Inside the banquet hall, candlelight flickered, and the aroma of strong liquor mixed with the greasy smell of roasted meat pervaded the air.
Buckin’s slender fingers gently cupped Charlotte Rector’s chin, her alluring eyes reflecting his figure, her body leaning forward slightly as if she was about to press right up against him.
Charlotte Rector’s heart beat wildly.
Don’t get me wrong!
It wasn’t an erection!
Besides, his physical condition wouldn’t allow it anyway.
He merely sighed inwardly that Buckin’s disguise was simply too good; she truly lived up to her moniker of the “Scientific Bandit”, Bakiningham Stussy.
He was well aware that what Buckin cared about most forever were Berries and research results.
She frequently sneaked into various research teams under the guise of a researcher, and once research results were produced, she would steal them and resell them.
That was how the moniker of the “Scientific Bandit” came to be.
(Picture of Buckin!)
With a faint smile on his face, Charlotte Rector shoved Buckin away.
“Save these tricks of yours for someone else.”
“Mamamama!
Buckin, you’re still a far cry away from trying to bamboozle my son!” Big Mom stood with her hands on her hips, smiling as she looked at the dumbfounded Buckin.
Buckin didn’t mind Linlin’s banter, instead looking curiously at Charlotte Rector.
“What benefits can you give me?”
Charlotte Rector held up a single finger.
“Cooperate with me on a research project once, and I’ll give you one hundred million Berries.”
“Really?” Buckin’s voice was even trembling.
The rule of the Rocks Pirates was that treasures had to be plundered by oneself, and being relatively weak in strength, what she looted every time was always the least.
That was why she always pestered Newgate—after all, Newgate had zero interest in treasure whatsoever.
Now, just by cooperating once she could get one hundred million Berries; to say she wasn’t tempted would be a lie.
“One hundred million Berries?”
“Charlotte Rector, this is no small sum!”
“Every single Berry is the family’s operating capital, belonging to every single family member.”
“It’s not something you can just give away whenever you say so!”
Streusen, sitting behind Buckin, spoke up to dissuade him.
“Besides!
As far as I know, the family’s funds don’t support you doing this!”
“Where on earth are you getting the money from!”
Streusen’s words instantly attracted the attention of everyone inside the tavern.
If Linlin had said these words, they wouldn’t have cared.
But when Charlotte Rector said it, it was different; the Berries he managed were all plundered back by Big Mom.
One hundred million Berries a time, cooperating a few more times would amount to billions of Berries; where could he possibly get so many Berries?
“None of your damn business!
Just because you’re poor doesn’t mean I’m poor!”
“There are plenty of ways to make money!
Plundering the Heavenly Tribute, threatening the World Government using Celestial Dragons, these are all methods!”
“Then go do it!”
Charlotte Rector’s voice echoed within the tavern, and everyone was shocked by his words.
They had done the deed of plundering the Heavenly Tribute more than once, but they had never done the thing of threatening the World Government using Celestial Dragons.
This guy was a lunatic!
“You…”
Streusen was left speechless by Charlotte Rector’s retort, just as he was preparing to have Linlin discipline Charlotte Rector.
Big Mom, sitting behind Charlotte Rector, hadn’t heard their conversation at all.
Perospero was taking out snacks from a package and handing them to Big Mom; looking at her blissful expression, one could tell she was currently completely immersed in the world of food.
“Our score hasn’t been settled yet!
Say one more word and I’ll kill you!”
The look Charlotte Rector directed at Streusen was mixed with an unconcealable killing intent, and the lightning flickering across the surface of his body made Streusen’s blood run cold.
Because he knew that if he spoke one more word, Charlotte Rector would attack him without the slightest hesitation.
“Interesting!
Brat, come onto my ship and be the vice-Captain!”
“Follow me and you won’t have to take any more grievance!
Kill whoever you want to kill!”
An unbridled voice came from the entrance of the hall.
A head of flamboyant blonde hair danced wildly with his strides, resembling a lion king ruling over its pack, his entire body exuding an undisguised arrogance.
The Sovereign — Shiki.
“Shiki!
I think you’re tired of living!
Poaching my son right in front of me!”
Having finished her snack, Big Mom happened to hear Shiki’s words and slammed her palm down onto the bar counter.
The solid wood bar counter simply couldn’t withstand her terrifying strength, instantly shattering into countless wood splinters.
Waving one hand, a whipped-up wind mixed with wood splinters swept toward Shiki.
Streusen prayed in his heart that Charlotte Rector absolutely must not agree; whatever that madman Shiki promised, he would certainly pull off.
He was still young; he didn’t want to die!
“Gedhahahaha!
