"You've gotten even stronger, Katakuri. Looks like you could have handled things here on your own."
Nanamo shook her arms and grabbed a pirate flag stuck in the ground nearby to wipe her hands.
Her fight and Katakuri's ended almost at the same time, and from this moment on, the Chubby Bottle Pirates had completely vanished from the sea.
"No, Sister, you really saved me a lot of trouble… What are you looking for?"
Katakuri walked over to retrieve his trident, then turned to see Nanamo rummaging through the pile of goods nearby.
"The treasure these pirates had, what else? Isn't this their base?"
"Uh…"
The way Nanamo had fought just now made Katakuri forget that his big sister was actually a bit of a money-grubber, always having a keen interest in loot.
Even though they were siblings, Nanamo was still very different from the rest of the Charlotte family.
Nereus and Charlotte Linlin had separated quite early, and the time they spent together was short.
Nanamo spent most of her time with Nereus. While she did play with them, it was more like she was the neighbor's child.
To Katakuri, this big sister wasn't a stranger, but he didn't know her all that well either.
"Relax, relax, we'll just split it fifty-fifty, no worries. Hermes! Stop watching from the sky! Get down here and help!"
"No, that's not what I meant…"
Nanamo ignored Katakuri and soon found a few treasure chests. She didn't even bother opening them to check what was inside, just picked half at random, as if opening mystery boxes.
She then tossed them to Hermes, who had just come down.
Seeing the flying chests, Hermes opened his mouth wide and swallowed them all in one gulp, his cloud body instantly swelling to twice its size.
His body structure was quite complex, practically a mix of all types of Sky Island clouds, with a special stomach made up of Ball Clouds and Swamp Clouds.
Ball Clouds were spherical clouds that could hold things inside; Swamp Clouds, as the name implied, were like swamps and could also store a lot.
Though Hermes didn't have a real "storage space" ability, he could be used like a handy pocket, and he often served this purpose.
"Princess Nanamo, please be careful. These guys are too weak, abnormally weak. At this level, they actually dared ambush Mama's children? I think whoever's behind this hasn't shown up yet."
As an elemental life form, Hermes had no fixed shape. His eyes rolled around on his body, carefully scanning the surroundings.
Although Homies possess intelligence, Hermes is composed of various clouds. If it were an animal, there might be a possibility of training Haki, like Kung-fu Dugong in the original timeline.
But for Hermes, such a thing is as difficult as ascending to heaven, which is why Homies generally only engage in support attacks.
Without Observation Haki to sense the surroundings, Hermes could only rely on his eyes.
"Mamamama~, Hermes, you're still so timid. Don't worry, there are no enemies around here anymore."
A familiar voice came from the side, making Hermes drop his guard. It was his creator, Charlotte Linlin.
But Hermes still tried to defend himself:
"Mama, this isn't timidity, it's caution! I have to protect Princess Nanamo!"
"Then your caution is a bit excessive. I thought it was some big threat when Perospero called me in a panic, but it's just a bunch of small fry."
Charlotte Linlin had come because Perospero, following Hermes' advice, ended up calling her.
But seeing the scene before her, Charlotte Linlin felt like she'd come for nothing.
Zeus, wearing his baseball cap, floated over to Hermes. Although they were different types of clouds, the two of them were actually quite similar in essence.
"Hermes, did you eat something tasty? Share a bit with me~"
Zeus sounded lazy. As a glutton, it immediately noticed Hermes's round belly, filled with treasures. Though in Zeus's eyes, whatever was in that belly could only be food.
Hermes said nothing, just quietly drifted away into the distance, as if he found this senior a bit embarrassing, who is always thinking about food no matter the occasion.
But Zeus was relentless and chased after him, and the two clouds ended up circling each other in midair.
Charlotte Linlin paid no more attention to Hermes and the Homies. She was long used to their personalities.
"Mamamama~, Katakuri, you really are my most outstanding son. You've improved so much since before."
"Mama, about Brulee…"
"She's not going to die, it's just a minor injury, nothing to worry about."
After taking his revenge, Katakuri was still worried about Brulee's condition, but Charlotte Linlin showed no concern.
No one had died, and in Charlotte Linlin's eyes, getting hurt wasn't a big deal. Compared to a daughter so weak she'd get targeted for revenge, she much preferred the strong daughter standing before her.
"Nanamo… How do you feel about living with Nereus? Isn't it time to come back and live with Mama? All your brothers and sisters are here, this is your real home."
When it came to custody of her children, Charlotte Linlin cared a lot.
More accurately, in Charlotte Linlin, this was a pure desire for control.
She had a particular obsession regarding her children. She might not even like them, but whatever they did had to be within her demands.
The children were not allowed to defy her; they had to carry out her orders as assigned. If they failed, they would be punished.
For example, the original Four Sweet Commanders were reduced to three for a single failure.
Charlotte Linlin was still young now, so this wasn't as pronounced.
Old Charlotte Linlin took this philosophy to its extreme.
Under normal circumstances, Charlotte Linlin would never let anyone else have custody. Nanamo was an exception.
Of course, back then she also wanted to take the child away, but the fundamental reason things turned out this way was that she couldn't beat Nereus.
Ordinary people in the world go to court over custody, but the two of them settled it with a single fight.
Hearing this question, Nanamo's movements froze for a moment. She blinked and answered quite tactfully:
"Well… actually, life with Dad is quite good. I think this is just fine."
Charlotte Linlin's question made Nanamo a bit awkward. This wasn't the first time she'd been asked. Almost every time they met, the same thing happened.
She really didn't want to do as Charlotte Linlin wished, but had to face these repeated questions. But since she was her mother, she couldn't just ignore her.
"…Mamamama~, I see. Then let's leave it at that for now."
Nanamo's answer caused Charlotte Linlin's expression to darken, but the gloom passed quickly. She soon smiled again, looking every bit the gentle mother.
But in Katakuri's eyes, this kind of "compromise" meant something else entirely.