Star-Lord's departure was just as mysterious as his arrival. But the scattered trace of starlight he left behind sent shockwaves throughout the whole of Totto Land.
"Mother's soul..." On Chocolate Island, Perospero clutched his head with both hands, his long tongue swaying like a wave. "...is gone."
Katakuri's expression, however, was even more serious. "It's here."
"It's here? What's here?" Smoothie asked instinctively.
But only a moment later, she realized what Katakuri meant. Because she had also heard what the Star Lord said before leaving,
''I'll leave the rest to you.''
There was no need to guess who he had been speaking to, and the facts quickly proved it.
The next instant,
"ROAR!"
"GRRR!"
The Phantom Dream Legion spread across Totto Land and let out deafening howls. The four Phantom Beast leaders who had been fighting them until now slowly withdrew as well.
Thunder flashed within the clouds overhead as Shinryu revealed himself. Sunlight poured through the gap in the clouds, and Youji descended with a flap of his wings. A silent doorway opened in midair, and Zishu stepped out. Meanwhile, Hitsuji, Inoshi, and Inu slowly emerged from the nearby Dream Passage.
"The Twelve Zodiac..." Seeing this, both Smoothie and Perospero reacted immediately. Haki surged around them as they instinctively prepared to fight.
But,
"..."
The next moment, Katakuri's trident blocked their path once again. He quietly shook his head at his older brother and younger sister.
Perospero and Smoothie froze for a moment. Then, the Haki surrounding them gradually faded. After their initial instinctive reaction, they had realized the same thing.
"There's no point in fighting us," Youji spoke with a hearty grin. "You should already know that."
He was right. Although the Homies still existed thanks to the Soul-Soul Fruit's power after Big Mom's fall, they had clearly lost all desire to fight. And with the fragment of Charlotte Carmel's soul gone, much of their violent and twisted nature had disappeared as well.
Against the Phantom Beast Legion, which outnumbered them, surpassed them in strength, and had even been imbued by Inoshi with the chilling power of the Yomi-Yomi Fruit that directly countered them, they had absolutely no chance of winning. Not to mention the Twelve Zodiac standing before them.
Everyone in Totto Land had just witnessed these people defeat an Emperor head-on, force her to flee, and ultimately kill her. To put it bluntly, if another battle started now, they would all be wiped out.
So...
'Clang!'
Katakuri drove his trident into the ground. Even in the face of such overwhelming enemies, his back remained perfectly straight.
"You really are strong... I can't see any future where we win. But if you've only come here to mock us, there's no need for that." His voice remained calm and steady. "We're pirates. If our fate is to die at the hands of someone stronger, then so be it."
As members of an Emperor's pirate crew, they had long accepted that possibility.
"Impressive resolve," Youji nodded in admiration. "Charlotte Katakuri. Now that Big Mom has been defeated, you're the captain of the Big Mom Pirates."
He stated it matter-of-factly.
Katakuri said nothing. Behind him, Perospero and Smoothie also remained silent.
Big Mom was dead, but the Big Mom Pirates still existed. And after her death, the one who would inherit the captain's position would naturally not be Perospero. He wanted the title, but even he knew it wouldn't be his. Within the Charlotte Family, there was only one person qualified to shoulder that responsibility: Katakuri.
"You heard what our leader said earlier," Youji continued. "We're here to handle the aftermath... and negotiate with you."
"...Negotiate?" Katakuri asked in a low voice.
"That's right." Youji spread his arms. "We didn't come here to wipe out Totto Land. You all know exactly where this war began."
Hearing those words, Katakuri fell silent in thought. Perospero and Smoothie, standing behind him, wore equally grim expressions.
In truth, Youji didn't need to explain anything. The moment they saw the Twelve Zodiac appear, they already understood.
"This war began the moment Big Mom declared war on the Twelve Zodiac," Youji calmly stated the obvious.
That was the truth. The instant Big Mom officially declared war on the Twelve Zodiac, the war had already begun. And now...
"Big Mom is dead. We're not monsters." As he spoke, Youji looked at Katakuri. "So I'm giving you a chance to end this war."
He gave Hitsuji a slight nod. Hitsuji raised a hand.
'Topic Change'
'Buzz!'
A rainbow-colored mirror appeared before Katakuri and the others, its surface reflecting a distant scene.
Katakuri's expression changed dramatically before he even got a good look. In the mirror, one after another, members of the Charlotte Family could be seen tied up.
"Brûlée... Pudding... Mont-d'Or..." Katakuri's face darkened instantly.
The people shown in the mirror were either family members who had been captured during the war or those who had been secretly replaced long before it began. With a single glance, Katakuri could tell that, aside from the hardliners who had insisted on going to war against the Twelve Zodiac, everyone else was still alive.
"I know you're not afraid of death," Youji spoke softly. "So... this is our bargaining chip."
"...What's the price?" Katakuri forced himself to calm down before asking.
