The moment a portion of the injury seal was undone, countless wounds instantly reappeared all over Perospero's body.
"Ah! Ahhh!" The sudden return of injuries brought searing, unbearable pain, forcing Perospero to collapse to the ground in agony.
"Peros-nii!"
"Peros-nii!" The members of the Charlotte Family all cried out in shock, rushing forward to hold him up.
"The injury seal… a part of it has been undone," Daifuku said immediately, recognizing the cause.
"These are all the injuries Peros-nii has suffered over the years, reappearing because the seal was partially lifted?" Amande murmured.
"Rosinante, you're despicable! Using such an ability against Perospero-nii!" Cracker roared in fury, reaching for his sword, ready to fight Rosinante to the death.
"It's only partially undone. This will just make him lie down for a while—and frankly, it'll do him good," Rosinante said dismissively to Cracker.
Katakuri didn't step in to stop him. While lifting part of the seal left Perospero in extreme pain, it wasn't life-threatening.
In fact, as Rosinante said, this was beneficial to Perospero.
The seal had been silently storing up years' worth of accumulated damage. If left unchecked, one day those injuries would burst through all at once—and that would be far more dangerous.
Releasing some of it now meant temporary suffering, but in the long run, it was better for him.
"Under no circumstances can we let Rosinante escape. If he leaves, no one will be able to hold off Mama!" Perospero said weakly through gritted teeth.
At his words, everyone's eyes locked onto Rosinante. A group quickly formed a defensive line at the exit, sealing it off entirely.
"If I wanted to leave, you think you lot could stop me?" Rosinante sneered.
"Rosinante, is there any way to restore Mama's consciousness?" Katakuri asked.
"How should I know? I'm not a doctor—and this time, your Mama isn't having one of her usual eating disorders," Rosinante replied.
"That's true… it's a bit different from her normal hunger pangs," Daifuku admitted.
"Give me back the nun."
As she spoke, Charlotte Linlin's blood-red eyes locked onto Rosinante again, and in the blink of an eye she was charging straight at him.
At the same time, Rosinante vanished in a flash, his long blade cutting toward Linlin.
Their swords clashed with explosive force, sending a shockwave rippling outward, flipping tables and chairs in every direction.
For a moment, the blades pressed against each other—then, as always, Rosinante was sent flying backward by her monstrous strength.
"Ikoku Sovereignty!"
Even as Rosinante was still retreating, Linlin swung her sword in a massive horizontal slash.
The speed of the attack was terrifying—it reached him almost instantly.
Rosinante's expression darkened. With no time to think, he raised his hand to block.
A deathly stillness gathered in his palm. Every bit of the attack that touched it was silenced by this power, nullified on the spot. Yet the remnants of the slash still tore across his arms and body, leaving wounds—though these too were immediately muted by the injury seal.
"What a headache," Rosinante muttered calmly after withstanding the strike.
"He… he caught it?" Daifuku stared in disbelief.
"He actually caught Mama's Ikoku Sovereignty barehanded?!" Cracker's eyes widened in shock.
"Here—have it back. Release—Extreme Critical Strike!"
In a heartbeat, Rosinante appeared before Linlin, driving a fist straight into her.
Boom! Boom! The devastating power of the Extreme Critical Strike exploded from his punch, surging into Linlin and forcing her backward.
"Heaven-Crushing Slash!"
Before Linlin could stabilize, Rosinante's figure blurred like a phantom. Appearing in front of her again, he brought his sword down in a brutal strike.
Clang! Linlin instantly coated herself in Armament Haki. The clash sent sparks flying from the impact point.
"Mama used Armament Haki?" Daifuku gasped.
"She's not even conscious… that means her body instinctively sensed the danger in Rosinante's slash and automatically used Armament to defend!" Cracker said, stunned.
"It seems we have to reevaluate Rosinante's combat level. His overall strength might only just touch the threshold of an Admiral, but his combat performance is ridiculously high. Even if he's not at Mama's level, he's not far off—otherwise he couldn't possibly threaten her!" Perospero admitted, already recovering somewhat from earlier.
After his slash connected, Rosinante instantly retreated three meters.
The moment he pulled back, Linlin's sword swept through the space where he had been—but she didn't hit him.
Instead, Rosinante's blade struck her.
His body moved like flowing light—so fast it seemed as though a streak of brilliance flashed through the air. In an instant, he was beside her, his sword cutting across her.
Shhh! For the first time, Charlotte Linlin bled. Even with Rosinante's full power, the cut only grazed her skin—but it drew blood nonetheless.
"Mama's hurt?" The entire Charlotte Family froze in shock.
"No, I'm going to help Mama!" Daifuku stepped forward.
"How? Mama's not in her right mind—if you rush in, she might cut you down too. Even if she were conscious, with Rosinante's speed like flowing light, we couldn't keep up. The only one who might match it is Katakuri with his Observation Haki, but…" Amande said.
"But nothing—you're right," Perospero agreed, glancing at Katakuri.
"Mama's fine. That hit just caught her before she could fully cover with Armament. What you should focus on is restoring her mind—that's the real priority," Katakuri said calmly.
Meanwhile, Rosinante's form flickered like a streak of light as he circled Linlin, unleashing Heaven-Crushing Slashes again and again, each impact sparking violently.
With each passing moment, his movement as flowing light became more fluid, and the power of his slashes grew even more ferocious.
Rosinante was using Charlotte Linlin herself… as practice.