Linlin's Temptation

"Are you going or not?"

Hearing Katakuri's urging, Oak tilted his head and thought.

When he had first landed on Hachinosu, Linlin's beauty had dazzled him, making him forget something very serious: Linlin was already thirty-four this year!

Age had not originally been a problem. Even at thirty-four, Linlin remained breathtakingly beautiful, at the most mature and graceful stage of a woman's life. Every inch of her exuded a unique charm, but...

But the key point was that Linlin, at this age, was already the mother of more than a dozen children...

Her eldest son Perospero was six. Katakuri, Daifuku, and Oven were four-year-old triplets. Opera, Counter, Cadenza, Cavendish, and Gala were two-year-old quintuplets. Cracker was one and had yet to be weaned, while Zickert had been born just two months ago.

Then there was her eldest daughter Compote, who was five. Mondée, Amande, Hachée, and Effilée were three-year-old quadruplets. Custard and Angel were Cracker's twin sisters, also one year old.

And it seemed she was carrying another two children who would not be born until next year.

Oak counted carefully on his fingers. Even without the two in her belly, Linlin already had eighteen children. Since she was twenty-eight, not a single year had gone by without her having children, and she would occasionally produce triplets, quadruplets, or quintuplets at a time.

Most importantly, all those children had different fathers, yet Oak had never seen any of Linlin's husbands. When he asked Linlin, she merely said she never paid attention to useless trash once they had served their purpose.

When he asked Miss Buckin, who spent every day with Newgate, Buckin only gave him a knowing, half-smiling look.

All of this made Oak hesitate greatly when faced with a certain incredibly tempting invitation Linlin had offered him.

But...

"Linlin's legs..."

"Pah!"

"Linlin's doughnuts really are delicious!"

Thinking of the food at Linlin's home, he ultimately could not resist the temptation. He went to Linlin's house for dinner again and again, and this time was no exception.

"Let's go!"

He leaped down from Kaido's back, placed little Katakuri on his shoulders, and strode away without looking back, leaving Kaido behind alone.

"This guy!"

Seeing that he had once again been left by himself, Kaido helplessly rolled his eyes and stood there alone, feeling melancholy.

Meanwhile, outside Linlin's manor on the island, a frail, skeletal "old man" with a head of white hair knocked on the gate.

"Linlin, cough, cough, cough..."

"It's me. Please open the door. At least let me see my child being born..."

The "old man" spoke weakly, stopping to cough after every few words. He seemed to be in terrible condition, but before he could finish, a short man jumped out from inside the manor.

"Cough, cough, cough... Streusen, where's Linlin?"

The "old man" looked at Streusen and asked pitifully.

"Linlin told you to get lost!"

However, Streusen did not answer his question at all. He grabbed the man by the neck and hurled him far away.

Bang!

The "old man" landed in a street amid a cluster of buildings in the distance. The impact made him cough up a mouthful of blood.

"Who is that guy?"

Someone on the street looked at him in confusion.

"He seems to be that down-and-out prince from Provence?"

Someone recognized him.

"But how did he end up like this? Just a year ago..."

The person who recognized the "old man" was puzzled. When he had seen this man a year ago, the man had still looked like a handsome, dashing fallen noble, and had been remarkably burly.

But now...

Looking at this shriveled "old man," less than a meter tall, his hair completely white, as though he could drop dead at any moment, it was impossible to connect the two images to the same person.

What had happened to him?

"Mamamama~"

When Oak arrived at Linlin's manor, Linlin was seated in her place, stuffing all kinds of desserts into her mouth. Upon seeing him, she let out her signature laugh, rose to her feet, and opened her arms in welcome.

"Oak, you're finally here! I've been waiting for you for so long!"

Linlin's laugh was unique even then, but it had not yet become as eerie as it would in the future. To Oak's ears, it was actually quite pleasant. When Linlin pulled him into a powerful embrace, Oak nearly suffocated.

"Boss Linlin!"

After taking a deep, luxurious breath, Oak reluctantly struggled free from her embrace, narrowly avoiding being drowned by the surging undercurrents.

After escaping Linlin's embrace, he swept his gaze around the room and found that not only was Linlin there, but the Gourmet Knight Streusen was as well. Linlin's dozen or so children were also present.

The youngest, Cracker and Zickert, were being held in Streusen's arms, with Streusen playing the role of a nanny.

"What do you think of my previous proposal?

Join with me and have a child. The child would possess both my Steel Bone Balloon and your steel-sinewed, iron-boned talent. Then he would definitely be the most gifted child on these seas.

Mamamama~ Just thinking about it makes me happy. Once that child grows up, the three of us will join forces, and these seas will be ours!"

Linlin lowered her head and whispered into Oak's ear, her voice brimming with temptation.

She was obsessed with children. She believed only her own children counted as family and could be trusted. She wanted to build a family-based team in the future, which was why she kept seeking powerful men of different races and physiques to bear her children.

Before Oak, she had approached Newgate, Golden Lion, and even Rocks, but all of them had refused. Kaido had originally been her next target, but after seeing Oak and Kaido fight last time, she had come to appreciate Oak's talent even more. She believed Oak's steel-sinewed, iron-boned physique was no weaker than her Steel Bone Balloon. If the two of them joined together, they would surely create the strongest body on these seas.

However, Oak was extremely slippery. Whenever they discussed this topic before, he would still eat the food and enjoy everything he was supposed to enjoy, but whenever it came to the crucial moment...

"Cough, cough."

Oak coughed twice to hide his embarrassment, then changed the subject.

"Let's eat first, let's eat first. I'm starving. Katakuri, save me a seat!"

As he spoke, he squeezed himself down between Katakuri and Perospero and began stuffing those delicious desserts into his mouth.

And later that night, when only the two of them remained, Linlin brought up that topic again.

"Let's talk about it later. You've still got two in your belly right now!"

Oak, like a small horse pulling a big cart, mumbled indistinctly. Thus, when he left the next morning rubbing his lower back, it seemed as though he had done everything, yet left nothing behind, leaving Linlin gritting her teeth at him in helpless frustration.