One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 183 So what’s the price?

The departure of the Star Lord was as mysterious as his arrival.

But that wisp of scattered starlight brought a tremendous shock to the entire Totland.

"The mother's soul was..."

On Chocolate Island, Perospero held his head in his hands, his long tongue bobbing up and down like waves.

".Coming."

But at this moment, Katakuri's expression was even more solemn.

"Coming? What's coming?"

Smoothie said instinctively.

But just moments later, she suddenly realized the meaning behind Katakuri's words.

Because she had also heard the instructions given by the 'Star Lord' before he left—he said, 'The rest is up to you.'

It goes without saying who was given the order.

And this is indeed the case.

The next moment.

"Roar!"

"Woo!"

The three then heard the roars of the Dream Legion that filled Totland.

The four beast masters who had been fighting them until now were also slowly retreating.

Thunder roared and lightning flashed in the clouds above the sky, and Chenlong's figure appeared.

As sunlight streamed through the broken clouds, the rooster's silhouette appeared, flapping its wings.

The door opened silently in the air, and the Rat stepped out.

From the 'Dream Passage' not far away, the figures of the Sheep, the Pig, and the Dog slowly emerged.

"The guys from the twelve zodiac signs"

Seeing this, Smoothie and Perospero reacted naturally and extremely—their domineering aura was already surging, clearly ready to make a move.

But
"."

The next moment, Katakuri's trident once again blocked their way.

He gently shook his head at his brother and sister beside him.

Upon seeing this, Perospero and Smoothie were immediately taken aback.

But then, their domineering aura gradually dissipated.

Because at this point, after their instinctive reaction, they also came to their senses.
"There is no point in fighting against us."

At this moment, the Rooster's hearty laughter rang out: "You should already know this."

Yes.

After Big Mom fell, the Homies, though still alive due to the properties of the Soul-Soul Fruit, clearly had lost their will to fight.

Even with the dissipation of Charlotte Carmelo's soul, their evil and violent nature also diminished considerably.

Faced with a beast army that far outnumbered them, was stronger than them, and was even restrained by the 'Yellow Spring Cold Qi' bestowed upon them by the Pig, they had no chance of winning.

Not to mention the 'twelve constellations' in front of us.

Everyone in Totto Land had just witnessed these people defeat the Yonko head-on, force her to flee, and ultimately kill her.

To put it bluntly, if another battle were to break out now, the final result would undoubtedly be their complete annihilation.

so.
"Crack!"

At that moment, Katakuri plunged his trident into the ground.

Even when facing such a formidable opponent, he stood ramrod straight: "You are indeed very strong. I don't see a 'future' where we can win."

"But if you've come here just to mock us, then there's no need for that."

His voice was calm and steady.

"We are pirates—if our end is to die at the hands of the stronger, then so be it."

As members of one of the Four Emperors' pirate crews, they naturally possess the awareness and resolve of pirates.

"A commendable spirit."

Looking at Katakuri in front of him, Youji also exclaimed in admiration.

"Charlotte Katakuri - Now that Big Mom has been defeated, you should be the 'captain' of the Big Mom Pirates."

He said so.

After hearing this, Katakuri remained silent.

Perospero and Smoothie behind him remained equally silent.

BIGMOM has fallen.

But the 'BIGMOM Pirates' still exist.

After Big Mom's death, the captain's position would certainly not be inherited by Perospero—although he very much wanted to be, he knew it wouldn't be him.

Within the entire Charlotte family, only Katakuri is qualified to assume this responsibility.

“You should have heard what the leader just said. We’re here to handle things from the beginning—we’ll negotiate with you.”

".negotiation?"

Katakuri asked in a deep voice.

"Yes."

The Rooster spread its arms wide: "We did not come here to exterminate Tottoland. You should know very well where this war originated."

After hearing this, Katakuri remained silent in thought.

Perospero and Smoothie, standing behind him, also had grim expressions.

Actually, there's no need for the Rooster to say much—they already understood when they saw the twelve constellations descend.

"The origin of this war was BIGMOM's declaration of war."

The Rooster calmly stated the facts.

Yes.

The war had already begun when Bigom decided to formally declare war on the twelve zodiac signs.

And now.
"BIGMOM is dead, and we are not demons."

At this point, Rooster looked at Katakuri and said, "So, I'm giving you a chance to end the war."

As he spoke, he nodded slightly to Wei Yang beside him.

So, Wei Yang gently raised his hand.

"Buzz!"

A seven-colored mirror reflecting the scene appeared in front of Katakuri and the others.

Katakuri didn't even need to look; his expression changed drastically.

At this moment, on the mirror.

The Charlotte family members were tied up one by one.

"Breeze, Brin, Montdor"

Katakuri's expression immediately darkened.

Yes—the Charlotte family members reflected in that mirror at this moment were either members who were defeated and captured in this war, or members who had been switched at an earlier time.

Katakuri immediately realized that apart from the few hardliners who advocated war against the twelve constellations, everyone else was clearly still alive.

“I know you are not one to fear death.”

The rooster said softly, "So, this is our bargaining chip." "And the price?"

At this moment, Katakuri managed to calm himself down.

"everything."

The Rooster spoke very directly: "We know that most of the wealth and treasure of Tottoland are hidden and managed by the members of your family who are responsible for managing the various islands, as well as all the treasures of your members—handing them all over to us is the price you have to pay."

