"Well then... let's set sail!!!"
At the dining table, Aus's crew—who still hadn't officially formed a pirate crew—held a small meeting while eating.
Aus slammed the table with finality.
"You bastard, you haven't stopped moving since you set sail, have you..."
Mihawk helplessly cut his steak, stabbing it with his fork before taking a bite.
"You open your mouth and it's war. Don't you need any prep?"
The one with tick marks on her forehead was little Sand, who still found this whole situation ridiculous.
"What prep do we need? Just fight our way through."
Right now, Aus had just as many tick marks on his forehead as Crocodile, his face dark as thunder.
Two hours earlier...
On the Oro Jackson slowly departing from Alabasta, as the brains of Aus's group, little Sand had roughly assessed the scope of influence and available firepower under Aus's command, writing up some suggestions for their next moves.
While she was scribbling furiously, Aus was reading free newspapers.
Originally "free" because they were stolen, but now that it was his own company, he didn't need to pay shit.
Hell, even the news gulls saluted Aus before flying away, delivering papers first thing.
"Hey, boss! You need to have some planning of your own! The scale of the entire underground world is bigger than you can imagine!!!"
Little Sand chomped her cigar, staring seriously at a certain slacker.
"You can decide on that stuff. I really trust you."
Aus nodded dismissively. He'd dragged Crocodile aboard precisely for her brains and methods, plus maybe a tiny bit for her looks.
With someone to handle the thinking, he could naturally be hands-off.
"Speaking of which, that Morgans bastard gave me another buff without asking... 'Black Emperor'? Sounds pretty badass..."
Hearing Aus still obsessing over title bullshit, little Sand felt her blood pressure spike.
"Aus! You piece of shit!!!"
Before she could explode, a Den Den Mushi's ring cut through the tension.
Mihawk with his knife and fork, Crocodile gripping her plan ready to blow up, and Aus with his newspaper—all looked at the snail on the table.
"Buru buru buru..."
Just used to call Morgans and not put away yet, now ringing again.
"Why's she calling me?"
A flash of red light—seeing his real-life spoiler preview, Aus raised an eyebrow and answered.
Instantly, the Den Den Mushi showed flaming red lips and long lashes, red cape draped behind.
With a smile, an arrogant female voice came through:
"Ma ma ma ma~ Long time no see, Aus!"
...
New World, Totto Land waters, Whole Cake Island.
On a massive throne, an enormous female figure sat shrouded in shadow, drool hitting the floor with corrosive hisses. Terrifying eyes stared at the Den Den Mushi in her hand.
"Yeah, last time we met was when I was with Captain Roger... Charlotte Linlin."
"Ma ma ma ma~"
Looking at the Den Den Mushi showing that composed smile and blood-red glowing eyes, Big Mom let out her signature laugh.
"I'm so glad you still remember me, Aus! That Observation Haki monster brat from Roger's ship has become a major player shaking the world."
"Hmm... You're not calling to catch up, are you? We only have the friendship of beating the shit out of each other."
Aus looked at Big Mom's overly familiar attitude through the snail, feeling something was off.
Though he was planning to personally visit Whole Cake Island about underground world business, he hadn't made any moves yet. How was she calling first...
Did those underground world bosses go crying to her for help?
Staring strangely at the Den Den Mushi, all three were curious what this woman—who seemed ready to become one of the New World's overlords—wanted.
"Ma ma ma ma~ Maybe we had some beef because of Roger back then, but that was just friction over Poneglyphs. Actually, there's no real bad blood between us, right?"
Big Mom's tone was relatively calm, bringing up events from when Aus was still an apprentice.
That was actually true.
In all these years, Aus's first and only dealing with Big Mom was when she was young and gorgeous.
Back then, the Roger Pirates were scouring the New World for Poneglyphs. As one of the most crucial pieces, Big Mom's was absolutely vital, so the Roger crew basically scammed her—secretly making a rubbing before hauling ass.
That's when Aus, this terrifying little monster, officially entered Charlotte Linlin's radar.
A kid barely in his teens fighting Katakuri to a standstill, especially with Observation Haki more terrifying than Kata's, making him feel for the first time the despair others felt facing him.
It was...
"The future I can see stretches way farther than yours."
Monstrous strength plus longer, clearer future sight made all of Katakuri's advantages vanish. Without his awakened fruit back then, he could only fight and retreat, ending in humiliation.
"There wasn't much hatred then, but there is now."
Aus drained his orange juice, speaking flatly.
Sure, he'd liked young Linlin's half-giant goddess look when he was little—strong as hell with looks and power, basically female adult Aus.
But that didn't mean he'd abandon his goals for some childhood crush, especially knowing what an unspeakable horror aged Big Mom had become.
"You should've gotten word, right? Those underground world lackeys hiding under your skirt—my goal is controlling the entire underground world. That alone puts us on a collision course!"
"Ma ma ma ma... Just this tiny thing?"
"???"
That casual response left Aus stunned.
For a territorial overlord like Big Mom, when had such a massive profit pie become a "tiny thing"?
Aus felt something was seriously wrong.
And Charlotte Linlin's next words completely shattered Aus's composure.
"As long as you're willing to have a baby with me, Aus, I can give you the entire underground world as a wedding gift!!!"
...
...
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