Charlotte Linlin's face was beaming with a smile, the corners of her mouth still covered in crumbs from her food.
If you didn't know her true nature, at this moment she looked just like an old lady who had just finished her afternoon tea. But Caesar knew that if Charlotte Linlin ever found out that he had been scamming her out of funds all these years, his end would be far more tragic than those cookies that had been eaten.
Drained of his lifespan, his soul ripped to shreds, his body smashed to pieces.
In just an instant, countless cruel punishments flashed through Caesar Clown's mind, and sweat broke out even more on his forehead.
The donuts and bread and other pastries around then were all giving Caesar Clown the kind of look you'd give an idiot. These Homies had wills of their own. Perhaps, in their minds, Caesar was the same as them, destined to be eaten in the end.
"What's wrong? Why can't you make a decision? Are you trying to fool me, Caesar Clown?!"
"N-no, of course not, there's no problem with the factory made from candy! Just give me a little more time! I can do it!"
"Mamamama Mamamama There's no need to be afraid. As long as you deliver results, no matter how much money you spend, I won't care. Money's meant to be spent, as long as it's meaningful."
Seeing the choice Caesar made, Charlotte Linlin eased the oppressive mood just a little.
"The Minister of Candy is my son. His candies can create all sorts of things, and every detail would be identical to Punk Hazard. You just focus on your research.
As for the deadline…
There are 20 days until the next tea party. I want to see results before the tea party starts. That's not a problem, is it?"
"No problem. Since the lab can be replicated like this, it'll be easy."
Caesar lied guiltily, something that had been irreparable since the day he told his first lie.
Lies always have holes. To patch up one lie, you need another lie.
And when you use lies to cover up lies, it's only a matter of time before you're exposed.
Right now, Caesar was full of resentment. Why could candy do something like this?
This was the result of Charlotte Linlin's children using their Devil Fruit powers. Their fruits didn't give the straightforward combat boosts like the Beasts Pirates, but they did have unique abilities in other areas.
Candy from the Lick-Lick Fruit and biscuits from the Bis-Bis Fruit became perfect building materials. The candy and biscuits they made became the main construction materials for houses in Totto Land, making it the country with the world's shortest house shelf life.
Every so often, when the houses were about to expire, there'd be people specifically assigned to eat them.
Only by building houses at this pace using Devil Fruit powers could they keep up with Charlotte Linlin's cycles of destruction.
Aside from that, there was the Mirror-Mirror Fruit's Mirro-World and the Book-Book Fruit's World of Books; rare examples of fruits involving space. The Big Mom Pirates really made all sorts of creative uses of unique fruits.
"Perospero, take him to that plot of land we set aside. If he still hasn't made what I want by the deadline, you know what to do."
"Leave it to me, Mama, I'll take care of everything."
"Oh, and how's the preparation for Pudding's wedding?"
"Other than the desserts that need to be made on short notice, everything else is ready. The invitations have all been sent out."
"Very good. We'll hold the wedding and the tea party together. This is going to be the most interesting event in years. Mamamama Mamamama"
The happier Charlotte Linlin was, the more sad Caesar became. He didn't even know how he got to the plot of land. By the time he came to his senses, a gigantic laboratory made of candy was already standing in front of him.
"How about it, Bro Caesar? Can you even tell the difference from the original lab? My candy can be as hard as steel, and it's got special flexibility too. It should be sturdy enough for your experiments, right?"
"O-of course."
"It's not just the outside, the inside is exactly the same too. But if you still can't finish by the deadline, I'll turn you into a candy man and lick you clean."
Perospero's long tongue licked his candy cane, and then he took out a cube.
"The power of the Op-Op Fruit really is interesting. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so obedient right now, would you?"
As he spoke, Perospero tossed it aside, and under Caesar's gaze filled with longing, the heart eventually ended up in Capone Bege's hands.
"Bege, I'm leaving this guy to you for now. I have to go prepare for the wedding and tea party. Don't let Mama down."
"Leave it to me, Brother Perospero."
Capone Bege, one of the Worst Generation's Super Rookies, had now joined the Big Mom Pirates and married Charlotte Chiffon. Of course, his intentions were hardly pure.
Joining the Big Mom Pirates was only a temporary way for him to seek shelter while waiting for a better opportunity.
