"Pfft!" Carlo spat out a mouthful of wine, spraying it all over the face of Katakuri, who was looking up.
Katakuri grimaced, his face covered in wine, looking completely dazed.
"Don't talk nonsense, Katakuri." Charlotte Linlin gave Katakuri a gentle tap on the forehead.
She glanced at Carlo with some embarrassment and said to Katakuri:
"This is... your Uncle Carlo. Say hello to your uncle."
"Uncle Carlo." Katakuri sniffled and called out obediently.
"Hello, Katakuri. We're quite destined; both our names have 'Ka' in them." Carlo smiled at him, grabbed a handful of jelly beans from the table, and stuffed them into Katakuri's arms.
"I want donuts." Katakuri stood on his tiptoes and pointed at the donuts on the table.
"Here you go, go play." Carlo picked up the entire plate of donuts and gave it to the delighted Katakuri.
"Thank you, Uncle Carlo!"
Katakuri happily balanced the large plate of donuts on his head and skipped back, distributing them one by one to his siblings.
Looking at the young Katakuri, who was so different from his memory, a genuine smile couldn't help but appear on Carlo's face.
Setting aside their positions.
These innocent little ones were truly adorable.
When he turned his gaze back to Charlotte Linlin, he found her staring at him without blinking.
Carlo couldn't help but cough twice.
Charlotte Linlin didn't feel awkward either and smiled at him.
"You seem to like children very much."
"It's hard not to like such adorable little ones."
Carlo replied casually.
He was afraid Charlotte Linlin would lead the conversation in a bad direction.
He quickly changed the subject: "Linlin, you didn't call me here just for this, did you? If there's nothing else, I'll be going. You know, I still have to prepare for the battle with Wang Zhi."
"Alright, alright. I originally wanted to entertain you properly, but since you're in such a hurry..."
Charlotte Linlin sat up straight, looked at Carlo, and became serious.
"I brought you here because I want to form an alliance with you."
"Alliance? Aren't we comrades right now?" Carlo raised an eyebrow.
"No, no." Charlotte Linlin shook her head with a smile. "What kind of comrades are we? Have you ever seen comrades who ambush their teammates, ignore their friendship for treasure, and backstab them?"
"You know better than I do how Wang Zhi treated you."
"However, you have to get used to it, because that is the style of the Rocks Pirates. Even the closest companion by your side might betray you in the next moment."
"To put it bluntly, we are not actually the same kind of people; we just gathered together to make a fortune."
Carlo: "So that's why you want to form an alliance with me?"
Charlotte Linlin nodded. "Exactly."
Carlo: "Then how can I trust that you won't betray me? Or rather, why do you trust so much that I won't betray you?"
Charlotte Linlin: "There's no need for trust, because for the time being, neither of us has a reason to fully trust the other."
"The alliance I'm proposing now is just a suggestion. The reason I approached you is that you're new, your talent is decent, and you're about to become a new Division Captain, making you worth winning over."
"I originally wanted to find Kaido, but... his current strength is still too weak."
Carlo pondered for a moment and looked at Charlotte Linlin. "You want an alliance with me because you want us to stand against Newgate and Shiki together? Or perhaps... Rocks?"
"Is it because they are too powerful?"
"Or is it because you have too many weaknesses?"
When he said the last part, Carlo's eyes glanced in the direction of Katakuri and the others.
In that instant, a majestic killing intent immediately enveloped him from across the table.
Carlo looked up, meeting Charlotte Linlin's cold eyes without a hint of fear.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds.
Charlotte Linlin suddenly broke into a smile, the killing intent on her face melting away like ice.
"You're very smart, Carlo, and I, Mama, love dealing with smart people the most."
She stood up. "Alright, you may go. As for the alliance, let's leave it at that for now. Come find me once you've thought it through."
Carlo also stood up. "Aren't you going to keep me for dinner?"
"Mamamama~, you want to stay for dinner? That's fine, Carlo. It's the perfect chance to introduce you to my children." Charlotte Linlin was startled for a moment, then burst into laughter, her whole body shaking.
However, amidst her charming laughter, Carlo turned and left directly.
"On second thought, never mind. I forgot I haven't exercised today; I should go back to train."
"Hmph, no sense of romance." Charlotte Linlin pulled back her smile, snorted coldly, and walked toward her children.
Three days later.
On the square in front of Skull Mountain.
Rocks and the others arrived as scheduled.
They came to watch the rematch between Carlo and Wang Zhi.
Wang Zhi's injuries seemed to have mostly healed.
He was currently holding a long sword with a handguard.
It looked somewhat familiar.
It seemed to be Rocks' personal sword.
Carlo glanced at Rocks' waist and noticed that Rocks indeed wasn't wearing his sword.
Noticing Carlo's gaze, Wang Zhi couldn't help but lick his lips and chuckled strangely:
"Hee hee hee, stop looking. I borrowed this sword from Rocks. The heavenly dragon halberd is a Supreme Grade blade; if I used a common weapon against it, I'd definitely be at a huge disadvantage. Rocks' sword is also a Supreme Grade blade, so it's only fair this way, isn't it?"
"It doesn't matter. Let's get started; I'm in a hurry to get back to my training." Carlo said expressionlessly, his heavenly dragon halberd pointing diagonally at the ground as he stepped onto the field first.
Looking at Carlo's back, Wang Zhi couldn't help but sneer.
"Carlo! You boastful brat! Do you really think that just because you happened to defeat me last time, you can win again? Naive!"
"The only reason I lost last time was that you destroyed all my footing."
"But today is different. This is Hachinosu, and I have countless places to stand. Hehehe, you can't possibly destroy this entire island, can you?"
"As long as I have enough stamina, I can wear you down to death!"
After speaking, a fierce light flared in his eyes, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.
Instant Teleportation Fruit power activated!
Wang Zhi showed no sense of honor; before the battle was even declared to begin, he slashed directly at Carlo's back!
"Watch me defeat you in one move! You careless br—"
"Heavenly Dragon—"
"Star-Bursting Slash!!!"
Before Wang Zhi could finish his sentence, the air in front of him exploded violently!
A pitch-black halberd came crashing down, as if smashing the entire sky before him, expanding in his eyes with an unstoppable force of destruction.
Danger!
The moment this thought surfaced in Wang Zhi's mind, he wanted to activate his power to teleport away.
But almost simultaneously, a domineering aura erupted from Carlo, slamming into him with full force.
"Oh no! It's Haoshoku..."
Wang Zhi's brain was struck by Carlo's Haoshoku, causing a momentary lapse in consciousness.
That single moment of hesitation was all it took.
A heart-wrenching, agonizing pain shot through his chest.
In the next instant.
"Boom!!"
A deafening explosion erupted on the square.
Wang Zhi had completely vanished from in front of Carlo.
On the towering Skull Mountain in the distance, a massive hole suddenly burst open, piercing through from front to back.
Like a skeleton's gaping mouth.
There was another muffled boom.
Carlo slammed the heavenly dragon halberd into the ground, and under Kaido's dumbfounded gaze, he looked at Rocks expressionlessly.
"Now, you can announce the new Fourth Division Captain."