Marriage Alliance and War

"Borsalino- sensei, you've let the pirates escape again!"

Lux walked over, carrying a standard-issue military knife and looking resentful.

"Sorry, sorry~"

Kizaru shrugged.

To be honest, he was very satisfied with his disciple.

Garen truly deserves his reputation as one of the strongest newcomers in the Navy in recent years, and his sister is indeed exceptionally talented.

Faced with his beloved disciple's accusation, Kizaru could only shrug and say, "Lux- chan, Teach is a vicious pirate that even Sakazuki couldn't capture. It's already quite good that we managed to cut off one of his arms. At least when we see Fleet Admiral Sengoku's sullen face, we'll definitely have something to say."

"But..."

Lux sighed, saying with exasperation, "He still ran away! Teach is a key figure who connects the Whitebeard Pirates, the Charlotte Family, and even the Revolutionary Army!"

Well...

Kizaru scratched his chin. "Don't we still have hostages? Teach's fiancée... wait, where did that Hiyoko go?"

Kizaru looked around in alarm.

Fortunately, the Hiyoko didn't escape the area.

Crocodile returned, a cigarette dangling from his lips, carrying Hiyoko covered in bumps.

"Hmph, your navy is still so sloppy!"

Crocodile arrogantly tossed Flampe in front of Kizaru.

The latter has been dried out and turned into a dried chicken.

"Crocodile, your methods are truly terrifying!"

Kizaru may have said "within reach," but his light-speed kick was anything but hesitant.

He was hesitant and submissive when kicking Teach, but unleashed a powerful punch when kicking Flampe.

With a kick that traveled at lightning speed, Flampe was sent flying into the sea.

Then, in the next second, they appeared on the surface of the sea and pulled her out.

However, after the two trips, Flampe had gone from being a dried-out chicken to a drowned rat.

After tying up the now-hydrated Flampe, Kizaru prepared to return to Marineford to report back.

Before leaving, he raised his head and looked into the distance.

In a place beyond the reach of sight, Kizaru's Observation Haki detected a familiar presence.

"Professor Zephyr?"

Kizaru wasn't entirely sure.

In that direction, on a small island far away, two powerful men are fighting.

One of them bore a striking resemblance to Zephyr 'Kizaru mentor.

However, in Kizaru's memory, Zephyr's aura was weak and feeble.

But the aura that appeared in the distance now was so full of vitality that it didn't seem like that of a seventy-year-old man at all.

Just as Kizaru was hesitating whether to sail over and take a look, the aura suddenly changed.

"What youthful energy, what boundless vitality!"

Kizaru shook his head. "Looks like I must have been mistaken. Tsk tsk, have I been slacking off too much lately? My Observation Haki has regressed again..."

"Borsalino, aren't you going to set sail?"

Crocodile, who had performed a great service, sat impatiently on Kizaru's ship, stamping his feet.

"Oh dear, our great hero is really in a hurry!"

Kizaru stopped paying attention to the battle in the distance and gave an order, and the small boat sped towards Marineford at the speed of light.

Meanwhile...

Charlotte Pudding, the Chocolate Minister of the Totto Land, watched in trembling fear as two muscular men engaged in a naked brawl.

Zephyr vs. Whitebeard Jr.

Originally, this was supposed to be a battle between a muscular man and a fat, ugly man.

However, thanks to Ma Qiao's years of care, Zephyr's physique is now almost identical to that of the Whitebeard II.

He has more than just fat; he also has a youthful physique gained from years of eating a healthy diet.

As the battle reached its climax, Zephyr unwrapped the bandages from his right arm (Zephyr lost his right arm, just like Danzō; this was an error in the previous text and is hereby corrected), revealing an undeniable aura of youth and freedom.

After all, Nika is the freest person in the world...

Ma Qiao is a bit confused lately.

Is the world of pirates inherently cruel, or did my own butterfly wings stir up the evil trend of cutting off people's hands and feet?

In just two days, not only did Teach lose his left arm, but Whitebeard Jr. also lost his right arm.

The reason it's described as "disintegration" is that his arm wasn't cut off or broken, but rather disintegrated by the Lifeform Disintegration Ray.

This is a way to break down organic matter at the level of base hydrogen bonds and protein spatial configuration.

Absolutely safe and efficient.

Ma Qiao sighed.

It's probably not my fault.

Kuzan lost a leg, Inuarashi and Cat Viper lost arms and legs, Kikunojo lost an arm...

These events all occurred within a short period of one year in the original timeline.

Compared to them, the fact that Whitebeard II's arm was dismembered was already quite humane.

So the world is at fault, not me, Ma!

I, Ma, have always treated this world with kindness!

After understanding this cause-and-effect logic, Ma Qiao was moved by his own kindness.

Thank you, Ma Qiao.

