Chapter 61: Loving Each Other, Then Let the Battle Begin!

Charlotte Linlin widened her eyes in absolute astonishment, almost believing she had fallen into an illusion.

Yet the smiling young man before her was vividly real.

"Roa?"

Sitting to his mother's left, Perospero instinctively rubbed his eyes, equally convinced he was seeing things.

How on earth could this brat show up here?

It made no sense! Weren't he and Kaido allied?

And he's smiling!

Perospero cast a resentful glance at Katakuri, who was standing beside Roa and beaming like a blooming flower.

Was this really the time to be grinning?

"No way!"

Morgans, the bird-man representing the World Economic News Paper, widened his beak in shock and immediately whipped out his Den Den Mushi, snapping pictures of Roa in rapid succession.

"The Calamity Roa, the former Rocks Pirates trainee on par with Kaido? Hahaha, what an unexpected windfall!"

Big news! This is huge news!

Roa, the remnant of the former Rocks Pirates, has suddenly met with Charlotte Linlin. And with rumors swirling that Roa is tied to Kaido, could it be that these three monsters are plotting to resurrect the Rocks Pirates?

Morgans was trembling with excitement, yet his hand holding the camera remained rock-steady—steady enough that he could probably open hundreds of apps at once without a single glitch.

Tomorrow's papers were going to fly off the shelves!

A high-ranking underworld tycoon dressed in a sleek black suit and tailored like a gentleman also lit up. "So this is the fifteen-billion-belly monster? Is he really only thirteen? Black Tiger—"

"Hmm?"

Roa abruptly whipped his head around.

How dare he run his mouth?

You're courting death!

The air condensed into wind, instantly shredding the man's mouth.

"Mmm-mmm-mmm!"

Before he could even register what had happened, the so-called underworld magnate clutched his face, unable even to scream as his tongue was blown clean out.

The various underworld heavyweights present furrowed their brows in unison.

Isn't this brat a bit too arrogant?

Only Morgans grew more and more ecstatic.

The bigger the chaos, the better!

It would be best if he got into a brutal, all-out brawl with Charlotte Linlin! The Calamity!

"Still as annoying as ever, you stinky brat."

Stussy spoke with an expression of utter disgust. "You've completely ruined a perfectly good Tea Party."

"Oh? Isn't this Auntie Stussy?"

As if just noticing her, Roa flashed a grin and greeted her cheerfully. "Long time no see."

The woman, who had been unfailingly amiable to everyone else at today's Tea Party, let out a cold snort.

"Mama-mama! Don't be so harsh, Stussy. Little Roa is my most beloved child!"

Auntie Linlin stepped out from behind the table and walked right up to Roa.

Ignoring the miserable state of the guest she had personally invited, she wore a radiant smile, scooped Roa up into a tight embrace just as she used to on Hachinosu Island six years ago, and affectionately rubbed her cheek against his.

"Bad boy, you haven't come to see your old mother in so long, I almost didn't recognize you!"

The deep intimacy she displayed toward Roa naturally stirred resentment in the hearts of many guests.

Are they just going to let this stinky brat run wild?

If they held everyone else in such low regard, why even invite them here in the first place?

At that moment, Roa couldn't help sighing with a trace of emotion. "Auntie Linlin, you've gotten a lot more... imposing yourself."

Auntie Linlin's build was considerably more robust than it had been six years ago; her delicate, pointed chin had largely lost its shape, and her slender waist had grown quite thick.

The once grand beauty was slowly beginning to resemble a tank.

Damn it, this world is truly cruel to aging beauties!

"I'm so happy, little Roa."

Charlotte Linlin gently set Roa back down on the ground, her face beaming like a blooming flower. "Your arrival is the best gift I've received today!"

"I think so too!"

Katakuri chimed in with full agreement, genuinely thrilled.

"Is this the best gift?"

Roa feigned distress and snapped his fingers. "Then what am I supposed to do with the cake I specially prepared?"

Behind them, near the entrance, Bullet and Alber pushed in a massive dining cart. Atop it sat the mountain-sized cake specially crafted by Judge.

