The Queen Mama Chanter.
The massive ship that served as the mothership of the Big Mom Pirates, led by Big Mom—Charlotte Linlin.
Based at the Sabaody Archipelago, it kept watch over various locations. Since she'd made this her stronghold, even Celestial Dragons no longer set foot there—it had become a lawless zone.
Though she herself was a great pirate boasting tremendous power, many bounty hunters had underestimated her as all bark and no bite, only to end up with their heads on display.
"Mamahahaha! The Golden Lion's subordinate bases keep getting attacked. That bastard's daughter seems pretty capable after all!"
Linlin was cunningly thorough, dispatching spies to various islands to gather information.
Most of her officers were her own children, and as pirates, they relied heavily on Linlin's power alone. Yet they were recognized as such a formidable force—purely due to her innate strength and high vigilance.
Despite continuously bearing children every year for the past seventeen years, she'd had skirmishes with other forces but never reached a critical situation.
The act of carrying and bearing children was delicate and high-risk. The fact that she maintained her position while managing this—her risk management skills deserved praise.
"But Mama, if she's planning to go at it with the Golden Lion, won't our prey get taken?"
"That's true... I'd like to crush the Golden Lion first, but it's better not to move much right now."
Looking down at her pregnant body, Linlin sighed softly.
It was fine that she'd come to the Sabaody Archipelago in anger, but of all times, she'd started going into labor. She always kept a ship doctor nearby, but the risks of childbirth never decreased.
Having experienced Octavia's strength firsthand, Linlin rationally understood that fighting Kanata in her current state should be avoided if possible.
Even if she thought the daughter wouldn't be as strong as the mother, she should be extra cautious.
"The Witch isn't someone who'll kick the bucket easily either. We could wait for them to wear each other down, then strike when they're weak."
"Seems like she keeps moving around, so we'll continue searching. Is that alright, Mama?"
"Yes, do that. I'm happy to have such a capable son."
Laughing, Linlin patted the head of her son—her eldest, Perospero.
"There are others besides the Witch with pretty high bounties too, so we'll prepare as well, perolin♪"
The full force of the Big Mom Pirates was at the Sabaody Archipelago.
Starting with their captain Charlotte Linlin, there was Gourmet Knight Streusen and Baron Tamago.
Linlin's own children: Perospero, Katakuri, Daifuku, and Oven.
Many subordinates had built up their base along with the ship. Such an impressive assembly that even the Navy hesitated to engage was waiting for the time to fight.
"Mamahahaha!! How reliable, Perospero! For now, we'll investigate their movements—Ugh."
"...Mama?"
Her hand, which had been crunching on chocolate, suddenly stopped.
Perospero frowned at Linlin's condition, tilting his head in confusion—
"It's... coming..."
"WHAAAAT?! NOW?!"
Surprised by the sudden labor pains, Perospero quickly called the ship doctors to handle it.
While the doctors bustled into the room to attend to her, he left, knowing there was nothing he could do, and headed to the ship's terrace.
There, he found Streusen, Katakuri, and Oven chatting over their afternoon tea time.
"Unusual, perolin♪ To see Katakuri joining us."
"I finished my personal merienda earlier. I don't have anything to do, so talking once in a while is fine."
"That's good. I'll have some piping hot tea."
Ordering tea from a nearby attendant as he sat down, he reported that the situation hadn't changed.
"The leader's at one billion two hundred million, and her subordinates—Red Chestnut, Six-Direction Great Spear, and Giant Shadow—are all over a hundred million. Apparently they've repelled Navy admirals several times."
"That's quite something... The Witch's mother has history with Mama, right? Won't they come after us?"
Oven asked while crossing his arms.
Indeed, if she was someone Linlin was obsessed enough to want dead, it wouldn't be strange for them to have plans for Linlin too.
Perospero answered while receiving his steaming tea.
"I don't know. I'm not familiar with the details either. But the Witch seems focused on fighting the Golden Lion right now, so we can assume they won't come after us."
Perospero didn't know the details. Though Linlin often acted on impulse, it was rare for her to move this emotionally.
It was apparently some grudge from the pirate crew she'd been on, and the one who knew more about that was—Perospero turned his gaze to Streusen.
Eating shortcake while thinking, Streusen sighed after swallowing.
"It's not a pleasant topic while eating delicious cake, but... the Witch's mother, Octavia, is certainly someone Linlin would hate enough to want dead."
