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Cold, extremely cold.
The thunder Dragon crescent-sided halberd pressed against his neck, sending a chilling sensation straight to Katakuri's marrow, causing goosebumps to erupt all over his body.
Hot, extremely hot.
The sweat-soaked head scarf fell to the ground, the sun shining brightly overhead, radiating its light and heat unabashedly, causing sweat to pour down his back in no time.
Katakuri felt like he should say something because he sensed that Rowen's mood didn't seem too good at the moment.
"Vice Admiral Rowen..."
"Hmm, go on," Rowen replied.
Katakuri hesitated for a moment, then succinctly stated, "I've come to seek your help."
Facing the terrifying pressure emanating from Rowen, Katakuri used the most concise words to explain his intentions, hoping to dispel Rowen's killing intentions towards him.
And it worked.
Shuā!
The cold metal withdrew from his neck, and Katakuri took a step forward, bending over to gasp for breath.
"Seek my help?" came Rowen's skeptical tone tinged with a hint of mockery from behind. "Why should I help a pirate?"
Interest is enough! Interest leads to discussions.
As Katakuri continued to catch his breath, he straightened up and locked eyes with Rowen. "Helping me would be a win-win situation. Firstly, I can protect my younger siblings."
"And you..."
Taking a deep breath, Katakuri, with a hint of pain, closed his eyes and uttered a reason as earth-shattering as a collapsing sky!
"And you will gain the unparalleled merit of annihilating a Yonko pirate crew!"
Rowen's eyes widened instantly, looking at him in disbelief.
The unparalleled merit of annihilating a Yonko pirate crew?
Could it be!!!
"Yes!" Katakuri affirmed. "I've decided to betray my mother in exchange for a chance to save my younger siblings' lives!"
Katakuri struggled to articulate, "My mother has gone insane!"
"She has deployed all of her one hundred and twenty pirate crews along the New World's frontlines, and my siblings have suffered heavy casualties in the war against the Marines."
"Three days ago, she sent me a message, instructing me to set off immediately, mobilize forces from the several undercover agents we've planted over the years in the First Half, and launch a pincer attack on the Marines."
Despite the war having only started a little over a week ago and not yet culminating in a decisive battle, instead stretching across dozens of islands, the death toll had already exceeded ten thousand!!
Most of them were members of the BIG MOM pirate crew.
With reinforced bottom-tier forces through the Thunder Electrocuter, pinpoint strikes from Aircraft Force, Plasma Cannon, and small-scale Super Electromagnetic Cannons, they were formidable in both close combat and ranged warfare.
Facing the rejuvenated Marine cavalry, the forces under BIG MOM's flag had to use their lives to bridge the gap, resulting in unimaginable casualties!
If she had been on the defensive, the casualties wouldn't have been as severe,
But in her crazed quest to break through the Red Line's defenses and seek revenge on Rowen, she repeatedly launched attacks, forcing the pirates to face the far more powerful Marines, both in firepower and logistics, resulting in inevitable consequences.
After the initial shock, Rowen immediately calmed down, his gaze empty as he began to contemplate.
Seeing this, Katakuri couldn't help but let out a sigh of sadness.
How sorrowful!
When did he ever think he'd be happy about betraying his mother?
Seeing Rowen lost in thought, Katakuri continued, "I've heard about my mother's injuries through Smoothie. With the current medical standards, they are almost impossible to heal."
At Katakuri's words, a wry smile tugged at the corner of Rowen's mouth.
Of course!
Losing a piece of flesh is completely different from dealing with a common illness.
It's not just a simple ailment.
In this world, there's no such thing as regrowing limbs, otherwise, Zephyr wouldn't have spent his whole life as a broken legendary figure.
"...Only Drum Country has that kind of technology."
"But even though a standard operation could restore my mother's fertility, the damage to her would be severe!"
"Severe to the point where even if she regains her fertility, her body wouldn't be able to handle the pressure of carrying and giving birth to a child. Plus, her strength would be greatly diminished, and she wouldn't be able to sustain the flag of a Yonko."
Katakuri's words came out in gasps, causing Rowen's mouth to twitch again.
Well, he almost forgot about "Drum Country," the "Medical Kingdom" eligible to participate in the Levely.
Calculating the time, the World Government had long begun the "Doctor Hunt," and as of now, the only doctors Drum Country could find were Dr. Kureha, the old lady, and the "Twenty Doctors" who served him personally in the palace.
