Whitebeard suddenly stood up, his massive frame casting a huge shadow, his voice like a booming bell, echoing across the entire deck:
"So, all of you, put away your fear! If they can be cut, it proves they can bleed, and they can be defeated!"
"So-called immortality is just a joke!"
At this moment, the gloom in the hearts of the Whitebeard Pirates was swept away, replaced by a ignited fighting spirit and a craving for historical truth... In Totto Land, inside the Cake Island castle.
On the giant dessert screen, the astonishing battle from afar was being broadcast live.
When Satan Saint displayed his inhuman form and immortal characteristics, Charlotte Linlin's massive body leaned slightly forward.
In her eyes, which were originally a little cloudy with age, a cold glint as sharp as a blade flashed, as if piercing through the screen and returning to that bloody battlefield decades ago.
"Mama Mama..." She let out a low, meaningful laugh, her thick fingers picking up a cream cake adorned with strawberries and putting it into her mouth; the sweet taste seemed to awaken deeper memories.
"Satan... still looks so disgusting."
She chewed, her voice somewhat muffled, yet carrying a cold confirmation,
"At God Valley, this kind of indestructible, uncrushable ghostly ability really gave me, Kaido, and that old geezer Whitebeard, a lot of trouble..."
Her children around her, such as Katakuri, Perospero, and others, held their breath at her words.
They could sense the apprehension and humiliation, long buried by time but never truly forgotten, from Mama's seemingly calm words.
It was a terrifying power that even Mama and the other two Sea Emperors had found difficult to deal with.
However, when Red-Haired Shanks severed the spider leg with a single sword strike on the screen, breaking the myth of immortality, Mama's reaction was beyond everyone's expectation.
She didn't laugh heartily like Whitebeard, nor did she show any desire to investigate or seek revenge; she simply waved her cream-stained hand lazily, even with a hint of boredom, as if shooing away an annoying fly.
"Boring!"
"These old monsters really don't know how to enjoy themselves!!"
She pouted, her huge voice making the palace hum, "What's the point of fighting and killing over old grudges from decades ago? If that fool Kaido wants to fight to the death, let him go by himself!"
Her attention had completely shifted from the screen; what reignited in her eyes was a completely different kind of flame, full of creativity and a desire for expression.
"Come, come, come! My little ones!!!"
Mama suddenly stood up from her throne, her massive body swaying slightly with excitement, "Get my phones ready! Lights! Props! Where's the script?!"
"Katakuri, Perospero, bring the script over!"
She snatched a stack of documents that Charlotte Mondor hastily handed her, glancing at the cover—"The Overbearing Female CEO Falls in Love with Me: 100 Proposals of Sweet Capital."
"Mama Mama! That's it! This is the feeling!"
Mama's face broke into an almost girlishly excited smile, "This time, I don't want to be an Emperor of the Sea! I want to be the—overbearing female CEO—who rules a business empire!"
...
"Hurry up, everyone! For the first scene, I'm going to use 'Emperor Sword: Shattering Blade'... Wait, no! I'll use my business acumen to 'acquire' the company of that wet-behind-the-ears male protagonist who doesn't know his place! Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama!!!!"
The entire Whole Cake Chateau instantly became busy. The children frantically began setting up the scene, bringing in a massive golden abacus and mountains of Berries as props.
The battle far away that would decide the fate of the world was, here, less important than the first scene of the "CEO Short Drama" that Mama was about to film.
For BIG MOM at this moment, the pleasure derived from controlling the plot and character settings was far more appealing than fighting and killing old enemies.
A new "battlefield" had opened up in her heart: the TikTok short drama rankings!
... Marineford, Fleet Admiral's Office.
On the massive projection screen, the battle situation at the front was being displayed in split view.
On one side was the Satan Saint's chilling spider form and his immortal characteristics, and on the other was the temporary stalemate caused by Shanks delivering Divine Departure.
Below the screen, news flashes and comments expressing public panic from all over the world continuously scrolled and refreshed.
Sengoku rested his hands on the desk, his knuckles slightly white from the force. His face, usually characterized by wisdom and calm authority, was now etched with deep, furrow-like wrinkles and an unresolvable gravity.
The Gorosei... had actually entered the fray themselves, and in such... a manner.
This had far exceeded a standard extermination operation targeting pirates.
The appearance of the Satan Saint, and the display of his reality-defying abilities, elevated the nature of this battle from "The Marine dispensing justice" to "The World Government displaying divine might."
What weighed even heavier on his heart was the smooth, seemingly natural way the Satan Saint had directly issued orders to Akainu, completely disregarding him, the Fleet Admiral, and his operational deployment.
He, the Fleet Admiral, had become a complete and utter spectator in this battle that truly determined the geopolitical landscape, with even his right to advise being invisibly stripped away.
A puppet...?
A cold and cruel word slithered into his mind like a venomous snake.
He had upheld justice his entire life, strategized meticulously, and balanced various forces, believing that holding this position would allow him to better implement his beliefs and protect more civilians.
But only now, as the highest authority of the World Government descended without concealment, directly taking control of everything like a master dealing with a tool, did he realize with stark clarity:
No matter how hard he tried or how powerful he was, in the eyes of the Gorosei, the Fleet Admiral, and even the entire Marine system, were merely sharp tools for maintaining their rule.
An unprecedented feeling of powerlessness, like a deep-sea cold current, instantly permeated his entire body.
It was the confusion of having the foundation of his beliefs shaken, the absurdity of dedicating his life only to find he was still dancing in the palm of another's hand.
He slowly straightened up, moving his gaze away from the chaotic screen and resting it on an old photograph in the corner of his desk —a picture of himself, Garp, and Tsuru standing side by side when they were young, full of youthful vigor and ambition.
Had the tide of the era... become so turbulent and uncontrollable?
Perhaps... it is time for me, an old man of the previous era, to yield my position to someone who can truly master the waves.
An almost imperceptible sigh dissipated within the empty Fleet Admiral's Office.
The thought of retirement, for the first time, surfaced in his heart with such clarity and such heaviness.
This was not avoidance, but a sober recognition of reality, and... a deep, powerless worry for the future of the Marine...
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"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"