One Piece: Silent-Silent Fruit

"We're just going back like this? If Mama finds out what happened, she'll go into a rage, Perospero!"

Inside the luxurious cabin of a Big Mom Pirates ship, Katakuri, Perospero, and Baron Tamago sat on ornate chairs.

"This is the best option. That Rosinante's ability is terrifying," Katakuri said solemnly.

Hearing Katakuri's words, Baron Tamago turned to him in shock. He hadn't witnessed the fight between Katakuri and Rosinante, so this declaration came as an immense surprise.

As the second strongest fighter in the Big Mom Pirates, Katakuri rarely used the word "terrifying" to describe an opponent.

"I couldn't sense his movements with my Observation Haki," Katakuri added.

Those words made both Perospero and Baron Tamago's expressions shift drastically.

At their level of combat, movement speeds were so fast that Observation Haki was crucial for sensing an opponent's location and predicting their attacks.

Katakuri's Observation Haki was among the best in the entire Big Mom Pirates. If even he couldn't detect Rosinante's movements, it meant that others would fare even worse.

In a battle between top-tier fighters, if your Observation Haki fails to read the opponent, it's like fighting blind. So when Katakuri said this, both Perospero and Tamago realized the gravity of the threat.

"I thought so… but didn't you manage to see through his attacks in the end?" Perospero asked.

During the fight, Perospero had already noticed that Rosinante's movements were undetectable by Haki—as if he left no presence, no sound. If you didn't rely on your eyes, you wouldn't even know he was there, even if your Haki swept over him. Still, he hadn't wanted to believe that even Katakuri's Haki couldn't track Rosinante.

For weaker individuals, using eyes to fight was normal. But for experts, relying on vision was actually a disadvantage.

At first, Perospero had chalked it up to his own Observation Haki being too weak. But now that Katakuri confirmed the same experience, Perospero had to face the truth. Katakuri's Haki was arguably the strongest in Totto Land—even Mama might not surpass him.

"That's because during the fight, my Observation Haki advanced further—I awakened the ability to see a short distance into the future. Unless someone else in Totto Land has this same power, no one will be able to handle Rosinante easily," Katakuri explained.

"See into the future?!" Perospero and Baron Tamago cried out in unison, utterly stunned.

"There's really an Observation Haki that can see the future?" Baron Tamago muttered in disbelief.

"Future sight, huh… I see. So the intense pressure of that battle pushed you into mastering such a divine ability," Perospero said slowly.

Unlike Tamago, Perospero had known for a while that Katakuri had glimpses of future sight. But it had been unreliable—sometimes working, sometimes not. Now, from the way Katakuri spoke, it seemed he had fully mastered it.

"If we weren't branded with that cursed 'Injury Seal,' I'm confident that next time, I could defeat him. But until we remove this seal, we no longer have the right to challenge him," Katakuri admitted.

"That ability really is troublesome," Perospero said.

"The most critical part is—Rosinantes' attacks may actually be able to hurt Mama!" Katakuri declared.

Those words instantly drained the color from Perospero and Tamago's faces.

Big Mom—who had destroyed a giant village at age five, whose body was like an iron balloon—was a monster beyond comprehension. Even in the New World, where powerful beings roamed freely, few could truly harm her even without her using Armament Haki. And now Katakuri was saying Rosinante might be able to wound her? That was almost unthinkable.

"Impossible! No way! Sure, Rosinantes' punches are freakishly powerful—even I found them terrifying—but hurt Mama? That's ridiculous!" Perospero shook his head violently.

Yet, deep down, he couldn't completely dismiss Katakuri's words. He had seen Rosinante unleash a devastating punch, and the force of that strike was every bit as intimidating as Mama's own attacks.

"Even if his attacks can't truly injure Mama, now's not the time to provoke such a powerful enemy. What matters now is helping Mama ascend to dominance over the New World—to become the supreme ruler second only to Whitebeard. That's our priority. As for Rosinante—we'll have plenty of chances to deal with him later," Katakuri said.

No matter how confident he was, Katakuri would never claim that Mama could surpass Whitebeard. At this moment, Whitebeard was in his prime, a man said to be capable of destroying the world—the undisputed strongest being alive. Even in the future, when the Four Emperors era takes shape, Whitebeard would remain at the top. After all, this era was named after him.

"But are we really just going to leave Rosinante alone like this? At his age, to already have such power… If he grows stronger, he could become a serious threat," Baron Tamago worried.

"That's not something to panic over. Rosinante may have overwhelming combat power, but his base strength isn't all that remarkable. He's only around the level of a regular Vice Admiral. He relies heavily on his Devil Fruit to break the body's natural limits, and the Injury Seal amplifies both his attack power and his concealment. If we can just find a way to nullify that seal, I'm confident I can defeat him. And besides… if he grows stronger, do you really think I'll be standing still?" Katakuri said with conviction.

There was one thing he didn't say aloud: he wanted to treat Rosinante as a rival to spur his own growth. A genius like Katakuri, if given a worthy adversary, could evolve even faster. But at the same time, Rosinante had also been marked as someone who must be eliminated—personally, by Katakuri's own hands.

Perospero looked at Katakuri deeply but eventually nodded in agreement.

The New World was in turmoil. New pirates were flooding in, eager to challenge Big Mom's authority. Many of them died as quickly as they arrived, but more just kept coming. Old-generation pirates were also starting to test Big Mom's throne. Now was not the time for a major conflict—especially against someone who might be able to threaten Mama herself.

However… Totto Land's fate wasn't something they could control.

…Meanwhile, deep within Totto Land, in the seas surrounding Cake Island—

A murderous aura capable of annihilating all life radiated from the Cake Castle.

"The war begins now! Assemble the expeditionary army! I'm going to wipe the Kingdom of Joromia off the map! I'll burn Rosinante to ashes! How dare he—how dare he…!" Big Mom roared.

"But Mama…" Katakuri began cautiously.

"You're about to say that his attacks might hurt me, right? Are you seriously suggesting that a greenhorn brat like him could harm me, Katakuri?" Big Mom snapped.

"And another thing, Katakuri—you know what a failure of a Sweet Commander means, don't you? Especially when your life is in someone else's hands. You're no longer qualified to serve as a Sweet Commander. From this moment forward, your title is revoked. You won't be joining this battle. Reflect on your failure at home!"

"Mama! Please don't underestimate Rosinante! If you're going to fight him, take me with you. I'll do whatever it takes to kill him!" Katakuri pleaded.

"Katakuri!" Perospero gasped, trying to stop him—he knew such words could ignite Mama's wrath.

"Katakuri, even if you are my son, you don't get to cross the line! Prometheus!"

"Yes, Mama!"

The usually gentle sun Homie, Prometheus, suddenly blazed with overwhelming fury.

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