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Chapter 257: Then Let There Be War!
🕑 Added 2025-10-18 12:54:38 +0000 UTCChapter 257: Then Let There Be War!
That was the photo of Mother Carmel, Big Mom's most treasured possession. But now, her mind clouded by a singular, desperate craving, she didn't even notice the smudge of cream on the glass.
"I need... I need..." she paced back and forth, her eyes bloodshot, a twitch at the corner of her mouth. "That little girl... the one who can make people young again... I need her, Perospero! Don't you understand?! With her, I can be young and beautiful again!"
She didn't understand it herself. At the Tea Party, when Bonney had refused to stay, she had been disappointed, but she had let it go. Youth... that was a long time ago. She was Big Mom now, an Emperor of the Sea! But... ever since the power had worn off, the image of her younger self had haunted her, a constant, nagging reminder of what she had lost. And every time she looked in the mirror... the craving grew stronger, a maddening, all-consuming obsession.
"Is that you, Mother?" she whispered, her eyes falling on the photo. "Mamamama! I understand now! You can't bear to see me grow old, can you? You want me to be beautiful again, just like you!" She began to giggle, a soft, chilling sound. "You've been with me all along, haven't you, Mother...? I have to be young again... younger than before... I have to be a little girl again, just like Bonney... then you'll recognize me! You'll pat my head and smile, just like you did at the House of Lambs..."
Her voice faded into a murmur, and she fell into a strange, trance-like state.
"Mama..." Perospero's heart pounded with a terrible fear. This was worse than her hunger pangs. This was a craving that no amount of food could satisfy. If they couldn't get Bonney back... the entire nation of Totto Land would be destroyed.
"Reporting!" a soldier burst into the room. "Lady Be-Fani has returned! With the target!"
"Mamamama! She's back!" Big Mom roared. "Bring her to me! Now!"
VWOOM!
A strange, green light glowed on the wall, and an ornate door materialized out of thin air. A blonde woman in a stylish coat stepped through, a pair of Sea-Prism Stone cuffs linking her to a small, pink-haired girl. It was Bonney.
"Let me go! You mean old witch!" she wailed, struggling against the cuffs.
"Mamamama! Bonney! We meet again!" Big Mom was upon her in an instant, her massive, wrinkled face inches from the little girl's. "Now... now I can finally see Mother again..."
"Get away from me, you old hag!" Bonney shrieked, and bit down hard on her finger.
"Insolence!" Perospero started to move forward, but Big Mom just laughed.
"Mamamama! It's alright! We're friends, aren't we, Bonney? And you'll be my friend for a long, long time..." She turned to the blonde woman. "You've done well, bounty hunter. Perospero, double her pay!"
"Double? That's one billion Belly!" the woman, Be-Fani, whistled. "Pleasure doing business with you, Lady Linlin!"
"You're a fool!" Bonney shrieked at her. "You know who you're working for, but have you forgotten who I'm with?! Have you forgotten the wrath of Big Brother Shane?!"
"Shane?" Big Mom laughed. "Mamamama! That little brat... he's got the World Government and the Marines breathing down his neck. He's not going to turn the New World upside down for a little girl like you..."
"And even if he wanted to," Be-Fani added with a smirk, "my power is one of a kind. There's no way he could ever track you here."
Just then...
Purupurupuru... Purupurupuru...
A loud, insistent ringing came from the grand Transponder Snail on the main table.
"I'll get it, Mama," her eldest daughter, Compote, said, answering the call. The snail's face immediately transformed, its features hardening into a cold, familiar scowl. The Charlotte children all froze.
"It's been a while, Linlin," a cold, hard voice came through the receiver. "I'm sure you can guess why I'm calling. Explain yourself. Why did you have your people kidnap Bonney?"
The chateau fell silent.
Bonney's eyes filled with tears of joy. I knew it! Even if Kuma couldn't find me, Big Brother Shane would!
The Charlotte children stared in disbelief. The operation had been a complete secret. How could he have possibly found out so fast?
Big Mom's face went dark. A traitor... one of my own children...
"Mamamama!" she suddenly burst out laughing. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Shane! Bonney? I haven't..."
"Enough," the cold voice cut her off. "You're an Emperor of the Sea. Have some dignity, Linlin. What's the point in playing games now?!"
"..." Big Mom was silent. Shame, rage, and that terrible, gnawing craving all warred within her. Then her eyes fell on Mother Carmel's photo, and her resolve hardened.
"Yes! It was me! So what?!" she roared, her voice a terrifying bellow. "I want the little brat! And I'm going to keep her! Who do you think you are, Shane?! You think you can talk to me like that?!" She was an Emperor! She had been one of the rulers of the sea since the time of Rocks! This upstart... this child... how dare he?!
A few seconds of silence, then... "So you're not giving her back." The voice was no longer just cold. It was glacial.
"I am a pirate, you little punk, Shane! When a pirate takes something, they don't give it back! If you want her, you'll have to come and take her yourself!!!"
The snail's face slowly twisted into a terrible, savage grin. "That's good to hear... I was worried I might have to hold back. Wait for me in your little candy land, Charlotte Linlin. You want to be young again? Don't worry. I, Shane, will grant your wish!!!"
CLICK.
The line went dead.
"Mama..." Perospero whispered, his face pale. "Does this mean... he's going to..."
"Are you deaf, you fool?! He's coming to pay us a visit!" Big Mom roared with laughter. "Mamamamama! How exciting! Get ready, my children! We're about to have our most honored guest!"
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
"The World Government has ordered us to fill the three empty Warlord positions, for the second time," Sengoku said, rubbing his temples. He looked exhausted. "And CP-0 has put forward a new candidate... a very troublesome one..."
"Who?" Akainu's voice was a low growl. He sat across from him, a cigar clamped between his teeth, his face even more grim than usual. "Is it Weevil?"
