One Piece: King Of The World

On Cake Island in Totto Land, Charlotte Linlin sat upon her throne, holding a Den Den Mushi in her hand, her expression unreadable.

Standing below her with his arms crossed was Katakuri, his gaze cold and serious.

He had been imprisoned alongside Charlotte Linlin in Impel Down and remained there for a long time. It wasn't until the eve of the Summit War at Marineford, when Shiryu betrayed the Marines that he escaped alongside him.

During the Marineford War, Katakuri had barely taken any action. Instead, he stayed on the sidelines, carefully observing and preparing for Charlotte Linlin's escape.

After all, what was the point of breaking out of Impel Down only to stir up chaos at Marineford and risk getting captured again?

His caution had paid off. He had successfully helped Charlotte Linlin break free from Garp's pursuit, allowing them to return to the New World.

But things didn't settle down after that. A fierce battle had broken out between them and the Beasts Pirates, and it had taken great effort for the two of them to reassemble the scattered remnants of the Big Mom Pirates.

Even so, the Big Mom Pirates were nowhere near their former glory. At best, they had recovered about 70% of their previous strength.

Charlotte Linlin didn't bother hiding her conversation from Katakuri. After a moment of contemplation, she asked, "Katakuri, do you think that bastard Shiki has really given up?"

Without hesitation, Katakuri replied, "Impossible. Shiki will definitely go."

Charlotte Linlin was silent for a moment before nodding. "I think so too."

She wasn't fooled by Shiki's words about avoiding unnecessary risks. If she, Charlotte Linlin, actually believed that nonsense, she'd have to be insane.

Shiki had likely just been messing with her. If he had managed to dissuade her, then great, less competition for him. If he hadn't, then he hadn't lost anything.

Charlotte Linlin mulled it over for a while before asking, "Katakuri, should we go? This Road Poneglyph, this scholar who can read ancient texts, this supposed Eternal Pose to Laugh Tale, how much of it do you think is real?"

Katakuri fell into deep thought.

Charlotte Linlin didn't rush him. She knew better than to interrupt when he was analyzing a situation.

After a long silence, Katakuri finally spoke.

"We shouldn't go," he said.

But his reasoning wasn't because he doubted the credibility of the information.

"The Road Poneglyph's appearance is likely real. The World Government might be involved, but there's still a chance that it's one of the two remaining Poneglyphs.

"As for the scholar, they could very well be legitimate. As for the Eternal Pose… we can't say for certain. But at this point, it doesn't even matter if it's real or fake. If it's real, it's obviously invaluable. If it's fake, we lose nothing by ignoring it.

"That said…"

Katakuri's meaning was clear, despite the overwhelming risks, the information was too important to ignore.

Charlotte Linlin was deeply wary of Claudius. She had suffered too much at his hands to not be cautious. Her instincts told her this was his conspiracy.

But she also knew that when it came to becoming Pirate King, there was no such thing as standing still. If she didn't advance, she would fall behind. If she didn't fight, she would lose.

Unless she was content to rot away in obscurity, did she really have a choice?

After some thought, she said softly, "Katakuri… give me a reason to take this risk."

She didn't need some grand speech about becoming Pirate King or reaching Laugh Tale, she already understood all of that.

Katakuri knew this, so after a brief pause, he simply said, "Because Shiki will go. And Kaido will go too."

Charlotte Linlin was about to snap at him for stating the obvious—of course they'd go! But just as she was about to speak, she suddenly stopped.

And then she understood.

Yes, Shiki would go. There was no doubt about that.

And Kaido? That reckless fool feared nothing. He had never suffered at Claudius's hands, so even if this was a trap, he wouldn't care. He'd charge in headfirst regardless.

Which meant one thing—the so-called "Pirate Alliance" they had formed was already fracturing.

If there was a conspiracy at play, Shiki and Kaido would likely suffer heavy losses. If things went badly, Claudius might even kill them.

And Charlotte Linlin knew that was a real possibility—after all, she had barely escaped his grasp herself.

If Shiki and Kaido died at this Pirate Expo, then Charlotte Linlin would be next.

She and her crew alone weren't strong enough to resist the full force of the Marines and the World Government.

On the other hand, if there wasn't a conspiracy or if there was, but Shiki and Kaido survived and succeeded then what?

If either of them got their hands on the Eternal Pose to Laugh Tale, then the Pirate Alliance would definitely fall apart.

It would be every man for himself.

If either of them obtained the location of Laugh Tale, they'd waste no time in heading straight there to claim the One Piece for themselves.

And whatever treasure lay on that island, whether it was an Ancient Weapon or something even more powerful—it would completely shift the balance of power.

Pirate King. Absolute strength. The means to destroy everything.

At that point, why would they need an alliance?

They would crush Marine Headquarters, seize the New World for themselves, and then—what came next?

Shiki had always wanted to dominate her. If he obtained the power of Laugh Tale, would she have any option other than submitting to him?

Absolutely not.

Charlotte Linlin finally grasped Katakuri's point.

If Shiki and Kaido were going, then not going would make her the most vulnerable player in the game.

Sure, maybe nobody would come out on top. Maybe the World Government's conspiracy would succeed, and everyone would fail.

But the odds of that were too low to gamble on.

If she didn't go, she would lose.

No matter how things played out, the only way to not lose was to go and fight.

And if there was a World Government trap, wouldn't it be better if all three of them were there instead of just one or two?

If they worked together, they might just be able to get through it.

And if there wasn't a trap, then she would have the chance to claim the prize herself.

Either way, the worst option was to sit back and do nothing.

After coming to terms with this reality, Charlotte Linlin exhaled deeply and muttered, "If this is a conspiracy, then it's damn near flawless, completely unavoidable."

Katakuri, seeing that his mother had reached the same conclusion, nodded. "Yes. A brilliant scheme… perhaps even an inevitable one."

Charlotte Linlin nodded slowly. "Then we prepare. We're going.

"This whirlpool of chaos—whether I want to or not, I have no choice but to jump in!"

"Understood, Mama," Katakuri replied, his expression calm as he turned and left.

They wouldn't just charge in recklessly.

If they were going to step into this storm, they would be prepared.

(To be continued.)

***

This book is completed on P/treon. Support me on P/treon to read ALL advanced chapters:

https://p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves

(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)