In a spacious reception room in Cake City. Sephiroth sat back in a white chair, a cup of black tea on the round table in front of him. Across from him sat three figures: Katakuri, Smoothie, and Perospero.
Since Big Mom Charlotte Linlin still had to chat and see off other attendees of the tea party, she couldn't be present at the moment. That left her three children to keep Sephiroth company. But… how should I put it? Among the three, Katakuri wasn't talkative, and the other two, Smoothie and Perospero, had some unpleasantness with Sephiroth during the tea party.
Therefore, the atmosphere in the room was extremely awkward and quiet, with both sides in a state of having nothing to say.
After a long while, the large door of the reception room, made of chocolate, opened with a 'creak'. Big Mom Charlotte Linlin, a smile plastered on her face, walked in from the corridor and sat down in the specially left empty space between Katakuri and Perospero.
"Alright! The joyful tea party is over, let's get down to business now!" As she spoke, the smile on Big Mom Charlotte Linlin's face remained, but her eyes suddenly became sharper. "Sephiroth... I know that your relationship with the Umbrella Corporation is not as simple as it appears on the surface!"
"Oh!? Then please elaborate…" Hearing this, Sephiroth remained unmoved. He picked up the black tea in front of him and took a gentle sip.
"Mr. K… You're not unfamiliar with this name, are you?" Big Mom Charlotte Linlin's tone gradually deepened, and the smile on her face seemed a little playful.
As expected! The things I did fifty years ago really left quite a significant aftermath and impact… Sephiroth muttered to himself, but he feigned a confused expression on his face.
"Mr. K? I think I've heard of him, and yet I haven't…"
Seeing him play dumb, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin burst into laughter: "Mamamama! Perospero, show him that photo and see if he can remember something…"
"Yes, Mama!" Perospero reached into his chest and fumbled around, taking out a palm-sized, yellowed old photograph. Looking at its age, it was at least several decades old…
Sephiroth looked closely and saw that the photo showed a young man wearing a black suit, with shoulder-length silver hair, a mask on his face, and two swords at his waist.
"Since you've forgotten, let me tell you my story! Back when I was just pregnant with Perospero, I received news that someone had offered a bounty of three billion Berries to kill this man in the photo, which is you, Sephiroth… To be honest, I was tempted at the time and wanted to agree to participate in that encirclement on the Sabaody Archipelago and had a thorough understanding of your information. However, Perospero was my first child after all, coupled with his father's strong opposition, I ultimately did not participate.
That incident caused a huge stir. Thousands of people went to encircle you, but none survived, so you left a very deep impression on me. Later, I even specifically inquired about a lot of your information, and even thought about finding an opportunity to have a powerful child with you... Mamamama!"
"..."
Hearing this, Sephiroth looked at the tank-sized Big Mom Charlotte Linlin in front of him, his eye twitching uncontrollably. Because of her shocking words, he felt goosebumps all over his body.
Although he knew Big Mom Charlotte Linlin was a great beauty when she was young, looking at the heavy tank in front of him, he still couldn't physiologically accept such a terrifying thing.
He estimated that even if Big Mom Charlotte Linlin had offered herself to him freely back then, the moment he thought of her current appearance... Sephiroth felt that he wouldn't have any worldly desires for Big Mom Charlotte Linlin!
Seeing that the young man in front of her didn't say anything, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin could only continue talking to herself.
"However, the main reason I can recognize you now is because of the Black Blade you carry... Among weapons, this is a rare treasure in the world. Every holder of a Black Blade was a famous Great Swordsman at the time... How about it, do you need me to continue? I've collected a lot of related intelligence and information using my connections. Including the fact that you are Du Feld's boss, and that you made their forces make way for the Umbrella Corporation...
I have a complete grasp of all sorts of information in the underground world!"
Since Big Mom Charlotte Linlin had already said this much, Sephiroth was too lazy to continue pretending. He spoke, "Alright! Tell me your purpose!"
Big Mom Charlotte Linlin stared straight at him, smiling slightly, "Mamamama! I have no intention of being your enemy, let's cooperate!"
As long as it's not having a child with you, anything else is fine!...Sephiroth first muttered to himself, then he asked, "What do you want to cooperate with me on?"
