"Mamamama… what do you want with me, Kaido?"
After the Den Den Mushi connected, Charlotte Linlin spoke in a decidedly unpleasant tone. Although the two Yonko had gone through hardships together aboard Boros' ship—and even briefly fought side by side when facing newcomers like Esdeath and Tatsumaki—
Linlin had never forgotten one thing:
Boros was brought here by that bastard Kaido!
If Kaido hadn't dragged disaster in her direction, she would still be the captain of the BIG MOM Pirates, the queen of Totto Land, the supreme Pirate Emperor of Totto Land!
Not a punching bag being beaten by Boros every few days!
That said, thanks to being repeatedly ground into the dirt by Boros lately—especially when her hunger pangs sent her into uncontrollable rampages, nearly getting beaten to death several times—BIG MOM's temper had actually mellowed quite a bit.
Otherwise, with Linlin's usual personality, she would've already stormed off to the Third Division to settle accounts with Kaido!
"Waaahhh… you're still holding a grudge, Linlin…"
What Charlotte Linlin didn't expect was that the moment the Den Den Mushi connected, she would hear Kaido bawling his eyes out. Even though the All-Stars beside him were trying to calm him down, it was completely useless.
"Kaido-boss, stop crying already! Everyone's watching! If you keep this up I'm gonna cry too… waaah…"
"Queen-boss, why are you crying too…?"
"Queen, you idiot!"
...
On the other end, the three All-Stars nearly started fighting each other while trying to console him, only to be punched one by one by the hysterically crying Kaido, nearly knocking them out cold.
"Stop clowning around! Kaido! I don't have time to chat with you!"
Charlotte Linlin cursed angrily. Just thinking about how she and Kaido had ended up like this—yet his All-Stars still remained loyal to him—made her even more furious.
By contrast, her own Sweet Commanders, all her biological children, were a mess.
Katakuri was a traitor, Smoothie and Cracker couldn't be trusted due to their suspected collusion, and only Snack was barely usable.
Yet Snack was the most useless of the Sweet Commanders. Forget matching Kaido's All-Stars—even compared to Kaido's Flying Six, he wasn't much stronger.
"Waaah… Linlin, you're still scolding me…"
Kaido continued crying while beating up the All-Stars, clearly proving that Boros' fists had done nothing to fix his unstable mood swings—if anything, they might've made them worse.
"Go to hell, Kaido!"
Seething with rage, Charlotte Linlin nearly hung up the Den Den Mushi. It was obvious BIG MOM's temper had improved somewhat—at the very least, she hadn't exploded on the spot.
"Queen! Jack! Hold Kaido-boss back! I'll explain things to BIG MOM—"
King tried to grab the Den Den Mushi, only to get slapped away by Kaido.
Even the strongest of the All-Stars had little chance to resist him.
"Let's form an alliance, you old hag. You don't want to carry that bastard Boros to the throne of World King either, do you?"
Kaido picked up the Den Den Mushi again, his tone already restored to its usual coldness. Not even Rocks had managed to subdue the young Kaido back then—so Boros certainly wouldn't now.
"What nonsense are you spouting, Kaido?! Why would that monster become the World King?!"
Charlotte Linlin snapped back angrily. She admitted Boros was strong, but hadn't Rocks also failed on the road to becoming World King?
No matter how powerful Boros was, it didn't necessarily mean he surpassed the Rocks Pirates at their peak.
"When that monster finishes slaughtering the Celestial Dragons, who would dare say he isn't the World King?!"
Kaido let out a cold snort. Without the support of the World Government, the Marines would be utterly vulnerable. With Boros's strength, coupled with the power of the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates that had nearly unified the New World, there would be no individual or force on the seas capable of stopping him.
"...So what are you planning to do?"
Charlotte Linlin fell silent for a rare moment before speaking again, her voice low and heavy.
Given the personalities of Kaido and BIG MOM, normal negotiations were practically impossible.
But under Boros's pressure, even Kaido and Charlotte Linlin were forced to change, willing to make a certain degree of compromise if necessary.
"King, Queen, and Jack are all people I trust..."
Kaido did not answer her question directly. The Beasts Pirates, who had suffered no small amount of Boros's iron-fisted punishment, had finally come to understand the importance of secrecy.
Although Boros never cared if his subordinates harbored ulterior motives, Kaido still had to guard against someone leaking their secrets and running off to report them.
Once Boros learned of their plan, the chances of successfully stabbing him in the back would plummet.
"...Oven, Perospero, you two move further away!"
Charlotte Linlin swept her gaze over her eldest and fourth sons and issued the order in a cold tone.
Aside from Snack, who had proven himself through action, Charlotte Linlin had now lost trust in her children altogether — even her once-favored eldest son was no exception.
Perospero, who had just been nervously licking his candy cane while pondering how to help his mother negotiate with Kaido, stiffened slightly and looked up at her in disbelief.
However, all he received in return was his mother's almost icy, scrutinizing gaze. Only then did Perospero realize that, in her eyes, he had become just as untrustworthy as Katakuri.
"...Yes, Mother."
Perospero showed no visible sign of abnormality. He simply lowered his head and bowed, retreating to a position where the sound of the Den Den Mushi could no longer be heard.
"Perospero..."
After moving away together, Oven — also with his head lowered — cautiously glanced back in their mother's direction. Once he confirmed they were far enough, he nervously prepared to say something.
"Go inform Katakuri. Tell him about Mother forming an alliance with Kaido."
Before Oven could speak, Perospero — who had always appeared more loyal to their mother — suddenly spoke up.
"Huh? That's great! Perospero, you finally came around!"
Oven was overjoyed. He had been worrying about how to convince his big brother, never expecting Perospero to suggest notifying Katakuri himself.
"If possible, I don't want to betray Mother either... but she's not only lost trust in Katakuri — she's lost trust in us as well..."
Perospero's licking of the candy cane slowed more and more, yet his eyes and expression grew increasingly resolute.
"Yeah... Mother's patience is running out. If this keeps up, sooner or later one of our brothers or sisters is going to die at her hands..."
Recalling the terrifying sight of their mother's rage, Oven couldned help but shudder.
It was precisely because they didn't want to see their siblings killed by their own mother that they chose to support Katakuri.
"Trust Katakuri. He'll definitely protect our younger brothers and sisters!"
°°°
If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon
Link: Patreon/Moziel
Subscription should be made thru the web and never the ios app, it helps you and me.