The shattered palace fell into a heavy silence.
Charlotte Linlin's expression darkened slightly as she spoke coldly,
"Kaido, you didn't seriously come here planning to ambush me, did you?"
"Seems it's been so long since we fought, you've forgotten what I'm capable of."
As she spoke, she gripped Napoleon tightly in her hand.
Beside her, King tensed up and quickly stepped forward to mediate.
"Charlotte Linlin, Boss Kaido and I had no such intention."
"But didn't Katakuri just say that even if two Emperors joined forces, we wouldn't just lose—we'd die?"
"So what if I told you we're not the only ones here to kill that brat? Would you believe me?"
"I'd really like to know, Katakuri—if we add more people to the mix, does your prediction still hold?"
With that, King turned toward the palace gates.
"You can all come in now."
Everyone turned to look at the entrance.
And the moment they saw who stepped through, many faces changed dramatically.
"Hahaha! Who would've thought we'd be working together? But really, all that matters is we share a common target."
"To kill that brat—if you count me, Blackbeard, we should have more than enough power."
Wearing a black cloak, Blackbeard strode in confidently, followed by Shiryu of the Rain and other vicious criminals.
Though he hadn't managed to seize Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi, gaining Shiryu and the others had bolstered his confidence.
More importantly, the promise made to him by the Five Elders on the way here had sealed his agreement to this so-called inescapable death trap.
If he could obtain the power he dreamed of…
Blackbeard believed he wouldn't just stand equal to the other Emperors—he could become the strongest among them.
"Blackbeard? The guy who got beaten so badly by Whitebeard at Marineford he was calling him 'Daddy'?" Charlotte Linlin sneered.
Blackbeard's grin froze.
He hadn't yet achieved the power of two Devil Fruits, and facing a veteran Emperor like Linlin, he knew he didn't stand much of a chance. All he could do was glare back coldly.
King, caught between these unruly monsters, felt his head throb.
Mediating between such egos was no easy task.
He quickly changed the subject.
"Katakuri, earlier you said that even two Emperors joining forces would lose—and die."
"So what if we add Blackbeard to the mix? What then?"
Everyone snapped back to attention, curiosity flashing in their eyes.
Even Charlotte Linlin and Kaido were drawn in.
Katakuri remained cold and composed. Under the weight of their stares, he shook his head solemnly.
"No. My instincts tell me—the outcome doesn't change."
"And King, stop dragging this out. Bring in the rest. I want to see what trump cards you've prepared to convince us."
Blackbeard and his crew stiffened.
They had expected their arrival to shift the balance.
Instead, they were dismissed as irrelevant.
King hadn't expected that answer either. His face darkened as he said,
"Fine. So even this lineup can't change your mind, Katakuri."
"They say you've honed your Observation Haki to the extreme—able to glimpse the future. Then tell me, how accurate is your vision? What kind of force would it take to kill that brat?"
"What if we add the Donquixote Family to the mix—would that be enough?"
Doflamingo stepped into the hall.
Though Luoyu had once shattered his confidence, he still walked with the same arrogant, flamingo-like strut, indifferent to all.
He had let Blackbeard enter first, hoping to make a dramatic final entrance.
But as he took only a few steps, Katakuri—expression unchanged—spoke coldly, as if he had already foreseen it:
"No. You'd still die."
"Bring out the last one."
Doflamingo froze.
He hadn't expected that even his grand entrance would amount to nothing.
But what shocked them all more was that Katakuri had sensed someone else.
"There's someone else?" Charlotte Linlin was stunned.
As an Emperor, she knew Red-Haired Shanks wouldn't come. And Whitebeard… was already gone.
So who could possibly be the final player?
"Heh… as expected of Katakuri, the man hailed as second only to the Emperor in the Big Mom Pirates. Your Observation Haki truly is exceptional—even I couldn't slip past you."
A cold voice echoed as a figure stepped through the door.
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro entered with a faint smile.
"Still, I'm curious—if I join this death trap, will your prediction change?"
"Ah, I almost forgot—allow me to introduce myself. I am Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, one of the Five Elders."
The Five Elders?
The hall erupted.
From Sweet Commander Smoothie to the rest of the Charlotte family, everyone was stunned.
They had speculated about who was orchestrating this assassination plot.
But none of them had expected a Five Elder to appear.
They didn't know what role the Five Elders were playing—but surely, with one of them involved, the balance of power would shift.
And yet, as they turned to Katakuri—
His cold expression faltered.
First, a flicker of surprise.
Then, a heavy, grave look overtook his face.
Before anyone could react, his composure shattered.
His right eyelid twitched uncontrollably in full view of the crowd.
A thunderous roar echoed in his mind, his thoughts blanking out.
A blinding light and countless afterimages poured down upon Charlotte Linlin and Kaido like a tidal wave.
Before he could even process what he was seeing—
"Katakuri! What did you see? With a Five Elder joining us—can we kill that brat?" Linlin shouted.
Katakuri's voice was hoarse, his face pale.
"No… left is auspicious, right is ominous… we still die."