"Ma-ma-ma-ma! What a grand entrance—truly awe-inspiring. It feels oddly nostalgic!"
"So you're finally here, in the flesh, Tenma!"
Charlotte Linlin abruptly rose from her seat, her gaze colliding midair with Tenma as he descended.
Her face was split by a wide smile as she greeted him loudly, as though welcoming an old friend she hadn't seen in years.
This was Charlotte Linlin's habitual disguise. Before achieving her goals, she never hesitated to display that false, gentle facade at her tea parties.
Like a vicious wolf in sheep's clothing—except this wolf's fangs were a hundred times sharper than any true beast's.
"I've wanted to meet you for a very long time,"
Charlotte Linlin stared fixedly at Tenma, her tone warm and enthusiastic. "You could say this tea party was prepared especially as a celebration banquet just for you."
As she spoke, she spread her arms, and the powers of the Soul-Soul Fruit quietly activated.
The cakes and tableware in the hall were instantly given souls, bursting into song and dance, forcibly creating an atmosphere that was cheerful—yet strangely eerie.
"That really makes me feel honored," Tenma replied.
As the saying goes, one doesn't strike a smiling face. With a calm expression, Tenma pulled out a chair opposite Charlotte Linlin.
He slowly took his seat at the main table, his eyes casually sweeping over the circle of New World power brokers around him.
"These must be the famous underground kings of the New World."
At his initiative, these usually aloof bigshots all revealed friendly smiles.
They rushed to introduce themselves, eager to leave a good first impression on Tenma at this first meeting.
After all, if they could at least become acquainted, perhaps someday they'd have the chance to extend their business tentacles into the oil-rich land of Wano.
That said, these old foxes knew their limits well. They understood this was, after all, Big Mom's home turf.
After a brief round of pleasantries, they tactfully fell silent, returning control of the conversation to the hostess.
Charlotte Linlin, seated at the head, didn't mind. Since she'd accepted their generous gifts, it was only proper to give them a chance to expand their connections.
She grinned broadly, then stood and faced the guests, announcing in her thunderous voice:
"Now that everyone's here, I officially declare this tea party open! Little ones, dig in! Enjoy the finest sweets this world has to offer!"
As her voice fell, gentle and melodious music echoed through the hall.
Amid the lively and festive atmosphere, Tenma lifted his teacup with evident enjoyment. At the very least, Big Mom wouldn't poison the food at the main table.
Still, the atmosphere of this tea party was clearly a little strange. Even as the guests chatted animatedly, the corners of their eyes never left the two titans at the main table.
Charlotte Linlin and Tenma both seemed extremely patient, as if they'd truly come only to savor the food, focusing intently on the sweets before them.
"How does it taste, Tenma?"
At last, Charlotte Linlin broke the silence. "These ingredients were all personally selected by me. Every dessert and every cup of tea is absolutely world-class!"
"Indeed, flawless. No wonder so many people rack their brains every year just to get an invitation."
As if she hadn't caught the sardonic undertone—an unspoken Hongmen Banquet—Charlotte Linlin burst into a proud laugh.
Then she reined in her smile slightly and looked him straight in the eye.
"Ever since you first made a name for yourself in the New World, I've been watching you. There are some things I think we really need to discuss face to face."
Here it comes.
As their gazes met, the six shrewd underground kings around the main table had, at some point, quietly withdrawn from this hotbed of trouble.
"I wonder what you want to talk to me about, Linlin?" Tenma set his teacup down unhurriedly, asking despite knowing the answer.
"You've been in the New World long enough—you should know this well. Pirates eyeing your territory are as numerous as hairs on a cow. Going it alone, it's hard to survive for long."
Charlotte Linlin laughed as she finally revealed the dagger behind the smile.
"So, how about forming an alliance with me? Tenma!"
As she spoke, she beckoned over a tall, pink-haired woman.
"This is my ninth daughter, whom I value greatly—Charlotte Brouillet! As far as I know, you're not married yet, right? As long as you agree, she'll be yours tonight. From then on, the Charlotte Family and you, Tenma, will form a blood-bound, unbreakable, eternal alliance!"
Whoa—!
The moment Charlotte Linlin finished speaking, the tea party—previously calm—instantly exploded into an uproar.
"Did I hear that right?"
"An arranged marriage? My God!"
"Big Mom is actually trying to pull him into an alliance!"
…
In the VIP seats.
As the news tycoon Morgans trembled with excitement, he couldn't help pulling out his camera Den Den Mushi, snapping photos like mad of this historic moment.
"This trip was absolutely worth it! This'll be world-shaking headline news!"
Stussy watched the two negotiating figures. Though she maintained a polite smile, the hand gripping her handbag tightly betrayed her inner tension.
