One Piece: I Recruited Big Mom

The doubts from the surroundings made Hulk feel extremely harsh.

Hulk gritted his teeth—he must not lose.

He must win today! If he loses to a five-year-old human girl, how can he survive in the giant tribe in the future?! Hulk snorted coldly, once again gathering all his strength, his veins bulging.

"I am a giant warrior, and I will never lose to you."

"Are you done talking? Linlin is hungry. After the competition, Linlin will go eat cake."

Linlin said impatiently.

As the voice fell, Linlin finally moved and began to pull the rope.

Hulk felt an irresistible terrifying force coming from the opposite side, making him unable to control his body.

Linlin exerted force and directly pulled Hulk over, crossing the red line.

"Linlin won."

Linlin let go of the rope and returned to Reno.

Hulk, who fell to the ground, looked at Linlin's back with a complicated expression, opened his mouth, but it seemed as if something was blocking his throat, and he couldn't say a word.

Bang

In the crowd, Carmel's eyes were completely dull, and she didn't even notice that the basket in her hand had fallen to the ground.

When she saw Linlin for the first time, she had judged that Linlin's talent was beyond that of ordinary humans.

But she hadn't held out much hope for the outcome of the competition.

Defeating Hulk should've been difficult—but the result was completely unexpected.

Hulk had no resistance at all in front of Linlin. Compared with Hulk, who had bloodshot eyes and gave it his all, Linlin remained calm and relaxed the entire time—she didn't even appear to use real strength.

What kind of talent is this?!

Among the nearly 10,000 children she had handled, there had been many talented ones.

There were even a few with extraordinary gifts, and the people of the World Government had praised them highly.

But compared to Linlin in front of her, those children were not worth mentioning at all.

For decades, Carmel had long been used to wearing a mask—disguise had become second nature.

But today, after seeing Linlin's performance just now,

Her face involuntarily revealed an unprecedented greed, her expression twisted, eyes wide, and a faint green light gleamed in them.

Like a starving wolf seeing a lamb.

Linlin must be obtained—at all costs!!

Carmel screamed internally, her entire body trembling, almost unable to hold back from blurting out loud.

"Sister, your basket fell."

At that moment, a giant warrior next to her gently poked her shoulder and reminded her.

"Huh?"

"Oh, okay, thank you."

Carmel, momentarily lost in thought, snapped back to reality. As she bent down to pick up the basket, the greed on her face instantly vanished, replaced by her usual calm demeanor.

However, in her heart, the seed of greed had already sprouted.

"You won, and the giant warrior will not break his promise."

"You will stay here for the time being, and I will have the strongest giant warrior teach you Hakoku until you master it!"

The Jorul chief, who honored his word, made the promise.

Although some giant warriors were still unconvinced, no one stood up to refute it.

They were giants—with their own dignity and pride.

If they lose, they lose. They will never deny it.

"Thank you, Chief. Linlin and I have admired the giants for a long time. Sorry to trouble you for the next while."

While expressing gratitude, Reno glanced subtly at the crowd, a faint smile playing on his lips.

In the previous competition, he had noticed Carmel.

Every expression on her face had been captured by Reno's eyes, especially during those few seconds when her face showed undisguised greed.

Reno, who knew her personality well, knew that Carmel had her eyes on Linlin.

Even if he didn't seek her out, this woman would come to him on her own.

"Hahahahahahaha... Alright, the competition is over, let's disperse."

"We've got time, don't rush the Hakoku training. Since it's your first time here, let Hajrudin take you around."

"Don't cook, everyone—prepare the food! We're throwing a banquet tonight!"

Chief Jorul called out to everyone.

"Oh! A banquet is starting!!!"

"It's been so long since the last one. Today, we're lucky to have these two little ones!"

"Let's go, let's go!"

The excited giant warriors quickly dispersed to go home and gather ingredients.

Before leaving, Carmel glanced at Linlin and Reno with a meaningful look, then turned and walked away.

But if one looked closely, they would see that Carmel's pace was obviously quicker than usual.

"Linlin, even Hulk isn't your match. You're seriously amazing!!"

Hajrudin gave Linlin a thumbs up.

Hulk wasn't someone like Lester—he was strong. But against Linlin, he didn't even stand a chance.

Seems like he had been too conservative in evaluating Linlin.

"Okay, stop praising her. She'll get arrogant."

Reno waved his hand. Being praised too much wasn't a good thing.

"Come on, you're new here. I'll take you around."

As the host, Hajrudin eagerly led Reno and Linlin to some interesting places.

"Chief, we're heading off now."

After greeting the two chiefs, Reno and the others followed Hajrudin and left.

"Young people are incredible. Linlin's talent is the best I've ever seen in my life. If only she were a giant warrior..."

Looking at Linlin's back, Jorul sighed.

He was over 300 years old and had seen many prodigies.

But no one's talent compared to Linlin's.

"Hahahahahaha... You old guy. Even if Linlin isn't from our giant tribe, now that we've formed a bond of friendship, that's a good thing too."

Jarul, beside him, said contentedly, stroking his long beard.

"That's true."

Jorul, having to settle for second-best, nodded in agreement.