## New World - Totto Land
One of the Four Emperors of the Sea, 'Charlotte Linlin', was in a towering rage.
After her second son, 'Katakuri', traveled a great distance to bring back sweets from the Magara Kingdom, her frenzied eating disorder episode had finally subsided, allowing her to regain her senses. But before long, one unpleasant piece of news after another began arriving.
First came word from 'Baron Tamago' and 'Pekoms', who had been conducting business on the Loan Shark King's Interest Island. They had suddenly encountered 'Jolyne Cujoh' of the JoJo Pirates and were in grave danger. In response, Linlin's twenty-fifth son, 'Charlotte Snack', Minister of Frying and one of the Four Sweet Commanders, led a rescue force.
Not long after he departed, the Vivre Card he had left behind at home suddenly began to burn. There was only one explanation: 'Snack's life was in danger.'
Charlotte Oven, Linlin's fourth son, immediately organized a force and rushed out of Totto Land. Before Snack's Vivre Card could burn away completely, he hurried to provide support.
Then... a Den Den Mushi call arrived. Oven informed the entire family that 'Charlotte Snack had died.'
The culprit? Still unknown. The primary suspect was naturally the 'JoJo Pirates'. Oven personally believed the same thing, but when reporting to Big Mom, he could only present objective facts. The wreckage of Snack's destroyed ship had been found far from Interest Island, still a considerable distance away from the place he had originally intended to reinforce. There was no conclusive evidence linking the JoJo Pirates to the attack.
After all, there were only two members in the crew. Jolyne Cujoh had been fighting Baron Tamago and Pekoms on Interest Island during that period. As for Giorno Giovanna, according to Katakuri, he had been seen associating with Marine Vice Admiral Aokiji around the same time. Katakuri's conclusion was that Aokiji had likely approached Giorno because the Marines were considering offering him a position among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and Giorno had probably already accepted.
Oven later visited Interest Island himself. By the time he arrived, the island was in complete chaos, as though some major upheaval had taken place. When they found the bodies of Baron Tamago and Pekoms and estimated their time of death, the evidence suggested that Jolyne Cujoh had not had enough time to travel over a hundred kilometers out to sea and attack Snack. More importantly, they simply didn't believe she possessed the strength necessary to kill Snack and everyone aboard his ship.
In short, the entire chain of events left '"Big Mom" Charlotte Linlin' absolutely furious. It wasn't because the death of a son made her heartbroken. What truly enraged her was the fact that someone had dared to do this. Someone had dared to ignore her flag and kill her people.
"Find out who killed Snack!" Big Mom's fury exploded outward within Whole Cake Chateau. "Was it those two bastards from the JoJo Pirates or not?! And whether it was them or not, find their current whereabouts! I won't allow anyone to think they can provoke me and walk away unharmed!!"
Her terrifying presence swept through the skies like a storm. For a moment, the very air of Cake Island seemed heavier. Many of the Charlotte children trembled under the pressure, struggling to breathe.
"Mother's Haoshoku Haki is terrifying..."
"I've never seen her this angry before..."
At a time like this, only the strongest members of the Charlotte Family dared approach her. Foremost among them was Katakuri. Standing between his siblings and their enraged mother, he spoke calmly.
"Oven's latest report says they still haven't found any surviving Homies in the sea around the wreckage. The fragments they recovered were all badly burned. And... Mother, Giorno Giovanna appears capable of directly attacking the true bodies of Homies."
Big Mom narrowed her eyes. "Katakuri, what did you just say?" Holding Zeus in one hand and Prometheus in the other, she lowered her enormous head and stared at her son. "Are you suggesting that Giorno can counter the abilities of my Soul-Soul Fruit?"
"Perhaps," Katakuri answered without fear.
"Mama mama mama..." Big Mom suddenly burst into laughter. After all, she had ruled these seas for decades. She wasn't so narrow-minded that learning someone could counter her powers would cause her to panic. But she very much wanted to uncover the truth behind Snack's death.
