After a while, the voice on the other side spoke again, this time with an irritated tone:
{"Who are you?! How is Brother Katakuri?"}
{"I am from the Straw Hat Pirates, Mr. 5."}
Gradually getting into character, Mr. 5 snorted coldly:
{"If you want your brother to live, tell Big Mom to come and speak with me!"}
That was kind of cool!
"I'll give you five minutes. If I don't hear Big Mom's voice by then, I can't guarantee that your brother's hands and feet will remain attached to his body!"
{"You bastard…! If anything happens to Brother Katakuri, don't think we'll let it slide!"}
The person on the other end was furious, spat out the words harshly, then cut off the line.
She was probably going to get her mother.
Mr. 5 took a deep breath and glanced at Luffy again.
"Not bad," Luffy praised for the moment, then added with a sigh: "But stop using that mob-boss tone."
The captain of the second division was Vivi, but she didn't care about such matters. Even though Bartolomeo was the vice-captain, he basically did the captain's work.
Now the whole crew was starting to sound like gangsters.
"I'm sorry!" Mr. 5 immediately lowered his head.
Before long, the Den Den Mushi rang again.
Mr. 5 answered at once, and the heavy voice of Charlotte Linlin came through:
{"Straw Hat Luffy! Is my son safe!?"}
"Hand me the Den Den Mushi and go fetch Katakuri."
Luffy gave a few instructions and, once it was intercepted, he spoke into the receiver:
"Good evening, Big Mom. Your son is alive and unharmed."
{"What do you mean by that?"}
"What do you mean?"
Luffy scoffed. "Fish-Man Island is my territory. Your son came here to stir up trouble—you should be thanking me for not killing him."
---
On the other side.
Charlotte Linlin froze for a moment.
What was this nonsense?
Wasn't Fish-Man Island Whitebeard's territory? With Whitebeard dead, shouldn't it now be no man's land?
But for pirates, reasoning was useless.
It didn't matter!
{"Mamamama…"} Charlotte Linlin narrowed her eyes and sneered:
{"Tell me, what are your terms?"}
As expected of an old pirate, she understood right away.
Luffy praised her inwardly:
"You have a Road Poneglyph. I want it."
{"So that's it. The papers said you had only just entered the New World, hmph, and already you've set your sights on the Road Poneglyph."}
Charlotte Linlin wasn't surprised that Luffy knew about the four Road Poneglyphs.
What grew inside her instead was her rage.
{"I'll admit, you're bold to lay hands on my son. Straw Hat, I'll give you a chance—send him back to me safely, and I'll allow you to choose ten favorites from among my daughters."}
This time, Luffy was the one left speechless.
He had only asked for the Road Poneglyph, and she had gone so far as to throw in ten of her daughters.
He couldn't help but laugh:
"Who do you think you're insulting?"
As for her daughters' appearances…
Luffy could only recall one who might actually catch his interest.
Among Charlotte Linlin's thirty-plus daughters, many were rather strange.
The main reason was that this woman had no taboos. Her dream was to unite all races of the world into one nation, regardless of status.
To achieve that dream, she had married men of all races and given birth to children of every kind.
The result was a brood of bizarre offspring—few of whom would interest a normal man.
{"Really? You're refusing?"}
Charlotte Linlin laughed harshly:
{"Do you know who I am?! How dare you lay hands on my son and then refuse one of my daughters! Don't forget—I am one of the Yonko!"}
"Yonko mean nothing to me."
Luffy didn't bother humoring her. "Why don't you enjoy your son's screams first?"
As he spoke, he pulled Katakuri's heart from his coat and squeezed it.
Katakuri, brought into the living room by Mr. 5, immediately doubled over in agony the moment he crossed the threshold. Not even his iron will could endure the pain.
"Arrrrgh!"
He roared.
{"Katakuri!"} Charlotte Linlin's expression changed at once.
{"You little brat, how dare you!"}
"Have you calmed down yet?"
Luffy asked evenly:
"If not, I can let you hear it again."
"Mother!" Katakuri paled. "This man is on Fish-Man Island!"
Grinding his teeth, he shouted the crucial information.
Even if she didn't answer, Charlotte Linlin definitely understood.
"Yes, I'm on Fish-Man Island. So how about you come here?"
Luffy crossed his legs and spoke in a mocking tone:
"Do you have the guts to come?"
Provoked in this way, Big Mom's rage boiled over.
The veins in her forehead throbbed.
After a while, she finally said:
{"Since this is a transaction, I must first ensure my son's safety. I will give you what you want, but the exchange must take place on Whole Cake Island! Do you have the courage to come?"}
"Wait."
After a pause, Luffy spoke again, his voice calm:
"Fish-Man Island is my territory. Let me repeat: the next time you come here to cause trouble, I will not be so merciful."
As he spoke, he squeezed Katakuri's heart hard.
"Arrrgh!"
Katakuri vomited blood as he screamed in agony.
"Don't say I didn't warn you first!"
With that, he hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Luffy looked at the kneeling Katakuri and said casually:
"Your mother values you greatly—so much so that she's actually willing to trade a Road Poneglyph for your safety. Too bad her attitude was far too arrogant. I had originally intended to give her a little information about that Poneglyph as a gift."
"…!!"
Katakuri glared at Luffy with piercing eyes.
Whack!
Mr. 5 raised his hand and slapped him.
"Mind your tone! What attitude is that toward Lord Luffy, you mere prisoner?"
(But he didn't even say anything…) Luffy thought.
He raised his hand to stop Mr. 5 from slapping again, then laughed and said:
"Though I promised your mother I'd keep you safe, on the way to Whole Cake Island, you'll make an excellent training partner for my crew."
As a training tool, he would be very useful.
In the original story, Luffy had even learned how to glimpse the future by fighting him.
Though not as good a teacher as Kaido, an outstanding instructor, he was still quite the tutor.
"The captain of my first division has the potential to awaken Conqueror's Haki. Katakuri, you'll serve as his training partner for a while."
Katakuri clenched his fists tightly.
---
Whole Cake Island.
Charlotte Linlin's face was dark with fury.
Staring at the Den Den Mushi, her wrath unconsciously unleashed her Conqueror's Haki.
Black and red lightning crackled outward like a spiderweb, shaking the entire room.
"Mother!"
The tables and chairs imbued with souls cried out in terror.
At her side, a witch-like woman named Charlotte Brûlée asked anxiously:
"Mother, is Katakuri safe?"
The Conqueror's Haki slowly subsided.
Charlotte Linlin snorted:
"At the very least, his life isn't in danger. Katakuri won't die—not until the Straw Hat gets that Poneglyph."
Whether he would after that was another matter.
Even though the two sides had agreed to the terms of the deal…
"Brûlée, transcribe the contents of the Road Poneglyph and then notify all family members…"
Charlotte Linlin stood, her massive body radiating an oppressive force:
"Prepare for war!!!"
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."