The Sweet Commanders

"That voice... Lola?"

Charlotte Linlin was visibly taken aback. Then her tone turned angry. "You bastard daughter, you actually dared to contact me! You know, don't you? Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused me, Lola?!"

Lola was struck speechless, her mind a complete mess.

Then Samael laughed.

"Kyahahaha, sorry to interrupt, but it's my turn to talk. Shut your mouths, all of you!"

Lola: "..."

Charlotte Linlin: "..."

The air suddenly fell silent.

After a long while, Charlotte Linlin finally spoke again. "Who are you?"

"One of the Seven Deadly Sins, Samael the Wrathful. You'd better remember that, idiot!"

Are you religious types really this bold?!

Lola's jaw nearly hit the floor. In all her life, this was the first time she had seen anyone dare speak to Mama like that.

Charlotte Linlin laughed in anger. "Never heard of you. Where did a bug like you crawl out from?"

"Cut the crap, old hag. I hereby deliver an ultimatum to you in accordance with my lord's will."

Samael curled his lip. "If you want your daughter to return to you safely, make sure you have one... no, a whole box of Devil Fruits ready!"

Dimon, who had been following the situation, nearly burst out laughing at the brat.

He had only wanted a ransom of at least one fruit, but this guy had gone and raised it to a whole box.

He was using a different unit altogether!

"Where did this madman come from?" Charlotte Linlin said disdainfully. "I'd be delighted if you killed that fool for me! And you want a ransom from me? Who do you think I am?!"

Her roar made the air in the room tremble.

Lola jumped in fright, but her eyes dimmed immediately afterward. She hadn't expected Mama to say that.

Samael curled his lip. "Cut the crap. I know what you're after!

Loki, the giant prince of Elbaf, likes your daughter, doesn't he?

Without her, can you still mend your relationship with the giants in the future?

Kyahahaha, I wouldn't mind sending your daughter's head to Elbaf for your future son-in-law to have a good look at.

I can hardly wait to see how that giant prince reacts when he sees the head of the woman he loves.

Kyahaha... kyahahahaha!"

That laugh sounds way too much like a villain's, doesn't it?

In the captain's cabin, Dimon couldn't help commenting to himself. How had this brat gotten so bizarre? He remembered that Samael hadn't been like this when he was first animated.

Bang!

Suddenly, something smashed, and Charlotte Linlin's furious voice rang out:

"You're dead, you little brat!!!"

Chapter 28: The Sweet Commanders

After Charlotte Linlin issued her threat, the Thought Waves were cut off. Evidently, she had hung up the Den Den Mushi.

Samael's unrestrained laughter stopped abruptly. It wasn't that he was afraid of a Four Emperor coming after him; the word "fear" simply wasn't in his dictionary.

"Did I ask for too much?"

He scratched his head. His master had put him in charge of this operation, and the mission had only one requirement: obtain a ransom of at least one fruit.

"Are you using me as leverage to extort Mama?"

Lola was dejected, drooping like an eggplant hit by frost.

This was her first conversation with Big Mom since she had left the family and formed her own pirate crew.

She hadn't expected the mother who had doted on her as a child to want her dead now.

"It's no use. I did something before that completely enraged Mama."

"What did you do?" Samael frowned.

"I admit your organization has impressive intelligence, but what you don't know is..."

After a pause, Lola continued, "Loki did propose to me, and Mama agreed, but I refused. I didn't want Mama controlling my life, so I chose to run away!"

"You ran away from the marriage?"

His master hadn't mentioned this to him, so Samael really hadn't known.

He rubbed his chin and came up with an idea:

"Then if I send you back, won't that old hag have to thank me? What's wrong with giving me a box of Devil Fruits as thanks? Is a Four Emperor really that stingy?!"

A box... How can he even say that?

Lola couldn't understand how this flame monster's mind worked. She had never heard of anyone counting Devil Fruits by the box.

Even in the New World, Devil Fruits were scarce. Not everyone in the Charlotte Family had powers, so where were they supposed to find a whole box of Devil Fruits?

"If you're after Devil Fruits, I can find a way to get some. Please let me go first."

Lola made her suggestion.

Samael chuckled. "You think I'd believe you?"

"Can I meet your master? I want to talk to him in person. What's your master's name? Maybe we know each other."

