"Everyone, this way please. Mama has been waiting for a long time."
Smoothie led Zeraora, Tesoro, and the others toward the center of Whole Cake Island, but Katakuri did not follow them.
With the wedding approaching, Katakuri has been especially busy lately.
A while ago, Charlotte Linlin would still make some decisions personally, but as the days passed, her mood began to grow unstable, and her anticipation for the wedding cake intensified.
In this situation, the heavy responsibilities of the crew fell back onto Katakuri and Perospero. Welcoming the guests at the port had already been time set aside especially for courtesy.
Once he had conveyed everything he wanted to say, Katakuri left to handle more important matters. Judging by how he left in a hurry right after taking a phone call, it was clear something urgent had come up.
Pekoms was left to take over his share of the duty of welcoming guests.
Due to various historical reasons, Zeraora and Setsuna were the ones who had appeared here the most, so Pekoms, as a Mink, became the ambassador for receiving guests.
They were almost at their destination when Smoothie stopped to take a call. Judging by her expression, it didn't seem like good news.
"Everyone, Mama has something to attend to right now. Let me take you to your resting place first. The wedding will be held the day after tomorrow, so seeing Mama tomorrow will be just the same."
"Do you need any help?"
"No, it's fine. We can handle this ourselves."
Smoothie didn't explain, but with trouble brewing on Whole Cake Island, Zeraora could easily guess what was happening. Not far from them, it was clear something was causing rampant destruction.
There weren't many who could pull off such chaos in the heart of Whole Cake Island; the most likely culprit was Charlotte Linlin herself.
Given Katakuri's hurried departure and Smoothie's expression now, it was pretty much certain that Charlotte Linlin's eating disorder had flared up again.
Unless they desperately needed an ingredient not available on Whole Cake Island, the Big Mom Pirates wouldn't let outsiders intervene in such matters.
Charlotte Linlin's eating disorder flared up unpredictably, but treating it wasn't complicated. So long as she was fed the food she craved in time, the symptoms would subside on their own.
"Pekoms, you lead the way. I'll be leaving for a bit as well."
Katakuri had gone to stop Charlotte Linlin's eating disorder earlier, but something went wrong. Maybe the quality of Beasts Fruits' food was too high, which led to new developments in Charlotte Linlin's condition.
There was a small chance that she might change what food she wanted in the middle of an episode. The chances were slim, but it just happened to occur at this moment.
Even on Whole Cake Island, food was divided into zones, so some resources now needed to be mobilized, giving Smoothie a new task.
"Lord Zeraora, you probably know about Mama's situation. This is something uncontrollable. Please follow me, your resting place is this way."
Pekoms led Zeraora and the others to a guest room made of biscuits. The altitude here was relatively high, giving a view over half of Whole Cake Island, just enough to see the rampaging Charlotte Linlin.
"Pekoms, it looks like you really have it tough."
Judging by the affected area, this level of destruction was far more serious than Kaido's drunken rampages. Evacuation alarms were already sounding across Whole Cake Island, and everyone in Big Mom's path was taking emergency shelter.
"It's not so bad… Mama doesn't have episodes all the time, probably."
"All right, it's not my first time here. Go take care of your business. You know my number. If you really can't handle things, just contact me."
Patting Pekoms on the shoulder, Zeraora signaled that he could leave.
He didn't pick up his two children until he was sure Pekoms had left.
"You saw that, right? This island is dangerous. The two of you are already past the safe age, so when you see her, don't act out of line."
Meowna and Wolff were born at the end of 1510, and it was already 1522.
Charlotte Linlin's special fondness only applied to children under ten; ordinary people couldn't judge age just by appearance.
But Charlotte Linlin was different. As a Soul-Soul Fruit's User, she could take people's lifespans, and with her power, she could see how much life someone had left and how much they'd lived.
This ability was almost passive. Even her children had experienced being doted on one day and then despised the next. Just a single day was enough for Charlotte Linlin to consider them "too old."
