Oak fell silent after hearing Mother Carmel's account. He had never imagined the truth would be anything like this.
Linlin hadn't been possessed. More precisely, Mother Carmel had tried and failed to possess her. Thanks to her potential for Conqueror's Haki, Linlin had swallowed Mother Carmel's soul without even realizing it.
Oak wasn't the only one at a loss for words. Newgate, Shiki, Kaido, and the others had heard everything too. It was the strangest thing any of them had ever heard.
"I... I've told you everything. Can you let me go?"
Mother Carmel's pleading voice rang in Oak's ears.
"Put me back inside Linlin. I'll influence her and make her obey you from now on. She'll become your most loyal fighter!"
"Besides, the Linlin you've known all these years was the one formed after she and I merged. You never built those bonds with the original Linlin. What difference does it make who she is?!"
Mother Carmel was willing to offer even that to save her life. And she had a point.
The Linlin Oak and the others had known all these years wasn't the original Linlin. She was the result of two people merging. Mother Carmel's proposal would cost Oak nothing. But...
Oak didn't agree. He swept a cold gaze over the glimmer of Mother Carmel's consciousness, then released an even greater surge of Conqueror's Haki without hesitation.
Crackle!
The powerful Conqueror's Haki obliterated her consciousness in an instant.
He wouldn't dare work with someone like her. She might stab him in the back at any moment. He could easily suppress her with his strength, but by then, Linlin would be ruined too.
"Aah—"
With one last scream, Mother Carmel vanished without a trace.
"What are you going to do now?"
Newgate and the others gathered around. They