One piece: Establishing a Pirate Family

Chapter 448: Smoothie

Katakuri stared at the newspaper in silence, expression unreadable.

He glanced at Brûlée, whose eyes sparkled with excitement.

Without a word, Katakuri folded up the newspaper.

The headline declared that there were eight "Rising Stars of the New World," and only two came from the Big Mom Pirates.

That wouldn't do.

If Mama found out, she'd be furious.

And sure enough—

The moment Charlotte Linlin saw the latest issue, she exploded in rage.

"Damn that Morgans! Saying my children can't compare to Whitebeard's and Charlotte's? That bastard!!"

Her monstrous voice shattered the air—thunderous and horrifying.

The very sky seemed to tremble.

All of Charlotte's children winced. The younger ones hid behind their older siblings, terrified.

Charlotte Linlin had every reason to be enraged.

As one of the faces of the New World, a contemporary of Whitebeard Edward Newgate and Charlotte Rockefeller, all of whom once served under Rocks D. Xebec, she saw herself as their equal.

But now, both Whitebeard and Charlotte were outshining her—even their children were being praised more than hers.

Her pride could not bear such insult.

"Children! Why do you always drag me down!?"

Linlin suddenly glared at the dozens of children gathered below her.

The once-joyful banquet fell into a chilling silence.

All of her children bowed their heads, silently enduring Mama's fury.

"Get out! All of you! Don't come back until you've made a name for yourselves!"

A wave of Conqueror's Haki burst from Charlotte Linlin as she shouted.

"Y-yes, Mama!"

Terrified, the children quickly stood up and staggered out of the banquet hall, their bodies trembling.

Outside the hall, the Charlotte siblings gathered around Katakuri, who stood silently.

Even the eldest, Perospero, looked to Katakuri as their pillar of strength.

"Katakuri, Mama's furious. What should we do?"

Perospero asked anxiously.

Katakuri looked at the worried faces of his siblings and sighed lightly.

"For the next few days, stay away from Mama. She's furious right now. Wait until she cools off, then return."

He spoke with calm authority.

There was no choice—Mama had a short temper and vented it often, but she rarely remembered her anger after some time passed.

Everyone around nodded with heavy hearts. They knew how Mama was.

"Smoothie, you have the most potential among us. It's up to you to show Mama your strength."

Katakuri turned to look at Smoothie, his tone resolute.

Among all their siblings, only a few had real battle potential—Katakuri and Cracker stood out.

It wasn't that the others lacked strength, but compared to the rising stars in the other two Yonko crews, they simply weren't in the same league.

From Katakuri's perspective, only he and Cracker could barely hold their own against the other six "Rising Stars."

As for the rest, none truly stood out.

The only other with real potential was Smoothie—but she was still young and needed more training.

Katakuri had already decided to personally mentor Smoothie, helping her grow stronger and raise the Big Mom Pirates' reputation.

Otherwise, compared to the other Yonko crews, they would remain the weakest.

If it weren't for Mama's personal strength, their crew would've been crushed long ago.

In the end, they had dragged Mama down—no wonder she was furious.

Katakuri sighed.

"Yes, Brother Katakuri!"

Smoothie replied firmly, her youthful but dignified face filled with resolve.

Her hand gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.

---

The actions of the three great pirate crews were reshaping the entire New World.

But for the moment, all three captains were restrained.

None had personally made a move.

Even during the scramble over Golden Lion Shiki's former territory, though all three Yonko had mobilized, they only had a brief encounter.

Afterward, they wordlessly divided up the islands—whoever raised their flag first got the claim.

Of course, this didn't mean there weren't clashes.

But even then, it was always their subordinates who fought.

Ownership of islands was determined by battle between division commanders—and this was where the Rockefeller Pirates excelled.

Thanks to Charlotte's thorough training of his children and his crew's overwhelming talents, they had the edge.

Add to that Charlotte's fame as the strongest swordsman in the world, and it was no surprise—

Countless swordsmen flocked to the Rockefeller Pirates, bolstering their strength even further.

They were now the strongest of the three Yonko crews.

The strongest pirate crew in the New World.

Even surpassing Whitebeard's forces.

Whether or not the World Government had a hand in this was unclear.

But Charlotte sensed something:

Ever since the division of territory concluded, the New World's news coverage had subtly targeted the Rockefeller Pirates.

Public opinion was gradually turning against them.

Charlotte could feel it.

Every major force in the New World was starting to isolate them.

The most obvious evidence?

Pirates coming from the Four Seas were somehow all being redirected into Rockefeller territory, while the other two Yonko crews stayed oddly untouched.

This constant influx was a massive burden.

Hardly a day passed without news of one island calling for help.

---

Ore Island No. 2

Tap. Tap-tap.

Esdeath strode through the bloodied harbor, sword in hand.

Her eyes were cold, surveying the pirate captain who lay half-dead on the ground.

"P-please… mercy…"

The pirate, once arrogant, was now begging after the Rockefeller Pirates retaliated by sending Esdeath.

Everyone in his crew was dead—only the captain remained.

"Who gave you the courage to trespass on Rockefeller territory?"

Esdeath's voice was chilling.

"No! Don't—! I was wrong, I was wrong—!"

The pirate cried in terror.

But Esdeath showed no mercy.

Her blade flashed.

His head flew through the air.

With a flick of her sword, she speared the severed head onto a flagpole at the harbor entrance—

A warning to anyone with ill intent.

Snow fell thickly around the harbor.

"Sister, it's done. The island's been cleared. Heavy casualties among the villagers… most of the miners were killed. Ore Island No. 2 is currently non-operational."

Sif, drifting in like a snowflake, reported grimly.

"Report it to Father. Let him deal with it."

Esdeath shook the blood off her blade, sheathed it, and turned.

"Let's go. Next island."

---

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