A dangerous gleam appeared in her eyes, and she sneered. "Where is my dear daughter Praline? Bring her to me. If Giorno was responsible, and how he did it, we'll find out soon enough after a little questioning..."
"Mother!" At that moment, her eldest son, the Minister of Candy, 'Perospero', hurried over. Holding a newspaper high above his head, he announced, "The latest paper just arrived. There's some very interesting news in it. Lick~"
"Hm?" Big Mom took the newspaper. Moments later, she laughed. "Mama mama mama! A Warlord of the Sea! Katakuri, it seems your guess was right. Aokiji really was recruiting them to become Warlords!"
"Mama mama mama!" Katakuri shook the newspaper in his hand. "No. I guessed wrong. The one who became a Warlord wasn't Giorno. It was Jolyne Cujoh."
"What's the difference?" Perospero chuckled. "Lick~"
---
### Around the World
"Giorno Giovanna became one of the Seven Warlords?!" Countless readers nearly had their eyes pop out when they saw the day's headlines.
"This is so sudden! What huge news!"
"It's Jolyne Cujoh, you idiot! Can you even read?"
"Bah. What's the difference?"
"Another powerful pirate has been recruited by the Marines..."
"The balance of the seas is changing again!"
"As expected, someone who could fight Whitebeard wasn't going to stay quiet forever..."
---
## North Blue - A Certain Island
"Fufufufufu..." Doflamingo stared at the newspaper. "A Warlord of the Sea, huh..."
Beside him, 'Lao G' said in a deep voice, "When Young Master eventually takes Dressrosa, he'll need the title of Warlord as well."
'Trebol' laughed through his runny nose. "Hey, how about this? When the time comes, we kill that Giorno guy and take his Warlord seat instead. Can it be done, Doffy? It can, right? Right, Doffy?"
"Enough." Doflamingo handed the newspaper to the young 'Baby 5' at his feet. "We'll talk about that later. It's almost time. We should go meet my adorable little brother. Fufufufufufu..."
---
## New World - Somewhere at Sea, Moby Dick
"Gurararara..." Aboard the Moby Dick, Whitebeard glanced at the newspaper his sons had brought him and burst into hearty laughter. The old Emperor seemed thoroughly amused by the latest developments.
...
---
## New World, Wano Country, Onigashima
A blue-scaled Divine Dragon soared through the clouds, rising into the sky as it let out a thunderous roar. "Marines! Warlords of the Sea! Emperors of the Sea! I don't care what they are, just make this boring world a little more exciting! Fight! Slaughter each other!!"
Below, chaos reigned. Inside a prison cell, a tall young woman wearing shackles lowered her head and read today's newspaper.
"Giorno Giovanna, Jolyne Cujoh, Pirate Empress..." Kaido's daughter, Yamato, murmured, "The outside world really is as wonderful as Kozuki Oden's journal described." She desperately wanted to escape her overbearing, evil father and this place she hated.
The newspaper in her hands not only reported that Jolyne Cujoh, captain of the JoJo Pirates, had been appointed a Warlord of the Sea at Marine Headquarters, but also carried several pieces of "gossip." Though calling them gossip wasn't entirely accurate, since the other star of the story, Empress Boa Hancock, was also one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
The photo showing Jolyne, Giorno, and the Empress standing opposite one another, Giorno's group smiling brightly while the Empress wore a shy, bashful expression, was actually larger than the photograph of the Warlord appointment ceremony on the front page.
...
### Across the World
The New World, Paradise, the Four Blues... countless people read the same newspaper. While many were shocked by the appearance of a new Warlord of the Sea, their attention was quickly captured by the impossible-to-ignore photograph. The Empress was simply too beautiful.
Who could have imagined it? The Empress, whose few previous newspaper appearances had always shown her cold, aloof, and expressionless, was now displaying the bashful look of a young girl.
"What exactly is the relationship between Giorno and the Empress?"
"Waaaaah... How can she be this beautiful...? I can't accept that she's like this in front of Giorno..."
"Oh God! I'm dying..."
On this day, countless people were shocked, and countless hearts were broken.
...
### South Blue, Magnifie Island
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!! Why did I have to see this?!"