Yet, nobody paid any attention to the cake.

Charlotte Linlin's gaze suddenly locked in place as she laid eyes on Alber.

Not just her, but everyone else as well. Alber's entrance threw the entire venue into instant uproar.

"That is...!!"

Morgans's pupils constricted, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "The Lunarian tribe..."

Anyone with even a shred of knowledge would instantly recognize this race hunted by the World Government with a colossal bounty!

"Well now, what a surprise."

Perospero was equally shaken to his core.

Roa couldn't possibly be unaware of Mama's ambitions, yet he had walked right into the lion's den—and brought a Lunarian with him?

Why on earth would he do this?

What is he planning?!

"Well,"

Roa said with casual nonchalance, "Auntie Linlin, do you like the gift I prepared for you?"

"Ugh—"

Acting like a lovesick fanatic, Linlin stared at Alber with a gaze so intense it sent physiological shudders of discomfort through the remarkably composed youth.

Is she harboring ill intentions toward me?

Alber thought instinctively.

Unfortunately, he hit the nail on the head.

"I love it to pieces."

Her gaze remained glued to Alber, as if even Roa standing right before her had lost all importance. "Little Roa, you've really given Mama a massive surprise!"

The Lunarian tribe!

The single hardest piece of the puzzle to acquire for her dream nation had just materialized right here before her!

Roa looked up at his "aunt." At this moment, her greed was like a violently erupting volcano, completely impossible to suppress.

Since he had come here, a conflict was bound to happen.

So they might as well just kick things off immediately.

Who knows, maybe this time he could reel Auntie Linlin in like a giant fish.

Charlotte Linlin could no longer contain her surging desire. When she looked back at Roa, she was instinctively licking her lips, as though Roa were some ultra-desirable dessert.

"Little Roa! That fool Kaido has nothing to offer you, stop hanging around with him!"

Her voice trembled with excitement. Though she tried to maintain a kind smile, the sheer magnitude of her greed distorted her facial features, gradually turning her into something resembling a terrifying witch.

"Leave the Beasts Pirates and join Mama's BIG MOM Pirates! Mama has looked at you like a son since you were little, Katakuri treats you as his closest brother, and the Charlotte Family is your home. This is where you belong!"

"Oh! That doesn't sound bad at all!"

Katakuri laughed heartily, winking at Roa. "Well, Roa, why don't you accept Mama's invitation?"

"I'm afraid I can't agree to that, good friend,"

Roa replied with a feigned look of surprise. "Leaving the Beasts Pirates is out of the question, Auntie Linlin."

"Why? What on earth did that bastard Kaido promise you?"

Charlotte Linlin grew somewhat irritated.

She had never considered Roa an easy brat to fool.

Kaido must have offered him quite the deal!

"I never joined the Beasts Pirates in the first place, so how could I talk about leaving?"

Roa spread his hands, and amidst Auntie Linlin's look of bewildered pleasant surprise, he continued, "I'm not a pirate anymore. I started my own company, and now I sell weapons."

"Oh! Now that's another big scoop!"

Morgans picked up his notepad and began scribbling furiously.

A rising star with a fifteen-billion-belly bounty at just thirteen years old claims he's quit being a pirate!

"Selling weapons?"

Charlotte Linlin was indeed taken aback by Roa's answer.

Roa, who had earned the recognition of that bastard Rocks and joined the Rocks Pirates at the tender age of five, was now running a business?

"That's right! Another purpose of my visit today is to ask—Auntie Linlin, do you have any needs in that department?"

Roa smiled broadly. "Quality guaranteed, with bulk discounts available."

Charlotte Linlin licked her lips, her eyes growing slightly bloodshot. "You started a company? Then Roa, why don't you just relocate your company to Totto Land? Mama will give your business her absolute, full support!"

"I'll pass,"

Roa shook his head again. "Big Brother Kaido wouldn't be happy. I've already reached a cooperation agreement with him."

"...Kaido!"