Hearing this, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin immediately stated her purpose: "I know that your Umbrella Corporation has a very powerful research team. It's not inferior even when compared to the Marine Science Unit SSG... Therefore, I want you to help me research a drug that can make ordinary people giant when they eat it! Also, regarding the arms business, haven't your Umbrella Corporation and the Whitebeard Pirates cut ties? I have the most extensive network of contacts in the entire underground world... In this regard, Du Feld and them simply can't compare to me; it's a difference in level."
"If you are willing to cooperate with me privately, this matter will be of great benefit to both of us..." Big Mom Charlotte Linlin wanted to cooperate with Sephiroth, but the arms business was secondary. What she truly valued was the giantification drug! The Giant Race was recognized as the strongest race in the world. They were born with powerful physiques, and every adult Giant possessed formidable combat power that couldn't be ignored. Even without much training, their strength surpassed ninety-nine percent of humans in this world.
Therefore, the military power of the Giant Race was something Big Mom Charlotte Linlin had always craved. However, due to Big Mom Charlotte Linlin destroying a Giant village and killing the Giant Race's elder Yoruru during a hunger pang episode when she was a child, as well as her unintentionally eating her Giant 'friend' Sister Carmel and being witnessed by the Giant Race, her relationship with the Giant Race was irreconcilable.
But...
Some time ago, Prince Loki of the Giant Race fell in love with Big Mom Charlotte Linlin's daughter Lola, which gave her an opportunity to reconcile with the Giant Race and gain their military support.
But... What made Big Mom Charlotte Linlin extremely angry was that her daughter Lola actually ran away from the wedding! Although she'd tried to have Lola's twin sister, Chiffon, who looked very similar to her, impersonate Lola, Prince Loki saw through Chiffon immediately. Because of this incident, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin's already hostile relationship with the Giant Race became even worse.
Therefore, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin no longer hoped to gain the assistance of the Giant Race! Thus, she changed her approach. Since she couldn't get military support from the Giant Race, why not create Giants herself? Therefore, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin came up with the idea of obtaining a giantification drug and began searching for someone who could help her achieve her goal... Currently, the entities with relatively strong technological capabilities in the world were, firstly, the Marine Science Unit SSG, secondly, Germa 66, and thirdly, the Umbrella Corporation.
SSG is out of the question; unless the Big Mom Pirates go to war with the Marine, they can't possibly capture Vegapunk. Even Caesar, before he was wanted, the Big Mom Pirates couldn't get in touch with him! As for Germa 66... After receiving support from the Umbrella Corporation's mechs, they now possessed the capital to dominate the North Blue, so Judge directly and unhesitatingly rejected the Big Mom Pirates' proposal for cooperation. In the end, the Big Mom Pirates were left with only the Umbrella Corporation as an option. But...
Due to the World Government's recent order, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin knew that without some kind of breakthrough, the Umbrella Corporation wouldn't agree to cooperate with the Big Mom Pirates.
However…
When she had her son Perospero use his connections to gather leverage on the Umbrella Corporation for a threatened cooperation, she unexpectedly discovered that Sephiroth had a high degree of overlap with a man she had cared deeply about years ago...
After various secret investigations and analyses by her children, Big Mom finally confirmed that Sephiroth was "Mr. K" from back then.
After continuously digging deeper, Big Mom then discovered that he was actually the true Master of the Umbrella Corporation!
Hence, this meeting took place today.
Sephiroth gently rubbed his chin, musing for a while. He finally spoke slowly, "Your proposal is very tempting…"
"However, the World Government is currently eyeing the Umbrella Corporation covetously, and we have never cooperated before, so there is no basis for mutual trust. I will not take such a large degree of instability and risk to cooperate with you."
Big Mom Charlotte Linlin laughed loudly. "Mamamama! If there's no basis, then let's create one... Let's have a political marriage!"
"Huh!?"
Hearing this, Sephiroth immediately felt a chill run down his spine, his expression slightly changing.
Holy shit! Could this old woman still be coveting my genetic material after all these years? You are so old, you must have gone through menopause! Can you still give birth!?
Fortunately, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin's subsequent words dispelled the fear and disgust in his heart. "You can choose an unmarried daughter among mine to be your woman..."
"How about it? With this connection, we will be family from now on! This way, the basis for cooperation will exist!" Big Mom Charlotte Linlin proposed.
"Uh!? This..." Sephiroth gently rubbed his chin, muttering to himself:
Although there are many beauties among Big Mom's daughters, like Smoothie right in front of me.
But...