Charlotte Linlin felt that Capone Bege had decent potential, so she married one of her daughters to him. However, Chiffon happened to be one of Charlotte Linlin's least favorite daughters.
Her most disliked daughter was Lola, because Lola's pursuit of her own desires destroyed Charlotte Linlin's last chance to form a connection with the Giants. Since then, Chiffon, who looked just like Lola, had also become one of Linlin's disliked daughters.
Charlotte Linlin's opinion of Capone Bege fluctuated constantly, but his recent performance had earned some trust, so the task of watching Caesar was handed to him.
With his heart in someone else's hands, Caesar had no choice but to enter the research lab before him, but he knew very well that it was impossible for him to develop the gigantification drug in this short time.
So under the cover of night, he tried to steal his heart back from Bege and escape from the island.
Now that he wasn't restricted by Seastone handcuffs, as long as he got his heart back, he could use his elemental transformation to fly away at any moment.
But he failed, and instead, Bege caught him in the act, which gave Bege some special ideas of his own.
After sending Caesar away, Charlotte Linlin also prepared to meet the counterpart in this marriage alliance.
Judge only wanted to use Charlotte Linlin's forces. He had no intention of giving up his own achievements. Similarly, Charlotte Linlin had no intention of truly forming an alliance by marriage. What she wanted was Germa's technology.
At this point, Germa's seafaring kingdom had already arrived in Totto Land. If Charlotte Linlin wanted to, she had the power to completely wipe out Germa right here.
Whether she did it personally or mobilized the forces gathered in Totto Land, she could easily accomplish this.
But she didn't. She was waiting for the wedding as an opportunity. At this point, Charlotte Linlin already had the idea of reorganizing the order of the Underworld. In her heart, aside from Kaido, no one else was worthy of negotiating with her as an equal.
But those in the Underworld were all sly old foxes; Charlotte Linlin needed to make an example—essentially, to "kill a chicken to scare the monkeys."
Germa became the "chicken" she selected, to intimidate other powers.
"Katakuri, has Germa's people arrived?"
"They're here, Mama. They're already waiting for you. Also, regarding the previous Dressrosa operation, I've reorganized the details.
Currently, the Beasts Pirates have taken Doflamingo, but in the Underworld, Doflamingo hasn't resurfaced. Instead, Tesoro has been making quick moves."
"So even Kaido couldn't sit still, huh? That's how it should be. No matter how useful an outsider is, they're never as reliable as your own people."
Charlotte Linlin didn't see any problem with Kaido's actions. On the contrary, she thought this was the reasonable approach. If it weren't for the fact that the Underworld covers such a vast area and involves so many people, she would have made more direct changes long ago.
"Also, Red Count • Redfield has been active a few times in other seas recently. It's confirmed that he really has come back out of retirement."
"Mamamama Mamamama How nostalgic. There aren't many old geezers from the previous era left. What else?"
"No especially notable news. The most noteworthy is Kaido's daughter. The Quake-Quake Fruit has fallen into her hands, and it probably won't be long before the Beasts Pirates gain a new officer.
I can't even judge her true strength anymore."
"Hmph. That Kaido really gave birth to a great daughter."
She herself had dozens of children, but none could compare to Kaido's only daughter. This inevitably made Charlotte Linlin a bit resentful.
"By the way, what response did the Beasts Pirates give?"
"They said they would come, but didn't specify who."
"You go make preparations to receive them. They are the only true guests worthy of such a welcome. I will go to meet the Germa people and see just what this 'mythical evil army' is truly capable of."
Along the way, Charlotte Linlin ran into several other children. She showed a great deal of patience toward these young ones, though most of them were problematic children.
Dismemberment and killing were topics they didn't shy away from; blades and swords were just toys in their hands. After spending some time calming her children, Charlotte Linlin arrived at the meeting place.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone from Germa 66. I was delayed handling some small matters, so I'm late. My apologies."
Although Charlotte Linlin had already decided to deal with Germa, before the time came, she still maintained a certain etiquette, a lingering influence from Carmel in her past.
But this apology was merely a formality. Anyone who took it seriously was a real fool.
The people of Germa had arrived early, but showed no impatience. Except for Sanji himself, everyone else stood up to show their respect.
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