A terrifying aura surged out from Charlotte Linlin’s body. Whether human or Homies, all were rendered immobile under the influence of this power, with only a very few still able to maintain their sense of self.
This was not Haki of Conqueror’s Haki, but pressure originating from the soul of the Soul-Soul Fruit. Its method of intimidation was different from Conqueror’s Haki. Rather than intimidating enemies outright, it stirred up the fear deep within people’s hearts.
Only those who could maintain their sense of self and felt no fear toward Charlotte Linlin could ignore this influence. To feel fear in her presence would bring about extremely severe consequences.
“Was it you?! Was it you who wanted to destroy Sister’s photo?!”
Charlotte Linlin did not know who had created this ink Homie. In such circumstances, the scope of her suspicion expanded without limit, and a nearby guest was caught up in it.
As Charlotte Linlin drew closer, terror welled up from the depths of his heart. He tried to explain himself, but the overwhelming fear robbed him of his voice, which in turn triggered another of Charlotte Linlin’s abilities.
White misty light spilled out from his body. When one feels fear toward Charlotte Linlin while she is using her ability, their lifespan is taken away. In the blink of an eye, he went from a robust man to a white-haired old man.
“Not him… then who is it?! Come out here, right now!”
One arm clutched Sister’s photograph, while the other fist smashed down onto the table before her. The carefully prepared venue was already turning toward destruction.
“Mama, please calm down. The culprit should have already left the venue. If you keep this up, you’ll only end up ruining your own tea party!”
Katakuri was feeling somewhat irritated. It was true that he could foresee the future, but that ability consumed an enormous amount of mental energy, no one could keep it activated nonstop.
Earlier, at the entrance, he had already kept it active for most of the day, effectively completing the security checks.
The chess soldier had transported the photograph right in front of Charlotte Linlin. Logically, no one would dare pull any tricks in her presence.
What he had not anticipated was that a traitor like Bege had appeared from within. As early as the previous day, when he was responsible for arranging security matters, Bege had already prepared a backup plan.
Even that chess soldier had been replaced at that time. Calling him a traitor might not be entirely accurate; after all, from the very beginning, Bege’s purpose in joining this place had never been pure.
A former mafia don, now a pirate captain, joining the opposing side first in order to achieve his goals. This was something he had long since mastered to perfection.
“Katakuri, are you trying to stop me?!”
“Mama, that’s not what I mean. It’s the thing inside that fake Homie, perhaps that’s what clouded your judgment.”
Katakuri picked up fragments of paper from the ground. Looking at the fluttering scraps, Charlotte Linlin instantly knew what they were.
“My… Vivre Card? Mamamama~ It seems… someone in the family has betrayed me.”
Only Charlotte Linlin’s children possessed her Vivre Cards, and the appearance of the fragments already explained everything.
Once Charlotte Linlin became angry, she could not be persuaded. Even Katakuri being her most valued son was no exception. All Katakuri could do was try to pacify his mother and find some way to divert her attention.
Katakuri understood very clearly what that Vivre Card signified. He did not want to believe it, but the facts told him that one of his siblings had been involved in this incident.
The traitor had to be found, but not here. Given Charlotte Linlin’s current fury, not only the culprit, but even someone who stammered a few words might end up getting caught in the fallout.
To protect the majority of his younger brothers and sisters, he had to make Charlotte Linlin calm down first.
“Mama, please wait a moment. The wedding cake has already been brought up. If you lose your temper now, wouldn’t all the previous arrangements be for nothing? I’ll personally arrange for people to seal off Whole Cake Island. No one will be able to escape.”
“And look over there, you may have frightened those two children.”
Katakuri moved to Charlotte Linlin’s side, stepping on Zeus’s back as he spoke softly to her.
At the same time, he mentioned Meowna. Having just saved Sister’s photograph, she was probably the one with the greatest influence at the moment.
Listening to Katakuri’s suggestion, Charlotte Linlin looked in that direction as well, then nodded thoughtfully. In reality, however, fear had not taken root in Meowna and the others’ hearts.
They were still in the stage of idolizing their father, believing him to be omnipotent. With Zeraora standing in front of them, they were not particularly afraid.
In the end, under the dual temptations of delicious food and personal sentiment, Charlotte Linlin’s emotions finally settled somewhat.
“Katakuri, I’ll leave it to you. No one is to be let out of Whole Cake Island. Remember…no one.”
“Please rest assured.”
“Prometheus, go help Katakuri.”
“Yes, Mama.”
After Katakuri and Prometheus left, a smile once again appeared on Charlotte Linlin’s face, which allowed the others to breathe a sigh of relief, but Bege was different.
“Katakuri… He’s probably going to search the surrounding area. If that happens, the rest of the arrangements will be discovered soon. Straw Hat boy, we don’t have much time left. Once this plan fails, what comes next will be even riskier.”
Since they had failed to destroy the photograph at this moment, their plan switched to Plan B: when Charlotte Linlin turned her attention to the Vinsmoke family, they would take advantage of her focus being elsewhere and find another way to act.
The only good news was that the one carrying out the action was Kanjuro’s painting. With Kurozumi Orochi’s death, Kanjuro had now fully assumed the role of a retainer of the Kozuki clan. No longer hiding himself, he was fairly reliable in both execution and reasoning.
At the very least, compared to a group of unreliable people, he was far more dependable.
Outside the venue, the island’s Homies had already begun to move. Cracker’s biscuit soldiers were mixed in among them, almost completely surrounding the entire island.
According to Katakuri’s estimate, once this tea party ended, Charlotte Linlin’s mood would have improved considerably. Only then would it be best to drag out the traitor within the family, minimizing the overall impact.
Meanwhile, at the center of the venue, the executive chef Streusen had already led the chef team in bringing the enormous wedding cake to the middle.
At the sight of the massive cake, hearts appeared in Charlotte Linlin’s eyes, and her earlier anger faded significantly, highlighting her mercurial temperament.
Although such an incident had occurred, other matters still continued. According to the revised plan of the Big Mom Pirates, Pudding did not need to kill Sanji. Instead, the sound of her gunshot was to serve as the signal.
However, Sanji, who knew the truth, was momentarily thrown into confusion by Pudding’s appearance. Looking at the third eye of the Three-Eye Tribe, he blurted out his true feelings: “What a beautiful eye.”
Those words caused Pudding, who had been discriminated against for over a decade because of that eye, to completely break down. She dropped to her knees, crying with emotion. Even so, the plan proceeded on schedule; after all, there was more than one person involved here.
As early as the seating arrangements, members of Germa had been surrounded by relatively powerful members of the Big Mom Pirates.
Judge and the others paid no attention to this at all. Reiju noticed it, but said nothing. In her view, Germa, this abnormal nation, had no need to exist.
It’s just that she couldn’t defy Judge’s orders. Being silent was the most she could do.
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