"Brulee."
"Huh? Katakuri- san, what's wrong?"
"Are you... injured on your face? What medicine are you using?"
Brulee:...
"Katakuri is an idiot! An idiot!"
Katakuri:???
Watching Brulee run away, Katakuri was completely bewildered—he felt Brulee had been acting strangely lately; could she be cursed by some special Devil Fruit ability?
That shouldn't be! If I had been hit, how could I not have sensed it with my Observation Haki?
"Katakuri, really... Brulee is obviously wearing makeup!" Smoker reminded him from the side.
She still has a say in this matter. Although she is a female pirate, Smoker, who is in her early twenties, still insists on going to work in full armor!
"Makeup? Why?" Katakuri was even more confused.
Because of Katakuri's mistake, Brulee's face was slashed when she was a child, which made her extremely sensitive to her appearance and she was once terrified of mirrors. Even now, when using the Mirror-Mirror Devil Fruit ability, she never looks in a normal mirror, and naturally, she never wears makeup.
"Well... it's usually because you have someone you like... cough cough, or maybe something else..."
Smoker was speaking when she suddenly realized something was wrong, and she and Katakuri both fell silent.
If you've found someone you like during these few days, and they're on a ship...
Excluding siblings from the same mother, it seems there are only two possibilities?
Moreover... choosing between a Vampire and a Fish-Man is relatively less annoying is really a difficult task!
If Brulee is... that's a rather terrifying guess!
"Katakuri, could it be that Vampire...?" Smoker suspected that Brulee had been bewitched by his evil magic.
"Impossible! His Devil Fruit ability couldn't possibly evade my Observation Haki." Katakuri was naturally wary of this.
Smoker fell silent. She and Brulee weren't actually very close, given their ten-year age difference and Brulee's somewhat witchy personality; aside from her older brothers and sisters, she didn't have a very good relationship with her younger siblings.
Katakuri thought for a moment, then said, "You don't need to guess. We'll be in Whole Cake Island soon, and then... I'll take care of it!"
Katakuri used the word "solve," not "ask."
Siegfried was nominally a guest of the Big Mom Pirates. Although he was being watched and would never be allowed to leave, he was treated with courtesy.
To Sig's slight surprise, Katakuri came looking for him as soon as he arrived at Butter Island on the border.
"Vladimir, Katakuri is looking for you," Brulee said to the shadow.
"Alright, Miss Brulee, please take a step forward." The Fish-Man's shadow Distortion into the outline of Vampire, and his voice came from bloodshot eyes.
Upon hearing this, Brulee blushed—unfortunately, her face was completely hidden by thick makeup.
Brulee and Enel's necks met...
Of course, it refers to the head of the shadow!
The next moment, Brulee's shadow Distortion into the shape of Vampire.
"Thank you for your trouble, Miss Brulee." Sig continued to maintain the persona of "Vladimir," who cannot be exposed to the Sun and whose physical strength is greatly depleted when appearing in the shadows.
"Hmph!" Brulee looked at Enel, raised her chin, and then turned and left.
Enel:???
Is it too late for me to run away now?
However, she had only taken half a step back when Smoker shoved her from behind.
Huh? This Fish-Man... why is he pretending to be so weak?
"Come with me, and don't get any funny ideas," Smoker said, frowning.
On the other hand, Brulee brings "Vladimir" to Katakuri.
"Come out!" Katakuri shouted as soon as he saw her, startling Brulee.
He immediately realized that his brother was talking to "Vladimir," Sig readily transformed into a shadow and floated onto Katakuri's shadow.
"Katakuri- san, I'll be going now if there's nothing else." Brulee sounded somewhat anxious.
Katakuri:...
They never used to act like this; they always wanted to stay here a little longer than usual!
However, this reaction slightly reduced Katakuri's hostility towards "Vladimir"—it seemed it wasn't this Vampire.
If it's that Fish-Man...
Relatively speaking, it seems to be slightly less repulsive.
However, after Brulee left, Katakuri, his face still etched with anger, demanded of Sig, "What happened to Brulee? What did you do to her?"
Sig read the fighting spirit in Katakuri's eyes. Although Katakuri did not unleash his Conqueror's Haki in order not to alert Brulee, Sig could sense that if he said "I don't know" or made excuses, Katakuri would choose to fight him.
"I guess they must have tasted the sweetness of love." Sig didn't elaborate, saying he hadn't done anything.
Katakuri is now purely taking his anger out on Sieg. If Sig really did something, he would have been able to find out, and Sig could sense that he didn't actually suspect him of doing anything.
"So you're just going to watch?" Katakuri asked indignantly.
"Hmm? Your Excellency Katakuri, is there something wrong with what I did? Your Queen Charlotte, you just wanted to gain the assistance and loyalty of that 'Sea King,' right? Well... isn't this perfect?"
"It'll also solve my brother-in-law's single status, and I'll have something to explain to his sister later, "Sig added to himself.
Katakuri, merely looked at Sig coldly.
Sig couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly—these pirate overlords were really hard to deal with; this was probably what they meant by "trusting someone only to be doubted, being loyal only to be slandered."
I, "Vladimir," always complete my missions so thoroughly, why don't they ever appreciate my efforts?
"After that, you'll hide in my shadow and come with me to see Mom. Don't do anything else," Katakuri said coldly.
Well, although Katakuri didn't sense that he was using his Devil Fruit ability, he still felt that the Vampire had instigated it.
Sig could only silently protest his innocence.
However, as the temporary strategist of the Big Mom Pirates, Sig obediently attached himself to Katakuri —although this was of no benefit whatsoever. After all, Katakuri's Observation Haki was too strong, and Sig dared not use Observation Haki to analyze his body. Moreover, unlike with Kaido, Sig did not have a corresponding "Artificial Devil Fruit" to refer to. Simply by being in the shadow, Sig could not analyze his body at all.
During the brief moment when he was in his younger brother and sister-in-law's shadow, Sig didn't dare to do anything because he was afraid of Katakuri, and besides, it was only for a short while, so he couldn't do anything anyway.
Those guys who use Observation Haki to stare at others are really annoying!
It's a pity that Enel's Copy-Copy Fruit couldn't also imitate the Devil Fruit ability; otherwise, Sig would have had a good way to analyze Devil Fruits in the future...
As for why Big Mom wanted to see him, a mere Vampire, first, instead of the Sea King she had clearly cared about before, Sig judged the reason from Katakuri's obvious emotions—it was because Big Mom had just given birth, and no matter how strong she was, she would be relatively weak for two or three days, perhaps even weaker than Katakuri.
Vampire are "treacherous villains with ulterior motives," Sea King is "a very important collaborator waiting to be won over." Naturally, it would be more prudent to meet the latter after fully restoring Aquaman's authority as the pirate overlord; otherwise, he might be underestimated...
As for this Vampire?
If he dares to try anything funny, just kill him. Katakuri has disliked him for a long time...