The azure giant dragon soared above Cake Island, causing the island's residents and Homies to be startled by the sudden appearance of the colossal creature. Charlotte Linlin, stepping out of the door, gazed at Kaidou in the sky with a peculiar smile at the corner of her mouth.
"Hmm hmm~ hmm hmm, the little brother from back then has grown up and is no longer adorable at all."
Kaidou's fruits were gifted by her, so she could naturally recognize the beastly form of Kaidou.
The reason Kaidou appeared here was to prevent his territory from being affected.
Charlotte Linlin is sometimes a madwoman, and Kaidou was well aware of this.
But those were Queen's crops, and he knew Queen worked hard for a long time to plant them. Since Queen didn't want to take them out, no one could just snatch them away.
To prevent Charlotte Linlin from causing trouble in his territory, he came directly to Cake Island, intending to clarify matters there, so even if a fight broke out, the damage would be to Charlotte Linlin's territory, keeping his own territory safe.
"Seven years, no, almost eight years, it's been nearly eight years since I've seen you, Kaidou. I never expected you'd come to me over something like this. Captain John's territory has already been taken by you, so I presume the treasure has fallen into your hands as well?"
"What are you talking about? I never found John; I just took over that territory."
Anyone who underestimated Kaidou would be the real fool. This guy was cunning, and no one could get him to speak about Captain John. That was the financial secret of the Hundred Beasts Pirates.
Many policies formulated by Asie were costly at first and relied entirely on those treasures for maintenance, and even now, if short on money, they could return there to fetch some.
"Hmm hmm~ hmm hmm~, is that so? John's luck really was bad, to die due to internal conflict. But since you're here, let's sit down and talk properly."
After nearly seven or eight years, the two Great Pirates faced each other again due to some bananas.
It was clear that Kaidou came here to talk, and if he could talk, then it means it was not unattainable but required a certain price.
"Since it's your territory, I'll buy it. The bananas every year must be sent to me."
"That's impossible, Linlin. At most, after the production expands, I'll give you a portion, and as for money, I'm not interested."
More accurately, it's by selling bananas that some money could be made; he had no interest in such matters, as he was here to play the middleman.
If Charlotte Linlin wanted to seize by force, he would never agree. His attitude towards capable underlings was always good, and he wouldn't compromise just because the opponent was Charlotte Linlin.
But a trade was different. Even if Queen had a great appetite, it had a limit, whereas the planting area for bananas didn't, so as it expanded, he naturally had extra bananas to sell to Charlotte Linlin.
But these bananas were only grown by him, and as the monopoly holder, he naturally wouldn't be satisfied with just those Bellies; he wanted Charlotte Linlin's intelligence network.
Every Great Pirate had their intelligence network. If they relied solely on newspapers, they'd eventually be screwed by Morgans.
Indeed, he dared to report on any major event, but he often reported fake news to attract attention.
Among the many pirates in the New World, Charlotte Linlin was most closely associated with the Gray World. She needed various quality ingredients and to collect people or other creatures from various races to Totto Land, all of which required the Underworld's intelligence network.
And he intended to use Charlotte Linlin's intelligence network to gather information about the Plates, and exchange them with Arceus for powerful abilities.
In Charlotte Linlin's case, paying with fruit made this middleman earn with both hands full.
Borrowing the intelligence network was not a big deal for Charlotte Linlin, and Kaidou bet she wouldn't refuse.
"The intelligence network? What exactly are you looking for?"
"That's none of your business. You get what you want, and I get what I want, so why make it so clear?"
"But I need those bananas right now. I seem to have heard something about what you're looking for, those indestructible peculiar Plates."
"If your information is accurate, it can be negotiated."
Such things he wouldn't fight with Queen for, but if the information was accurate, Queen would choose to compromise, because Shaina would surely have a friendly exchange with him once she knew.
"In that case, I'll go find the items, and we can trade later, Kaidou. I'll give you face and only take half the bananas on that island."
"Deal."
Although Queen would suffer some losses, as long as there were Plates, Arceus definitely wouldn't mind compensating him for this slight loss. Compared to these second-generation bananas, the taste of the original bananas was clearly better.
However, after Kaidou and Charlotte Linlin reached a deal, a disruptive person appeared.
"Linlin! Who is that! What are you doing! How can you be drinking alcohol!"
Charlotte Linlin was a pirate, and so was Kaidou, and they were old acquaintances. After reaching a certain agreement, it was quite normal for the two of them to drink shoulder to shoulder.
At this time, Charlotte Linlin was not yet forty. Big Mom in her sixties was completely different from her younger self, and after the age of forty-eight, her appearance began to become "resolute," but before that, her appearance was very pretty.
And she was of the type that Boss Cao liked.
It was well known that Charlotte Linlin not only had many children but also many husbands, and the person questioning Charlotte Linlin was her new husband.
At this time, Charlotte Linlin was still pregnant, but pregnancy didn't affect her fighting ability. Her monstrous physique was already different from ordinary people, and in a sense, Big Mom's first husband was quite strong.
When her current husband saw Charlotte Linlin shoulder to shoulder with another young man, drinking, he felt his nerves twitching.
And Charlotte Linlin's husband often made the mistake of overestimating his position in Charlotte Linlin's heart.
She valued capable children, but for her, a husband was just a tool, usually discarded once the child was born. Her current husband didn't know that his term was only a few months away from ending.
Originally, he could have those remaining months, but when he interfered with Charlotte Linlin at this time, it made the already pregnant Charlotte Linlin deem him a useless obstacle.
So as he mumbled some things and approached Big Mom, all he received was a merciless slap, becoming the shortest-serving husband of Charlotte Linlin.