In terms of personality, these beauties seem to have some kind of serious illness; basically, none of them are normal, they are all yanderes who have turned dark! If I brought that kind of person home, would I even be able to live a normal life afterwards...?
Hmm! Little Pudding could be considered; she doesn't seem to have turned dark yet, and her gentle and weak personality is quite cute.
Huh!? That's not right! Shouldn't I be considering the issue of whether we can cooperate? Why did I skip directly to the stage of choosing Big Mom's daughter!?
Sephiroth suddenly realized his lecherous heart had completely misled him. "How about it? What do you say? If you don't agree, there's no guarantee your past actions won't be exposed. In that case, the Marines and the World Government certainly won't stand idly by, right?"
"Are you threatening me?" Sephiroth's eyes narrowed, and he regarded Big Mom Charlotte Linlin with open hostility.
"No! I'm just laying out the pros and cons! The final decision is yours..."
Sephiroth considered this for a moment before speaking.
"I want your daughter, Pudding!"
Hearing that he wanted her daughter, Pudding, was unexpected for Big Mom Charlotte Linlin. Pudding was from the Three-Eye Tribe. This race was born with three eyes, and their third eye held a unique power. When awakened, it could understand the meaning hidden within unknown texts.
Big Mom had sought out a member of the Three-Eye Tribe and borne offspring precisely for their ability to decipher the poneglyphs. Now that Sephiroth wanted Pudding, she felt a little reluctant. But... she quickly reconsidered. While the Three-Eye Tribe was rare, they weren't extinct. She could have her son or daughter kidnap another member and bear offspring again.
Moreover, even if she couldn't find other members of the Three-Eye Tribe, Pudding was still her daughter. If her bloodline power awakened in the future, she could still have her decipher the poneglyphs! Thinking of this, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin immediately let out a hearty laugh:
"Mamamama! Alright, my daughter Pudding will be your woman from now on! Our private cooperation agreement is now in effect, right?"
"Yes!"
Seeing that Big Mom Charlotte Linlin continued to laugh without stopping, Sephiroth could only raise his right hand and gently tap the table to interrupt her.
Regarding the giantification drug for ordinary people that she mentioned, while their Company should be able to research it, it came with significant side effects... However, the Company possessed rapid cloning technology. With the Giant Race bloodline factor, they could accelerate the embryo's maturation. Theoretically, it would only take six years to cultivate a mature giant.
Giants who accelerated their growth this way only lived for thirty years. Normal cloning technology, even when developed to four times the speed of Germa, was already the limit. However, the Umbrella Corporation made an unexpected discovery while researching the ES drug and using it to develop a super soldier serum. Adding trace amounts of the ES drug components to clone embryos could significantly accelerate cell growth, reaching about ten times the normal speed. But... it also accelerated aging.
For normal human clones, considering the total cultivation cost and subsequent usage time, using this technology to create clones wasn't very profitable. However, if used to create Giant Race individuals, it still had relatively high utilization value. But... after weighing the pros and cons, the Umbrella Corporation's cloning technology was ultimately surpassed by intelligent robots.
In fact, if Sephiroth truly intended to help Big Mom Charlotte Linlin cultivate Giant Race combat power, he could create one within two months... No!
He could create a group of normal adult Giant Race individuals! After all, Sephiroth had recently acquired the Ripe-Ripe Fruit. He could shorten the growth time of an embryo by decades with just a touch of his hand. Through his experimental research, he found that life forms accelerated using the Ripe-Ripe Fruit ability had absolutely no physiological defects... Therefore, possessing the Ripe-Ripe Fruit ability, he could actually mass-produce soldiers! This was one of the trump cards he planned to use when he entered a war of attrition with the World Government in the future...
After all, robots required many expensive materials to manufacture, but his cloning army flow could compress the cost directly to 100,000 Berries per unit!
Big Mom Charlotte Linlin's smile became even more radiant when she heard that Sephiroth could cultivate mature Giant Race individuals within six years.
"Mamamama! How about selling me that rapid cloning technology? Also, I hope you don't stop researching the giantification drug; continue with the research, and I will provide additional research funds for it."
Sephiroth shook his head and directly refused. "The technology cannot be sold; it is confidential information. However, we can help you cultivate Giant Race clones in Totto Land, for 300 million Berries each!"
Big Mom Charlotte Linlin thought that she would have her long-desired Giant Race individuals just by waiting six years, so she immediately said without hesitation:
"Alright! Give me forty to start with, half male and half fe..."