Seemingly moved by Teacher Ma's kindness, Zephyr, now dressed as a servant, sincerely thanked the young man, "The arm you transplanted for me, and the new eyes you implanted... they're all very useful... without them, I couldn't avenge my students..."

"You're welcome, you already paid."

Ma Qiao shook his head. "Besides, shouldn't true revenge involve killing the murderer?"

"No... an eye for an eye in revenge will only perpetuate hatred..."

Ma Qiao sighed.

Brother Zephyr is spreading his "no-killing" theory again.

In a moment of despair, this guy accidentally killed a pirate.

Now that she's recovered, she's become overly sentimental again.

Perhaps this kind of person shouldn't have been a member of the navy in the first place...

That's correct.

Ma Qiao remembered that Zephyr's childhood dream was to become a hero like Kamen Rider.

And soldiers...

The most important thing is to obey orders and follow commands, not to indulge in heroic sentiments.

Perhaps this is why many people believe that only Akainu is a truly qualified Marine Admiral...

"Brother Zephyr."

"Um?"

Do you know my dream?

"To make lots and lots of money and become the richest person in the world?"

"Uh... that's just one of my dreams... My dream is that the world will never need superheroes to uphold justice again..."

"This..."

Zephyr was stunned.

After a long silence, he finally understood what Ma Qiao meant and uttered two words: "Difficult."

Yes!

It's difficult.

Human beings have always yearned for a better future.

An incorruptible and impartial magistrate, a chivalrous Jianghu who robs the rich to help the poor, a majestic emperor traveling incognito...

This also includes the superheroes who walk in the darkness to protect Gotham.

The more beautiful the vision, the harsher the reality.

But humanity's aspirations cannot be erased.

Therefore, the only way to make superheroes disappear is to create a lawless, crime-free world.

After all, in that kind of world, people would be hoping for a God of Wealth or a Matchmaker, not some superhero.

The Big Mom finally woke up after sleeping for three days and three nights.

As expected, her personality changed drastically after the nun's parasite was removed.

Unlike the amnesia in the original Wano Country arc where she couldn't remember anything, she retained all her original memories, but her personality underwent a complete 180-degree change.

This transformation even overshadowed the dramatic change in her figure.

Perospero and Katakuri both chose to keep the reason for their mother's change a secret.

They only publicly stated that Mr. Ma Qiao and his medical team successfully removed a tumor that had been pressing on the mother's nerves, demonstrating their compassion and skill, and bringing her back to health.

The Big Mom reverted to her innocent and naive nature.

It's said to be a good thing, but objectively speaking, it's also a bad thing for the entire Totto Land.

Because nowadays, the personality of Big Mom is no longer capable of governing such a large, quasi-nation.

She had no interest in participating in the governance of the country or the pirate crew.

Streusen, one of the founders of the Big Mom Pirates, wanted to say something, but was instead trapped inside the Book-Book Fruit by the brothers Perospero and Katakuri.

Streusen was the only person besides Ma Qiao and his two brothers who knew that the Big Mom had eaten the nun.

And it was this ambitious man who lured Big Mom to go to sea and become a pirate.

In short, the existence of Streusen is the biggest destabilizing factor and must be controlled.

As for the future governance of the Totto Land...

Just as tensions between the two brothers were rising, Teacher Ma reappeared.

Ma Qiao proposed a plan of "Eastern Totto Land, with two emperors ruling together," turning a war into a peaceful resolution.

Of course, now Ma Qiao is using his influence to act as a mediator.

However, as time goes by, it doesn't mean that disagreements won't arise in the Totto Land.

Regardless, Ma Qiao's principle of "brothers fighting within the walls but defending against external enemies" still greatly benefited Perospero and Katakuri.

Especially Katakuri.

"Brother Katakuri, governing a country isn't something that can be achieved simply by having the biggest Riot Games."

Before parting, Ma Qiao earnestly advised, "If you really can't handle this half of the Totto Land, you can come to me then. I do have a little experience in governing countries."

"I'd be relieved if it were handed over to Mr. Ma Qiao."

Katakuri sighed, "I don't actually have any desire to fight for power. I've never cared about fame or power... It's just... Brother Perospero is sometimes too obsessed with political maneuvering. To protect certain things, I have to step forward..."

Ma Qiao gazed at Katakuri with deep affection, his face full of anticipation.

Unfortunately, despite all his attempts to win him over, Katakuri ultimately showed no intention of surrendering territory or becoming a vassal.

Watching the Whole Cake Island gradually recede into the distance and become a small dot, Ma Qiao sighed and began to reflect.

For a true man like Katakuri who never beats around the bush, would he just give it to me if I simply asked?

If I don't say anything, he might think I'm just causing him trouble?

Once he understood this, Ma Qiao was filled with regret.

Unfortunately, there's no going back; it's all too late.

