One-Punch Man in the One Piece World

Chapter 130 Sasuke, go!

What do you think?

The sea breeze blew in from the direction of the harbor, making the silver skull and crossbones flag flutter in the window of the council chamber.

A letter lay open in front of Norton. The paper was a creamy color with a faint sweet scent, and the edges were gilded. The letter was filled with densely written content in cursive script.

The handwriting is beautiful; it's clearly written by a professional.

Norton turned to the last page of the letter, his gaze falling on the seal sealed with red wax.

The room fell silent for a moment.

Chloe stood beside him, holding the ledger she never parted with, and adjusted her glasses upon hearing this.

"King, what's your opinion?" The reflection in Chloe's glasses obscured the emotion in his eyes. "Big Mom..."

In the letter, she said that King and she shared the same dream—to build a nation. She believed there was no need for conflict between them and was even willing to cede some territory.

"She's quite generous," Norton said, leaning back in his chair.

"Unbelievably generous." Fu Ning paused. "According to intelligence, the Kingdom of Totto Lands has never voluntarily ceded any territory. Charlotte Linlin's expansion strategy is to gradually devour the surrounding countries through marriage alliances, force, and her dozens of children, turning them into part of Totto Lands. She has never voluntarily ceded any territory before."

"So you think it's a trap?"

"I think it's a test," Fu Ning said gravely. "Her condition is that you marry her daughter, form an alliance, and she cede three islands near Demon Island to the Kingdom of Norton. In exchange, you promise not to expand into the Kingdom of Ten Thousand."

Norton remained silent, while Funing continued speaking, her voice unhurried, as if she were analyzing a math problem.

"On the surface, this deal seems to be in our favor. Three islands, strategically located between Demon King Island and Whole Cake Island; if we acquire them, our territorial waters will be connected. But the problem is—who is Big Mom? Is she the kind of woman who would share her spoils?"

Norton chuckled.

"No." The others also shook their heads. How could a pirate who could sit on the emperor's throne be so kind?

"So she has ulterior motives." Funing's gaze fell on Norton's face. "The question is, what are she after?"

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Zoro walked in, carrying two jugs of sake. He still smelled of sweat from the training ground. He leaned against the door frame and glanced at the letter on the table.

"A marriage alliance? Who's getting married?"

"Me," Norton said.

Zoro paused for a moment, a strange smile seemingly about to appear on his face, but he quickly suppressed it. He poured a jug of sake...

He tossed it to Norton, then unscrewed another bottle and took a big gulp.

"Is that woman pretty?"

"have no idea."

"Then what are you hesitating about?"

Norton didn't answer the question; it was too boring.

More and more cadres came in one after another.

Moriah's shadow twitched at the threshold, while he himself squeezed into the chair that was a bit too narrow for him, arms crossed, a signature smile on his pale face.

"Hehehehe, Big Mom's daughter? I remember that woman had at least dozens of children, some beautiful and some ugly. What if I made a mistake and married a freak?" Shut up, nobody likes to listen to you. Doflamingo walked in from the doorway, his pink feather coat standing out starkly against the gray stone wall. He stood in the corner, his eyes squinting behind his sunglasses, seemingly looking at something.

"Flamingo bastard, wanna fight?!"

"That woman Charlotte Linlin wouldn't do a losing deal. The fact that she's willing to marry her daughter off means she thinks it's a worthwhile transaction. The question is, what exactly is she after?" Steel Hand leaned against the windowsill, stroking his chin in thought.

A moment later, Steel Hand had an answer.

"I see!"

She gestured with her chin toward Norton.

"Think about it, who is Norton? That madwoman loves collecting all sorts of races to be her family. Norton may not be an alien, but he's a monster! If someone like that becomes her son-in-law, who in the New World will the Kingdoms be afraid of?"

"That makes sense." Jinbe's voice came from the doorway. He sat down in the large chair, placing his hands on his knees. "But Big Mom isn't the kind of woman who would depend on someone else. She wants equal cooperation, even dominance."

"If you ask me, we should just refuse. That woman may be troublesome, but we're not afraid of her." Ace put his hands in his pockets.

Norton leaned back in his chair, listening to the cacophony of voices.

"Have you all finished speaking?"