Although the glory of the Medical Kingdom had long since faded, the medical skills of the "Twenty Doctors" were absolutely top-notch.
In the manga, they seemed to patch up the severely injured World as if they were tailors, and after they were done, World was as good as new!
With such powerful reconstructive medical skills, maybe they could really cure Big Mom's problem.
But the consequences would be dire.
Fate played a huge joke on BIG MOM.
She could regain her fertility, but her body wouldn't be able to handle the pressure of carrying a child.
What would the result be of wishing for hope with the power of despair?
Achieving your hope in the most despairing way possible!
It was cruel and heartless.
Katakuri's reason for coming to "seek help" was now clear. With no hope of healing, Big Mom's hatred towards Rowen could only be imagined, unending and unyielding!
But her madness had brought unimaginable disaster to the entire BIG MOM pirate crew.
The pressure from the Marines was great, but the pressure from the pirates was even greater!
Facing Over-The-Horizon strikes from the Aircraft Force and firepower suppression from the Battleship Force, it could be said that every insignificant local victory achieved by the BIG MOM pirate crew during this week-long period was built upon piles of White Bones.
The ratio of battle losses to completion was not proportional!
In this situation, both sides were under pressure, but don't forget, the Marine side only deployed tens of thousands of troops from Marineford Headquarters, and they still had reserves.
And as the defending side, the Marines had plenty of time to slowly and methodically wear down their opponents. A little more pressure was nothing, after all, it was clear to everyone that if they continued fighting, the BIG MOM pirate crew would be wiped out.
This was also why the Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars) firmly believed that BIG MOM would retreat.
A Yonko, unable to see the bigger picture?
Katakuri had heavy dark circles under his eyes. Instead of setting sail after receiving the notification, he chose to leave the main force and head towards the direction where Rowen and the others had gone before.
The moment of betrayal tormented him, keeping him awake at night.
But at the thought of his siblings' current predicament, Katakuri pushed forward with heavy steps, resolute and unwavering.
Just as Rowen had once observed in a manga evaluation.
In the BIG MOM pirate crew, Charlotte Katakuri was a pure anomaly.
A warm-hearted man who could force himself to be the "perfect man" to protect his family, completely different from the ruthless and cold-blooded BIG MOM.
"I understand my mother; she has almost lost her sanity now. Even death cannot stop that woman."
"So I have to make a decision!"
Seeing Rowen remain silent, Katakuri, opting for the lesser of two evils, revealed his bargaining chip: "Detailed maps of Totto Land, the deployment of defensive forces, a list of pirate crew members under her command, the triggers of my mother's Eating Disorder, and the weaknesses of all of us in terms of Devil Fruit abilities!"
"With these, I believe you can easily lead the force to victory on this battlefield."
"By then, you will be the hero of the Marines! The second 'Iron Fist' revered by thousands!"
Katakuri's voice was filled with sorrow, his fists clenched tightly, his nails digging into his flesh.
Saying these words, he felt immense pressure.
After all, he was one of the Four Sweet Commanders of Totto Land!
The Guardian of Totto Land!
At this moment, not standing with Totto Land through thick and thin, but instead contemplating betrayal, and betraying his own mother no less.
Any person with a conscience would suffer from inner condemnation and unbearable pain.
But there was no choice.
If he didn't do this, Totto Land would truly be lost.
Without people, it would be truly lost.
After speaking, Katakuri lowered his head, murmuring softly as if to himself, "This is what you wanted, isn't it?"
"Back then, when you let me go, it was because you saw the weakness in my character, wasn't it?"
"Including later when you schemed against Whitebeard, actually you had already made plans to eliminate every Yonko, hadn't you?"
Three "wasn't it" questions in a row revealed the most terrifying aspect of this man to Katakuri.
He had long been plotting and strategizing, slowly bringing each Yonko under his control.
It was laughable how they had been complacent, blinded by their past glory and the majesty of ruling the seas, and had never taken this man seriously.
That's why the current situation has arisen.
And it was too late for regrets!
Hearing Katakuri's words, Rowen fell silent.
Wait a minute!
It's a bit chaotic, let me straighten it out...
Nonsense!
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻!
Targeting the New World, my initial goal was only "Blackbeard" Teach, you guys were the ones picking fights on Pott Island!
"The Extremely Wicked Era" is the real unstable factor, you guys are destined to fail, okay?
I won't take the blame for this!
(End of Chapter)