Even Ronglin in the surveillance room grinned when he heard Shiryu's words, silently giving him a thumbs-up through the screen.
"!!?" Smoky froze for a moment, then carefully mulled over Shiryu's short sentence. Suddenly, realization dawned on her. "Hahaha! Well said! What the hell does it have to do with them?!"
Cracker and Katakuri looked at Smoky in astonishment. Then both their expressions changed, and fear suddenly rose in their hearts, as though they knew something unbearable was about to happen.
Smoky turned to Katakuri and Cracker. "I want to surrender! I've decided to join the Star Alliance. Big Mom's blood feud and all that—I'll put it behind me. From now on, I'll live only for myself!"
Katakuri opened his mouth, but nothing came out. They were prisoners now, and even their hope of survival lay in someone else's hands. At a time like this, when even their lives did not belong to them, what right did he have to persuade Smoky otherwise?
Besides, Katakuri himself did not want to die carelessly in this dark corner so soon. Charlotte Linlin had only given them life, not familial love. At first, when his blood was up, Katakuri had been willing to die for her. But as time passed, the passion in his bones gradually cooled.
Katakuri's gaze changed. It was no longer sharp and cold, but far more despondent. He looked at Hawkins and said, "We can surrender, but the Star Alliance must promise not to make things difficult for the remaining members of the BIGMOM Pirates."
Seeing that these people, who had remained unmoved by both soft and hard tactics, had finally been talked around by Fujitora, Hawkins finally felt a hint of amusement. With the three Sweet Commanders surrendering, half of the task Alliance Leader Ronglin had assigned him