Chapter 260: A Greeting for You, Linlin!
Totto Land, Whole Cake Island.
Five full days had passed since Shane's declaration of war over the Transponder Snail. The nation, once a whimsical fairytale kingdom, was now shrouded in a tense, palpable atmosphere of war.
A great enemy was coming.
Their opponent was a man on the same level as their own mother, an Emperor of the Sea—Shane, the "World's Greatest Swordsman," with a bounty of over four billion Belly.
It had been a long time since the Big Mom Pirates had faced a full-scale war of this magnitude. Many of the younger Charlotte children, who had grown up in relative peace, couldn't help but feel a knot of anxiety twisting in their stomachs.
At that moment, on a balcony of the Whole Cake Chateau.
"Brother Katakuri... is that man, Shane, really so scary?" a young girl with large, expressive eyes whispered, nervously clutching the hem of her dress. She was the eleven-year-old Charlotte Pudding.
Normally, she would be engrossed in her chocolate recipes, dreaming of the day she could open her own café. But for the past few days, the atmosphere had changed completely. Her siblings, all around her age, gathered constantly, their voices a low hum of debate and speculation over who would win the coming war. The more she heard, the more her own fear grew.
She didn't particularly like her mother. Because of the third eye on her forehead, Mama had always treated her with disgust, even forcing her to hide it with her bangs. If it hadn't been for Brother Katakuri's intervention at the last Tea Party, Mama had even been prepared to offer her, a ten-year-old girl, as a marriage candidate to Shane.
But... even at her young age, she understood one thing: all the glory and safety of Totto Land rested on her mother's shoulders. If Mama were to lose to this man, Shane, then Totto Land... and her dream of opening a café... would all be gone.
Katakuri remained silent, his arms crossed as he stood at the edge of the parapet, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon.
"Yes," he finally murmured, his voice a low rumble. "He is a very scary man."
Terrifyingly so. He had known it from the moment they first met, when Shane had just entered the New World. It was precisely because of this that he had advocated so strongly for a friendly relationship, even orchestrating Shane's attendance at the last Tea Party and serving as his personal sparring partner for a week. He had done everything in his power to protect the future of his family.
But Mama... for a foolish, vain fantasy... was she really willing to destroy the hard-won peace he had secured? Was it worth it?
A wave of weariness, an emotion he rarely felt, washed over him. But he couldn't let his little sister see his doubt.
He turned, his expression once again calm and composed, and gently ruffled Pudding's hair. "But you don't need to worry, Pudding," he said with a small smile. "Besides Mama, your big brothers are here. No matter what happens, no one will ever hurt you."
"Brother Katakuri..." Pudding felt a warmth spread through her chest. She looked away, a shy blush on her cheeks, and was about to say something when—
PURUPURUPURU! PURUPURUPURU—!!
The special wall-mounted Transponder Snail let out a piercing shriek.
"ENEMY SIGHTED! ENEMY SIGHTED! THE SEA SLUGS ON THE OUTER PERIMETER HAVE SIGNALED! A MASSIVE FLEET HAS BEEN DETECTED AT SEVEN O'CLOCK!"
"ETA TO TOTTO LAND WATERS: 90 MINUTES!"
It was the Curtain Call crew. The alarm didn't just ring on Whole Cake Island; it blared simultaneously across all thirty-plus islands of the archipelago. The Charlotte children and all the other officers of the Big Mom Pirates froze, their eyes turning in the direction of the signal, their faces grim. The moment had finally come.
"It's time to go," Katakuri said, taking a deep breath. He gave his pale-faced little sister one last look. "Pudding, you just keep focusing on your chocolate. The time we promised isn't here yet, is it? When I've driven off these invaders, I'll be back to taste what you've made."
Without another word, his body shot into the air. In an instant, he was at the highest point of the chateau, and with a series of powerful Moonwalks, he rocketed toward the main port, becoming a tiny black dot on the horizon in a matter of seconds.
"..."
Pudding felt the warmth of his hand still lingering on her head. She watched the spot where he had disappeared and clenched her small fists. No matter who the opponent is, I believe in you! You have to win this time, too, Brother Katakuri... my brother who has never known defeat!
"The enemy is coming in fast! They're in visual range! We're about to make contact!"
On the outer perimeter of Totto Land's waters, a giant shadow fell over the azure sea. It was a colossal pink ship, so massive it was like a floating sea fortress, positioned to block the entire channel leading into Totto Land.
The Queen Mama Chanter. The flagship of the Big Mom Pirates, one of the most feared vessels on the seas. Its design was grotesquely flamboyant, its hull painted a garish pink, its railings decorated with cream-piping-like carvings. The flag hanging from its mast was a skull wearing lipstick. But its most eye-catching feature was its figurehead: a giant, living face that could sing and talk, its eyes swiveling to track the approaching fleet. The warning had come from its mouth—
"They're here, Mama! They're getting closer!"