"...What did she do?"
"What did she do... That's difficult. But—Octavia was stronger than Linlin and nearly killed her multiple times, that's certain."
Though Linlin boasted strength worthy of being called a great pirate, when she was in the Rocks Pirates, she was still far from the strongest.
It was a ship with many monsters—starting with Captain Rocks himself, Whitebeard Edward Newgate, Octavia the Reverberator, and others.
Katakuri and the others knew Linlin's strength well, but someone even stronger was beyond their imagination.
"There were many things she didn't like, but the reason they fought to the death was a single comment from Octavia: 'Don't eat sweets before meals'..."
『THAT'S IT?!』
Perospero and Oven simultaneously exclaimed in surprise.
But while normally such a comment would mean nothing, when the other party was Linlin, it was different.
"Linlin, who loved sweets more than anything, rebelled and challenged Octavia, only to be defeated."
"That's unbelievable... Mama being defeated like that."
"Octavia's strength was beyond reason. Linlin had tantrums in the past too, but it was that woman who stopped them by force every time."
The eating disorder—when she thought of food she wanted, she'd rampage until she got it, unable to stop.
At least Perospero had never seen anyone who could stop Linlin when she rampaged indiscriminately.
"If she's Octavia's daughter, well, the potential for strength greater than you all is high."
"I see... But we don't intend to lose either."
"Of course not, perolin♪ Octavia, who was stronger than Mama, isn't here. Even if Mama handles the Witch, we can deal with the others."
No matter how strong the opponent, if the biggest obstacle wasn't there, there were ways to handle it.
Perospero and Oven laughed together. Streusen said nothing, cutting his shortcake and bringing it to his mouth.
Meanwhile, Katakuri sipped his tea while looking at the wanted poster of their target, the Dragon-Slaying Witch.
(If only it were that simple...)
At the very least, the government had judged there was something worthy of setting such a high bounty of one billion two hundred million.
He could only pray that wouldn't turn out badly for them.
☆
The Holy Land Mariejois, Pangaea Castle.
The Five Elders finished reviewing the report submitted by Garp and Saint Homing, discussing future actions.
"For now, we can leave the Witch alone. If this ideology is genuine, the current situation doesn't warrant rushing to dispatch forces."
"Hard to believe she's Octavia's daughter... but ideology is influenced by environment. If she was raised as an orphan, she probably didn't inherit Octavia's way of thinking."
"The biggest headache is that being Octavia's daughter means the father is most likely him... but there's no point worrying about uncertainties."
"In any case, we can now focus on the Golden Lion and Big Mom. That's something to be grateful for."
"The Witch and the Golden Lion are about to clash. It would be best if they destroyed each other, but..."
The matter requiring the most immediate attention was still the Golden Lion incident.
Though Kanata's crew had killed a Celestial Dragon, they hadn't committed any other clear acts of hostility toward the government. Even during the Navy's pursuit, they hadn't caused particularly significant damage.
The Five Elders' opinion was that lowering their priority was acceptable for now.
"Saint Homing's atmosphere changed after speaking with her. She clearly has significant influence over others as well."
"She's not just a Conqueror's Haki user. Let's pray we don't have a repeat of that foolish king who became infatuated with Octavia."
Recalling one of the incidents Octavia had caused in the past, the Five Elders sighed in unison.
The frightening part was they couldn't say definitively it wouldn't happen again, though from the report, things seemed fine.
If Saint Homing did cause something similar—when that time came, they'd make the ruthless decision.
"It's surprising that Garp didn't take hostile action... but that's just like him. He probably thinks it's still acceptable as long as she only harmed a Celestial Dragon."
"He's certainly strong... but difficult to handle."
"Still, having him in the Navy is better. It would be troublesome if he became like Roger."
Currently, he was close to being the Navy's highest combat power alongside the admirals. While his ideology wasn't welcome, they couldn't carelessly make a move.
Heroes with power and fame were always troublesome to those in authority.
They had to think having him in the Navy was better than nothing. An outlaw rampaging like Roger would be far more troublesome.
"What are the Golden Lion's movements?"
"He hasn't moved from Water Seven yet. But it seems he's gathering subordinate pirates, probably because they're being hunted by the Witch."
"Hmm... Could we have them clash by leaking information to the Witch?"
"We haven't gained her trust... but Garp seems to have established some connection. We could have that man leak information."
