Homies not only differed in personality—they also differed in status.
Ordinary Homies treated Charlotte Linlin’s children like their masters, behaving no differently from loyal servants.
Hermes, however, was different.
Born from a fragment of Charlotte Linlin’s own soul, he held a much higher rank and answered to only a select few.
Specifically, Hermes obeyed only Charlotte Linlin herself, Nanamo, and Nereus.
At least when it came to commanding Homies, Nanamo and Charlotte Linlin had the highest authority.
Since Nanamo and Katakuri had gone off to settle a score, Hermes couldn’t very well stop them.
The best he could do was send Perospero to notify Charlotte Linlin before things spiraled completely out of control.
Perospero turned to head for a Den Den Mushi, but before he could take more than a few steps, the flat ground beneath him suddenly bulged upward.
Caught off guard, he tripped and fell flat on his face.
“When did this place get a dirt mound…?”
“Oh, sorry.
You’re so small I didn’t even see you.
So Miss Nanamo went that way.”
Nodding to himself as though everything made perfect sense, Big Pan sank back underground and resumed his self-appointed duty as a covert bodyguard, tailing them from below.
“I’ve got to ask, Katakuri—why are you covering your face?”
“When it comes down to it, Brûlée was hurt because of me.
From now on, I won’t expose this ‘weakness’ to anyone ever again.”
Because of his unusually large mouth and sharp fangs, Katakuri had never been particularly popular on the island.
His only companions were his own brothers and sisters.
Perospero had once told him that if he covered his mouth, he’d make a lot more friends.
Back then, Katakuri had scoffed at the idea.
He couldn’t have cared less.
Anyone who mocked him simply got punched.
That was before Brûlée was injured.
“How is that a weakness?
If that’s the case, should I wrap myself up like a mummy every time I leave the house?”
“Big Sis, our situations are different.
Nereus…
Mr.
Nereus only has one child—you.
But Mom has countless children.
“Perospero isn’t strong enough.
That responsibility naturally falls to me.
“I was too naïve before.
Brûlée’s injury made me realize that I can’t afford to leave even the slightest opening.
Only flawless terror can make enemies truly afraid.”
Katakuri paused briefly, uncertain how he should address Nereus.
After all, Charlotte Linlin had always embraced the philosophy of “keeping the child while discarding the father”.
The role of “father” was still something unfamiliar to Katakuri.
The fathers of his younger siblings held equally insignificant positions.
They were practically invisible in his life.
And just as Katakuri had said, although Charlotte Linlin had many children, she raised them in an almost free-range fashion.
She made sure they survived childhood, but how they grew afterward was entirely up to them.
It was perfectly normal for the older children to take care of the younger ones in her place.
As her strongest son, Katakuri was forced to mature quickly despite being only ten years old, and Brûlée’s injury only accelerated that process.
“Suit yourself.
But I’ll say this—you don’t look strange at all.
You’re actually incredibly handsome.”
“…Thank you.”
Nanamo was two years older than Katakuri and was herself of mixed Fish-Man heritage, so she understood exactly how he felt.
She was quite attractive, possessing an exotic beauty unique to her mixed ancestry.
But prejudice didn’t simply disappear because someone happened to be beautiful.
Even among humans, prejudice was everywhere.
Forget discrimination against demi-human races—even something as trivial as a different skin tone, or a single mole on someone’s face, could become the target of mass ridicule once the right people started it.
Even Charlotte Linlin herself couldn’t treat all of her children equally.
Collecting children from every race was her dream, yet the appearance of some of them still displeased her.
Take Pudding, for example.
As a member of the Three-Eye Tribe, the third eye on her forehead often earned disgusted remarks from Charlotte Linlin, who openly called it “revolting.”
On this island, compromise accomplished nothing.
Staying silent only marked you as an easy target.
Both Nanamo and Katakuri understood that if they didn’t make those responsible pay, those people would only grow bolder.
Katakuri dragged his trident across the ground, its razor-sharp blade carving through the stone pavement and sending showers of sparks into the air.
Before long, guided by Katakuri, Nanamo arrived at the headquarters of the Fat Bottle Pirates.
“So you finally showed up, Katakuri.
We’ve been waiting for you.”
The captain of the Fat Bottle Pirates was an obese man missing several teeth.
Shaking out his long coat, he clapped his hands with a smug grin.
“And you even brought a little girl?
That’s a pretty insulting way to underestimate us.”
Pirates emerged one after another from the surrounding shadows, each armed with weapons.
In moments, Katakuri and Nanamo found themselves completely encircled.
Hovering high above, Hermes naturally saw everything.
His expression grew unusually serious as he watched the scene below, constantly shifting his position in the sky as he searched for anyone still hiding.
The cloud’s face gradually scrunched into a puzzled frown, as if it couldn’t make sense of what it was seeing.
The reason was simple.
These pirates were far too weak.
Though merely a Homie, Hermes had witnessed countless battles.
By observing a person’s movements and sensing their presence, he could roughly judge their strength.
If these were all the enemies present, they wouldn’t stand a chance—not against both Nanamo and Katakuri, or even against Katakuri alone.
So why would people this weak dare ambush him?
Even if they somehow succeeded, there was no way they could survive Charlotte Linlin’s retaliation afterward.
As a cautious Homie, Hermes concluded they had to be hiding another trump card somewhere.
Remaining vigilant for any unexpected developments, he chose not to interfere while the situation was still well within Nanamo and Katakuri’s ability to handle.
“Katakuri, what’s that thing covering your face?
You look ridiculous.”
The Fat Bottle Pirates were still laughing at him.
But the mocking tone vanished the moment they heard Katakuri’s cold, murderous voice.
“…You dared…
to scar my sister’s face…”
“W-We…
we’re sorry…”
The captain of the Fat Bottle Pirates suddenly felt death staring him in the face.
But what was done was done.
At a time like this, apologies meant nothing.
Katakuri answered with his trident.
The captain watched in horror as his strongest fighter lasted exactly two exchanges.
The first strike knocked the man’s weapon flying.
The second drove the trident clean through his heart.
Katakuri didn’t slow down for even a moment.
Like an unstoppable god of slaughter, he continued charging straight toward the captain.
“D-Don’t just stand there!
If you don’t want to die, attack him together!
You lot—grab that little girl beside him!”
Nanamo’s delicate appearance immediately struck the captain as the obvious weak point.
While the rest of the crew rushed to surround Katakuri, the captain himself charged toward Nanamo, swinging his saber in an attempt to seize her as a hostage.
Before he could get anywhere near accomplishing that, a small, smooth hand reached out—
—and caught the blade with its bare fingers.