"What are your conditions? Tell me!"
Katakuri lay on the ground, struggling to speak. He had been defeated by Frodeku. He knew he shouldn't mess with Vic, but his mother wouldn't listen and even made those almost humiliating demands!
For ordinary people, it would be one thing—they'd be lucky to have his mother's blessing. But Vic is no ordinary person, so this outcome is to be expected. He doesn't resent Vic; if Vic could let them go, that would be the best outcome. What condition wouldn't he agree to?
He had always disagreed with many of his mother's actions, but he couldn't persuade her otherwise. This time, he had been thwarted by Vic, and he hoped that his mother would change her ways.
Three conditions!
First: I want to take Wendy's family and country with me.
Second: I heard that your pirate crew has Road Poneglyph, and I want to make a copy.
Third: Compensate our pirate crew with 2 billion Beli, and if you agree, this matter will be over!
Vic's three conditions are essentially meaningless; as long as he defeats Big Mom's pirate crew, all three conditions will be met, and he'll receive even more money.
The Big Mom Pirates have been operating their territory for so many years, they must have a lot of money. Two billion Beli is probably less than a tenth of theirs. However, Vic never intended to kill Big Mom; getting some benefits would be enough for him.
"I can agree to these three conditions; I hope you'll keep your word!"
Katakuri breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Vic's conditions. He could make his own decisions regarding these three conditions, and it didn't matter that his mother had already fainted.
He was genuinely afraid that Vic would propose some conditions that they would find unacceptable, and he was also very grateful to Mantis, the older brother who had persuaded Vic!
As for Vic, he admired him greatly. Whether in terms of strength or in his conduct, Vic could have easily taken over their entire pirate crew, but he didn't.
Furthermore, Vic's willingness to confront one of the World's Strongest for the sake of a crewmate makes him undoubtedly one of the best captains in the New World. This is evident even from the fact that Whitebeard didn't send his entire crew to avenge Oden's death at the hands of Kaido.
While it might also be related to the fact that Oden is no longer officially a member of the Whitebeard Pirates Oden, and Whitebeard could be considered the best pirate captain if he were to fight the entire Navy for Ace in the future, that hasn't happened yet, and there might also be some Whitebeard motives involved. So for now, only Vic can be the best captain.
"Okay, then go and prepare your things!"
After retrieving the Blood Wither Dew, Vic said, then withdrew his Speed Domain. The newly Awakening Devil Fruit ability was still quite taxing on his stamina.
Previously, Vic thought that once a Devil Fruit ability Awakening, it would no longer consume stamina. However, after Awakening, he realized that it still required stamina, and the stronger the ability, the greater the consumption. Perhaps only when he became God of Law could he use these abilities at will without consuming stamina! Vic thought to himself.
With Vic stopping, Rebecca and the others also ceased their attacks, but they remained vigilant. After all, this was the lair of the Emperor of the Sea, and they couldn't be too careful.
While Vic wasn't too worried about accidents, he was more pleased that his crew was being cautious. This showed that their pirate crew was already a very mature crew with outstanding combat power, though they were a bit short-handed.
The rest was simple. Katakuri, dragging his injured body, directed affairs on Whole Cake Island: treating his siblings' injuries, appeasing the wedding guests, preparing Vic's money and the Poneglyph rubbings, and making proper arrangements for Wendy's family and country, all while waiting for Vic to collect them.
As for Vic, apart from Wendy going to find her father and mother, everyone else was doing fine. Some were touring Whole Cake Island, while others were summarizing the lessons learned from the battle.
Meanwhile, Frodeku returned to the pirate ship to oversee the ship, while Vic went directly to Morgans, who was trying to slip away during the chaos, and obtained Morgans ' Vivre Card through coercion and enticement.
This was something Morgans had never even given to the World Government. Although Morgans obeyed the World Government's orders to release news, he was essentially a journalist who always wanted to create some earth-shattering Big News Morgans. He knew that he was destined to be hated by the World Government and even be killed to silence him in the future!
Therefore, he never gives the World Government any opportunity to take advantage of him, and he almost never appears in front of the people in the World Government. Forget about getting his Vivre Card; how could he possibly let his whereabouts be exposed to the World Government?
But he dared not refuse Vic. He had offended Vic long ago. Even though he was acting under the orders of the Five Elders, he was still an accomplice, and Vic had enough reason to kill him.
Seeing Vic's strength, he dared not try to outsmart Vic and could only hand over his weakness to Vic. With this weakness, Vic could find him at any time, and he could also have a say in the news in the World Economy News. It was an unexpected bonus from coming to Whole Cake Island.
Katakuri had everything ready by the next day. Two billion Beli sounds like a lot, but it's actually not that much. Luffy and Nami got two bags of gold on Sky Island and exchanged them for a few hundred million Beli, so it really doesn't take up much space. The warehouse on the pirate ship can hold it all.
As for the rubbing of the Road Poneglyph, Vic didn't even glance at it before tossing it into the pile of gold. Katakuri wouldn't dare fool him into giving him a fake; Vic could come to Whole Cake Island and cause a ruckus at any time, so there was no need for him to do so.
Furthermore, he could give outsiders the illusion that he couldn't understand Ancient Script and that no one could decipher them. If he wanted to live peacefully for the next decade or so, he couldn't let the World Government know that he could decipher the Poneglyph.
It gives others the impression that collecting Road Poneglyph is just following the trend, since people with Whitebeard and Big Mom have them, but they can only look at them and no one can recognize the Ancient Script on them.
In any case, Vic did it flawlessly, so it didn't matter even if Stussy, the government agent, was watching. Vic only knew that she was a government agent, but he didn't know that she was an undercover agent planted by Vegapunk. So it was all for Stussy's benefit, to let her pass this information to the Five Elders. As for whether Stussy undercover agent, would pass it on, that depended on Vegapunk's wishes.
Having resolved these matters, Vic's pirate ship, guided by Wendy's parents, sailed towards the edge of Totto Land Island, the location of Wendy's country.
The people on Whole Cake Island finally breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Vic's pirate ship leave. They had been on tenterhooks as long as Vic was there. Mont-d'Or finally dared to release Big Mom from the Book World.
Katakuri was afraid that his mother would act foolishly again after regaining her senses and provoke Vic again, so he had Mont-d'Or do this. After all, it would be too embarrassing for the Emperor of the Sea to be defeated and have to pay compensation.
He knew his mother's personality; she would definitely go berserk if she knew Vic's conditions. Even if she couldn't beat him, she would still fight back and get beaten to death by Vic. Even though he disliked many of his mother's actions, she was still his mother, the protector of his brothers and sisters, and he couldn't let her really die.
The Big Mom was still unconscious after emerging from the Book World, but she soon regained consciousness. Her first instinct was to look for Vic, but she only saw her children surrounding her.
Since Vic had already left, Katakuri told her what had happened after she left, and Big Mom immediately exploded, wanting to chase after Vic and fight her again.