Charlotte Linlin's expression instantly darkened like water before a storm. "Are you saying you choose Kaido over Mama?"

"What are you saying, Auntie Linlin? Didn't I come here to seek cooperation with you as well?"

Roa looked utterly innocent. "I treat everyone equally, you see."

"That's not what Mama wants!"

Charlotte Linlin's tone finally turned icy. "Little Roa, it seems bad kids who play dumb to fool adults need to have their bottoms spanked!"

"Do we really have to?"

Roa let out a helpless sigh. "I'm all grown up now, you know. It's pretty embarrassing."

"I let you slip through my fingers six years ago!"

A violent surge of pressure rolled off her in waves, madness filling the depths of Charlotte Linlin's eyes. "Not this time! Little Roa! You're staying right here with Mama!"

*Sigh*, fundamentally, Auntie Linlin and Big Brother Kaido were cut from the same cloth.

All that gentleness and pampering was fake; deep down, they were both overbearing and tyrannical.

Hmph, you can't just spoil these feudal patriarchs and matriarchs!

Roa narrowed his eyes.

*Hum!*

An equally terrifying, unyielding burst of Haoshoku Haki roared from Roa's body.

The two formidable wills collided head-on.

The sturdy floor of the venue instantly began to shatter, and crackling black lightning danced through the air.

A vast number of unlucky spectators with weaker willpower immediately rolled their eyes and passed out, foaming at the mouth.

Even those known as underworld tycoons trembled in their boots.

"Haoshoku Haki of this caliber!!"

Umit, the shipping magnate who had only recently inherited his family empire, broke out in a cold sweat.

Charlotte Linlin was one thing, but for a kid like Roa to be this strong too?

Yet, a malicious sense of schadenfreude welled up inside him.

It would be best if these two arrogant monsters beat each other to a pulp!

"Is this your confidence to defy Mama? Roa!"

Auntie Linlin's fury mounted further.

If someone with this kind of strength joined the BIG MOM Pirates, what was she even supposed to fear from Whitebeard or the Golden Lion?

Not to mention, he also brought a Lunarian!

No matter what—even if she had to break Roa's legs—she was going to keep this boy here.

"Looks like, just like Big Brother Kaido, we'll have to trade blows before we can talk business,"

Roa strolled forward, casually drawing the two swords from his waist as crimson arcs of lightning leaped across their blades. "Let's begin, then."

*Swish!*

He shot forward like a red bolt of lightning, his twin blades trailing two crimson arcs. "Shishi V.S. - Tsumegiri!"

" insolent brat!"

Charlotte Linlin's right elbow turned pitch black as she lashed out directly at Roa.

*Clang!*

Haki-infused lightning snapped wildly, and the violent gale generated by their collision swept across the entire banquet hall in an instant.

And then—

"How is that possible?!"

Perospero shrieked in sheer disbelief. "Mama!!"

What was he seeing?

His invincible mother had actually been driven back by Roa!

Charlotte Linlin was indeed staggering backward.

Though it was only two steps, she had undeniably been pushed back by Roa!

And more crucially, right there on her elbow—

"Mama is bleeding!"

Perospero's tongue stretched straight out in sheer terror.

There was an X-shaped cut on Charlotte Linlin's elbow, and blood was actively seeping from it.

Are you kidding me?! Mama's body is supposed to be indestructible!

A mere brat like Roa had actually managed to injure her!

Katakuri was equally shell-shocked, though his emotional reaction differed somewhat from his eldest brother's. "Roa, just how strong have you gotten in these last six years?!"

Roa landed lightly on his feet, casually flicking the blood off his twin blades.

"Honestly, Auntie Linlin, Big Brother Kaido was the same, and so are you. When on earth are you going to realize that I'm already grown up?"

"Brat!!"

Charlotte Linlin's fury could no longer be contained. "Zeus! Napoleon! Prometheus!"

A thundercloud and a fireball hovered beside her, while the hat on her head transformed into a massive saber that she gripped fiercely in her hand.

"Then let Mama see just how much you've grown up, you little punk!!"