"Word is you're getting married. I brought a gift to congratulate you. You wouldn't turn me away, would you, Linlin?"
Seeing the world-renowned Marine Hero Monkey D. Garp "grin foolishly" as he said this to the giantess charging toward him, even the normally ice-calm Charlotte Katakuri nearly fell to the ground, let alone everyone else.
Nearly everyone wore the shattered expression of having their entire worldview overturned. More than one person even instinctively pinched their thigh, only confirming they were not dreaming after the pain made their faces twitch.
But Charlotte Mousse, who had become the Charlotte Family's chief strategist, was the exception. Alarm bells were practically ringing themselves to pieces in his heart, and his face was full of suspicion.
"Something abnormal is bound to be sinister. What conspiracy are the Marines plotting?"
However, Charlotte Linlin herself clearly had no such vigilance. She even felt rather smug, finding it gratifying that Garp, whom she had feared for so many years, was actually showing weakness before her.
So not only did she readily accept the gift, but when she opened it and discovered it was truly a lavish present, she was overjoyed. She immediately sincerely invited Garp and the accompanying Navy Vice Admiral Kuzan to take their seats and witness the ceremony as honored guests.
Mousse knew at a glance that he could not persuade her, so he did not waste his breath and incur his mother's displeasure. Still, frowning deeply, he went to Katakuri, who was equally concerned, to discuss countermeasures.
Katakuri first explained why he had not stopped his mother from accepting and opening the treasure chest. "I saw that nothing happened after the chest was opened, so I didn't stop Mom from opening it."
But that had never been what Mousse was worried about. "The Marines wouldn't