"What do you mean?"
Yemu could clearly tell that Charlotte Linlin's words carried a deeper meaning.
What did she mean by not completely succeeding?
"Mamamama, don't be so impatient. Before the main feast, you need a little appetizer first, don't you?"
As Charlotte Linlin finished speaking cheerfully, the door behind them opened once again. Perospero walked in with a man whose upper body was thin and long while his lower body was thick and heavy, with straw-gold hair, a powdered pale face, and a long pointed nose.
Behind them, eight Chess Soldiers came in carrying an enormous book, panting heavily as they slowly brought it over to BIGMOM's side.
"Mama, I brought the book!"
The speaker was Charlotte Mont-d'Or, the user of the Buku Buku no Mi, his voice tense.
"It's finally here!"
Charlotte Linlin visibly grew excited. She rose straight from the soft sofa, her massive eight-meter frame like a small mountain.
Boom… boom… boom…
With heavy thundering footsteps, Charlotte Linlin walked up to the giant book, grabbed it with one hand, and happily brought it over to Yemu. After setting it down in front of everyone, she leaned her huge face in close and asked excitedly,
"Do you know what's inside?"
She didn't even wait for Yemu to answer before continuing on her own.
"My dream is to collect all the rarest creatures in the world, especially those species on the verge of disappearing into the river of history. But no matter what kind of life it is, all things grow old and die. Time takes everything away. But once they're locked in here, that's different. This is the power of my son Charlotte Mont-d'Or's Buku Buku no Mi. It can imprison any object inside a book, and once something is sealed inside, it will never change. It won't grow old, and it won't die. After all, the contents of a book can't be changing every time you open it, can they? And this book is my favorite among all my collections."
As she spoke, Charlotte Linlin directly opened to the first page. To everyone's surprise, a cage appeared on the page, and inside it was a man from the Longarm Tribe.
Before anyone could understand what was happening, the man inside the book suddenly came alive and shouted in terrified desperation,
"Linlin, please let me out! I'm your husband! Perospero, Katakuri, please, I'm your stepfather!"
But Charlotte Linlin acted as if she hadn't heard him at all and continued turning the pages.
Under everyone's gaze, all kinds of strange races and rare animals appeared. Tiger even saw members of his own race among them: Fish-Men.
At that moment, the faint trace of goodwill Tiger had still held toward Charlotte Linlin because of her dream vanished completely, replaced by pure disgust.
How was this any different from the Celestial Dragons?
Flare and the other girls had gone pale as well.
Only now did they truly understand just how terrifying and cruel the woman before them, BIGMOM, really was.
Charlotte Linlin, meanwhile, kept flipping through the book in high spirits. When she reached page fifty, the excitement in her expression became even more intense.
It was the excitement of someone standing on the verge of uncovering a secret.
"It's about to appear!"
As she spoke, Charlotte Linlin looked at Yemu. Under his expectant gaze, she opened to page fifty.
What appeared before him was a white cage.
But inside, there was nothing.
"???"
Yemu froze, then looked at Charlotte Linlin, clearly not understanding.
Seeing his reaction, Charlotte Linlin burst into excited laughter.
"Mamamama…"
Her expression suddenly shifted, and she let out a sharp, eerie shout toward the book.
"Come out!"
The shrill voice grated on everyone's ears, making them instinctively wince.
Right after that, something began to appear inside the previously empty cage. A translucent figure slowly took shape, gradually solidifying until it became a small, fluffy white fox.
Its pitch-black vertical pupils locked tightly onto Yemu.
Yemu was momentarily stunned, and even Enel recognized it.
"Isn't that a Cloud Fox?"
"Huh… you guys know this animal?"
Flare asked curiously. She had never seen one before.
"Yeah."
Enel nodded, recalling,
"It's a very common animal in the sky islands. It's called a Cloud Fox. People often keep them as pets."
But that wasn't what Yemu cared about.
"What kind of ability was that just now? Invisibility? The Suke Suke no Mi? It even blocked my Observation Haki…"
The moment he said that, everyone froze, including Charlotte Linlin.
At that instant, Charlotte Linlin seemed to truly believe that Yemu might not care much about his origins after all.
Just then, the Cloud Fox in the cage opened its mouth. Its black vertical pupils carried an eerie presence as a low, feminine voice sounded.
"No. I am a Cloud Fox who has eaten a Zoan-type Devil Fruit, the Neko Neko no Mi, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nekomata."
As the words fell, the fox stretched its body, and its form began to change.
Its size rapidly increased. From its white fur, black strands began to grow, forming mysterious spiral patterns across its entire body. Its tail split into two, one white and one black. Blue flames flickered on the white tail, while black flames burned along the black one. White mist gathered beneath its feet, coiling around its four paws.
If Kaidou's Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon brought overwhelming pressure, then this Mythical Zoan gave off a cold, aloof, almost untouchable presence.
"So beautiful!"
The three girls spoke in unison.
Yemu, however, asked something entirely different.
"That invisibility ability earlier… what was it?"
"That is my ability, the Realm of Death. My Devil Fruit grants me control over two types of flames. The blue flames are the Flames of the Underworld, capable of freezing a living being's soul. The other are the Flames of Death, which burn the soul. When both are used together, I can open the gate to the underworld and enter the Realm of Death. In that state, no matter how strong one's Observation Haki is, they cannot perceive my presence."
"That's a ridiculous ability…"
Compared to these Mythical Zoan powers, Logia-type Devil Fruits were starting to feel less impressive.
And every one of them could use flames.
What was the point of the Mera Mera no Mi then?
No wonder people joked that even a dog wouldn't want it.
At that moment, Charlotte Linlin spoke up with clear irritation,
"Hey, you two. Are you enjoying your chat so much that you've forgotten I'm still here?"
"My apologies. One last question, then."
Yemu said, turning his gaze toward the aloof, majestic nekomata.
"What's your name?"
"My name? Rocks D. Lillilu. That is the name my master gave me. Of course, if young master prefers, you may simply call me Lillilu…"
"Young master!?"
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.