At this moment, Whitebeard, still in the prime of his life, seemed to have already seen the Whitebeard Pirates' dead end. He wondered whether, if the Flying Pirates had been replaced by the Whitebeard Pirates, they truly could have withstood the relentless bombardment of those three monsters.
And as the current world's strongest man, how long could he suppress those three little monsters? As time passed, there would come a day when even he would lack the strength to continue. Perhaps the day he grew old would be the day the Whitebeard Pirates were crushed...
After all, no one in this world could remain the strongest forever!
Rocks could not. Roger could not. Golden Lion could not. Neither could he, Edward Newgate. These gatekeepers of the old era would one day be defeated by newcomers, wouldn't they?!
Thinking of this, Whitebeard lifted the bowl of liquor and gulped it down. "Gulp, gulp, gulp..." As he looked at the devoted sons beside him, he felt like getting drunk while the wine was still there. As for what would happen in the future, he would leave that for his future self to worry about!
When the boat reached the bridge, the road would straighten itself out...
People would die eventually, too.
Still, Golden Lion Shiki's final declaration had been pretty damn good!
Whitebeard admitted it. Shiki had once stood on equal footing with himself and Roger...
Meanwhile, on Whole Cake Island.
At Big Mom's tea party!
"..."
Charlotte Linlin stared wide-eyed at the Live Den Den Mushi's broadcast of the battle between Navy Headquarters and the Flying Pirates. The Flying Pirates had been violently torn to pieces by the Navy's savage power, and disbelief filled her eyes.
The Navy's strength had already surpassed her imagination! If the Navy decided to attack her Whole Cake Island, and Sengoku or Garp held her back—even just one of them—
Then the strongest family she took such pride in would not fare much better than the Flying Pirates, currently being ravaged by Sakazuki and the others...
For a moment, Charlotte Linlin grew tense.
"No, I have to speed things up and arrange a political marriage with them as soon as possible!"
"I must obtain the world's strongest power! The support of the warriors of Elbaf, the giant nation known as the strongest country in the world!"
"With the giants' help, Rocks, Roger, Golden Lion, Edward Newgate—even the World Government and the Navy—I won't fear any of them!"
At that moment, Charlotte Linlin's eyes burned with a thirst for power and authority.
"Buru buru buru..."
Just as Charlotte Linlin made up her mind, the Den Den Mushi lying on the table suddenly began ringing.
"Hm? This Den Den Mushi is..."
Charlotte Linlin stared at the Den Den Mushi on the table in slight surprise, then picked it up and answered.
"Sorry, Linlin! I haven't been feeling well lately, so I can't travel far!"
"Looks like I won't be able to attend your annual tea party today~"
"I can only offer you my blessings. I hope you enjoy your tea party and stay happy forever."
As Charlotte Linlin answered the Den Den Mushi, Stussy's crisp, melodious voice, like that of an oriole, came through.
"Mama! Mama..."
"You remembered my tea party and even sent me your blessings..."
"That alone already makes me very happy!"
"My dear Stussy."
Charlotte Linlin seemed to trust Stussy deeply. She treated Stussy like a close girlfriend, chatting with her with complete familiarity.
"Come to think of it, I still haven't given you a congratulatory gift!"
"Linlin, do you know?!"
"This year, I prepared a grand gift for you."
Before Charlotte Linlin could say more, Stussy's voice continued through the Den Den Mushi.
"A gift?"
Charlotte Linlin paused. A calculating gleam flashed through her seemingly clear eyes.
"Why would we need gifts between us?"
Charlotte Linlin politely replied to Stussy.
"No, no, precisely because we're so close, I have to give you this gift~" Seeing Charlotte Linlin being polite, Stussy returned the courtesy before getting straight to the point. "Besides, you'll definitely like this gift, and it can solve your pressing problem!"
"Oh? In that case, I'll accept it without ceremony..."
"But what exactly is this gift you're talking about?"
Charlotte Linlin asked Stussy.
"An opportunity for a political marriage."
Stussy kept it brief and went straight to the point.
"Oh?"
"An opportunity to marry into whose family?"
Charlotte Linlin narrowed her eyes and asked.
At this point, Linlin's mind had not yet been completely crushed by Food Craving Syndrome as it would be in the future...
And with age, her mind would gradually grow less clear year by year.
The current Linlin was rarely this sharp. She kept thinking about it. No matter how she looked at it, the marriage opportunity Stussy mentioned had come far too conveniently.
Charlotte Linlin had just been intimidated by the Navy's strength and needed a new force to help stabilize her supremacy over the seas...
And Stussy had immediately delivered exactly what she needed, as though handing her a pillow the moment she got sleepy?! How could there be such a coincidence in this world?
Charlotte Linlin had to get to the bottom of it.
"Hehe..." Stussy chuckled first, then said slowly and distinctly, "The World Government. The Celestial Dragons!"
"The Celestial Dragons?"
Charlotte Linlin froze where she stood.
"Which family?"
Charlotte Linlin continued to ask.
"The renowned Figarland family!"
Stussy answered truthfully.
"Oh? So it's the family that bastard Garling belongs to..."
"Back at God Valley..."
"I received plenty of care from him and the Knights of God under his command!"
Charlotte Linlin narrowed her eyes. The Figarland family was no easy opponent.
"Which of my daughters has the Figarland family taken an interest in?"
After seemingly muttering casually to herself, Charlotte Linlin asked Stussy.
"Your fourteenth daughter, Charlotte Smoothie!"
Following Shaya's instructions, Stussy answered softly.
"Smoothie? Smoothie is my most outstanding daughter."
The moment Linlin heard it was Smoothie, she furrowed her brow.
"Is that not acceptable? Then forget it..."
"I'll tell the Figarland family that you, Linlin, aren't interested in their family."
Stussy answered as though she did not care.
"Wait..."
The moment Stussy spoke, Charlotte Linlin immediately stopped her.
"Mama! Mama!"
"How could I possibly not be interested in the renowned Figarland family?"
"What I mean is, even for me, giving birth to a daughter as outstanding as Smoothie is no easy feat! If they want to marry Smoothie, that will depend on Figarland's—and the World Government's—sincerity..."
Charlotte Linlin laughed loudly at first, then lowered her voice.
Meanwhile, in the Holy Land.
"What did Big Mom say?"
Shaya leaned behind Stussy and asked.
"It's settled!"
"But they'll have to pay more!"
Hearing this, Stussy first covered the Den Den Mushi's ears. Only then did she turn around, look at Shaya, and speak softly.
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