However, the trip to Whole Cake Island was still very fruitful.

In the Big Mom Pirates vault, which Katakuri and his brother, who didn't have time to loot, Perospero and Katakuri agreed to use half of their savings as "medical expenses" for Ma Qiao.

This is a pile of gold and jewelry; its exact value still needs to be calculated.

But Ma Qiao roughly estimates that it would still be around 10 to 20 billion Beli.

In addition, Ma Qiao also acquired important new materials for the service area: the Carmel Pig and the Carmel Soul.

Ma Qiao plans to place the nun's body along with Enel's, then upload her consciousness into an open-world online game as a mini-boss.

As for how she would be repeatedly tormented by Garp and the others, Ma Qiao couldn't care less.

It was truly unfair to those children who were victimized to send that old nun to her death with a single blow.

The current outcome is a fitting punishment for her.

As a byproduct of not executing the old nun, Thundercloud Zeus was also a very precious treasure.

Nami, who is adept at using the weather, is indeed its most suitable owner.

Ma Qiao was overjoyed as he tallied up all his achievements.

But for some reason, he always felt like he had forgotten something.

It seems there's something extremely important that wasn't brought back to Alabasta.

After racking his brains for a while without any results, Ma Qiao shook his head and decided to stop thinking about it.

Meanwhile, on the dock of Whole Cake Island, Cobra, running barefoot, shouted at the departing ship, "I haven't boarded the ship yet!"

"Oh, chef, would you like to go on a trip?"

Charlotte Linlin, carrying a large bowl of wide noodles, happily left her footprints on the beach.

Although she has a slender and large figure, she looks like a child who hasn't grown up.

When she realized that Mr. Cobra seemed to want to leave Whole Cake Island, her eyes immediately welled up with tears.

Looking at this woman who seemed like a blank sheet of paper, Cobra sighed and looked up at the setting sun on the horizon.

The Totto Land was undoubtedly in great chaos during this period.

So much so that when Hiyoko was captured by the Navy, it went unnoticed for a very long time.

What caught the attention of Perospero and Katakuri, the two giants, was that Charlotte Smoothie, the third of Big Mom's children and the first of her daughters, seemed to be in love.

Smoothie, Longleg Tribe member, is 30 years old, 4.64 meters tall, with a bounty of 932 million Beli. She Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates.

Portgas D. Ace, human, 19 years old, 1.85 meters tall, bounty of 550 million Beli, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

I have to say, these two are a perfect match...

At least among the various strange pairings in the Charlotte Family, these two are a match made in heaven.

Currently, everyone except Ace himself can see that Smoothie is deeply in love with him.

Ace, like Luffy Hancock, merely used Smoothie as a tool to extract poison from him.

Fortunately, Smoothie not only has longer legs than the Empress, but she is also smarter.

She only juiced a tiny bit each time she made juice for Ace.

This would give me an excuse to keep Ace by my side for an extended period of time.

The reason why everyone except Ace could see Smoothie's feelings is because even Charlotte Linlin could see them.

Linlin is just naive and simple-minded, but that doesn't mean she's stupid.

She's a mother of 85 children, after all, and she hasn't lost her memories. She still has that much insight.

Moreover, people have a tendency to think inertia.

Although the nun is gone, her subconscious fondness for arranged marriages has been passed down.

So, at Perospero's urging, Charlotte Linlin sent a letter to the Whitebeard Pirates to discuss a marriage alliance between the two families.

Unexpectedly, the letter received a reply very quickly.

Izo, the 16th Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, arrived at Whole Cake Island with a ship full of gold and silver treasures.

He was also holding a recent newspaper in his hand.

"Rest assured, members of the Charlotte Family, every one of our Pops's sons is a true gentleman!"

Dressed in women's clothing, with rouge and lipstick Izo her lips, Izang spoke thus.

Perospero, eager to recruit the powerful Whitebeard Pirates as a ally, beamed with delight upon hearing this. He was about to praise Ace's handsome appearance and then decline the shipload of dowry Izo slammed a newspaper bearing the public execution order on the table, his face serious.

"To start something you love and then abandon it, to break someone's testicle and then not take responsibility—that's not the style of the Whitebeard Pirates! If Teach does that, neither our Pops nor any of us brothers will tolerate him!"

"In short, please rest assured, brothers and sisters of the Charlotte Family, even if it means going to war with the Navy, our Whitebeard Pirates of Teach, will rescue his fiancée. We, the entire crew, have no doubt about this!"

"Teach? War?"

Perospero's tongue lolled out, and his brain went blank for a brief moment.

After a while, he took out the tongue gel he had bought from Dr. Dr. Mundo from his pocket, sprayed it on his tongue, and made it stand up again.

"Um... Captain Izo, is there... some misunderstanding between us?"

"Perospero asked weakly, sticking out his tongue."