Don’t be so worked up!”
A flash of red light flickered across Shiki’s triangular eyes, and the stone slabs beneath his feet instantly detached from the ground, flying up to block in front of him and intercepting all the incoming wood splinters.
“I refuse.”
“Hey!
Think about it some more!”
“With your Rumble-Rumble Fruit plus my Float-Float Fruit, within twenty years, we can conquer the entire world!”
Shiki spread his arms wide, his unbridled voice echoing in the hall, his eyes filled with yearning for the future.
“I refuse, it’s impossible between us.”
Charlotte Rector turned his head and walked straight out the door.
Shiki had a personality of doing whatever came to his mind, never caring about the consequences of his actions, and in over twenty years he would become a VIP of Impel Down.
Following him was purely courting death, not to mention Shiki’s pirate crew shared the exact same model as the current Rocks Pirates, or was even more chaotic.
Having the experience of being stabbed in the back once was enough; he certainly didn’t want a second time.
Even less did he want to follow Shiki to storm Marineford and bump into those two old men who only hit people on the head.
Whitebeard watched Charlotte Rector’s figure walking straight out the gates, a faint smile curving the corner of his mouth.
This kid was even tougher than he anticipated, and even crazier than Rocks.
Threatening the World Government using Celestial Dragons, this was something even Rocks had never done.
Buckin was still pondering Charlotte Rector’s proposal on the spot; getting one hundred million Berries just for cooperating in a single research project, this condition was simply too tempting.
For the next three months, Charlotte Rector stayed continuously on Hachinosu, waiting for his younger brothers and sisters to be born.
The morning mist had yet to disperse entirely as Charlotte Rector looked at the figure before him, veins throbbing fiercely on his forehead.
“Kaido!
Are you ever going to finish!
You’ve challenged me a hundred times these past three months!”
Ever since he was killed in a single move by Charlotte Rector last time, Kaido seemed to have latched onto him, running over rain or shine every day to issue a challenge.
Every time he was struck half-dead by lightning, yet the next day he would appear in front of him full of vim and vigor.
“Charlotte Rector!
Every time I get struck by you, I feel like I’ve gotten stronger the next day!”
Kaido stared at him with burning eyes; that gaze wasn’t looking at a person at all, it was clearly looking at a large EXP pack.
“Scram!”
Charlotte Rector kicked Kaido right in the face, the immense force directly knocking out his front teeth and sending his body flying uncontrollably toward the direction of the port.
“Just…
you…
wait…!”
Kaido’s intermittent voice drifted back with the wind, leaving Charlotte Rector’s expression livid.
If anyone dared to say Kaido was a brainless reckless brute, he would be the first to disagree.
This brat always picked the road back to his residence to waylay him, having calculated that he was afraid of affecting Big Mom who was about to give birth, and didn’t dare use large-scale attacks.
Big Mom had already reached her due date; it would be disastrous if the aftermath of a battle injured his unborn younger brothers and sisters.
But today, he was definitely going to make Kaido bedridden for a few days.
“Kaido!
This time I’m going to make you unable to get out of bed for three days!”
Lightning surfaced around Charlotte Rector’s entire body, and crisp snapping sounds burst out in the air.
His figure instantly vanished from the spot, leaving behind only a charred patch where he had just been standing.
On the sea surface of the port, an inconspicuous small boat slowly docked, the salty and fishy sea breeze carrying rolling waves beating against the embankment.
“Isn’t this…
that brat Kaido.”
An exceptionally tall man had just stepped ashore when he saw the figure flying toward him.
His fierce visage resembled a primeval beast, his blue-and-white short hair curling upward like flames, his gaze as sharp as a knife, radiating an arrogance that could devour everything.
Just standing there, he was like a mountain that blotted out the sky and sun, oppressing people so much they couldn’t breathe.
Rocks D.
Xebec!
(Picture of Rocks!)
Single-handedly stirring up the winds and waves of an entire era, he broke into Mary Geoise at the age of twenty-five, killed a Marine Admiral, and ultimately retreated unscathed.
The Marines and the World Government slapped him with the label of the “World’s Most Evil Pirate”.
This was not only recognizing his terrifying strength, but even more so dreading his ambition to become the King of the World.
Rocks raised his supreme big foot and delivered a kick straight at the flying Kaido.
“Bang!”
Kaido’s face was kicked until it caved in, his eyes exposed outside turning slightly white, and his body smashed at an even faster speed toward the buildings beside the port, slamming into walls and sending rubble flying everywhere.
“Kaido!
Go to hell!”
Charlotte Rector’s roar of extreme fury descended from the skies accompanied by violent lightning.