Charlotte, One After Another

The battle had lasted only a dozen-odd minutes, yet Ryugu Palace had nearly been reduced to ruins. All its magnificent decorations had collapsed and gathered dust, no longer resembling their former splendor.

Mobius rolled his neck, his expression thoughtful as he continued to savor the earlier battle.

There was no doubt that a vast gap still separated him from a powerhouse like Kaido. When one force broke through ten thousand techniques, he was the "ten thousand techniques" being broken.

"No wonder Kaido said that Haki was the power that transcended all else. No matter how bizarre a Devil Fruit ability may be, powerful Haki can suppress it."

"Of course, it's merely a matter of water and fire. Devil Fruit abilities are powerful too, and Haki cannot completely block them."

Thinking of how Kaido had forcibly smashed the Poneglyph out of his body with Haki, and how the future Barrier-Barrier Fruit user Bartolomeo had lost to Red-Hair's crew—

Mobius knew that he still had a long way to go.

"Still, my path is by no means wrong."

Without the multiple Devil Fruits within his body, Mobius would not even have had the chance to stand before Kaido, much less advance further.

With his resolve reaffirmed, Mobius extended his hand again and slowly clenched it.

A surge of Haki emerged, more solid and more powerful than before, gleaming with an obsidian-like luster.

Teacher Kaido's tempering was truly terrifying. After only a few exchanges, Mobius had already benefited immensely.

"Advanced Armament Haki, the advanced application of Armament Haki... flowing Haki..."

Next, he needed to master that. Every one of Kaido's attacks earlier had not only involved flowing Armament Haki, but Conqueror's Haki Coating as well.

After taking enough beatings, enlightenment naturally came.

"Conqueror's Haki?"

As that thought crossed his mind, Mobius gradually shifted his senses behind him. Another conflict was about to erupt there, and two surges of Haki even stronger than Kaido's were gathering.

Whitebeard's arrival had been expected. After all, Fish-Man Island did not yet have a flag protecting it.

As for the giant king Harald...

Mobius did the math. According to memories from his previous life, Harald was currently willing to serve as a lapdog for the sake of peace and Elbaf joining the World Government.

Tiger had caused havoc in the Holy Land, while the Celestial Dragons rarely descended to the lower world. Naturally, dirty work like this had to be handled by Harald.

But given that Harald and Neptune were close enough to discuss becoming in-laws through their children, Mobius felt that the naive giant king truly hoped someone would stop him.

His arrival only now was probably because he had seen Whitebeard's movements and intended to make it look as though they had arrived one after the other.

A massive roar had already erupted, as if two colossal monsters were locked in battle.

Mobius sensed the situation for a moment before naturally turning away. There was no doubt that they were staging a fake fight over there.

Heading first to where Jinbe had fallen, Mobius found the unconscious blue fatty, pulled him from the rubble, and placed him off to the side.

"I'm lacking an ability to heal others."

After pondering for a while, Mobius's thoughts drifted to Dressrosa, not far from Fish-Man Island.

The Heal-Heal Fruit should be there. He would find a chance to take it.

Foreknowledge brought him plenty of information, but it also troubled Mobius somewhat.

There were too many good things, and he did not know how to obtain them all at once. It also conflicted somewhat with his desire to experience the wonders of the sea.

All he could do was make plans and let nature take its course.

As he thought, Mobius made his way into the depths of Ryugu Palace. This place was much sturdier than the outside, but it was no less silent.

A large number of servants had fallen unconscious under the pressure of Haki. Fortunately, as Mobius made his way here, he found that few were in mortal danger.

In only two or three minutes, Mobius found Neptune's location. When sensing presences, the largest one was obvious.

But...

Mobius frowned. Why were there unfamiliar presences here too?

There were four auras. One was formidable, two were somewhat weaker, and the last was the weakest.

They were moving in the same direction as Mobius. The moment he detected them, the strongest among them faintly sensed him as well.

Both sides froze instantly. Mobius narrowed his eyes as dragon scales appeared over his hand. Electric waves spread outward, and he vaguely seemed to hear voices.

Thanks to Enel's abilities in the original story, Mobius had also been trying to use electrical currents to eavesdrop on others, though it only worked intermittently.

"...Katakuri, what..."

"Someone, he..."

"What do we do... Brother..."

"Kill..."

"No... calm down..."

Picking out the keywords, Mobius roughly figured out who they were.

"The Charlotte Family?"

The main course was over. Now came the dessert.

Sizzle—

An unruffled aura spread out as Mobius transformed into a dragon once more, his savage presence bearing down on them.

On the other side, Katakuri abruptly raised his head. He reached into his mochi-like body and pulled out a long trident, its tip flashing with cold light.

