**Chapter 12: Homie**
"Is that Lord Nereus's daughter? So cute~ I heard Lord Nereus separated from that woman a long time ago. I really want to be her stepmother..."
By the roadside, a boldly dressed female pirate spoke her mind to the pirate beside her without any reservation.
As an island of pirates, Hachinosu was a place that worshipped strength. With good looks plus top-tier power...
Adding the unique bonus of being uninterested in Shakky's charm on this island, such people were not uncommon.
"Keep dreaming. How could Lord Nereus be interested in trash like you? Those Merfolk around him are much prettier than you."
"Can't I even imagine it!"
"Instead of dreaming, you should think about your next move. It seems like there's going to be big action on the island recently. Those bosses of the Rocks Pirates are discussing something."
While these pirates whispered, they didn't notice a mound of earth slowly moving forward underground nearby, heading in the exact direction Nanamo was going.
As it passed them, a giant head suddenly popped out of the mound.
"He's right. Big Brother doesn't like people like you. Pushi~ Pushishishi."
After saying this, the head burrowed back underground.
"Who... who was that?"
"I don't know. A Fish-Man... I think?"
"Can Fish-Men... swim in dirt?"
This situation continued all along the way. A giant head would occasionally pop out of the ground to observe the situation before retracting, startling quite a few people.
He wasn't an enemy, but Big Pan, whom Nereus had mentioned would be following Nanamo.
Big Pan was also a Devil Fruit user. For most of the Fish-Man race, the negative effect of being unable to swim was significant.
But some Devil Fruits actually fit the Fish-Man race surprisingly well. For example, the Swim-Swim Fruit that Big Pan ate—or more accurately, the Paramecia-type Swim-Swim Fruit.
It had nothing to do with water itself but allowed the user to treat the ground and walls as water surfaces, swimming freely within them.
For humans, this fruit offered little improvement. In the original timeline, this was the fruit eaten by Senior Pink, a subordinate of Doflamingo.
For Senior Pink, the fruit didn't offer much enhancement, just some means for sneak attacks.
The Lineage Factor produced by this fruit was also used by Vegapunk in S-Shark, the Seraphim version of Jinbe.
With the help of this fruit, the Fish-Man version Seraphim could treat the ground as water, using Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu to manipulate the ground, causing earth-shattering effects with a punch.
Moreover, Big Pan's combat talent was considerably worse than the other three executives. So after finding this Devil Fruit, Nereus gave it to Big Pan to bolster his strength.
This way, for Big Pan, even on land, he remained in his home turf environment.
Not only could he swim and lurk on land, but he could even breathe underground.
Big Pan's massive body swam underground, and Nanamo soon arrived at Charlotte Linlin's base, a dock on the other side of the island.
However, the atmosphere here was quite heavy.
The other children of the Charlotte Family weren't as happy as Nanamo either.
Charlotte Brûlée was currently lying there. A hideous scar ran across her entire face. The blood on her face and her soaked clothes were enough to show that this was a fresh wound.
Purple-red short hair, sharp teeth, and stitched scars on both sides of his mouth.
Only 10 years old, he looked at Brûlée lying on the ground with a face full of anger and disbelief.
"What's going on? What happened! How did Brûlée get hurt so badly?!"
"It was those guys you taught a lesson earlier. They came for revenge."
The eldest son, Perospero, answered the boy's question. This angry boy was Charlotte Linlin's second son—Charlotte Katakuri.
A descendant with superb talent. Although only 10 years old now, he had already displayed extraordinary combat power.
The scars at the corners of his mouth weren't wounds left by battle, but rather from tearing his own mouth open to eat donuts in large bites.
"Revenge? Why against my little sister?! If those bastards wanted revenge, they should have come for me!"
Young Katakuri couldn't understand why those people seeking revenge didn't come for him but targeted his innocent sister instead.
"Do you even need to ask? Of course those guys are afraid of you and dare not provoke you, so they turned to target Brûlée. Did Mama go handle other business and happen not to be here?"
Nanamo, who had just arrived, overheard Katakuri's angry questioning. Tossing the snacks she bought aside, she walked over as well.
"Big Sister? Mama received some news earlier and went to a meeting..."
It was still Perospero who answered. He wasn't surprised Nanamo came over; after all, it was normal for this older sister to visit when she had nothing to do. It was just a coincidental timing.
Charlotte Linlin herself still instilled fear in these pirates. Attacking her child while she was away could be considered audacious; doing it to her face would truly be seeking death.
"I knew it was like that. Do you know who did it?"
"Of course... it was those guys from the Fat Bottle Pirates..."
Katakuri almost spat out these words through gritted teeth. Anyone could feel that his anger was about to overflow.
"Then let's go."
"Do what?"
"Need you ask? To get revenge, of course. If they can come after Brûlée for revenge, naturally we can hit back."
"No, they came because of me. I can handle this myself..."
"Idiot, what stupid things are you saying? She's my sister too. Even you are just my little brother. When something like this happens, how can there be any reason for Big Sister not to step up?"
"Big Sister, Big Brother, I'm fine. This wound... doesn't hurt. You don't need to go find them..."
Worried that her older siblings would encounter danger, the injured Brûlée began trying to dissuade them, but it was useless.
Nanamo could still control her emotions, but Katakuri's rage had completely erupted.
He no longer cared whether Nanamo was going with him. He grabbed a tablecloth nearby, wrapped it around his neck a few times as a scarf to cover his mouth, then picked up his trident and charged toward a side path.
Nanamo followed him as well.
"Wait! Princess Nanamo-sama, and her brother, I think this matter requires long-term planning!
We should first understand the opponent's strength, then report to Mama or Lord Nereus, and only act after that!"
Hermes's words had no effect. Both of them had already rushed out. Seeing this, Hermes didn't linger either, hurriedly chasing after them. Underground, Big Pan also changed direction.
Just after flying a short distance, Hermes suddenly remembered something. Extending its body, it sent its head back to Perospero.
"Long-tongued little brother, now, immediately! Right away! Go notify Mama! I'm going ahead!"