"Everything," Youji answered without hesitation. "We know that the vast majority of Totto Land's wealth and treasure is hidden across the various islands by the family members who govern them. We also want every bit of treasure owned by your crew. Hand it all over, and that's the price."
He looked directly at Katakuri. "Choose."
His voice turned sharp. "Avenge Big Mom. Keep fighting until every last one of you dies. Or... protect what's left of your family, and this country."
Perospero and Smoothie's expressions changed once again. They both knew Youji was right.
As mentioned before, Totto Land was unlike most nations. Cake Island was indeed the capital and the center of power. But because of Big Mom's personality over the past several decades, combined with Totto Land's countless scattered islands, it had never been possible for her to personally manage the entire country.
That was why every island had a Charlotte Family minister and its own governing officials.
As an Emperor's crew, the Big Mom Pirates possessed unimaginable wealth. But most of it wasn't kept in one place. Instead, it was divided among the islands and hidden separately. Only the minister in charge of each island knew where its treasure was stored, and in many cases, even the keys and storage locations were kept apart.
Cake Island did have a central treasury. However, it contained only the things Big Mom valued most: rare animal furs, mink pelts and skeletons, Poneglyphs, beautiful treasures... and, more than anything else, mountains of sweets.
What Youji was demanding now was all the wealth scattered across Totto Land, the enormous fortune that was nearly impossible to gather together. Of course, this information had come from Inu after infiltrating the Big Mom Pirates.
In theory, he could have searched for every treasure cache one by one, but there was no need. Because they knew exactly what kind of person Katakuri was, and they already knew what choice he would make.
"...Fine."
Just as expected. Katakuri looked deeply into Youji's eyes, then he gave his answer without the slightest hesitation.
He was Big Mom's son; that much was true. But the monster who had just tried to drag all of Totto Land down with her... Katakuri no longer acknowledged that creature as his "mother."
With that in mind, the choice before him was simple. Protect his beloved younger brothers and sisters and preserve his family... or die clinging to a pile of treasure. There was nothing to think about.
The only thing that still gave him pause was,
"...Does Mother's soul also fall under the terms of this deal?"
When he said "Mother," Katakuri's expression became strangely complicated. During the soul connection earlier, he had clearly sensed something. The "soul" that Star Lord had taken away, the one that belonged to their mother, was that of a small child.
Why had Star Lord taken her? That was the answer Katakuri wanted to know.
"I can't answer that," Youji looked at Katakuri as he spoke. "We're only officers of the organization. We don't have the authority to question our leader's decisions. But one thing I can say for certain... our leader probably won't harm her."
"..."
Katakuri let out a long breath. "I have no more questions."
"Good," Youji nodded in satisfaction. "You have one month. After one month, someone will contact you with the location for the exchange."
As he finished speaking, he tossed over a Den Den Mushi. Katakuri recognized it immediately, it was a paired Den Den Mushi that couldn't be intercepted.
"...Thank you," Katakuri accepted it with a heavy nod.
He even thanked him. Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to thank someone who had beaten him up and taken all his belongings. He thanked Youji because he understood the meaning behind his words.
Collecting the treasure wouldn't take a month. If Katakuri gave the order, his younger brothers and sisters could gather everything within three days. The extra month was time Youji was giving him to stabilize Totto Land and restore order.
Big Mom's death guaranteed that the country's situation would change dramatically. Many pirates, especially the other Emperors, would undoubtedly begin making moves.
But after this negotiation... until they figured out the Twelve Zodiac's true intentions and attitude, they would most likely stay their hands for the time being. Especially since Big Mom's soul had been taken away by Star Lord, meaning her death wasn't entirely straightforward in their eyes.
That window of time would be Katakuri's best chance to reorganize what remained of the Big Mom Pirates. As long as he seized this opportunity, he was confident that, although losing some territory would be almost inevitable, he could still protect most of Totto Land and its people.
After all, as he had just said, even without Big Mom, they were still the Big Mom Pirates. Once they had stabilized their position and fully shifted to defense, there still weren't many pirate crews on the seas truly capable of threatening them.
"I told you," Youji casually waved a hand. "We're not devils."
Then he turned around. "Everyone, withdraw!"
The moment the order was given, wings of light spread from his back as he shot into the sky like a streak of radiance.
At the same time, the Scarlet Dragon soared into the heavens. Zishu casually tore open space and stepped through. The Phantom Beasts, along with Hitsuji and the others, all entered the Mirror of Dreams.
A few moments later, the Mirror of Dreams shattered, vanishing like a fading illusion. When everyone looked back up at the live broadcast, they saw the Dreamland floating above Cake Island transform back into a Qilin before striding into the clouds.
In only a few breaths, the Six Supreme Officers of the Twelve Zodiacs and every trace of the battle had disappeared completely. The seas of Totto Land fell silent once more.
"..."
Everyone throughout Totto Land understood one thing. On this sea, the enormous upheaval caused by this great incident had only just begun.
(End of Chapter)
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