The once-harmonous tea party instantly became a battlefield.
Katakuri, who had reactivated his Observation Haki, noticed Enel staring right at him—
"Mantra" and "Future Sight" clashed in an instant.
Just as arcs of electricity began dancing at Enel's fingertips, ready for battle—
Michael suddenly raised a hand, stopping them both.
"All of you, stop."
His voice wasn't loud, but an unprecedented aura surged forth with his words.
Even Charlotte Linlin lowered her gaze to look at Michael again.
"Mamamamama, Conqueror's Haki? I'm not surprised at all. Someone who fought Whitebeard must have the qualities of a 'King.'"
"Charlotte Linlin, I came here today to discuss granting two of your sons the title of Warlord…" Michael shook his head as Holy Light and Holy Flame raged around him.
"—not to be harassed by an old woman like you."
With that, Michael drew "Morning Star" and pointed it straight at Charlotte Linlin.
"I'll give you one chance. If you want to talk about the two Warlord positions, we can continue this discussion peacefully…"
"But if you keep talking nonsense, then be prepared to see Whole Cake Island buried under the Marine's Buster Call."
The moment the words "Buster Call" were uttered, even Charlotte Linlin's expression darkened with caution.
Even if she wasn't afraid, Whole Cake Island was.
The Charlotte Family was.
Although the Marine is currently restrained by multiple forces, if they truly went all out to attack Whole Cake Island, no one except Charlotte Linlin herself would survive.
However, the temptation of obtaining the Lunarian race has plunged Charlotte Linlin into a difficult dilemma.
Reason and greed take turns dominating her thoughts.
But then, Michael's next words completely tipped the scales.
"I'm not the Lunarian you imagined... but rather the user of Seraphim fruit."
"Ser... Seraphim?"
For a fleeting moment, confusion flashed through Charlotte Linlin's eyes...
Only to be replaced by furious rage at having been deceived.
At that moment, her Conqueror's Haki clashed violently with Michael's in the air.
Black lightning-like energy streaked across their vision...
"The sky... it's splitting..."
Enel looked up at the astonishing sight, his normally narrow eyes widening to the point of nearly popping out of their sockets.
Collisions between Conqueror's Haki users were rare even for members of the Charlotte Family, let alone for a country bumpkin like Enel.
For such a phenomenon to occur meant that both sides were evenly matched in terms of the qualities of a true king.
At the very least, when Charlotte Linlin was teaching Katakuri how to fight, there had never been a phenomenon where the sky split apart.
This also indirectly proved that even though Katakuri possessed the qualifications to become a "King," there were still differences in aptitude among those qualifications.
At the very least, Katakuri couldn't compare to his monstrous mother.
Michael glanced at the sky, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
Truth be told, during his great battle with Whitebeard, he hadn't yet awakened Conqueror's Haki.
But in the six months since that battle, Conqueror's Haki had surged from within him, growing stronger with each passing day.
Even he hadn't expected that, in such a short time, his Conqueror's Haki would already be comparable to Charlotte Linlin's.
Unfortunately, he still hadn't grasped the essence of Conqueror's Haki Coating.
Otherwise, his combat power would undoubtedly reach another level.
But for Michael right now… this was enough.
"Mama! It seems he really is strong!"
At that moment, the twin-horned pirate hat that Charlotte Linlin always wore on her head suddenly spoke.
"What the—!? The hat can talk!?"
Enel and the others wore expressions as if they'd seen a ghost.
Homies, creations of the Soul-Soul Fruit, were similar in nature to the zombies created by Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit—except instead of stuffing souls into human corpses, they were placed into other objects.
"Indeed! He's strong, but what a shame—he's a heartbreaker scumbag!" Charlotte Linlin put on a tearful expression, but her hand unhesitatingly reached for the pirate hat…
In the next moment, the hat transformed into a massive sword and slashed toward Michael!
Michael raised "Morning Star" to block, instantly feeling the terrifying force behind the slashed.
Truly a monstrous existence who could break a giant's bones at the age of five!
Just a single clash sent shockwaves rippling through the entire garden.
The furniture originally set up for the tea party was instantly reduced to splinters.
But Michael didn't back down in the slightest. Instead, he raised his head and shouted at Charlotte Linlin:
"Damn it! Who broke your heart!? You're about to marry your thirty-eighth husband, aren't you!? Besides, you're the one who mistook my race!"
"Enough excuses, scumbag!" Charlotte Linlin lifted her sword, launching Michael into the air, then swung upward with a mighty slash—"Elbaf Spear: Ikoku Sovereignty!"
In an instant, a massive shockwave engulfed the entire sky.
And of course, Michael was caught in it.
"Mi—"
Stella was about to rush forward but was immediately stopped by Crocodile.
"He's fine… If he could survive against Whitebeard, then withstanding Charlotte Linlin's attacks shouldn't be a problem." Crocodile shook her head, her gaze shifting to Perospero nearby.
"I think we should deal with the trouble in front of us first."
"I strongly agree with Sand Woman's proposal," Enel stood up and muttered.
"That scarf-wearing guy's been staring at me this whole time… Gives me the creeps, like he's seeing right through me."
"Have you been sleeping through every culture class these past six months?" Crocodile gritted her teeth.
"What the hell is 'Sand Woman' supposed to mean!?"
Though they were still bantering among themselves, they had already silently turned to face the Charlotte Family, ready to unleash large-scale AOE skills at any moment.
As soon as Enel finished speaking, he instantly transformed into lightning and appeared before Katakuri.
"Were you just looking at me? To be honest, I'm not too happy about that."
"Lightning... the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"
A hint of wariness flashed in Katakuri's eyes.
"Sand, lightning, and... clouds? The Marine suddenly gained three Logia-type Devil Fruit users?"
"But unfortunately, you'll have to stay here... including your Vice Admiral."
Enel shook his head and pointed to the sky.
"Him?"
"He's probably getting excited right about now."
"Be careful—when he stops acting like a human, he absolutely will crushed your mother."