When they heard the condition Michael proposed, the noisy Charlotte family instantly fell silent.
Everyone looked at Michael with eyes full of disbelief.
Did this man just say… to cure Mama's eating disorder!?
"You… you're not joking with me, right?"
Perospero, usually so calm, suddenly shot to his feet.
"Do you realize what you just promised us!?"
"Curing illnesses? That's the thing I'm best at, aside from slacking off."
Michael shrugged.
"Even diseases like Amber Lead Plague, that for you guys can only be cured with the Op-Op Fruit, I can handle in a short time."
Of course, Michael himself wasn't sure if Charlotte Linlin's "eating disorder" actually counted as a disease.
It might just be that her overwhelmingly strong body's craving for energy caused her to secrete torrents of terrifying stomach acid, torturing her from within.
But whether he could completely cure it or not, Michael was sure he could at least ease the symptoms…
At the very least, Michael could guarantee she wouldn't, for a long while, fall into those terrifying fits of hunger, turning from the current oversized peerless beauty into an oversized deranged old hag.
Hearing Michael's words, Perospero instantly felt the urge to agree.
After all, Mama's eating disorder was a huge hidden danger to the entire Totto Land.
It was the biggest unpredictable factor threatening the nation's stability!
After managing this empire for so long, of course, he wanted to preserve what they had built.
Even if Michael's words might or might not be true, at least…
He wouldn't make things worse.
Michael crossed his arms, watching the struggling expressions on Perospero and Katakuri's faces.
Then he looked toward the Charlotte family.
"Yeah… got it. You."
Michael spoke, then got up and walked into the crowd of Charlottes.
Among the various oddly-shaped figures, he found a woman.
Of course, as Charlotte Linlin's daughter, this woman was also much taller than Michael.
"What do you want with Brûlée!?"
Seeing the woman Michael pulled out, Katakuri immediately grew agitated.
Brûlée, Charlotte Linlin's eighth daughter, was the sister he loved most… and felt the most guilty toward.
But right after his instinctive outburst, his eyes suddenly cleared.
Then he stared at Michael with an expression beyond words.
Because from that fleeting glimpse of the future… he saw Michael's power!
Brûlée, however, didn't have Katakuri's Observation Haki.
All she knew was that the man who had just fought Mama had now dragged her out—so she simply closed her eyes.
"For Mama… for Brother Katakuri! Do whatever you want! I won't make a sound!"
Michael looked at the woman before him.
A scar ran across her face.
This came from when someone, seeking revenge on Katakuri, had hurt her as a child.
Young Brûlée hadn't yet become that witch-like figure she would one day be, but the darkness in her eyes and the ominous aura were already taking shape.
And the Charlotte women's looks… whether at their peak or at their lowest… sometimes felt like two different people entirely.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Someone might think I was about to do something bad to you."
Michael smirked, wings stirring slightly so he could meet Charlotte Brûlée eye to eye.
The next moment, he reached out his hand. His flawless face showed a look of divine compassion.
"Holy Light."
As Michael spoke, holy light spread from his palm, gently brushing Brûlée's face.
The hideous old scar slowly wriggled under the light, new flesh and skin growing…
In just a few minutes, Charlotte Brûlée felt reborn.
She touched her face.
The scar was gone.
Her long, red, witch-like nose—disfigured by injury and infection—was back to normal.
Everyone in the Charlotte family had witnessed this miracle.
And this was why Katakuri hadn't stopped him.
Even though he had foreseen this moment, Katakuri was still trembling with emotion as he stepped up to Brûlée, gently touching her restored face…
"Brother Katakuri… I'm not dreaming, right?"
"Brûlée… your face is really back to normal!"
Michael couldn't be bothered with their touching sibling moment.
He went back to the table and said to the stunned Perospero:
"This is my sincerity… to show you my abilities."
"So… will you accept my proposal, Perospero?"
Perospero, hearing this, couldn't help but look carefully at Brûlée's face again.
Smooth as new.
He gritted his teeth and reached for the two Shichibukai appointment letters.
Michael's smile showed his satisfaction.
"Good. Happy cooperation."
...
"So until we left Totto Land, Charlotte Linlin never showed up again."
Crocodile smirked.
"Compared to Whitebeard, this woman might have a stronger body… but something's not right up here."
He tapped his temple.
"Funny how you're so chatty now. Why didn't you speak up in front of them?"
Michael rolled his eyes.
"Perospero, as Charlotte Linlin's eldest son, is the Big Mom Pirates' strategist and the siblings' leader. This was his call to make."
"Katakuri, bounty 1,057,000,000 Belly."
"Perospero, bounty 700,000,000 Belly."
Stella looked at the two bounty posters, then began filling out the report for bounty filing.
"But Michael," Crocodile frowned, "curing Charlotte Linlin's eating disorder I can understand… but what do you mean by making Totto Land 'official'?"
The current Crocodile wasn't yet the nation-stealing schemer of the original story, but a princess who had suffered greatly.
So she didn't understand Michael's second condition.
"Simple. To make Totto Land into a real country."
"Right now, Totto Land might cover a huge territory made of thirty-four scattered islands… but the rules are way too ridiculous. Normal countries don't demand half a year of citizens' lifespan as tax and forbid leaving the country under penalty of death."
Michael shrugged.
"Sure, the people are relatively happy… but it still limits development."
"As the steward responsible for Totto Land's daily operations, Perospero knows this too well."
What Michael didn't say was… if Totto Land didn't reform…
Then it would drown in the sea of people's revolutions, sooner or later.
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