As the family's primary strategists, the two of them quickly skimmed through and analyzed every detail recorded in the memory reels.
Just as the captives had claimed, everything—from how they'd made contact with the researchers, to how they learned of the existence of pure gold, and even how they obtained information about the human gigantification experiments—was fully traceable.
Everything looked perfectly logical.
Yet it was precisely this too-smooth sense of logic that made it feel deeply wrong.
Katakuri frowned tightly and warned in a low voice, "Mother, be careful—this could be a trap."
Perospero quickly added his own caution. "Yes, Mother. This is all far too coincidental."
He continued his analysis: "They just happen to learn about pure gold, and then just happen to stumble upon the human gigantification experiments you desire most. On top of that, they were deliberately let onto the island by the Flying General's people. This is clearly a scheme aimed straight at you."
Listening to the advice of her two trusted sons, Charlotte Linlin—who had almost been swallowed whole by her own desires—calmed down slightly.
Although the memory reels contained no direct evidence proving these people were acting under Tenma's orders, nor that everything was staged, such an overly perfect chain of coincidences was itself a massive flaw.
Especially after having spoken with Kaido several times before, Charlotte Linlin had a rough understanding of Tenma's rise to power. That bastard was absolutely a cunning old fox, skilled at calculations.
But the glittering pure-gold jewelry in those memories was real.
And what about the human gigantification experiments—could they be real as well?
Charlotte Linlin had deliberately gathered intelligence on that rival's territory she cared so deeply about. She'd heard that his research bases truly did house a great deal of unknown black technology.
Especially after the Punk Hazard incident back then—Tenma had abducted Caesar Clown. Whatever else he was, Caesar had once been the number-two figure in the same research team as today's top scientist, Vegapunk.
That meant he was no fraud. And if so, the gigantification experiments might not be empty promises after all.
Moreover, whether true or false, now that she knew there was even a possibility of realizing her dream, ignoring it outright was not her style—and it would never let her mind truly settle.
Charlotte Linlin had always been a woman driven by desire, especially when that desire was tied to her lifelong obsession.
"I've decided. We're going to war!"
After a suffocating silence, Charlotte Linlin slammed her decision down decisively.
Those words caused every child present to change expression instantly.
"Besides, that bastard has already made preparations to fight me!"
At that, Perospero and Katakuri suddenly remembered another detail.
In those memories, aside from pure gold and the experiments, there was also intelligence revealing that the Flying General had been secretly stockpiling large-scale war supplies in Wano.
If this wasn't just an open ploy to lure Mother in—and combined with the fact that the other side had already taken the initiative to destroy Totto Land's islands—then this information was undoubtedly Tenma sounding the horn of war.
Katakuri's expression immediately darkened.
The other children, though unclear on all the intricacies, could feel the terrifying aura radiating from Mother's body—and more importantly, her clarity of mind at this moment. They knew that further persuasion was pointless.
Accepting their mother's command, they withdrew one by one and scattered to urgently mobilize troops and deploy defenses.
"Brother Katakuri, please wait."
After they'd left the castle and walked some distance, Smoothie suddenly called out from behind.
"Smoothie? What is it?"
Katakuri stopped and turned to look at Smoothie, as well as the twin sisters standing beside her—Charlotte Citron and Charlotte Cinnamon.
Facing her second brother, whose face was mostly hidden behind a thick scarf and who remained expressionless even with war looming, Smoothie found herself momentarily at a loss for words.
Seeing her sister hesitate, the straightforward Citron couldn't help but speak first.
"Brother Katakuri, this may not be appropriate to say right now, but we really feel that this war is pushing Totto Land—and Mother—toward an extremely dangerous edge."
Hearing such treasonous words, Katakuri's expression changed sharply. He immediately scanned their surroundings to ensure no one else was nearby, then ushered the three women quickly into a blind corner formed by hardened mochi walls.
"If words like that reached Mother's ears, you'd be punished severely—possibly even lose your lives."
"That's exactly why we'd only dare to speak our true feelings to you, Brother Katakuri."
Since Citron had already pierced the veil, Smoothie no longer hesitated. As the emotional anchor of the triplets, she spoke frankly:
"Brother Katakuri, you should know very well—Mother may no longer be a match for the Flying General."
She paused, concern flickering in her eyes. "In the past, Mother could rely on overwhelming strength and ignore any schemes or plots. But now, her power has begun to decline, while our opponent is at the very peak of his ascent."
Perhaps even Charlotte Linlin herself hadn't realized it, but ever since the failure at Cake Island, the children who once lived entirely under the shadow of her terror had begun to waver.
