Whole Cake Chateau
Not long ago, the castle had been filled with celebration—because the Charlotte Family had welcomed two new additions.
Two months earlier, Charlotte Linlin had given birth to a pair of twins, named Charlotte Saint-Marc and Charlotte Basans.
They were the 22nd and 23rd sons of the Charlotte Family, which said plenty about just how frighteningly fertile Linlin was.
As usual, the children's father had already been kicked out by Linlin.
That said, Linlin still possessed remarkable charm. Across the seas, she had no shortage of devoted followers. Many of the "fathers" she discarded still chose to remain affiliated with the Big Mom Pirates, forming a vast network of connections.
In the future, when Linlin would claim to possess the strongest intelligence network in the pirate world, it wouldn't be an exaggeration—much of it was built upon her former "husbands."
Compared to her time in the West Blue, although Linlin had given birth many times over the past few years, surprisingly, her looks and figure had yet to decline.
Inside Whole Cake Chateau, Charlotte Linlin sat at a massive dining table. With a gluttonous air and a total lack of grace, she stuffed large quantities of pastries and sweets into her mouth. Every now and then, a satisfied smile would spread across her face.
Nearby, the eldest son of the family, Perospero, and the second son, Katakuri, each held one of their newly born infant brothers.
After eating and drinking her fill, Linlin finally picked up a napkin from the table with a hint of elegance, wiped the grease from the corners of her mouth, and asked, "So, Shiki is looking for the Roger Pirates?"
"That's right, Mama," Perospero replied. "Ever since the Golden Lion reconciled with Whitebeard not long ago, the Flying Pirates have been gathering intelligence on Roger's crew."
"That guy really has a thing for Roger…" Linlin curled her lip. "Back on Hachinosu, it was the same—every time he saw Roger and his crew show up, he'd get ridiculously excited."
In truth, because of her close relationship with Shakky, Linlin actually had fairly decent relations with the Roger Pirates.
For some time after the Rocks Pirates disbanded, Valthior would often see Shakky chatting with Linlin over Den Den Mushi.
Setting the napkin down, Linlin continued, "Newgate doesn't have much ambition. As long as we don't provoke him, he won't come looking for trouble. But Shiki… that bastard's always been dangerous. He's the one who resembles Rocks the most. Sooner or later, he'll become our enemy."
At this point, she grinned.
"A few days ago, after they reconciled, I was worried he'd turn his attention to us. Didn't expect him to set his sights on Roger instead. That works out nicely—it buys us more time. Let those two fight it out on the seas."
Changing the subject, Katakuri spoke up: "Mama, Elbaf has driven out our envoys. It's clear they have no intention of forming a marriage alliance with us."
"Tch…" Linlin clicked her tongue, annoyed. "A bunch of grudge-holding old fossils. It's not like I did that on purpose back then…"
Because of her childhood experiences and what she had learned during her time with the Rocks Pirates, Linlin placed great importance on the power of Elbaf.
Unfortunately, Elbaf despised her. Relations between the two sides were extremely cold.
"Try again after some time," Linlin said after a moment's thought. Then she added, "It's about time I found another husband. Any good recommendations?"
A mother asking her sons to recommend her next husband—only Linlin could say something like that.
Katakuri fell silent, clearly having no intention of answering. Perospero, meanwhile, looked conflicted and didn't know what to say.
Just then, Katakuri's triplet brother, Oven, rushed into the room, his expression urgent. "Mama! This is bad! The Homies stationed around the waters of Whole Cake Island report seeing the Roger Pirates' Oro Jackson sailing straight for us!"
"What!?" Linlin stood up abruptly from her seat, her expression turning grave. "They weren't spotted until they were practically on top of Whole Cake Island? This is a massive failure!"
As she spoke, she turned to Perospero. "You need to fix this problem."
Perospero froze. "Me? Fix the Roger Pirates!?"
"Idiot!" Linlin glared coldly at her eldest son.
Katakuri calmly explained from the side, "Brother, Mama means you need to improve our surveillance and control over the surrounding seas. We can't allow enemies to reach our doorstep before we even notice them."
"Oh… I see," Perospero said, finally understanding.
At the same time, Linlin picked up a Den Den Mushi from the table and dialed without hesitation.
Before long, the call connected, and Roger's voice came through.
"Linlin?"
"You bastard!" Linlin immediately roared. "You piece of trash—sneaking right up to my territory without even a word. What are you trying to do? Looking for a fight!?"
"Huh? You already found us? Hahaha—sorry about that, I forgot to give you a heads-up," Roger replied, feigning innocence.
"Get the hell out of Totto Land right now! I don't want to see you!" Linlin snapped.
"Well, it's been years since we last met. We've kind of missed you," Roger said shamelessly. "Since we're already here, how about inviting us over? Shakky's always said your sweets are amazing."
Linlin's expression darkened.
That exchange alone confirmed it—Roger hadn't come by chance. He had come specifically for her.
Suppressing her earlier rage, she said in a low voice:
"Let's hear it. What's your goal?"
From a strength perspective, the Big Mom Pirates were no match for the Roger Pirates.
Just Roger alone was more than she could handle—not to mention Rayleigh, Gaban, and that "strongest rookie" Valthior she'd recently read about in the papers, who could go toe-to-toe with Garp.
Even so, Linlin wasn't afraid of them.
She knew Roger well enough—he wasn't the kind of pirate who posed an overwhelming threat, unlike that bastard Shiki.
If Shiki had suddenly appeared near her territory, she wouldn't even bother talking—she'd go straight into full battle readiness.
"I heard from Shiki that you've got a red Road Poneglyph," Roger said, dropping the joking tone. "That right?"
Linlin frowned and cursed, "That damned bastard Shiki—always stirring up trouble for me!"
Her words were essentially an admission. At this point, denying it would be meaningless anyway.
"I need that Poneglyph," Roger continued. "But don't worry—we just want to make a copy. We can even catch up a bit while we're at it."
"Who the hell do you think I am?" Linlin snapped coldly. "You think I'll just hand over whatever you ask for? If I did that, how would I survive on these seas?"
Even if she knew she couldn't defeat the Roger Pirates, a pirate could never show weakness.
She could lose. She could be defeated.
But she would never bow her head.
Otherwise, she'd lose all face on the seas.
"In that case, let's talk face-to-face," Roger said frankly. "We'll figure out a solution we can both accept."
"Hmph!" Linlin snorted and hung up.
Clearly, she had no intention of tearing things apart with the Roger Pirates—at least not yet.
She turned to Katakuri.
"Go welcome those bastards."
After Katakuri left, Linlin sat back down, lightly tapping her fingers against the table as she pondered how to handle what came next.
...
Meanwhile, aboard the Oro Jackson—
Roger clicked his tongue as he looked at the disconnected Den Den Mushi.
"Looks like Linlin isn't very happy to see us…"
"She'd be crazy if she was," Rayleigh said with a smile.
Valthior stroked his chin, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Once we get that Road Poneglyph—and use the horn we obtained from Wano to summon Zunesha—the final island will be within reach…"
...
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