Amid the clamor, Tenma's expression remained calm as still water.
He raised his eyes slightly and casually uttered a single sentence:
"Then what if I refuse?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the once-noisy hall was as if muted by a switch—deathly silence enveloped the entire venue.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, hardly daring to breathe. Whether members of the Charlotte Family or guests long accustomed to great storms, all were struck dumb with shock.
Some had anticipated this possibility, but when it truly happened, the impact was still immense.
"This madman… he actually refused Charlotte Linlin's offer!"
At the head seat, the gentle fake smile on Charlotte Linlin's face froze instantly, replaced by a chilling, murderous intent.
Her terrifying eyes locked onto Tenma.
"Refuse? In all these decades, no one has ever dared to refuse my proposal at my tea party!"
This was no exaggeration. Anyone qualified to attend a tea party had either long bowed under her tyranny or actively sought her protection.
Ignoring the overwhelming pressure pouring off Charlotte Linlin, Tenma seemed to be listening to a joke. He smiled lightly.
"Well, isn't that person sitting right in front of you now?"
As his words fell—
Countless terrified gazes darted back and forth between Tenma and Charlotte Linlin.
The guests looked at one another, frozen in fear. Such needle-to-needle, utterly merciless public humiliation made many suck in a cold breath, their scalps tingling.
"He… really did reject Mama…"
Not far away, Katakuri muttered under his breath, nerves stretched taut.
The family's combatants exchanged glances in tacit understanding, quietly gripping their weapons and preparing for battle, while consciously driving the irrelevant guests away from the central battlefield.
"Ungrateful trash! You dare refuse my goodwill!" Charlotte Linlin snarled.
"Do you really think that just because you ate that old lion's Devil Fruit, you're qualified to challenge a Yonko's authority?!"
Her eyes narrowed as a terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki began to gather wildly around her, crashing toward Tenma like a mountain collapsing.
"Goodwill? Don't make me laugh, Charlotte Linlin," Tenma shot back mockingly.
"From the moment you set your sights on Wano, you should've known this was inevitable."
Wooooong—!
The next instant, an equally vast and terrifying Conqueror's Haki erupted from Tenma, like a tangible tsunami, surging forward to meet Charlotte Linlin head-on!
Two supreme wills, belonging to the very pinnacle of the world, collided and shredded each other inside the grand hall.
The entire banquet was instantly swept into a visible storm of air currents. Wave after wave of violent pressure blasted outward, hurling exquisite tableware—and weaker guests—into the air.
"This… this is a clash of Conqueror's Haki?!"
Countless people screamed in terror before being overwhelmed by the unrestrained pressure, eyes rolling back as they foamed at the mouth and passed out.
Startled by the sheer power of Tenma's Haki, Charlotte Linlin threw her arms wide.
The flame homie Prometheus and the thundercloud homie Zeus materialized instantly at her sides.
"Thunder! Heavenly Fire!"
With her furious roar, deafening thunder shook the hall.
Zeus transformed into a vast purple-black thundercloud, lightning writhing within, finally condensing into a massive pillar of annihilating lightning.
At the same time, Prometheus spewed a terrifying column of flame hot enough to melt steel. The two forces intertwined, slashing straight down toward Tenma's head!
"Mama! Calm down! This is the castle hall!" Perospero screamed in despair.
But consumed by rage, Charlotte Linlin no longer listened to reason.
Tenma calmly drew the famed blade Shidarezura from his waist. Facing the world-ending attack, his wrist flicked—
Two dazzling sword lights flashed through the air.
Those watching from afar barely had time to blink, never seeing the trajectory of the strikes.
The enormous lightning pillar and flame column were instantly cleaved into four segments, exploding into countless arcs of lightning and sparks that scattered brilliantly through the air.
The underground kings watching felt their hearts pound.
Leaving aside Big Mom's casual strike carrying such terrifying power, Tenma's effortless swordsmanship alone was frighteningly profound.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma! With swordsmanship like that, plus the Float-Float Fruit, you really are the spitting image of that old lion!"
Charlotte Linlin let out a bone-chilling laugh.
"But even at his peak, I never feared Golden Lion—let alone you, a brat who came alone! Today, I'll capture you alive right here, seize Wano, and dig every last secret out of you! Napoleon!"
Having fully torn away her pretense, Charlotte Linlin no longer cared about exposing her bandit logic in public.
She raised her right hand again. The bicorne hat atop her head instantly transformed into a massive longsword that dropped into her grip.
Terrifying flames coiled around her enormous body and the Emperor's sword, making her look like a blazing demon crawling out of hell.
"Oh no! Mama's getting serious!"