To say they were disloyal wasn't entirely wrong. After all, a family held together purely by fear was twisted and fragile—easily shaken by changes in the external environment.
At the same time, Tenma's power had expanded relentlessly in recent years. Wano's status in the New World had risen step by step, and the depth it displayed at the Fire Festival tournament had been nothing short of shocking.
The other side had grown into a colossal presence standing astride the New World. Totto Land had no guarantee of victory—especially when a disadvantage at the very highest level of combat could cause the entire situation to collapse.
If they lost, the fate awaiting the defeated side was obvious.
So this wasn't fear before the battle—it was a sincere hope that their second brother could find a way to dissuade Mother from going to war with Tenma.
"These words—and these thoughts—you'd best let them rot in your stomach once you go back, and forget them completely."
Katakuri's voice was low and stern. "And this war is already an arrow on the bowstring—it must be loosed. You haven't seen those memory reels, so you don't know. Tenma's territory has already begun large-scale war mobilization. Judging from their recent initiative in attacking our islands, there's a high probability they're coming straight for us."
But he didn't want his sisters to carry such a heavy psychological burden onto the battlefield. His tone softened slightly as he added:
"Mother was able to build Totto Land step by step. Knowing all this and still choosing war means she must have her own trump cards and considerations. Nothing is set in stone yet. At the very least, for now, as citizens of Totto Land and as Mother's children, we must do our utmost to win this war."
...
Late in the year 1510 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
After the Fire Festival—held without inviting any external powers—became a hot topic in the New World, another earth-shaking piece of news exploded through the underworld at breathtaking speed.
Less than a day after the festival began, Cacao Island—a town on the edge of Big Mom's Totto Land waters—suffered devastating destruction.
In just a few minutes, countless ferocious bolts of lightning rained down from the sky, nearly leveling the entire island.
Among all those who commanded the might of thunder in today's New World, there was only one such person.
The Flying General Tenma's Oniwabanshu ace—
With a bounty of 1.24 billion Berries,
the "Thunder Princess" — Yamato.
Immediately afterward, in less than a day, the Big Mom Pirates issued a full mobilization order, officially announcing a retaliatory campaign against Wano.
A new round of Emperor War had formally begun.
As president of the World Economy News Paper, Morgans naturally wouldn't miss such a world-shaking scoop.
After an entire day of emergency editing and printing, countless News Coo took flight the next morning, sweeping across the world like a white tide.
The moment the news broke, the entire New World was shaken!
This was the first time in nearly eight years—since 1503—that such a massive storm had risen again in the New World.
With Big Mom's high-profile declaration of war as the fuse, combined with revelations that Wano had long been secretly stockpiling massive military strength, the claim that a full-scale war was imminent was confirmed beyond any doubt.
The whole world instantly exploded with discussion.
No one had expected that these two sea emperors—Big Mom and the Flying General—would truly ignite an event capable of reshaping an era.
This was nothing like Whitebeard causing trouble for Kaido, or the Flying General storming the Tea Party alone.
This was a genuine, emperor-declared total war.
Especially since both sides controlled vast territories and forces in the New World, the scale and nature of this war far exceeded any previous conflict.
Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, ruled over the Totto Land seas composed of thirty-four islands. Her Homies army and pirate forces gave her the largest numerical advantage among the Emperor crews, with individual combat quality far beyond Paradise-level pirates.
Flying General Tenma, controlled the ironclad waters of Wano, and through the perfect combination of the Float-Float Fruit and the Momo-Momo Fruit, had opened up numerous aerial island bases across the New World.
Though his troop numbers might not match Big Mom's overwhelming human-wave tactics, Wano's current comprehensive national strength was something anyone who'd attended the Fire Festival could attest to.
Vast food reserves.
Exquisitely crafted, high-purity Seastone weaponry.
A powerful military-industrial energy system.
Above all, its tightly disciplined militarized structure—combined with its world-renowned samurai legions—meant Wano clearly followed an elite path of quality over quantity.
On these seas, the idea that a single powerhouse could equal an army—or ten could topple a nation—had never been a joke.
The greatest spectacle, however, lay in the inevitable clash between the absolute cores of both sides.
On one side stood the undisputed Sea Empress of today.
On the other, a young Emperor widely acknowledged as possessing world-destroying power—second only to Whitebeard.
Considering age, current prestige, and his prior feat of storming the Tea Party, escaping unscathed, and even driving back Charlotte Linlin, public opinion overwhelmingly favored the Flying General.