"In theory, after an eating disorder episode, it shouldn't happen again for a while, so it'll be pretty safe for the next period. If you want to wander around, that's fine.
For now, just play nearby. Dad needs to talk business with the uncles."
He gave them a rough area that they could move around in. At times like this, his words still carried weight.
On private family trips, Meowna and Wolff were extremely lively, but at formal events like this, they behaved themselves in case Zeraora wouldn't bring them along next time.
"Are you really comfortable letting those kids wander around here? This isn't Onigashima."
Tesoro sat by the window of the dessert house. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Meowna and the others chasing after Homies. In a way, it was a unique form of hunting practice.
"That's what I said, but I'll just quietly follow them."
If the kids were happy, he could relax and didn't need to worry about their safety.
"I don't think you need to be so nervous. Wanda, Carrot, and Bepo can all use Sulong, and your children are pretty capable too. Little trouble isn't an issue."
Kojiro was curiously watching a talking table. It was his first time in Totto Land, and he was fascinated by everything.
"Give it two more years and I'll be off the hook. They're still a bit young now. By the way, how are we supposed to handle this so-called alliance? Mr. Kaido didn't set any standards, just told us to figure it out ourselves."
"Leave that to me. When it comes to transport, we already have an absolute advantage. Whether by sea or air, nobody else can compete. When the time comes, we'll have dominant control over most sea routes.
Don't worry about the other stuff either. There are too many people in the Underworld. If we tried to do everything ourselves, we wouldn't have enough hands. As long as we make the leaders understand who's the boss, that's enough."
Tesoro was confident in this regard. In his view, it was just going through the motions. The others in the Underworld didn't even qualify to negotiate. If they didn't agree, they'd simply disappear.
Only Big Mom could discuss a bit with them; everyone else could only accept the result.
As for what they actually had to discuss, it was about how the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates would divide management of the Underworld.
"If that's the case, treating this as a sightseeing trip is fine. Creatures like Homies are really interesting."
Watching a teapot and teacup argue, Kojiro started to truly immerse himself in Totto Land's life.
These guests weren't in a hurry, but Charlotte Linlin's children and subordinates were full of anxiety.
"Cranberry cookie matcha ice cream mountain! Where is it? Give it to me now!"
Charlotte Linlin's eating disorder didn't follow any fixed recipe. Sometimes she would name a dessert she wanted to eat, specifying exactly what it was. But if it wasn't something prepared in advance, it was a hassle to make it from scratch.
Roaring, she tore off a rooftop and stuffed it in her mouth. But when she noticed the taste was off, she spat out most of it.
"Mama, please stop!"
"Mama, don't go any further!"
Prometheus, who looked like the sun, and Zeus, who looked like a cloud, tried to calm Charlotte Linlin. They were Homies created from pieces of Charlotte Linlin's own soul.
They were stronger than ordinary Homies and much closer to Charlotte Linlin, but even they couldn't stop her.
"Cranberry cookie matcha ice cream mountain!"
"Mama is heading for Sweet City. Lord Katakuri has already tried to stop her, but the effect is limited. The only good news is that the number of deaths has been kept under control.
Hasn't the kitchen prepared food yet?!"
In Whole Cake Island's command room, one monitor after another flickered to black-and-white static. Each time a new screen went out, the tension in the room grew.
The Big Mom Pirates' castle and the wedding venue were all in Sweet City.
With Charlotte Linlin's personality, if she really wrecked the place, she wouldn't blame anyone for the damage, but she would definitely demand that it be repaired before the wedding started.
If they can't complete this mission, she'll still be angry. It was a deadlock.
"We're going as fast as we can. The kitchen is already in wartime mode, but they still need red beans and cranberries…"
"Contact the Minister of Beans and Minister of Fruits. Get those ingredients here quickly. Lord Katakuri can only hold her for so long. Good, Lady Smoothie is here too; maybe together they can stall her for a bit longer."
Not long after, they saw someone unexpected appear on the monitor screen. Sanji arrived at the scene with a massive ice cream, successfully resolving the crisis.
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