"Isn't Giorno supposed to be with Jolyne Cujoh? How can he do this?!"
"Damn it, who hit me?!"
"A bunch of idiots!" A red-haired street punk with spiky hair laughed as he snatched several wallets. After leaving the city, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head. "Who was that?!"
He quickly discovered the culprit, a strange fruit that had fallen from a nearby tree. "What a weird-looking fruit..." Kid happened to be hungry. He casually wiped it on his not-so-clean clothes and took a bite. "Damn, this tastes awful!"
'Gulp.'
"This is way too disgusting!"
...
### West Blue, Rasugapu Island
The elderly village chief stood before Lily's grave, leaning on a cane. Wearing reading glasses and holding the fresh newspaper, he spoke passionately, spraying saliva everywhere as he angrily lectured someone about its contents.
...
### East Blue
"Hey, Captain! Come look at this!"
"What is it? ... Huh? He became a Warlord?"
"Hahaha! This is way too funny!"
...
### Paradise, Drum Kingdom
"Wow, it's them..." The blue-nosed reindeer sat inside a treehouse. A fresh newspaper lay spread over a medical textbook as he repeatedly read it with delight.
In Great Horn Village, King Dalton stood behind the crowd reading the latest news alongside everyone else. Like the others, he couldn't help but wonder: wasn't Giorno supposed to be with Jolyne?
Strangely enough, Jolyne, standing behind Giorno in the photograph, didn't seem angry at all.
"Then again... who could resist a peerless beauty like the Empress?"
"Wipe your drool off. It's about to freeze."
"Hahahaha, idiot! Sure, she's unbelievably beautiful, but she's also an incredibly powerful pirate! Only Giorno could make the Empress show an expression like that."
...
### Paradise, Sabaody Archipelago, Shakky's Rip-Off Bar
"A Warlord of the Sea? Hahaha..." Rayleigh, his long hair streaked with white, threw back his head and laughed.
Shakky, a cigarette dangling from her lips, looked at the large photo in the newspaper and chuckled. "The Empress and those two look just like they're taking wedding photos together~~ Their relationship really is good."
...
### North Blue
"As expected, whenever her face appears in a newspaper, she becomes the main character." Standing aboard the battleship, Liam let out a whistle. "Seriously, she's just too beautiful..."
"Isn't being too beautiful a good thing?" Robin asked with a smile.
"It's not bad," Liam replied, waving the newspaper. "It's just that Hancock will probably never know whether people like her for who she is... or simply because she's beautiful."
Robin said, "She has never cared what 'other people' think anyway."
Liam sighed. "Yeah... too beautiful, and too stubborn."
"What about you?" Robin asked with a teasing smile. "Do you like her because of who she is, or because she's too beautiful?"
Liam countered, "What about you?"
Robin blushed. The two exchanged a glance, both feeling guilty for some reason. So, through an unspoken agreement, they decided that this topic should remain sealed forever.
---
Several days later, the battleship loaded with Marines slowly sailed through the snowstorm-covered waters of the North Blue. A sturdy Marine officer from a local branch walked over and reminded them, "It's just ahead."
Robin stopped chatting with Liam and turned toward the direction the officer indicated. In the distance stood an island shaped vaguely like a seagull.
Liam knew it well. It was the island where Rosinante, the undercover agent within the Donquixote Family, had arranged to meet Doflamingo. However, Liam also knew that neither of the brothers would actually go there. Instead, both had headed directly to the neighboring island where the transaction for the Op-Op Fruit would take place, Minion Island.
Pitch-black armor emerged from Liam's body. Its narrow eyes glowed faintly as it gazed beyond Seagull Island toward a larger island farther away. Upon that snow-covered island, a dense cluster of threads could be seen shooting into the sky. After reaching a high altitude, the threads spread outward in every direction, forming something like a gigantic birdcage that enveloped part of the island.
"It looks like we arrived at exactly the right time," Liam muttered. Doflamingo had already activated the String-String Fruit technique:
'Birdcage.'
---
'(End of Chapter)'
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/marvel6395