"Pops! Gunnar! This is madness!" Marco exclaimed, stepping forward, his usual calm shattered. He looked at Gunnar, then at Whitebeard, his face in disbelief and fierce protectiveness. "Gunnar, you're just a boy! Barely twelve years old by our count! You can't possibly understand what you're offering! This isn't some game, yoi! Totto Land… Big Mom's 'family'… it's a gilded cage, at best!"
"Marco is right, little anchor!" Jozu boomed, his diamond fists clenched. "This is no solution! We'll find another way to settle this debt!" The other commanders murmured their agreement, a united front of concern for the young boy.
But Big Mom's voice, amplified by the Den Den Mushi, cut through their protests, laced with a predatory glee. "MAMAMAMAMA! A blood son of Whitebeard! Such precious lineage! Such potential! Worry not, Phoenix! My daughters are well-versed in… nurturing young talent. And for such a prize, only the best will do!" She paused, savoring the moment. "He shall marry my fourteenth daughter, Charlotte Smoothie! A powerhouse! A Sweet Commander! Strong, beautiful – a perfect match to bring our families together and produce even stronger heirs! What say you, Whitebeard?! A son-in-law of your blood, and Smoothie as your daughter-in-law! A truly sweet arrangement, wouldn't you agree? You are, of course, invited to the wedding! It will be the event of the century!"
The air crackled with tension. Smoothie was one of Big Mom's most formidable children, a terrifyingly powerful woman known for her ruthlessness and her unique ability to wring out anything, or anyone. Marrying Gunnar to her was a clear power play, a way to bind Whitebeard's legacy to her own.
Whitebeard looked at Gunnar, who stood resolute, his small shoulders squared. He then looked at his worried sons. His gaze was heavy, but filled with pride, and also a spark of something else… a shrewd, calculating light that hadn't been seen in some time.
He took a deep breath, the sound rattling in his chest. "Linlin," he began, his voice surprisingly steady, "your offer… is indeed… generous."
A collective gasp went through the Whitebeard Pirates. Perospero's grin widened.
"You would give my son, Gunnar, the hand of your esteemed daughter, Smoothie," Whitebeard continued, his gaze unwavering. "And you would welcome him into your family. An alliance, forged in blood and marriage." He paused, letting the words hang in the air. Then, a slow, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips. "I accept."
"POPS!" Marco cried out, horrified.
"Gurarara…" Whitebeard chuckled, a dry, rasping sound, but there was a glint of his old, indomitable spirit in his eyes. "On one… or two… small conditions, Linlin."
Big Mom's voice, through the Den Den Mushi, was triumphant. "MAMAMAMA! Excellent! Conditions? Speak them, old whale! For such a prize, Mama is feeling… accommodating!"
"Firstly," Whitebeard said, his voice gaining strength, "the wedding will take place here. On the Moby Dick. Or neutral territory of my choosing. My son will not be paraded through Totto Land like a prize pig before he is ready."
Perospero's smile faltered slightly. "Here, Oyaji? Mama prefers her own… festive arrangements, lick-lick."
"Secondly," Whitebeard continued, ignoring Perospero, his gaze piercing, "and this is non-negotiable, Linlin. Gunnar is my son. He remains a Whitebeard Pirate. He will be your son-in-law, yes. Smoothie will be his wife. But she will be joining our family." He paused, then delivered the masterstroke, a wide, challenging grin spreading across his face. "I am delighted to welcome Charlotte Smoothie into the Whitebeard Pirates, Linlin! She will make a fine addition to our Family!"
The silence that followed was so profound, you could hear the distant cry of a sea bird.
Perospero's jaw dropped, his candy cane staff clattering to the deck. T
Big Mom's voice, when it finally came, was a low, dangerous growl, like a thunderstorm brewing. "WHAT… DID YOU SAY, NEWGATE?!"
"Gurarara!" Whitebeard laughed, a true, booming laugh this time, though it ended in a harsh cough. "You heard me, Linlin! An alliance, yes! A marriage, yes! My son will marry your daughter. But he is my son, not yours to absorb. Smoothie joins us. She becomes a daughter of the Whitebeard Pirates. That is how this alliance will be cemented. Take it, or leave it."
"INSOLENCE!" Big Mom roared, the Den Den Mushi vibrating violently. "YOU DARE DICTATE TERMS TO ME, YOU HALF-DEAD RELIC?! SMOOTHIE IS A SWEET COMMANDER! SHE DOES NOT JOIN OTHER CREWS! OTHERS JOIN US!"
"Is that so?" Whitebeard retorted, his eyes blazing with a spark of his old fire. "Then perhaps this alliance isn't as 'mutually beneficial' as your candy-tongued son proclaimed. My son is not a piece of meat to be traded, Linlin. He is my son, whom i value more than my life." He then leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial, deliberately infuriating tone. "And who knows, Linlin? Perhaps after you've… retired… from your empire, young Gunnar, with Smoothie by his side, might just decide to… consolidate things. Merge the Big Mom Pirates into the Whitebeard Pirates. One grand, happy family, under our flag. Think of the efficiency, Gurarara!"
The sheer audacity of it was breathtaking. He wasn't just refusing to give up his son; he was effectively proposing a reverse takeover, subtly threatening to consume her entire empire through this marriage, all while maintaining a veneer of 'alliance'.