Perospero scrambled backward in panic, and the other Charlotte Family members scattered in all directions.
This wasn't just a "king versus king" clash—it was because once Mama entered this mode, her indiscriminate destructive power was something none of them could endure.
Seeing this, Tenma raised his palm, trying to activate his ability—only to realize, with surprise, that Cake Island beneath his feet didn't lift into the air as it usually would.
That tiny hesitation didn't escape Charlotte Linlin's notice.
She revealed a cruel grin.
"I've dealt with Golden Lion longer than you've been alive! You think I couldn't see through your little plan to move the battlefield into the sky?"
"Before you even stepped in here, I already infused the entire foundation of Cake Island with massive soul reinforcement!"
Tenma's heart skipped slightly.
Was it the "ownership" from soul infusion canceling out the Float-Float Fruit's "control"? The Soul-Soul Fruit having a domain-locking application like this was indeed unexpected.
"Daring to charge into Totto Land alone, daring to reject me face to face—since you've got that kind of guts, then leave your life here for good!"
Charlotte Linlin snarled as the blazing flames on her blade surged violently, shining like a miniature sun.
Emperor Sword: Ikoku Sovereignty!
As the giant blade was raised high, it came crashing down with bone-chilling speed toward Tenma.
Hiss!
Before the blade even arrived, the suffocating heat slammed into him. The air seemed to vaporize instantly under the searing wave.
Looking up at the descending blade of destruction, a red gleam flashed in Tenma's pupils. He drew his sword again—not retreating, but leaping forward.
Terrifying Conqueror's Haki flooded his body, then wrapped around Shidarezura, perfectly fusing with his hardened Armament Haki.
A heart-stopping dark-red edge erupted.
Within dozens of meters, the air seemed completely drained, all of it compressing into a single point at the sword tip, transforming into an ultimate, razor-sharp sword aura that howled forward!
BOOOOOOM—!
An ear-splitting roar erupted where the two attacks met.
The weapons never truly touched. Instead, a violent Haki collision exploded across the empty space between them.
The hardened ground shattered inch by inch. The terrifying shockwave crossed the vast land of Cake Island, reaching even the distant harbor seas, where the once-calm ocean rose into monstrous waves.
The solid Cake Castle shook violently under the close-range impact, as if it might collapse at any moment.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dull, heavy explosions rang out in succession as the entire island trembled in agony under this overwhelming force.
At the center of the clash, the ground had completely collapsed, forming a massive crater dozens of meters deep—yet within the heart of that storm, the two figures remained locked in place.
"Tenma, you brat!!!"
What looked like an evenly matched clash made Charlotte Linlin roar in shock and fury.
The next second, the overwhelming pressure broke through the Conqueror's coating on her Emperor Sword.
—BOOM!
A fan-shaped shockwave dozens of meters wide exploded where she stood.
Amid flying debris, the Sea Emperor herself was forced back, her massive body sliding uncontrollably until she slammed into the cake fortress behind her, finally stopping after a violent tremor.
"This… how is this possible? Mama… Mama was pushed back?!"
Her children, who knew her terrifying power best, witnessed the scene and screamed in disbelief, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
The underground kings watching from afar felt their hearts churn like stormy seas.
That monster hailed as a "born destroyer," the woman with the "iron balloon" body—Charlotte Linlin—had actually lost ground in a frontal clash?
"Damn you, Tenma!!!"
A shrill howl tore through the air as the massive figure steadied herself and stood again.
Emerging step by step from the swirling dust, each footfall shaking the ground, Charlotte Linlin revealed something even more shocking than being forced back—
The skin on her supposedly invulnerable hands was split by countless fine cracks, fresh blood dripping steadily onto the ground.
"Truly worthy of the 'iron balloon,'" Tenma said coldly, staring at her teetering rage.
"That last strike—if it had landed on Kaido, it should've carved a bone-deep wound."
"And yet on you, it's only superficial."
"Elbaf Spear: Ikoku Sovereignty!!"
Charlotte Linlin didn't bother responding. She simply roared.
Hiss!
As she swung her greatsword, time itself seemed to freeze for an instant. A cataclysmic force burst from Napoleon's blade.
All the air was forcibly compressed and stripped away, forming a colossal cylindrical sword wave capable of piercing the entire island, charging forward with world-ending momentum.
Tenma flickered—and vanished from where he stood.
The spot he'd occupied, along with everything behind it, was erased in an instant by the sword wave, leaving behind a straight, terrifying abyss stretching all the way to the sea's edge.
"Damn it! She's even using Ikoku Sovereignty now! If this keeps up, Cake Island will be destroyed by the two of them!" Katakuri shouted, his face ashen.
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