Carmel departed unwillingly.
Even now, she could be considered a "half-Yonko."
The awakened Carmel was even more powerful than Big Mom at her peak — as the true master of the Soru Soru no Mi, Carmel's control over its power far surpassed anything Big Mom had ever achieved.
Yet even so, she couldn't withstand the joint assault of the three top-tier Marine powerhouses.
And those three had held nothing back. Their only objective—was to kill her.
Carmel's greatest weapon, her soul-based attacks drawn from her "children," were utterly powerless before Wright's defense and healing.
"Carmel, this is a different era."
The rain had yet to stop. The clouds hadn't cleared. The unnatural weather stirred by the Soul-Soul Fruit still lingered in the skies.
Wright looked down at the fallen Carmel. Her enormous body was battered and scorched, pierced front to back, covered in massive gashes and burn marks.
She was like a shattered clay jar—one that couldn't even contain its own soul.
Without the Revive-Revive Fruit, no matter how powerful the being, once the body was broken and the life force extinguished, the soul would inevitably dissipate.
Carmel was no exception.
This time, there would be no chance for her to take possession of another soul.
At best, her soul was simply fading more slowly due to its extraordinary strength—delaying her final breath, but not preventing it.
Blinding golden light surged in Wright's palm. He pressed it firmly to Big Mom's forehead. The power of the Holy Light burrowed into their shared soul—and shredded Carmel's fragment from within.
Sakazuki and Issho stared silently at the limp form of Big Mom, now no more than a ragdoll. Their expressions flickered with complex emotion.
"Is there… still hope?"
Issho finally broke the silence.
"The real Charlotte Linlin…"
"You're still too naive, Issho."
Sakazuki spoke coldly. The iron-blooded Admiral's fury had yet to fade.
"For over sixty years, there has been no separating them!"
"Every crime Carmel committed—Charlotte Linlin was her accomplice!"
"She must pay for their shared sins!"
"..."
Issho sighed lightly and gave a slow nod. He said nothing more.
"…You're right, senpai," Wright stood and shook his head slowly. "Charlotte Linlin is not innocent."
"They both… must die."
"But at the very least… let Linlin pass on with clarity. She…"
He paused, caressing the golden crystal in his hand, then sighed and turned away.
"Katakuri… see her off."
"Carmel is gone."
"..."
Katakuri, who had been standing in silence, took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"…Mama?"
He knelt before Charlotte Linlin's massive head. Her wide eyes stared blankly, dazed and unseeing.
"Do you… still recognize me?"
"..."
She blinked slowly. Then, painfully, her gaze turned toward Katakuri's conflicted face.
"Katakuri…"
"Mama!"
Katakuri sensed it immediately—this version of Big Mom was different from any he had ever known.
This… this is my real mother!
"I feel like… I've been dreaming for such a long, long time…"
"Hey… I… I think I saw Mother and everyone else…"
"We were all sitting together, happily eating sweet treats…"
"We laughed, we played, we were so happy… so very happy…"
"Mama…"
Even someone as strong as Katakuri was now sobbing uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face.
"You know, Katakuri… I knew. I always knew…"
"None of us were wanted. None of us were loved…"
"Papa and Mama didn't leave on some errand… they abandoned me…"
"It was only at the Sheep's House, with Mother, that we ever had a real family…"
Wright, Sakazuki, Issho, and Ace had already learned from Wright what had happened more than sixty years ago in Elbaf.
Now, as they looked at Charlotte Linlin, their expressions were deeply complicated.
Ace sniffled and quickly wiped the corner of his eye, then his face darkened.
"Sensei… back then, the Fleet Admiral wasn't Commander-in-Chief Kong, was he?"
"…No. Carmel's infiltration of Elbaf, done in cooperation with the World Government, was over a hundred years ago."
"It wasn't until Commander Kong later became Fleet Admiral that the Marines had any chance of pulling away from the World Government's absolute control."
Wright nodded slowly.
"Before Commander Kong… the Marines were nothing more than puppets of the World Government…"
"And for hundreds of years, it was likely the same."
"In those times, 'justice' was a hollow joke."
"..."
The rain poured down relentlessly. Steam rose from Sakazuki's body as he turned and strode away.
"I'm going to check on the others…"
"Don't let those brats from the Vinsmoke family screw things up!"
"…Heh."
Issho "watched" as Sakazuki disappeared into the storm, then chuckled and shook his head.
"For the first time, I see… even Sakazuki-san has a heart."
Charlotte Linlin's voice was already fading.
"Even now… even after everything… I don't hate Mother…"
"If not for her, I wouldn't have even known a moment of true happiness…"
"Mama, you're back now! Carmel is dead!"
Katakuri's voice trembled as he tried to comfort her.
"You'll be okay! Even if you're not a pirate, even if you're no longer a Yonko, it doesn't matter!"
"I'll protect you!"
"Hehe… don't be silly, Katakuri…"
Linlin gave a smile unlike any Katakuri had ever seen before.
It wasn't the waxen, "holy" smile of Carmel—it was a mother's smile. A real one.
"I killed them with my own hands… Perospero, Daifuku, Oven, Cracker, Smoothie… all of them, I slaughtered them myself. How can I live with that?"
"That wasn't—"
Katakuri's words were cut off by Linlin.
"It was me. From that day on, I was never separate from Mother again…"
"I was dreaming most of the time, but now… I understand everything that happened."
"Katakuri… listen to me…"
"Mama…"
"Take care of... those who are still alive..."
"I abandoned them… just like Papa and Mama once abandoned me…"
"Do it for me. Help me look after them…"
"If that day ever comes…"
In her fading eyes, there was still a glimmer of hope.
"When the world is at peace… that will be the true Totto Land…"
"Hey… Mother… even after everything, I still want to make your dream come true…"
"It's my dream too…"
With those final words, Charlotte Linlin's soul unraveled like silk in the wind—quiet, weightless, and strangely at peace. Her eyes gradually turned gray.
"AHHHHHH!!!"
Katakuri let out a mournful howl, his head thrown back as tears and rain mingled down his face. The man with a bounty over a billion had completely lost control.
The Yonko Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, perished on Whole Cake Island in the center of Totto Land, during the Marine's surprise war campaign.
In death, she returned to herself.
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