotte Cracker.
Devil Fruit Paramecia-type: Biscuit Fruit.
Bounty: 899 Million Berries.
Title: One of the Sweet Commanders. One Man Army.
---
Tap.
At that moment, the sound of steady footsteps approached.
A mature, calm, and gentle voice spoke up.
"Don't take it so hard, Mondée. Finding that kind of Devil Fruit was never going to be easy."
Mondée turned around, a little embarrassed.
"Sorry, Big Sis... I guess I've been kinda on edge."
Compote smiled gently. "It's nothing to apologize for. We've been searching all this time and still came up empty — it's not surprising. But... a Devil Fruit like that? You know it's not something just anyone stumbles across."
Mondée let out a long breath, slowly calming herself.
"You're right, Big Sis. I let it get to me."
Compote nodded with a warm smile.
---
Charlotte Compote.
Devil Fruit Paramecia-type: Pet-Pet Fruit.
Bounty: 899 Million Berries.
Title: Slave Master.
---
"Hahaha..."
A soft, soothing laugh came from behind them.
Effilée walked over at a leisurely pace.
If Hachée gave off a mischievous vibe...Effilée was like a pure, holy saint.
That kind of strange, almost unreal contrast.
---
Charlotte Effilée.
Devil Fruit Paramecia-type: Treatment Fruit.
Bounty: 377 Million Berries.
Title: Holy Angel.
---
Stopping in front of Mondée, Effilée shook her head helplessly.
"Sis... your temper's really been getting worse lately, huh?"
Mondée blinked, a little stunned.
"...Really?"
It hit her right then.
Yeah... it was kinda weird.
She used to be calm, sharp, calculating.
But now?
Getting this irritable over nothing?
That really wasn't like her.
Tap.
Katakuri walked over, voice calm and steady.
"It's nothing strange," he said, his voice calm as ever. "It just means there's a problem with your mindset."
Mondée tilted her head. "Big Bro Katakuri?"
Katakuri stopped beside her.
"When someone hits a bottleneck, their mentality tends to fall apart pretty easily. Same thing happened to me not long ago."
"No matter how hard I trained, I just couldn't take another step to be stronger. That frustration? It messes with your head. I was just as irritable back then."
Mondée scratched her head awkwardly. "...Sorry."
"Hahaha—" Katakuri chuckled. "No need to apologize, Mondée. Take your time and work through it. It's not really a big deal. Everyone goes through this kind of thing sooner or later. Look at me—I stopped stressing over it, and now I feel way more balanced."
---
Charlotte Katakuri.
Devil Fruit Paramecia-type: Mochi-Mochi Fruit (Mochi Mochi no Mi)
Bounty: 1,538,000,000 Berries.
Title: One of the Sweet Commander. The Future Strongest Man in The World.
---
In these past four years...
Katakuri's bounty had soared from 800 million to over 1.5 billion.
It wasn't just recognition of his strength.
It was recognition of his status.
Truth be told— In these four years, the Big Mom Pirates had truly made their mark on the world.
Right now—
In the New World, there were four legendary pirate crews.
The Flying Sky Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates, the Roger Pirates, and the Big Mom Pirates.
These four were known as the Four Great Legendary Pirate Crews.
Of course—
Besides them, there were other big-name crews too: the Three-Body Pirates, the Happo Navy, and many more.
All kinds of famous names had risen over the years.
After all—There were only about seven years left until the Pirate Era's biggest event — the day Gol D. Roger would become Pirate King in 1497.
And now...It was the year 1490.
If these guys hadn't already made a name for themselves, that would've been the real surprise.
But what caught everyone off guard...Was that the Big Mom Pirates weren't led by Linlin herself...
But by Katakuri.
So during these four years...Katakuri led the Big Mom Pirates around the seas — collecting Devil Fruits, plundering treasure, and growing stronger.
In total? Katakuri had snatched up a grand total of 120 Devil Fruits.
Honestly...That number was insane.
Katakuri rubbed his chin, thinking for a second. "Mondée, what kind of Devil Fruit did you guys find this time?"
Mondée quickly replied, "Third bro! Paramecia-type — Melt Melt Fruit."
Compote added, "It's definitely one of the higher-tier Fruits. Even though we've collected a ton of Devil Fruits these past four years..."
Everyone's face twitched a little.
Yeah...It was kind of a depressing topic.
120 Devil Fruits in four years.
But the problem was... Most of them were total trash.
Sure, they say there's no such thing as a useless Devil Fruit — only useless users.
But come on... You seriously think the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the Spring-Spring Fruit are on the same level?
That's just straight-up nonsense.
Some Fruits are just way better.
Those junk Devil Fruits? Even if you handed them out for free, no one would wanna eat them.
The Melt Melt Fruit though...Now that was a legit high-grade Fruit.
Katakuri thought for a second. "Not long ago, we also picked up a Paramecia-type — Grill Grill Fruit... and a Paramecia-type — Iron Iron Fruit."
"Haha—" Effilée chuckled, covering her mouth. "Wow... those three Fruits really do go well together."
.
.
.