The First Time Is Always So Quick; You'll Get Better With Practice

Ortolan's brief clarity did not last long. Once the sudden burst of agony passed and his body adapted somewhat, those frenzied, chaotic thoughts began to take over again. Very soon, his eyes glowed red once more!

He climbed up from the ground, grabbed the Warhammer, and charged roaring toward Rayleigh and Charlotte Linlin, who were locked in fierce battle.

He could not tell friend from foe. He hammered anyone he saw!

But Charlotte Linlin had no time to look after her precious son now. The moment Ortolan rushed over, she wrapped her fist in Conqueror's Haki and drove it brutally into his head.

This blow was far more vicious than her earlier "gentleness."

Without giving Ortolan any further chance, she knocked him straight to the ground with one punch, and he immediately fell unconscious.

In the end, the gap between him and these top-tier fighters was still enormous. Charlotte Linlin was not like Rayleigh and the others—she did not fully understand the situation, so her strike was more precise, directly ending Ortolan's "full moon trial."

Rayleigh seemed to have noticed something as well. While blocking Charlotte Linlin's savage assault with one hand, he said, "I don't know what that hotheaded brat is to you, but he seems pretty important to you, doesn't he?"

Charlotte Linlin said nothing, but the ferocity in her eyes deepened.

"Then I'll have to ask you to stay here and spar with me. Otherwise, if you try to go after Roger and the others, I'll kill that brat," Rayleigh added.

"One after another, all of you think I'm some soft target???" Charlotte Linlin roared furiously, putting even more force into her attacks!

Before long, chaos broke out at the castle as well. Most of the Big Mom Pirates' elite forces had already left Cake Island, and the only one on the island who could still be considered a decent fighter was Katakuri.

But the problem was that Katakuri's strength was roughly on par with Ortolan's—perhaps even slightly weaker. How could he possibly stop two brutes like Roger and Jabba?

Fortunately, Roger and the others had no intention of becoming mortal enemies with Charlotte Linlin, so they did not slaughter people indiscriminately. After defeating the group led by Katakuri, they quickly resumed searching for their target.

The chaos ultimately did not last very long. Roger and the others found the crimson Road Poneglyph in Charlotte Linlin's treasury, but they had no way to take it with them. The longer they delayed, the greater their unknown risks became. So after hurriedly making a rubbing, they swiftly withdrew.

The facts proved that Charlotte Linlin truly had no good way to deal with them. Her strength had not reached the level where she could take on Roger, Rayleigh, and Jabba—three top-tier fighters—by herself.

In the end, all she could do in her fury was watch helplessly as Rayleigh was escorted away by Roger and the others.

At noon the next day, Ortolan woke from his unconsciousness with a frown. The moment he opened his eyes, he felt pain everywhere in his body.

"You're awake?" Katakuri's gentle voice came from beside the bed. He then seemed to instruct someone nearby to go out.

Ortolan looked up and saw that Katakuri had bandages wrapped around his neck, while one of his arms was fixed in a splint. He had clearly been injured.

Then Ortolan looked down at himself. Good lord—he was covered in bandages, with faint bloodstains seeping through them. He looked far worse than Katakuri.

Ortolan recalled what had happened... then could not help asking, "What exactly happened? Why are Roger and the others in my memories?"

"Your memories are correct..." Katakuri replied. Then he said, "Last night, the Roger Pirates invaded Cake Island and made a rubbing of a Poneglyph from Mother's treasury..."

"A Poneglyph?" Ortolan responded as though he did not understand.

Katakuri nodded and continued, "Yes. It's one of Mother's collectibles. It is said to conceal a great secret—perhaps something related to the legendary ancient weapons capable of destroying the world. The World Government has always strictly prohibited the spread of Poneglyphs. Mother obtained it a long time ago, but even now, she has not been able to decipher the secrets written on it."

After a pause, Katakuri changed the subject. "Enough about that. How do you feel?"

"I feel like this world is far too violent..." Ortolan joked first, but then quickly said with some excitement, "Last night, for the first time, I briefly regained clarity during a full moon!!!"

"Really?" Katakuri said in pleasant surprise. "That's wonderful. It means Mother's method really works!"

Just then, the maid who had gone to report the news opened the door, and Charlotte Linlin walked in from outside with a displeased expression.

Unlike Ortolan and Katakuri, who both looked miserable, Charlotte Linlin had obviously suffered no injuries. She was still brimming with vigor.

But judging from her expression, she was clearly in an extremely bad mood.

"Mother..." Katakuri tried to stand, but Charlotte Linlin pressed him back down with one hand.

"Stay seated if you're injured," Charlotte Linlin told Katakuri. Then she sat directly on Ortolan's bed and looked at him. "How are you?"

"I..." Ortolan had not even finished speaking before he was interrupted again.

Charlotte Linlin went on by herself, "The doctor has already examined you. A few ribs are broken, and the bones in your arm are injured rather badly, but it's nothing serious. You inherited my excellent bloodline—such minor injuries will heal completely in ten days or half a month!"

Ortolan nodded. Just as before, he had not even gotten the chance to speak when Charlotte Linlin continued, "Something unexpected happened last night. That damn bastard Roger, who knows what kind of medicine he took..."

What followed was a long stream of vulgar abuse. Charlotte Linlin spat curses with flying saliva, verbally greeting all eighteen generations of Roger's ancestors and cursing him to die a horrible death.

Whether Roger's ancestors felt it or not, Ortolan did not know, but Charlotte Linlin's curse was definitely going to come true.

After all, Roger truly did not have many years left to live, and it could indeed be said that he would... die a terrible death.

"I'll settle this score with him sooner or later!" Charlotte Linlin muttered several more curses before finally getting to the point. "Last night, it seemed like you briefly woke up from your Sulong state?"

"Yes, maybe for a few dozen seconds, or even less?" Ortolan thought about it, then added, "But even so, it was the first time I regained consciousness on the night of a full moon..."

"It should also be related to Roger's Conqueror's Haki. Of course, I had originally planned to use that power on you as part of the experiment. Even without that bastard Roger, the same effect could have been achieved," Charlotte Linlin nodded.

After a brief pause, Charlotte Linlin continued, "Still, although there were a few mistakes, overall it turned out as I expected. It seems this kind of 'treatment' really is effective for you. Back when I was on that bastard Rocks's ship, it was like this too... This time, you only recovered for a very short while, but if we do it several more times, the results will become more obvious. Eventually, you'll have enough time to experience those wild, violent changes and slowly learn to master that power..."

Ortolan had been trapped by this condition for so many years. Now, he finally saw hope. Just as Charlotte Linlin had said, the first time might not even have lasted a minute, but with more attempts and more practice, would the duration not gradually grow longer?

When that time came, why would he still fear being unable to control himself?

As long as he kept up the treatment, he would sooner or later recover and become a normal man!

"Ahem..." Ortolan cleared his throat, somewhat embarrassed, then said awkwardly, "Anyway... thank you..."

This was the first time Ortolan had thanked Charlotte Linlin. Sure enough, upon hearing those words, a faintly gratified smile appeared on the face of the previously gloomy Charlotte Linlin. She said softly, "It's nothing... I owe you this to begin with."

After saying that, Charlotte Linlin stood up. "Your matter is settled for now, but I still have plenty to deal with. That bastard Shiki has been making bigger and bigger moves, so I need to head to the front lines. If anything comes up, wait until I return."

Then she looked at Katakuri. "Take good care of him..."

Clearly, Katakuri, who should originally have accompanied Charlotte Linlin to the front lines, had been injured by the Roger Pirates and would now have to stay behind.