Katakuri understood very clearly.
Turning against them at this time would only bring harm, not benefit.
He knew this better than anyone.
So Katakuri forced himself to stay calm and said firmly,
"I can promise you—we won't escape from this prison, and we won't play any tricks."
Kronos still looked doubtful, so Katakuri went further and swore:
"I swear in the name of the Charlotte family—if I break this oath, may my whole family die."
The other family members were stunned. At first, they thought Katakuri was joking, but soon they realized—he was dead serious.
Kronos smirked as he turned to leave, tossing out one final remark that nearly made Katakuri and the others explode with rage.
"What a bunch of trash."
Katakuri clenched his fists so tightly that blood seeped from his palms.
A crushing sense of powerlessness weighed down the strongest members of the Charlotte family.
Once they left the cell, Albedo said with disdain,
"Captain, honestly, we should just kill a few members of the Charlotte family first. No matter how much those guys hate us, once they see their kin slaughtered, they'll be forced to submit.
"That way, they'd never dare dream of rebellion again. Wouldn't that guarantee our victory?"
Kronos couldn't help but laugh. He really didn't understand why his crew members were always so eager to kill, especially Katakuri and the others.
"You lot… you're too extreme. You think everything can be solved with killing.
"It's not that simple.
"Anyway, just listen to me."
With a wry smile, Kronos repeated once again that Katakuri and his family must not be slaughtered.
Although they didn't know what his real plan was, Albedo and Uchiha Madara reluctantly restrained their murderous intent. After all, they still had to follow the captain's orders.
At that moment, Kronos suddenly remembered something important.
He paused.
"That's right… Marco and his crew…
"What happened to them? Have they escaped these waters?"
Kronos asked.
Payne and Konan, who were in charge of intelligence, immediately activated their puppets hidden in the sea to search for signs of the Whitebeard Pirates.
After a while, Payne reported truthfully:
"According to the puppets we deployed, Marco and the others have already left this area. It looks like they're heading east.
"Of course, the Whitebeard Pirates still have a vast territory. I didn't expect them to regroup there."
Kronos's eyes lit up. He noted it down and asked,
"Payne, what's the maximum range of your puppet technique?"
Payne immediately understood what he meant.
"You want me to keep monitoring every move of the Whitebeard Pirates, don't you?"
"Exactly."
Kronos snapped his fingers and praised him.
"As expected of you, Payne—you understood me instantly.
"I may have let the Whitebeard Pirates go this time, but that doesn't mean I'll keep sparing them in the future.
"I don't know how they'll act next, but one day they might come for us to settle the score. After all, after what happened, do you really think Marco and his crew will just sit still and do nothing?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
There are 30+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[Naruto: I Don't Want Recognition]