Surrounding the flagship, an armada of over sixty tart-shaped warships had assembled, their cannons bristling, a wall of wood and steel guarding their queen.
"All hands, on highest alert!" Katakuri's sharp command cut through the sea breeze, reaching every ship in the fleet. He stood at the highest point of the flagship's prow, his red scarf whipping in the wind, his trident, Mogura, held firmly in his hand.
"The battle between the Sweet Commanders and their top officers will be the key to this war! I expect you all to be at your best! All other units, assume your designated formations! Prepare to engage!"
"YES, LORD KATAKURI!" the pirates roared in unison.
The dozens of tart warships moved with practiced efficiency, forming a deadly crescent-shaped pincer around the approaching fleet. One by one, the other Sweet Commanders emerged from the cabin and joined Katakuri at the front.
"So, our opponents are the 'Four Calamities.' A perfect matchup for the Four Sweet Commanders, wouldn't you say?" Cracker's voice cackled from within a crowd of his biscuit soldiers. "Well then, Brother Katakuri, shall we proceed as planned? We each pick our target, and you handle that mysterious new swordsman, Issho?"
"Falling Star" Issho, with a bounty of over two billion Belly... a number that surpassed even King and Marco. It was unsettling.
"Kukukuku, Katakuri can handle him, I'm sure," Perospero said, licking his long tongue. "We have the home-field advantage. We crush them in numbers and quality. The only wild card is this Issho..."
"I am confident, Brother Perospero," Katakuri said, his gaze fixed on the horizon. "However... it seems our plans were premature. That man, Issho... he's not here."
From the approaching fleet, he could only sense a few familiar, powerful presences—the same ones from the last Tea Party.
"Eh?" Cracker poked his head out from his biscuit soldiers. "That fat guy isn't here? Does that mean...?"
"We've been underestimated," Smoothie sneered, her longsword resting on her shoulder. "As expected of the man who caught my eye. But to attack Totto Land without even bringing all of his top officers... his arrogance knows no bounds."
"Mamamamama! Isn't this perfect?!" a deafening laugh erupted from the flagship's cabin. With heavy, thudding footsteps, Big Mom's colossal form appeared on deck.
"Mama!" The Charlotte children parted before her like the sea.
"Hey," one of her daughters whispered to her brother. "It's strange... it's been days, but Mama hasn't used that Bonney girl's power to make herself young yet."
"It's because of her pirate code, I think," he whispered back. "But I heard her temper has been getting worse. If this war had been delayed by another two days, that little girl might have ended up as Mama's snack."
Big Mom paid them no mind. "Mamamamama! He must be afraid of a Marine reprisal, so he left his strongest fighter to guard his territory!" she roared, her eyes glinting with a savage light. "He must think that's a good idea... The fool! He's already at a numerical disadvantage, and now he's not even bringing his full force?! He's just asking to be annihilated!"
"Hey, Katakuri! Give the order! Both flanks, open fire! Give those rookies of the Curtain Call crew a taste of our firepower!"
"Yes, Mama," Katakuri said, his voice grim. He raised his Transponder Snail and gave the command. The moment the enemy fleet entered range...
"FIRE!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The cannons of the tart ships roared to life. A dense rain of cannonballs shot across the sky, hundreds of blackened trails arcing through the air, casting a shadow over the entire enemy fleet.
"Even that old geezer Whitebeard's fleet couldn't withstand a barrage like this!" Big Mom roared with laughter. "You're still a long way off, you little punk!"
Katakuri remained silent, but a flash of red in his eye told him something was wrong. That much power... he's not even going to do it himself?
"Mama!" he suddenly yelled, his face pale. "They're all coming back!"
"What?" Big Mom said, turning her head.
In the next instant...
VWOOM!
Two massive, nearly transparent paw-prints appeared in front of the Curtain Call fleet, expanding in an instant to a sky-blotting scale, large enough to shield the entire armada.
"URSUS SHOCK!"
Kuma's deep voice echoed across the water as he stood on the prow of the lead ship, his palms pressed together.
POP!
The giant paw-shield glowed with an ethereal light. The hundreds of cannonballs that slammed into it were instantly repelled, sent flying back at the Charlotte family's fleet with even greater speed.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The front line of the tart ships erupted in a series of massive explosions, fire and smoke billowing into the sky as the pirates scrambled in panic.
"That damn Kuma!" Big Mom's eyes blazed with fury. She leaped from the deck, her massive body surprisingly agile.
"HERA!" she roared.
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