There were many matters to address.
Rather than simply throwing the Navy at the Golden Lion—the highest priority—it would be more convenient to have pirates destroy each other.
Water Seven was famous as a shipbuilding location, but recently, with soaring lumber costs and unavailable parts, many were struggling.
Though it was a World Government member nation, there were other shipyards. It wouldn't be a major blow to the World Government.
"Priority is subduing the Golden Lion, who greatly disrupts the seas. Some collateral damage is acceptable."
"She's Octavia's daughter. There's plenty of possibility she can defeat him."
"Then it's decided."
"We can provide some support from our end. If she succeeds in defeating him, that is."
Directly throwing the Navy at him came with many restrictions. Having pirates clash meant they could deflect the blame—convenient.
The Five Elders thought so—and decided to leak information through Garp.
☆
The Gourmet Town, Pucci.
In this town of cuisine—one of the Grand Line's finest—Kanata's crew was taking a break.
Since meeting with Garp's group at Banaro Island, they'd visited three islands and crushed Golden Lion pirates, so they'd come here to refresh themselves.
Of the three islands visited, they'd defeated pirates on two, but one had already been abandoned.
Judging that Shiki was probably gathering his subordinates to avoid individual defeats, Kanata's crew was collecting information in various places to consider their next move.
"DELI-CIOUS!! This carrot dish is truly exquisite! Could you wrap up everything you have?!"
"Y-yes, that's fine. But that's quite a lot..."
"I have plenty of money! Yes, if you could teach me the recipe, that would be even better!"
"The recipe is a bit..."
"I see... Then I'll just buy it! Neigh, that was good shopping! Truly worthy of the Gourmet Town!"
Near Zen, who was excitedly having a massive amount of carrot dishes wrapped up, Feiyun was having juice poured into a giant-sized cup.
They had abundant food and money looted from pirates along the way. Using some was barely a drop in the bucket.
Even Jorge, the treasurer, was smiling and handing out pocket money to everyone. Each person was enjoying the refreshment period.
"We're quite conspicuous ourselves, but those two are on another level."
"Yeah. People avoid that area. Makes them easier to find, at least."
Junxi and Scotch each held takoyaki while gazing toward Zen and Feiyun.
These two also didn't have people approach them due to their clearly non-civilian appearances, but such people often don't realize it themselves.
Kanata was the opposite.
Having been scolded by Ivankov, she'd started caring somewhat about her appearance. Wearing a black sailor outfit, she'd been shopping for clothes and daily necessities in various places when she ended up being hit on by a crowd of men.
Even Kanata was fed up with this, returning to the ship once to bring Dragon—who'd been on ship duty—as both a pack mule and man-repellent.
Taking a break during shopping, the two entered a nearby restaurant for a meal and discussed their next actions in a private room.
"—We're at an impasse. We've managed to whittle down the Golden Lion's forces somewhat, but not by much. Fighting the Golden Lion's main ship in this state carries high risk."
"...Surprising. I thought once you picked a fight, you'd go into battle despite the risk."
"If I had no choice, yes. But this time, we're the attacking side. We have the initiative."
There was no merit in fighting Shiki while risking losing someone.
Since the tactic of gradually whittling down their forces couldn't be used, the only option left was to attack directly. If this method wasn't viable, they should honestly give up on defeating Shiki.
Dragon crossed his arms, thinking.
"We're tracking the Golden Lion's movements through that man... but if that's your judgment, I'll follow it."
"Even tracking his movements, we lack manpower. Even assuming Shiki's strength equals Garp or Sengoku, I alone can't handle him."
Even against Sengoku, Kanata ultimately hadn't defeated him alone.
No matter how much bravado she showed, a decisive power gap existed. Until she could overcome that, they couldn't move.
Since he wasn't an opponent they absolutely had to defeat, nor a situation where failing to defeat him meant their deaths, for now they should limit themselves to harassment.
"...Manpower, huh."
"Manpower indeed. He has about five more subordinate pirate crews remaining, right? Then we should assume there are five more groups like the ones we've defeated."
Even if individual crews weren't much, banding together made them troublesome.
They didn't have the numbers to engage them.
"Hmm... Personally, I think it's better to strike while we can for the future... but manpower..."
"Then," Dragon made a proposal.
"How about bringing that man to our side?"
At that suggestion, Kanata's eyes widened in surprise.
***
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