Lola suspected that, since these people had appeared only a few days after Moria captured her, they seemed to know her whereabouts and most likely knew her. But she had no idea when she might have offended this organization.

"You think you can meet my lord just because you want to?"

Samael couldn't be bothered with her. He turned and left the punishment room.

A question suddenly occurred to him.

What was his master's real name?

He didn't think he had ever heard his master mention it!

"Wait, at least give me something to eat! I'm starving! You don't want to lose me as a hostage, do you?"

Samael didn't react. Lola watched him leave, and when the door closed again, the punishment room fell silent.

Lola sighed. At this point, there was nothing she could do.

Mama had her Vivre Card. Judging by her earlier reaction, someone might soon come to "rescue" her.

Or... kill her!

The captain's cabin.

Samael came to report.

In fact, there was no need for him to report in person. Dimon had been following the situation the whole time.

"Master, that old hag doesn't seem willing to pay the ransom."

"She will."

Dimon smiled, completely certain.

Charlotte Linlin might have shouted all those threats, but in fact, she wouldn't dare let Lola die so easily.

As long as Lola was alive, she still had leverage to mend her relationship with the giants.

Once Lola died, there would be no room left to turn things around.

Of course, all of that depended on whether they could withstand the trouble coming their way.

"Charlotte Linlin has Lola's Vivre Card. She can use it to find us at any time."

"Is that old hag coming after us herself?"

Samael's eyes lit up. Far from being afraid, he couldn't wait to fight a Four Emperor.

Dimon had already thought of a countermeasure. He spoke unhurriedly:

"She won't act rashly. As one of the pirate emperors, she has countless Navy informants watching her. The moment she leaves her stronghold, the Navy will hear about it. When that happens, the Navy might launch a military strike against her first."

The Navy wouldn't lightly go to war with a Four Emperor. It needed permission from higher up-in other words, approval from the World Government.

At the same time, however, the Navy wouldn't turn a blind eye and let the Four Emperors act as they pleased.

Navy surveillance ships were scattered throughout the New World, keeping close watch on the Four Emperors' movements.

Thus, Dimon could confidently conclude that Charlotte Linlin wouldn't come in person.

"Oh, is that so?"

Samael looked disappointed.

Dimon smiled. "She'll send someone to test our strength. There's no telling exactly who it'll be. That's actually a good thing for us."

The Four Emperors were the Four Emperors not only because of their own extraordinary strength, but also because each commanded a vast force.

The most important members of Big Mom's forces were her children.

And foremost among them were the Sweet Commanders!

"She might send one of the Sweet Commanders. When the time comes, I'll leave them to you. Don't kill them; capture them alive!"

From the start, Dimon had never expected Lola alone to make a Four Emperor bow her head and pay a ransom.

But what if they added a second, or even a third and fourth?

Samael's eyes burned-literally. Flames actually sprang from them!

"Rest assured, Master. Leave it to me, kyahahaha!"

"Tone down that grin. You look a little creepy, brat. Anyway, head to the Sabaody Archipelago first."

Meanwhile.

The New World, Totto Land Waters, Whole Cake Island, the main island of Totto Land.

The entire island was itself a giant, multilayered cream cake. Its mountains were made of sponge cake, covered in frosting and topped with candied fruit, while rivers of colorful fruit juice flowed through its forests.

Anyone setting foot on the island for the first time would be shocked by the rich sweetness in the air.

Even the air here really was sweet!

At that moment, in Whole Cake Chateau Castle at the center of Whole Cake Island.

Charlotte Linlin, the Queen of Totto Land, flew into a rage and hurled the Den Den Mushi in her hand away.

The tables, beds, books, and stools around her, all given "souls," fell silent and trembled with fear.

"Mama."

A gentle female voice came from outside the door.

Charlotte Linlin sensed her with Observation Haki. "Pudding?"

"It's me, Mama. The kitchen has prepared your favorite afternoon tea."

The door opened, and a girl of eleven or twelve entered the room. Her light brown, wavy hair was tied in twin tails.

She carried an exquisite dessert. Seeing her mother's ashen face, she couldn't help asking softly:

"Did someone upset you?"

"Hmph, a bug."

Charlotte Linlin plopped down in her spacious chair. She watched Pudding for a while before smiling.

"Unlike that fool Lola, you really are dear to me, Pudding."

Pudding's cheeks flushed, and she looked like a well-behaved girl, utterly endearing.