Click.
A soft sound.
The call connected.
"PEROSPEROOO!!"
A shrill, manic voice filled with greed and rage exploded from the Den Den Mushi, roaring like a storm across the throne room!
"Why the hell did you take so long to answer?! What are you dawdling for?! Where are my ten tons of sweets?! What about that mermaid princess who can talk to Sea Kings?! Did you get her yet?!"
BOOM!
The sheer force of the voice was almost physical, shaking the entire throne room with a deafening hum.
This was a Yonko.
But in the face of the kind of fury that would make the average person piss themselves—
Lucian Thorn's face didn't move an inch.
He calmly raised the receiver to his mouth.
The room went deathly still.
King Neptune, his sons, even Marco, all fixed their eyes on Lucian.
They could feel it—something insane was about to happen.
On the other end, Big Mom grew even more irate without a response.
"Speak! PEROSPEROOO!! You useless idiot! Did something go wrong?!"
"Or are you trying to disobey Mama's orders?!"
"Mama mama mama… do you want me to RIP the years off your soul?!"
Her eerie laugh scratched through the air.
Finally, Lucian spoke.
His voice was calm. Too calm—like he was commenting on something trivial.
"He ran into a little accident."
Silence.
Big Mom's laughter and rage halted mid-screech.
The Den Den Mushi's face froze in a warped expression of confusion.
Then—
"Who… are you?"
"Put Perospero on! Mama's talking!"
Lucian's lips curled into a cold, cutting smirk.
His tone remained maddeningly placid as he uttered three words:
"My name's Lucian."
Silence.
On the other end—nothing but dead, suffocating silence.
Even the notoriously violent sea emperor needed a few seconds to digest the sheer weight of that name.
Then—
A scream burst from the Den Den Mushi, so piercing it could split eardrums!
BOOOOOM!
The sonic shockwave made the palace's crystal windows wail under pressure!
The face on the Den Den Mushi twisted into a grotesque mask of rage, eyes ablaze with fury.
"YOU BASTARD! LUUUUCIAAAAN!!"
"Why do you have my son's Den Den Mushi?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!"
Big Mom's fury threatened to set the entire island ablaze through the phone line.
It was pure madness.
But Lucian's next words—
They redefined madness.
Facing her volcanic wrath, Lucian didn't even flinch.
If anything, he seemed annoyed by the noise.
He interrupted her coldly.
"Starting now."
He paused, his gaze drifting across the trembling Fish-Man soldiers, past a pale-faced Neptune, and landing at last on the terrified, curious eyes of Shirahoshi.
Then he spoke into the Den Den Mushi again—calm, clear, and chilling:
"Fish-Man Island… is still under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates."
What?!
Big Mom paused mid-rage.
And Lucian's emotionless voice continued:
"As for your son..."
A trace of unhidden disgust tainted his tone.
"He was too noisy."
"So I cleaned him up."
BOOOOOOM!!!
His words detonated like a nuclear bomb in the hearts of everyone present.
"Cleaned him up…"
Such casual phrasing.
Such arrogant declaration.
This wasn't a provocation.
It was pure, undisguised contempt.
A slap to Big Mom's face—on behalf of the entire world.
"LUUUUUUCIAAAAN——!!!"
Big Mom's shriek erupted through the Den Den Mushi—a banshee's howl mixed with Conqueror's Haki!
The entire throne room shook violently under the pressure, walls trembling like they might collapse!
"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU, DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
"I'LL MAKE YOU INTO A HOMIE! YOU'LL SPEND ALL ETERNITY WITH YOUR SOUL ON FIRE!"
"I'LL—"
"Charlotte Linlin."
Lucian's voice cut in—calm and low, but laced with enough authority to choke a god.
Just uttering her full name seemed to cast a spell—on both the Den Den Mushi and the rampaging sea.
Everything… went silent.
The whole room, the whole island, perhaps even the world, held its breath.
Everyone strained their ears.
Lucian raised the Den Den Mushi to eye level.
He looked at the face on it—still twisted with rage.
His own gaze was cold.
Emotionless.
Deadly.
Then he spoke, one word at a time, voice as crisp as death:
"Wash your neck. And wait."
"Honestly… can you shut up for five seconds?"
He paused deliberately.
"I'm on my way."
"Hope you're tougher than the Five Elders."
Click.
Lucian hung up.
Dropped the Den Den Mushi.
And with a soft crunch—
He stepped on it.
The call ended.
Silence returned.
But the throne room—
Felt more tense, more frozen than ever before.
It was like time itself had stopped.
Everyone stood like statues.
Only Lucian's last words echoed endlessly in their minds:
"Wash your neck. And wait."
"I'm on my way."
Gulp.
King Neptune swallowed audibly.
He stared at the black-haired youth who had just crushed the Den Den Mushi like it was nothing.
And from the depths of his soul—
A fear, a reverence, a worship…
Overwhelmed him.
This was a Yonko.
A monster who had ruled the seas for decades.
And this man—
Had just seized her territory, killed her son, and declared her death sentence—
All in one breath.
Then added:
"I'm coming."
That... is the strength and confidence of a man worth 7.5 billion.