Katakuri: Are You Going to Become a Champion of Justice?

Charlotte Linlin left that very day. After visiting Ortolan, she went straight to the harbor and boarded the Queen Mama Chanter, leaving Cake Island.

It was clear that although the Big Mom Pirates and the Flying Pirates had not officially opened fire on the front lines yet, the situation was quite tense. And for the Big Mom Pirates, the pressure was even greater.

However, as an outsider, Ortolan could see clearly that this situation was actually a good thing for Charlotte Linlin—a new opportunity. In the original story, Whole Cake Island had likely grown so powerful because it had gained quite a lot from this incident.

After Charlotte Linlin left Cake Island, Ortolan began considering the current situation. The Roger Pirates had appeared on Cake Island and made a rubbing of a Poneglyph.

Shiki had gathered a massive fleet and was preparing to take on the Big Mom Pirates!

Then, if nothing unexpected happened, the situation would likely develop as follows: after escaping Cake Island, the Roger Pirates would sail toward the waters due east, trying to leave Whole Cake Island's territory as quickly as possible to avoid being caught and surrounded by Charlotte Linlin's assembled fleet.

And that direction was precisely the direction of the Ed War Sea!

Shiki would probably soon learn that Cake Island had been attacked and trace the news back to Roger. With his massive fleet already assembled, Shiki was clearly far more interested in Roger than in going to war with Charlotte Linlin.

As long as he could deal with Roger and forge an alliance with the Roger Pirates, using the information Roger held regarding the Ancient Weapons, combined with his own forces and fleet, no one in the New World would be able to stop Shiki from rising to the top. And once he united all the violent factions of the New World, Shiki would be fully capable of going head-to-head with the World Government!

Therefore, what would happen next was probably that Shiki would abandon Charlotte Linlin and gather his fleet in the Ed War Sea, blocking the Roger Pirates as they tried to pass through the Ed War Sea and escape.

Then the Ed War Sea Battle would erupt, and a massive storm would utterly destroy Shiki's ambitions and his enormous fleet that had run rampant across the New World.

And at that very moment, the only force prepared to go to war with Shiki was the Big Mom Pirates. Charlotte Linlin herself had also arrived at the front lines. Under such circumstances, as long as she was not stupid, she would definitely seize the opportunity to be the first to take a bite out of Shiki's fat flesh!

It would be a grand feast. As a pirate overlord, Shiki's fall... well, it could not really be called a fall, but he would certainly suffer devastating losses. Once he was severely weakened, the powers of the New World would inevitably be reshuffled. This time, all the major powers would surely tear Shiki apart even further, lest that ambitious bastard climb over their heads again.

After roughly deducing what would happen next based on the information he knew, Ortolan had no idea whether his calculations were accurate. Still, his mood did calm down considerably. Once he was able to get out of bed, he immersed himself in the Grand Library again, constantly reading all kinds of books to fill the gaps in his shallow understanding of this world.

Just as Charlotte Linlin had said, Ortolan had inherited her excellent bloodline and possessed outstanding physical qualities. Although his injuries had been much worse than Katakuri's, he recovered far faster. In just over a week, Ortolan had fully recovered—the day before Katakuri removed his bandages!

Perhaps compared to a special Devil Fruit user like Marco the Phoenix, Ortolan's recovery ability was nowhere near fast enough. But on these seas, such vitality was already more than impressive, leaving Katakuri deeply envious.

On the back mountain of Cake Island, beside a not particularly tall cliff face, Ortolan was training.

He was bare-chested, drenched in sweat, his muscles constantly rippling. Every so often, he threw a punch at the rock wall. Visible to the naked eye, the cliff face had already been covered in dense fist marks resembling the holes of a honeycomb.

That was right. Ortolan was currently tempering his Armament Haki according to the method described in Rocks's book.

Before long, footsteps came from the forest behind him. Katakuri held a plate of donuts in his hands. Perhaps because there was no one in the dense woods, he did not bother maintaining his image. He had pulled down his scarf, revealing his fearsome mouth as he happily devoured a donut.

When he saw Ortolan, he did not disturb him. He simply stood casually behind him, eating as he watched.

After waiting for more than half an hour, Katakuri reluctantly stuffed the final small piece of donut into his mouth. At that moment, Ortolan suddenly threw a punch. Powerful Haki coated his fist, carrying his savage monstrous strength as it blasted a huge crater into the cliff wall!

He casually picked up the towel resting on a wooden stump nearby and wiped the sweat from his body. Then Ortolan turned around and said with a smile, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Just as I thought!" Katakuri looked Ortolan up and down before inexplicably saying that.

Ortolan asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you notice? Before the full moon, your temperament was rather strange. Even when you deliberately kept your irritable emotions under control, you were still... very cold. But after the full moon, these past few days, perhaps because you've already vented those emotions, the feelings that had been troubling you disappeared. Your personality has become much more peaceful," Katakuri said with a smile.

"Is that so?" Ortolan considered it for a moment but did not dwell on it. He shrugged. "Maybe?"

"What did you call me here for? More importantly, have you considered our previous proposal?" Katakuri walked over to Ortolan, sat down on a rock, and asked.

Ortolan patted the small box beside the towel. "I've already decided. I'm going to become a Devil Fruit user, so I plan to eat this Goro Goro no Mi. But since I don't have any experience, I heard that when someone eats a Devil Fruit for the first time, the unfamiliar sensation can cause their power to go berserk? So I wanted someone experienced like you to give me some advice..."

Katakuri rolled his eyes and said helplessly, "Where did you hear such a rumor? Eating a Devil Fruit for the first time? Can you eat two of them? As for the powers going berserk, that doesn't happen. But sudden changes to your body might cause you to lose some control over your ability... For example, if you ate the Mera Mera no Mi, you might not be familiar with that sudden power and fail to control it, causing your entire body to catch fire. But for you, you would already be the embodiment of flames, so it would not harm you."

"I see." Ortolan rubbed his chin, then smiled. "Then I can rest easy."

However, he did not eat the fruit right away. After casually tossing the towel he had used to wipe his sweat onto the wooden stump, Ortolan continued, "As for the previous proposal you mentioned, I've considered that as well..."

Compared to the Goro Goro no Mi, Katakuri was clearly more concerned about Ortolan's decision. His expression turned serious as he asked, "So... will you stay?"

"No, I'm leaving." Ortolan shook his head, his tone calm yet resolute.

A trace of regret flashed through Katakuri's eyes as he heard that. "Is that so? That's really... Tch, sigh. This is your choice, after all. I'll support you."

He quickly adjusted his mood and once again wore the smile of an older brother. "So, what do you plan to do after leaving Cake Island? Of course, no matter what you do, you're always welcome to come back and visit Cake Island. You may not agree, but I still have to say it—this is your home."

"If I join the Marines, would I still be welcome to come back anytime?" Ortolan asked with a laugh.

Katakuri burst out laughing as well. "Join the Marines... You really know how to joke, hahahahaha... Ha... huh?"

As he laughed, he noticed that Ortolan's expression seemed somewhat serious. His laughter immediately stopped, and he asked in astonishment, "You're not really going to join the Marines, are you?"

"Cough..." Ortolan awkwardly covered his mouth with his fist and cleared his throat. Then he said, "I do have that idea, so I thought I'd ask for your opinion too... or something..."

Katakuri???

Though it was not good to speak this way about his own family, the Charlotte Family truly did every evil imaginable—murder, arson, plunder, and worse. And with such wicked blood flowing through him, Ortolan wanted to become a champion of justice?