The room fell silent.

Norton sat up straight, his gaze sweeping over the faces.

"That crazy woman," he said, a smirk playing on his lips, "is after my bloodline."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Behind Doflamingo's sunglasses, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Bloodline?"

"Yes." Norton stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to everyone. "How did Big Mom establish the world of Tales of Hollows?"

The answer is blood ties. She used marriage alliances among her dozens of children to bind surrounding nations to her cause. Her kingdom was sustained by her bloodline.

He turned around.

"What she wants is not for me to be her son-in-law. What she wants is—my blood to flow into the descendants of her Charlotte family. And then that child will inherit her kingdom, and my power."

The room became completely quiet.

Even Moriah's laughter stopped.

Steel Hand put down the flask, looked at Norton, and his eyes became more serious.

Are you sure?

"If you were her, what would you think?" Norton countered.

Steel Hand remained silent.

Norton chuckled and continued, "A marriage alliance is the most advantageous option, especially for that crazy woman..."

"As long as I marry her daughter and have a child, that child will have Charlotte's blood flowing in their veins. When that child grows up, Whole Cake Island will have my blood—and then, even if I don't want to help Big Mom, that child will."

"And then?" Jinbe's voice was low.

"And then?" Norton chuckled. "Then she has a reason to say—the Kingdom of Norton and the Kingdom of Ten Thousand are one family. If you're one family, you should listen to your mother."

Nami walked in, clutching an account book, her face showing the annoyance of someone who had just finished settling a messy account. But when she heard the word "marriage alliance," she paused.

"Who's getting married?"

"Norton," Klow said.

Nami's expression changed.

She glanced at Norton, then at the gold-embossed letter on the table, slammed the ledger on the table, and turned to leave.

Funing followed behind her, glanced at Norton, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she said nothing and followed suit.

He went out.

Norton stared at the closed door without saying a word.

In the evening, Nami and Funing appeared together at the entrance of the second floor of the palace.

It was already getting dark.

The last rays of the setting sun streamed through the window, spreading a dark golden light across the floor. In the distance, towards the harbor, lights began to twinkle one by one, forming a blurred halo in the twilight.

Norton sat in a deckchair by the window, flipping through a nautical journal he'd somehow acquired. He didn't look up when he heard footsteps.

Nami walked in and stood in front of him.

"Are you really going to marry Big Mom's daughter?"

Norton turned a page of his journal.

"Still considering it."

"What are you considering?" Nami's voice rose slightly. "You don't even know what she looks like! What if she's ugly? What if she's a grumpy, crazy woman? What if..."

"Nami." Funing tugged at her sleeve.

Nami took a deep breath and swallowed the rest of her words. But she didn't leave; she just stood there, her lips pressed together, her eyes fixed on Norton.

Funing walked over to Norton and sat down in the chair opposite him.

"Norton, we're not trying to interfere with your decision," she said softly. "It's just—you've recently hired a lot of maids."

Norton looked up.

"so?"

"That's why we're worried." Fu Ning looked at him, something swirling in her eyes, but she suppressed it. "We're worried that you'll agree to this marriage."

Norton looked at her for a few seconds, then smiled. It was a faint smile, but there was something reassuring in his eyes.

"You two," he said, closing his logbook and placing it on his lap, "do you think I'd sell myself for those three islands?"

Nami didn't speak, and neither did Fu Ning. But their expressions gave them the answer.

Norton stood up and walked over to them.

"I will not agree."

"Really?" Nami looked up.

“Really,” Norton said. “I know exactly what that crazy woman Big Mom is up to. She wants my bloodline—so I can’t give it to her.”

He paused.

"However, it wouldn't be appropriate to refuse outright. After all, she's still greeting us with a smile, and we can't afford to break off relations too soon."

"So what are you planning to do?" Nami frowned.

Norton walked to the table, picked up the gold-embossed letter, glanced at it, and then tossed it to Crow.

"reply."

"The contents?" Kroc took the letter and adjusted his glasses.

"I'll agree to a marriage alliance, but the bride can't be me. I'm willing to send my subordinate, Sanosuke, to marry Pudding in my place."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Nami paused for a moment, then the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up.

