The New World, the Totto Land waters.
At dawn, Yemu brought Yamato to the Cake Castle on Whole Cake Island for a final farewell.
In the huge hall filled with all kinds of desserts, Charlotte Linlin, queen of Totto Land, wore her nightgown while holding her two newborn daughters, each carrying Longarm Tribe blood, one in each arm.
Their father was the groom from Charlotte Linlin's wedding, which Yemu had attended shortly after entering the New World.
However, he had already vanished without a trace. Most likely, he had become one of Charlotte Linlin's collectibles.
Clearly, when it came to a monster like Charlotte Linlin, childbirth could not be judged by ordinary common sense.
Although she had just given birth, anyone who thought Charlotte Linlin's strength would be affected by that would be gravely mistaken.
Persuading Charlotte Linlin to join the Yonkō Alliance had been both harder than expected and smoother than expected.
It was hard because Charlotte Linlin was different from Whitebeard and Kaidou. Her nature carried a certain instability. To her, everything in this world, including her own children, was merely a toy for fulfilling her dream. So, unlike with Whitebeard, finding something Charlotte Linlin truly valued and using it as bargaining leverage was genuinely difficult.
Yet for that very reason, things also became slightly easier.
First, three members of the Yonkō Alliance were already in place. Under such momentum, Yemu held a natural advantage. If an alliance that already included Whitebeard, Enel, and Kaidou excluded the BIGMOM Pirate Crew, then no matter how one looked at it, that would be deeply embarrassing for Charlotte Linlin and her children, and a massive blow to the BIGMOM Pirate Crew's reputation. That was also why Charlotte Linlin was the last person Yemu visited.
Second, precisely because of Charlotte Linlin's instability, once she was swept along by the tide of events, the deal was still reached with financial benefits as the foundation and various delicacies and ingredients from the Four Seas added as extra conditions.
Of course, there was one other fortunate point. Yemu discovered that even after all this time, Charlotte Linlin still did not seem to have noticed that something from her library collection had gone missing. Perhaps someone had already found out, but because they feared Charlotte Linlin's anger, they had hidden it.
As a result, although Charlotte Linlin had personally said at the previous tea party that she did not want to see Yemu again, when they met once more, she was unexpectedly warm.
Of course, Yemu's current fame also played a part.
"Mamamama, leaving already?"
Faced with Charlotte Linlin asking him to stay, Yemu said apologetically, "Unfortunately, I really am pressed for time right now. Next comes the real war."
The moment Yemu said this, Charlotte Linlin's children around them all showed shock on their faces.
Like most people in this world, even as members of the BIGMOM Pirate Crew who naturally stood at the peak of the pirate world, when facing colossal entities like the Marines and the World Government, they would absolutely refuse to challenge them directly, no matter how tough they sounded.
That was why they understood what Yemu's declaration of war against the Celestial Dragons and the World Government five days ago in the Holy Land Mary Geoise truly meant. They also understood what the war Yemu spoke of really was.
It was definitely not some small squabble between pirates, but a battle that would truly affect the structure of the world.
And Yemu's next words confirmed their guess.
"The Marines have deployed one hundred and fifty thousand elite Marines, ten thousand CP elites, twenty-five warships, monsters like Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr, a total of twenty-six Vice Admirals including the Marines' new generation, and four CP0 fighters with Admiral candidate-level combat power. They're all being sent out. That's not something I can afford to delay against."
When Yemu finished speaking, even the members of the BIGMOM Pirate Crew, who had always seen themselves as rulers of the sea, sucked in a breath. Charlotte Linlin also furrowed her brow.
A force of this level was something even the Rocks Pirates of the past would not have been able to withstand.
Although Charlotte Linlin's personality was unstable, becoming an overlord of the New World did not mean she lacked wisdom or could not read the situation. In fact, she was highly strategic. So she looked curiously at Yemu, who remained calm, and asked, "Are you really confident you can win this battle? I don't want to read in the newspapers a few days from now that you were captured by the Marines and executed..."
The members of the BIGMOM Pirate Crew also looked at Yemu curiously, waiting for his answer.
"With the foundation the Marines and the World Government possess, winning is obviously impossible. But for me, in this war, as long as I don't lose, that means I've won..."
This strange answer left everyone stunned and completely baffled.
...
Under the dazzling sunlight, Yemu flew on the Island Cloud with Yamato. The sea breeze in the sky swept past, making Yamato's white hair dance in the wind.
When Yamato had first left Onigashima with Yemu, she had known nothing about the outside world and had not understood what Yemu was trying to do. But after what she had seen and heard over the past three days among the Whitebeard Pirate Crew and the BIGMOM Pirate Crew, along with the news in the newspapers, she finally understood just how great the thing Yemu-sama wanted to accomplish was.
But it was precisely because it was so great that she began to worry deeply.
From the moment they left Whole Cake Island, Yamato sat on the Island Cloud and never took her eyes off Yemu. Her face was tense and full of worry.
To be honest, she had no way of imagining how terrifying a number like one hundred and sixty thousand truly was. All she knew was that even her father's subordinates numbered only just over five thousand. In other words, Yemu-sama was about to face a pirate crew more than thirty times larger than her father's.
Not to mention, there were also powerful people among them whom even Uncle Whitebeard deeply feared, people far stronger than her father.
Could this battle really be won?
Just then, as if he had heard what Yamato was thinking, Yemu, who had been gazing into the distance, turned back. He gently stroked Yamato's little head and comforted her.
"Don't worry. Winning won't be easy, but I won't lose either."
Yamato was a little confused again.
If he could not win, but he also would not lose, then what did that mean?
Seeing this, Yemu slowly explained.
"Yamato, remember this. Many things in this world can't be defined simply by winning or losing. The coming war is the same. For me, no matter how much we lose, as long as we preserve most of our fighting strength and let everyone in this world see that the Celestial Dragons and the World Government, who have ruled this world for eight hundred years, are not unbreakable, then this war will be my victory."
"And when that happens, the people hiding in the shadows of this world, all those dissatisfied with the government that has ruled for eight hundred years, will step forward. That will be our true opportunity to grow..."
"The time for the decisive battle hasn't arrived at all. For us, this war is only an appetizer..."
"And when the decisive battle comes, you, once you've grown up, will be our new hope and future..."
"But now, to make sure we aren't at such a huge disadvantage in numbers for this war, we're going to welcome back one of our little crew members..."
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