"Choose."

He then spoke sharply and explosively: “Avenge BIGMOM—continue fighting us until everyone is dead.”

"Or, preserve the rest of your family, and the country."

Upon hearing this, Perospero and Smoothie's expressions changed once again.

They certainly knew that the Rooster was right.

As mentioned before, Totland has a very special national situation.

Whole Cake Island is indeed the 'capital' of the entire country and the center of power.

However, due to BIGMOM's personality over the past few decades, coupled with the fact that Tottoland itself is dotted with numerous islands.

Therefore, it is impossible to expect her to manage the entire operation of the country.

This is why the Charlotte family has a 'Minister of Administration' and a corresponding administrative body on each island.

As one of the Four Emperors, the Big Mom Pirates' wealth is naturally astonishing.

However, most of them were actually distributed to various islands and stored away by each island. Only the ministers in charge of each island knew their locations, and often even the treasures and keys were kept in different places.

As for Whole Cake Island, it does have a treasure trove, but the treasure trove only contains some things that are most precious to the old lady.

For example, there are the furs and skeletons of rare animals, historical texts, and beautiful treasures, and of course, the most abundant items are various kinds of snacks.

What the Rooster is asking for now is precisely this enormous wealth that is extremely difficult to gather together.

Well—in fact, this information was obtained by Inugami after he infiltrated Big Mom's crew.

Of course, theoretically he could also slowly investigate the location of the treasures one by one.

But clearly, there's no need for that.

Because they knew what kind of person Katakuri was in front of them.

They also knew what choice the other party would make.

".good!"

And this is indeed the case.

At that moment, Katakuri simply stared intently at the rooster.

Then, without hesitation, I gave my answer.

He is indeed Bigom's child.

However, Katakuri does not acknowledge the monster that just tried to sacrifice the entire Totto Land to its doom as his 'mother'.

In this situation, the choice he has to make is quite simple.

The question of whether to protect one's beloved younger siblings and their family, or to die with the treasure, is one that doesn't even need to be considered.

The only thing that made him hesitate was...
"Is the soul of the mother also included in the transaction?"

When Katakuri spoke of 'mother', his expression became unusually strange.

During the process of the soul link, he also realized that the 'soul' that was taken away by the Star Lord and belonged to their mother was clearly a child.

What was the Star Lord's purpose in taking her away?
This is the answer Katakuri wants to know.

I cannot answer that question.

Upon hearing this, Youji glanced at him and said, "We are just cadres of the organization, and we have no right to question the leader's decisions. However, I can assure you that the leader will not harm her."

"."

Upon hearing this, Katakuri let out a deep breath: "I'm fine now."

"very good."

Upon hearing this, the Rooster nodded in satisfaction.

You have one month.

"You will be notified of the transaction location one month later."

After saying that, he threw out a Den Den Mushi—Katakuri recognized it at a glance as an unmonitorable 'mother-child Den Den Mushi'.

".Thank you."

Katakuri nodded solemnly upon hearing this and even offered a word of thanks.

Of course, he wasn't the kind of idiot who would thank someone after they stole his things and beat him up.

His statement at that moment was simply because he had grasped the unspoken meaning behind the Rooster's words.

Collecting the treasure certainly wouldn't take a month—his younger siblings could hand it over in a maximum of three days if he gave the order.

This month is a time for the Rooster to sort out the domestic situation and stabilize the domestic situation.

BIGMOM's death meant that the situation in Tottoland would inevitably undergo a huge change.

Many pirates, especially the other four emperors, are likely to be eager to make a move.

And now, after this negotiation...

Before figuring out the true purpose and attitude of the twelve constellations, they are unlikely to take any action in the short term—especially since 'BIGMOM's' soul was taken away by the star lord and his 'death' has not been definitively confirmed.

This period of time was the perfect opportunity for Katakuri and the remnants of the Big Mom Pirates to plot their scheme.

As long as this window of opportunity is seized—although the reduction in land area is almost inevitable, Katakuri is confident that he can preserve the vast majority of the country and its people.

after all
Just as he just said.

Even though Big Mom is gone, they are still the 'Big Mom Pirates'.

With their situation stabilized and their focus entirely on defense, there are still not many pirates on the entire ocean who are truly capable of threatening them!

“I told you, we are not demons.”

The Rooster simply waved its hand casually.

Then he turned around and said, "Everyone—regroup!"

The words fell.

He then spread his wings of light, transforming into a beam of radiance that soared into the sky.

at the same time
The crimson dragon soared into the sky.

The rat casually parted the space and stepped inside.

The mythical beasts and Wei Yang and the others stepped into the Dream Mirror together.

A few moments later.

"Snapped!"

The Mirror of Dreams shattered, as if the illusion had vanished without a trace.

When everyone looked up at the live stream screen above them again, they saw that the Dream Island above Cake Island had once again transformed into a Qilin and stepped into the clouds.

It only took a few breaths.

The six highest-ranking officials of the twelve constellations, and all traces of the war here, have vanished without a trace.

The sea in Totland returned to calm at this moment.

"."*3
But at this moment, everyone in Totland knows.

On this vast ocean.

The uproar caused by this 'major event' has only just begun.

(End of this chapter)