Charlotte Linlin: Do You Want to Return to Mama's Embrace?

Cake Island might have sounded like an unreliable name, but it was actually a massive island. As the headquarters of the renowned Big Mom Pirates in the New World, it was excellent in both location and resources.

The moment Ortolan disembarked, he saw numerous coastal defense cannons built along the shore near the harbor. At the same time, despite being a pirate headquarters, the island's port was anything but desolate. On the contrary, it was exceptionally prosperous, with transport ships and merchant caravans of all sizes constantly coming and going.

A small portion of the order here was maintained by the Big Mom Pirates' underlings, but more of it was handled by the Homies Ortolan had heard about but was seeing for the first time today. These soul creations came from Charlotte Linlin's terrifying and powerful Soul-Soul Fruit ability!

A Homies carriage had already been arranged at the port to pick them up. Katakuri quickly led Ortolan aboard, and they left the harbor, traveling down a straight road toward the depths of the island.

Not long after passing through the forest, the instant the branches and leaves parted, they could see a castle in the center of Cake Island, shaped like an enormous cake from a fairy tale.

That was the residence of the Great Pirate, Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin.

The carriage stopped before the castle, and servants set down the carriage steps. Katakuri and Ortolan got out together.

At that moment, Perospero, the eldest son of the Charlotte Family, was also waiting there. When he saw Katakuri and Ortolan, he walked forward and said, "Mama has been waiting in the castle for quite some time."

Only after saying that did he seriously look Ortolan over. Smacking his lips, he teased, "So this is our dear... new little brother? Is he really only eighteen? He looks even older than I do, kukukuku~~"

Although Perospero's tone sounded somewhat strange, Ortolan could somehow sense a trace of goodwill in his words.

So Ortolan smiled and nodded at him. "Nice to meet you. My name is Bane Ortolan."

Perospero did not say anything more because of the surname "Bane." He raised a hand and patted Ortolan on the shoulder, smiling as he said, "Come on, Mama is waiting for us. Oh, right... would you like to try my Candy Candy?"

Did everyone in the Charlotte Family like to promote their signature sweets the moment they met someone?

After politely declining Perospero's offer, the group soon entered the grand, enormous castle.

They passed through the castle's entrance hall and corridors, taking so many twists and turns that Ortolan was nearly dizzy, before arriving at a massive door. Perospero stepped forward and knocked on the heavy-looking doors.

To Ortolan's surprise, the two door knockers suddenly turned into eyes. Then, as though the Homies soul inside the doors had just woken up, it glanced outside, cheerfully greeted Perospero and Katakuri, and then began moving on its own, slowly opening the doors.

The moment the doors opened, the air from the sealed room rushed out. Ortolan was hit by an overwhelmingly sweet, cloying scent.

It was as though the room were a warehouse storing all kinds of desserts!

But it was not. The room was not dark at all; it was brightly lit. A towering throne stood in the center, and before it was a circular revolving table piled high with desserts and pastries. At that moment, a figure sat on the throne, grabbing sweets from the table with her bare hands and stuffing them into her mouth without the slightest regard for decorum!

Without a doubt, that was Charlotte Linlin, the woman who aspired to become the ruler of the seas.

Ortolan's impression of Charlotte Linlin could roughly be summed up as "an old hag, an obese fat pig, and a patient of intermittent insanity and mania."

He also knew that Charlotte Linlin had been an exceptionally beautiful woman in her youth, so beautiful that his useless old father had remained unable to let go of his feelings for her until his death.

But now that he had truly seen Charlotte Linlin, Ortolan seemed to understand why his father had been so infatuated with her.

By age, she was no longer young. If Ortolan remembered correctly, Charlotte Linlin was exactly forty-one this year. By all rights, she should have entered middle age.

Yet perhaps she had simply been born extraordinarily gifted. In any case, Charlotte Linlin now looked no older than thirty-something. Moreover, the bloated, pig-like body he remembered was actually quite curvaceous now—full in all the right places, fiery and alluring.

Though she sat on the throne, her posture was wildly uninhibited. One of her long legs, clad only in short shorts and a high heel, was propped directly on the table covered in the remains of desserts.

All in all, at first glance, Charlotte Linlin had completely shattered Ortolan's fixed stereotype of her.

As though she had heard the commotion at the door, Charlotte Linlin casually stuffed a piece of cake into her mouth, wiped the cream from the corner of her lips, and turned her gaze toward the entrance.

Then her lips curled into a proud smile.

Before Katakuri or Perospero could speak, Charlotte Linlin had already opened her mouth.

"I had completely forgotten what your father looked like, but the moment I saw you, his face suddenly came back to me. For a Mink, he really was quite handsome. Mahahahaha! Brat, you've grown up!" Charlotte Linlin stared at Ortolan and laughed loudly.

Being a simp really had no good ending. His old father had pined after her so deeply, yet Charlotte Linlin could barely remember what he looked like?

But on second thought, considering Charlotte Linlin's experiences, status, and wild personality, there was nothing strange about it.

"I was fortunate enough to survive thanks to him," Ortolan said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Hearing that, Charlotte Linlin stuffed another handful of pastries into her mouth. Chewing, she nodded with a sigh. "If there was anything that guy did better than me, it was probably his judgment and patience when it came to you..."

At that, Charlotte Linlin looked at Ortolan again and said, "Sorry, brat. Because Mama was shortsighted back then, you've suffered all these years."

Ortolan did not respond. Instead, he removed the saber hanging at his waist, weighed it in his hand, and said, "It doesn't matter. The seas are full of abandoned people. There's nothing special about my experience. This sword is the old man's keepsake. Before he breathed his last, he told me that if I ever had the chance, I should deliver it to you..."

The moment Ortolan finished speaking, Charlotte Linlin picked up a prepared hot towel from the table and wiped her hands. "Bring it here."

Ortolan walked forward several steps. The closer he got to Charlotte Linlin, the more he could feel the powerful aura she casually radiated.

As though noticing this, Charlotte Linlin quickly reined in the naturally emanating pressure around her and took the saber from Ortolan's hand.

"Memories are such strange things. Before seeing this sword, I didn't remember anything at all. But now, as I run my fingers over its sheath and hilt, it feels as though I can recall it—and its owner," Charlotte Linlin said with a sigh. Then she asked, "Brat, do you want to return to Mama's embrace?"

The meaning behind those words was simply whether Ortolan was willing to become a "Charlotte" again and rejoin the Big Mom Pirates!

Before Ortolan could answer, Charlotte Linlin directly said, "As long as you agree, I'll make you the head of the Sweet Commanders right now!"

The leader of the Big Mom Pirates was undoubtedly Charlotte Linlin. However, beneath her, the major officers were known as the Sweet Commanders. There was no strict limit to their number, though there were usually four, and only members of her bloodline could hold those positions.

At present, the Big Mom Pirates had four Sweet Commanders. Ridiculously enough, Katakuri and his two full brothers occupied three of those spots, while the last belonged to the eldest son, Perospero.

However, the position of Sweet Commander was not permanent. Any Sweet Commander who suffered defeat at the hands of an outsider would immediately be stripped of that status.

In the original story, only Katakuri, known as undefeated, had continuously maintained his position as a Sweet Commander. The other three Sweet Commander positions had changed hands many times.

As for Katakuri's earlier defeat by the berserk Ortolan... Charlotte Linlin did not consider that a defeat at the hands of an outsider. After all, Ortolan carried her blood as well!

In any case, the status of a Sweet Commander was extremely high within the Big Mom Pirates, and the head of the Sweet Commanders needed no further explanation—he could be considered second only to one and above all others!

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