Of course, these were only paper predictions. The course of war shifted in an instant, and no one could truly foresee the final outcome.
As the heat skyrocketed, a calm before the storm brewed. The eyes of the entire world focused on the seas soon to be engulfed in war.
Morgans himself was so excited he was practically in tears, shouting and praying that both sides would make even bigger moves so he could rake in another fortune.
The New World entered an unprecedented state of white-hot tension.
Large and small forces alike locked their attention onto the waters where the two sides would soon clash.
In the underworld, many sharp operators—and numerous weaker pirate crews—fearing collateral damage, evacuated overnight from the sensitive zones where Big Mom's and the Flying General's spheres overlapped.
Across the world, people discussed it endlessly—especially in bars packed with pirate scum.
Fueled by alcohol, these desperados vented their thoughts without restraint—envy, disdain, hatred spilling freely.
Some backed one side or the other.
Some gleefully hoped both would perish together.
Others longed for the Four Emperors' balance to collapse entirely, plunging the seas back into chaotic anarchy.
...
"Such large-scale mobilization—looks like Charlotte Linlin is serious this time."
"Sengoku seems to think this is an opportunity. I hear he's planning to redeploy troops from HQ."
Faced with this sudden explosive development, Marineford was already in chaos. Meanwhile, the Five Elders, the highest authority of the World Government, sat deep within the chambers of power, waiting for updates from the front.
"Now is not the time to intervene. Observe for the moment."
One of the Five Elders issued the order in a deep voice.
Watching tigers fight from the mountain was the strategy that best served their interests.
Until one side was truly crippled, even a wounded tiger could still bite a hunter's throat.
And intervening rashly now wouldn't just yield no benefit—it might even invite a pincer attack from both sides.
Though this was technically an internal war between two Emperors, both were illegal armed regimes of the New World. If the Marines intervened first, they'd immediately become the primary common enemy.
"Tenma's methods are endless. No one knows what trump cards he's hiding in those so-called forbidden zones. Let's just hope Totto Land can force him to show everything he's got."
Because of their private dealings with Wano, the World Government actually knew more about Tenma's forces than Totto Land did.
Even setting aside any hidden heavy weaponry, those exquisitely crafted Seastone products alone were devastatingly suppressive to Big Mom's Devil Fruit–dependent Homies.
"If nothing unexpected happens, Tenma will be the one who wins this war."
The bald Elder responsible for military affairs stroked the Shodai Kitetsu in his hand and delivered a blunt judgment.
"Speculation without results can wait."
The blond Elder crossed his legs, sweeping his gaze over the others. "Whether it's Totto Land under Big Mom or Wano under Tenma, both hold immense strategic value to us."
More than the war's outcome, they cared about how much of the cake they could claim afterward.
"Exactly."
The Elder with the hooked mustache nodded. "But the problem is—we aren't the only ones coveting the spoils."
Beyond the World Government and the Marines, pirates were creatures that swarmed at the scent of blood.
Who wouldn't covet the Emperor's throne?
Who wouldn't covet the staggering wealth accumulated in two top-tier seas?
And the other two Emperors—Whitebeard and Kaido—would never simply watch from the sidelines.
For a moment, the five figures in the chamber of power fell silent.
Then, suddenly, inspiration flashed through the blond Elder's mind. He coughed lightly, drawing everyone's attention back, and spoke slowly:
"What if we take the initiative… and intervene in this war?"
The moment those words fell, the other four were stunned, their expressions reading: Are you serious, or have you finally gone senile?
But the sword-bearing Elder quickly grasped the deeper meaning and asked cautiously, "You mean… choosing a side to support in this conflict?"
His words lit the spark. The others followed, thinking it through. After a moment, sharp light flashed in their eyes—they clearly approved of the idea.
"That's not impossible. Compared to scrambling in postwar chaos, precise investment like this is faster, easier, and far more profitable."
They could offer limited support to one side, then demand the cession of certain islands afterward as payment—far simpler than fighting over scraps later.
With consensus reached, only one critical question remained:
Which side to back.
The sword-bearing Elder scanned the room, his expression turning solemn.
"So—which side's victory would bring us the greatest benefit?"
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
On the surface, there was no doubt that Big Mom's victory would be far more advantageous for the World Government.
It would eliminate the deeply dangerous threat that was Tenma—and Wano's vast wealth, manpower, and unique technologies would all become ripe for exploitation.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.Part One is officially complete — and it's now available
Go check it out and dive into the full experience.
Claim early access here: [email protected]/voidink08
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews unlock 1 bonus chapter🔷 100 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.