Natural-Born Conqueror

After thinking it over, Mousse still leaned toward turning his soul into an independent Homie. Looking only at the immediate situation, even if an independent Homie could only be made once, it would still be stronger than Avatar Homies.

"No. You're still too young. Even if your soul is only slightly incomplete, it would seriously affect your potential for growth." Charlotte Linlin firmly refused.

Not to mention that Mousse was Charlotte Linlin's favorite child—even if it had been one of her other sons or daughters, she would not divide their souls and ruin their futures while she was still clear-headed.

"But the situation is truly dangerous right now. Every bit of strength the family gains gives us a little more chance of survival!" Mousse still insisted on his idea, never expecting those words to make Charlotte Linlin fly into a rage on the spot.

"Momma isn't dead yet! There's no need for a brat as tiny as you to risk your life!" With one slap, Charlotte Linlin sent Mousse flying, roaring furiously:

"So what if Garp comes, even if Sengoku comes with him? Momma has never feared anyone in her life! Making a Homie is only to protect you, so I won't have to divide my attention during battle. Do you really think Momma needs the help of a six-year-old kid like you?"

When Mousse crashed to the ground, it felt as though every bone in his body had fallen apart. But unlike how foolish his younger sister Chiffon would become later, he did not actually think Charlotte Linlin was trying to kill him.

In truth, even in her fury, Charlotte Linlin had still tried her best to control her strength. Otherwise, given the vast gap in their power, a casual strike would have shattered his tiny arms and legs to pieces!

Still, Perospero, his eldest brother who had rushed over specifically out of concern for Mousse, was horrified by the sight. In his panic, he even forgot how terrifying Momma was and wanted to step in to save him.

But before he could act, Perospero discovered that his body had gone rigid and could not move. The Conqueror's Haki naturally leaking from Charlotte Linlin's rage alone made it impossible for him to so much as shift a toe, let alone use his Devil Fruit ability.

Mousse merely hurt all over from the fall, but he had not damaged any muscles or bones, so he quickly climbed back to his feet.

This made Perospero breathe a sigh of relief. Only then did he realize that something unbelievable seemed to have changed about Momma. "Momma's Conqueror's Haki seems stronger? It doesn't have the same destructive force as last time, but without the demonic sound to support it, it can completely lock down my movements. It really is stronger, and not just by a little. What's going on?"

It was not only Perospero—Mousse felt it too. Although it had not caused physical damage this time, the mental impact was stronger than before.

Even Mousse, who had not been afraid previously, felt slightly dizzy for the first time. Considering that last time it had specifically targeted him, while this time it was merely being naturally released, the actual gap was likely far greater than what he could feel.

Because he had studied Conqueror's Haki before, Mousse figured out what had happened after his brief shock. Looking at his mountain-like mother, he could not help but sigh inwardly. "As expected of Charlotte Linlin, a natural-born conqueror who became a Yonko without ever training hard! After nearly getting herself killed this time, she actually turned disaster into a blessing and became stronger instead."

As mentioned before, Conqueror's Haki reflected a person's unyielding will and the resolve they possessed because of it.

Although Charlotte Linlin was a natural-born conqueror, she had not actually been born unwilling to bow beneath others. Rather, it was simply because her strength as a child had been so monstrously overwhelming.

Ordinary "kings" first refused psychologically to submit to others, then awakened Conqueror's Haki, and then trained hard to grow stronger. Big Mom, however, had been incomparably powerful from birth, and because she herself was too strong, she had been unwilling to submit to those weaker than her. It was completely reversed.

Thus, Charlotte Linlin's will itself had never been firm, much less her resolve.

Even with her unparalleled talent granting her Conqueror's Haki that ranked among the strongest in the world, Charlotte Linlin, whose convictions were unsteady and whose resolve was lacking, could never raise it to its utmost limit.

Yet, by a strange twist of fate, the survival crisis caused by the prisoner-killing incident made Charlotte Linlin feel immense pressure and threat for the first time while she was conscious.

Then, stimulated by Mousse's words, her convictions and resolve were unexpectedly brought forth.

"If her Conqueror's Haki has increased this much, the effects of Conqueror's Haki infusion should improve considerably too, right? But Momma's attack power has always been her weak point. Even if it has increased somewhat, she might not be able to catch up to Garp, much less fight Garp and Sengoku, two top-tier powerhouses, alone. It's a good thing, but not worth getting overly excited about." Though happy and somewhat regretful, Mousse gave up on his previous insistence.

Mousse had now figured it out. As one of the few super-first-rate powerhouses in the world, Charlotte Linlin naturally had a strong person's pride. Even with her life in danger, she would not accept help from a little brat like him.

On the other hand, the assistance he could provide after racking his brains might truly be insignificant to a freak like her, someone who could become an ultimate powerhouse without ever training diligently and whose strength could suddenly surge by such a huge margin.

"Maybe this crisis will actually be a good thing for her. Though she's already over forty, which is a little late, given Momma's special circumstances, there should still be quite a bit of potential left to force out, right?" Having thought this through, Mousse made major adjustments to his "design" for the Stone Tablet Homie.

Momma did not need help, so naturally, protecting himself became the priority~

Then Mousse immediately thought of the Poneglyph's extreme hardness, a quality that could almost be called "indestructible." "This is basically an unbreakable super shield! But it's so heavy that I can't carry it. It has to be able to walk on its own, preferably fly!"

"Ma ma ma ma~ You want to give it the ability to fly? That's a stone weighing over three hundred tons, you know, and it isn't even ordinary material. Even with little Mousse's soul, if you make it fly, you can't expect it to retain much Combat Power, and it won't fly very fast either." Only after Charlotte Linlin said this did Mousse understand that the trait of "flight" had a very high "value coefficient," and that maximum flying speed was inversely proportional to the weight of the base material.

Therefore, if a flying Homie's base material could not naturally float in the air, such as the sun or a thundercloud, it could not be too heavy, like Brulee's flying carpet. Mousse's idea of making a stone weighing over three hundred tons float really was rather fantastical.

But Mousse still stuck to his idea. He had never expected this huge stone to attack enemies anyway, so what did it matter if its Combat Power was weaker?

Even if it flew slowly, that was fine. Being able to fly was a qualitative leap. After all, if such a huge, heavy stone could not float, how was he supposed to keep it by his side?