Fu Ning was also stunned for a moment, then lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, it was hard to tell whether she was laughing or trying to hold back her laughter.

Kro looked at Norton, remained silent for two seconds, and then nodded.

"Understood."

Cake Island.

A misty morning.

The castle, built of cream and candy, gleamed sweetly in the morning light. The icing on the walls softened slightly in the humid sea breeze, and occasionally a few bees, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, circled around the sugar flowers in the corner.

BIGMOM sat on the throne, with the reply letter from Demon King Island spread out in front of him.

After reading it the first time, she thought she had misread it.

After watching it a second time, the smile on my face began to disappear.

After watching it for the third time, her lips, heavily painted with lipstick, were pursed into a thin line.

"Sanosuke?"

Her voice was low, like muffled thunder rolling from the depths of her chest, "Who is Sanosuke?"

Perospero stood beside her, holding a file that had just been transferred from the intelligence department.

"Mom, Sanosuke is a close attendant ninja of the Norton Pirates, with a bounty of 800 million Berries. He's a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, Bird-Bird Fruit, Crow Form. He's from the East Blue and was later recruited by Norton. It's said that he has a very bad luck constitution; all the masters he's served have died, and only Norton can keep it under control." He licked his lips with his long tongue and spoke cautiously.

"Eight hundred million?" Big Mom's voice dropped even lower. "A nobody worth eight hundred million dares to marry a daughter of the Charlotte family?"

Perospero didn't dare to reply.

Katakuri stood on the other side of the hall, leaning against the pillar made of chocolate, arms crossed, a scarf covering half his face. Although he didn't speak, his eyes were slightly narrowed.

Smoothie stood beside him, her hand on the hilt of her sword at her waist, her brow furrowed.

Cracker leaned against the window, his fingers tapping on the armrest, making a soft, impatient sound.

A dozen or so Charlotte family children stood in the hall, all remaining silent.

Big Mom suddenly stood up, and the entire castle trembled slightly the moment her massive body rose from the throne. She clutched the reply letter in her hand, the paper crumpled between her thick fingers.

"Does he think just anyone is worthy of marrying a Charlotte family daughter?!"

The sound exploded in the hall, causing the sugar decorations to shed powder. The windows rattled, and even the floor trembled.

"Mom, please calm down," Perospero said, taking a step back.

"Calm down?!" Big Mom turned her head, something burning in her eyes. "What does he take my daughter for? Does some random Tom, Dick, or Harry think he's worthy of marrying Pudding?"

Her breathing began to quicken. Her lips, heavily painted with lipstick, opened and closed, her breath carrying a sweet, cloying scent.

The suffocating sweetness made my mouth water uncontrollably.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense.

"Mom," Katakuri straightened up from beside the pillar, "please calm down."

"Calm down? You want me to calm down?" Big Mom looked at him.

"Norton refused the marriage proposal but offered an alternative," Katakuri said calmly. "This shows he doesn't want to escalate the conflict. If we get angry now, we'll be blocking the path to negotiation."

BIGMOM stared at him for a few seconds, then slowly sat back on the throne.

But that anger didn't subside.

She clutched the crumpled letter, her fingers cracking as she squeezed it.

"That silver-haired boy," her voice was low, like a muffled thunderclap from the earth, "is playing me!"

"Mom, perhaps we can talk again," Perospero said cautiously.

"What are you talking about?" Big Mom interrupted him. "He's already made it clear he won't marry her! Sending some ninja to fool me! Investigate that Sanosuke! Find out! I want to know what gives him the right to covet my Charlotte family's daughter!"

Perospero nodded, turned and strode out of the hall.

"Mom, what do we do now?" Katakuri looked at the closed door, then at the massive figure on the throne who was still panting heavily.

"Wait a minute." She finally spoke, the anger in her voice still lingering, but suppressed. "That silver-haired boy—he won't refuse forever."

A slow, gentle curve appeared at the corner of her lips. The smile contained anger and resentment, but even more so, it held the patience, almost cruelty, of a hunter waiting for his prey.

"He has ambition, power, and a kingdom," Big Mom murmured, her voice so low that only she could hear it. "But he has no offspring. A kingdom without an heir is incomplete."

"In the end, he'll definitely be moved!"