Perospero was sputtering, his face a mask of outrage. "Mama! He mocks you! This is an insult, lick-lick!"
The Den Den Mushi was practically smoking. Big Mom was screaming, a torrent of threats, curses, and demands for various sweets to calm her nerves. But through the rage, a flicker of something else could be detected – a grudging, almost fearful, respect for the old whale's cunning. He was dying, yes, but his mind, his will, was still as sharp and dangerous as ever.
The Den Den Mushi on the Moby Dick's deck became a conduit for pure, unadulterated Yonko fury. Big Mom's voice, clashed with Whitebeard's infuriatingly calm, yet unyielding, pronouncements.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN SWALLOW MY EMPIRE, NEWGATE?!" Big Mom shrieked, the Den Den Mushi's candy-striped eyes bulging. "I'LL GRIND YOUR BONES FOR MY WEDDING CAKE! SMOOTHIE WILL NEVER BEND KNEE TO YOUR TATTERED FLAG!"
"Gurarara! Then there is no alliance, Linlin," Whitebeard rumbled, taking a deliberate sip from a nearby waterskin, a picture of nonchalant defiance. "A pity. I was rather looking forward to seeing how your daughter handled a real pirate crew, not just a collection of pastry chefs and animated furniture."
Perospero, caught in the crossfire, frantically tried to mediate, his saccharine platitudes lost in the storm. "Mama, Oyaji, please! Let us find a… a sweeter middle ground! Lick-lick! This aggression is not conducive to… to delicious treaties!"
"There is no middle ground when it comes to my family, candy boy," Whitebeard stated, his gaze hardening. "My son stays. His wife joins him here. That is the foundation. Anything else is just… empty calories."
"MY DAUGHTER IS A SWEET COMMANDER! A PILLAR OF MY POWER!" Big Mom roared. "SHE WILL NOT BE SOME… SOME SPOIL OF WAR FOR YOUR UPSTART HEIR!"
"A spoil of war?" Whitebeard raised a bushy eyebrow. "I thought we were discussing a loving union, Linlin. A joining of families. Are you saying your daughter is incapable of making her own choices, of finding her place in a new… environment? Perhaps she is not as formidable as you claim." He was expertly prodding at Big Mom's infamous pride in her children's strength.
There was a long, strained silence from the Den Den Mushi, broken only by Big Mom's heavy, enraged breathing. The Whitebeard Pirates watched, holding their collective breath. Gunnar, standing beside his father, felt a strange sense of fierce pride. His father was a lion, even with his mane graying and his roar softened by illness.
Finally, Big Mom spoke, her voice still laced with fury, but now with a chilling, calculating edge. "Fine, Newgate. FINE! You want to play these little games, you decrepit old fool? You want to pretend your dying embers can still set the world ablaze? Very well."
A collective sigh of disbelief rippled through the Whitebeard crew. Had he actually done it?
"Smoothie will… accompany your whelp," Big Mom spat the word 'accompany' as if it tasted like poison. "She will be his wife. She will reside on your flea-bitten ship. FOR NOW." The emphasis was venomous. "But make no mistake, Whitebeard. This is not you welcoming her. This is me, Charlotte Linlin, extending a branch – a very thorny, candy-coated branch – into your decaying little kingdom!"
"Gurarara! A branch I will gladly accept, Linlin," Whitebeard said, his smile unwavering.
"Do not get comfortable, old man!" Big Mom snarled. "This boy, this Gunnar of yours… he carries your blood, yes. But he also carries the potential of my grandchildren! And those children, Whitebeard, will be Charlottes! They will be heirs to my power, my legacy! Smoothie will ensure it! She will turn that little pup of yours to our side, make him understand where true strength, true ambition, lies! "
"She can certainly try, Linlin," Whitebeard replied, his voice laced with amusement. "My son has a will of his own. And he has a rather… persuasive family already." He winked at Gunnar, who felt a surge of warmth despite the chilling words.
"This marriage will happen, Newgate!" Big Mom declared, her voice regaining its imperious thunder. "**But this is merely the appetizer! The main course will be when their first child is born! That child, Whitebeard, will be raised in Totto Land! That child will be a testament to the Charlotte family's dominance! We will… duke it out, as you young whelps say, over their upbringing, over their allegiance! And I, Charlotte Linlin, always get what I want! MAMAMAMAMA!**"
It was a declaration of a future war, for the very lineage of their offspring.
"A future war, then," Whitebeard acknowledged, his eyes glinting. "I look forward to it, Linlin. It has been too long since I had a proper… family squabble."
The Den Den Mushi clicked off abruptly, Big Mom presumably having screamed her fill for the moment. Perospero, looking pale and thoroughly shaken, stammered, "Well… that was… productive? Lick-lick? The wedding preparations… shall commence?"
Whitebeard looked at Gunnar, a proud, weary smile on his face. "It seems, my son, you are to be wed." He then looked at his crew, his voice regaining a measure of its old command. "Prepare yourselves, my sons! We are about to welcome a Sweet Commander into our midst! Let us show her… what true family hospitality looks like! Gurararara!"
The deck erupted, not in celebration this time, but in a mixture of stunned disbelief, and a healthy dose of apprehension. An alliance with Big Mom, with one of her strongest children living among them.