"Katakuri, what's going on?"

Charlotte Daifuku immediately became alert. Among the three brothers, he knew Katakuri had cultivated the strongest Observation Haki.

"An enemy."

After that simple, decisive response, red light flashed in Katakuri's eyes.

It was...

Boom!

A violent shockwave slammed forward, instantly shattering the wall before them.

Dust billowed through the air as a tall, agile dragon-man with crimson skin appeared, sporting fangs, sharp teeth, and a long tail.

"This..."

Katakuri's pupils shrank. He seemed to have seen this appearance somewhere before!

Mobius revealed himself and looked down at the people before him.

A long white scarf like a chain, black jeans, spur-tipped leather boots, a tall build, well-trained legs—Charlotte Katakuri.

Blond hair, no leg training, a broad upper body, and two large round ornaments of unclear purpose on his shoulders—Charlotte Daifuku.

Orange hair, comparatively well-trained legs, a clover-shaped hairstyle, bare chest, and a cape—Charlotte Oven.

The last one had a white face, red nose, straw-like hair, a thin upper body, and a broad lower body. Ignoring his limbs, he looked like a roly-poly doll—Charlotte Mont-d'Or.

The Mochi-Mochi Fruit, Puff Puff Fruit, Heat-Heat Fruit, and Book-Book Fruit...

Mobius twisted his neck and revealed a slightly greedy smile. All he saw were four walking Devil Fruits.

Cold light immediately flared in Katakuri's eyes. They had also come for Tiger, but Kaido had beaten them to it. Left with no alternative, they had come to Ryugu Palace intending to take Neptune hostage.

Totto Land had been built atop the ruins of several fallen nations, so the Charlotte Family was highly skilled at dealing with national powers.

Moreover, for Big Mom's celebration, the Charlotte Family needed to destroy multiple countries solely to find ingredients that would satisfy their mother.

If they took Neptune hostage, they could surely force him to hand Tiger over.

As for Kaido, they could only wait for time to drive him away.

"Charlotte Katakuri, a member of the Big Mom Pirates. What are you doing here?"

Out of courtesy, Mobius asked before the battle.

Katakuri took a deep breath and stepped forward, determination appearing in his eyes.

"Mobius, we know of you. You call yourself a newcomer from the Naval Science Unit. Not long ago, you defeated the supernova Avalo Pizarro on Thunder God Island. You are a man with great potential."

"Not just potential, right?" Mobius smiled meaningfully. "Who did you think was fighting Kaido earlier?"

What!?

Katakuri was shocked again and looked outside. Then who was fighting now?

Steadying himself, Katakuri reached out to calm Daifuku and Oven beside him. Then he took another step forward and said, "We greatly admire your potential. If you are willing, you may join us and become part of the Charlotte Family."

The greatest difference between the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates was that Totto Land had more than one strategist.

Katakuri in particular had recognized Mobius as a dangerous individual at first sight. Fortunately, Mobius was still unaffiliated for now. If they could recruit him, that would be for the best.

"Join you?" Mobius tilted his head and said earnestly, "I'm not really suited to becoming your father."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Katakuri's face darkened. He restrained himself from raising his trident and spoke again.

"What I mean is, you can marry our sister and become part of the Charlotte Family."

"A political marriage?" Mobius smiled and shook his head. Was he really this popular now? Not only Kaido, but even Totto Land wanted to recruit him.

"Then I'll have to decline. But I do quite appreciate you. How about coming over to my side instead? Perhaps I can help you take your younger brothers and sisters away from your mother."

"Shut up!"

The instant those words left his mouth, Katakuri knew there was no longer any possibility of reconciliation. Daifuku beside him erupted in fury. He was absolutely loyal to the family and could not tolerate betrayal or failure.

"You're dead!"

Daifuku violently rubbed his abdomen and roared. Purple smoke gathered, gradually forming a genie.

The genie resembled one from a magic lamp, with a large beard, a white headscarf, bulging muscles, and a naginata in hand. It swung down at Mobius's head.

Demon Slash!

"Too slow."

Mobius's eyes paused. Compared to Kaido from moments ago, this man was far too weak.

Crack!

Mobius casually raised a dragon claw and caught the genie's naginata in a single grasp. The overwhelming force left the genie looking horrified.

How was that possible!?

Daifuku was even more bewildered, rubbing his abdomen with increasing force.

"Move, Genie!"

Thunder Roar!

He opened his mouth and spat out gleaming lightning, which immediately flooded the entire corridor and nearly covered it completely.

"Not good!"

Katakuri acted without hesitation, flashing directly in front of the Thunder Roar as both his hands turned to mochi.

Mochi Pounding!