"Cult Leader! Cult Leader! It's bad! Kumi has been killed!" Several pirates rushed into a certain room, stumbling and crawling.
Inside the room, sandalwood incense curled in the air. A massive portrait hung on the wall, and a man stood before it, leaning on a cane.
"Didn't I tell you all not to panic when things happen?" The tall figure standing before the painting turned slowly, his face looking exactly like the man in the portrait.
His brow furrowed slightly, his tone carrying displeasure:
"How many times have I said it? Maintain your composure when entering the temple."
The pirates quickly knelt upright, trembling all over as they reported angrily:
"It's... it's that new female executive, Charlotte Linlin! She killed Kumi! Cult Leader! You must avenge him!"
"So it's Kumi..." The figure repeated the name unhurriedly, a hint of regret in his voice.
"Rest assured, as your Cult Leader, I will surely avenge him! You all go down first and find out where Charlotte Linlin is. I need to prepare."
"Yes! Lord Shikaku! We'll go find out Charlotte Linlin's whereabouts right away!" the pirates responded excitedly.
They hurriedly rose and respectfully backed out of the room. From outside the door, their drifting conversation could be heard faintly:
"I didn't expect Lord Shikaku to still remember Kumi! To be willing to avenge him!"
"Yeah, yeah! As expected of Lord Shikaku! He still remembers small fries like us."
"Of course! Lord Shikaku is the pirate known as the Pirate Cult Leader! He's a Great Pirate who cares for small-time pirates like us!"
Inside the room, Shikaku's brow furrowed: "Kumi? Which guy is that? Does my Pirate Crew even have someone by that name?"
He shook his head, quickly tossing these insignificant thoughts to the back of his mind.
"Whatever, meeting Charlotte Linlin is more important. For someone to become a great executive right after joining the Rocks Pirates, her strength must be nothing to scoff at!"
Shikaku muttered to himself, a glint flashing in his eyes.
"I sent people out to find her tracks a few days ago without success, but I didn't expect to run into her like this. This is an opportunity..."
Shikaku paced to the center of the room, a calculating smile curling his lips:
"As long as I can convince her to join—no, I should say cooperate—my influence on Hachinosu Island will expand further. My chances of overthrowing Rocks and becoming the new master of Hachinosu Island will increase by another notch. Ke-hehehehehe."
His shrill laughter echoed in the empty room. Shikaku walked to an ornately decorated mirror, scrutinized his appearance, then picked up a bottle of expensive perfume and lightly sprayed it on himself.
Looking at himself in the mirror, he smiled with satisfaction.
"This Charlotte Linlin is still a great beauty, so I, the Cult Leader, will reluctantly sacrifice my good looks. That way, she'll surely join my ranks—oh, no!"
Shikaku looked around guiltily and quickly corrected himself: "She'll surely agree to cooperate! I'll become the new master of Hachinosu Island! Ke-hehehehehe."
...On the west side of Hachinosu Island, Charlotte Linlin and Kurozumi Higurashi were on their way to Newgate's location.
"Lady Linlin, what are you looking for Lord Newgate for?" Kurozumi Higurashi asked cautiously from behind.
"You'll know when you get there," Charlotte Linlin said.
Just then, a group of figures appeared at the end of the street, blocking their path.
"Ke-hehehehehe, Dragon Swordsman, Charlotte Linlin. You think you can just walk away after killing my man? You're completely disregarding me, a veteran of the Rocks Pirates!"
A man who looked like a tiny bean to Charlotte Linlin, but was actually nearly three meters tall with a bizarre appearance and an unusually long tongue, appeared before her with a group of people, looking lewd.
This strange fellow even struck a weird pose, which only added to Charlotte Linlin's sense of disgust.
"Who is this ugly thing?" Charlotte Linlin asked.
Looking at the oddly shaped guy before her, she recalled the jokes netizens from her past life made about the world of One Piece: the good-looking people were all beautiful in the same way, while the ugly ones were so hideous they broke the laws of biodiversity.
Kurozumi Higurashi, addressed by Charlotte Linlin, took a cautious glance at the people opposite them, then covered her mouth with her left hand and whispered:
"Lady Linlin, he is the Pirate Cult Leader, Shikaku. One of the original seven members of the Rocks Pirates."
"A guy who looks this abstract? He's your Pirate Cult Leader?" Charlotte Linlin asked with slight surprise, her voice rising a bit.
"How do you people stand having such an ugly guy preach doctrines to you?"
These words reached the ears of Shikaku's group clearly. Shikaku and the pirates behind him, who had been entranced by Charlotte Linlin's beauty, snapped back to reality and gasped.
They had never seen anyone dare to mock Shikaku like this!
Shikaku's face instantly turned ashen. His long tongue almost tied itself in knots as he shook with rage:
"You... you rookie! You're completely disregarding me! You actually dare to call me ugly! Do you want to die?!"
Being called ugly to his face several times in a row, even someone like him who considered himself very refined could no longer suppress the explosive rage in his heart.
Moreover, he had always thought he was very handsome and full of grace, the most handsome man in the Rocks Pirates. He hadn't even been that angry when he heard Charlotte Linlin had killed his subordinate.
Because he was confident this woman would surely fall for his Cult Leader's cloak and serve him. He had even dressed up specially before setting out, spraying on his most expensive perfume; after all, Charlotte Linlin was indeed a great beauty, and he felt he should show a bit of respect.
But what he never expected was that this woman would call him ugly the moment they met! Him, ugly? How could that be! He was one of the most popular people in the Hachinosu Island pirates, second only to Captain Rocks—he was Shikaku, the Pirate Cult Leader!
But remembering his purpose for coming, he suppressed his fury and brushed his left hand over his oily slicked-back hair:
"Fine, considering your young age and lack of appreciation for handsomeness, I shall overlook your rudeness for now."
"Heh, this guy is pretty confident, isn't he?" Charlotte Linlin said, turning her head toward Kurozumi Higurashi.
However, since she was nine meters tall, her voice was naturally a bit loud for Kurozumi Higurashi to hear, which meant Shikaku's group across from them heard every single word. This was also because Charlotte Linlin didn't care at all.
After all, she didn't remember hearing about a figure like Shikaku in her past life's memories of One Piece. The only people she knew and understood in the Rocks Pirates were Newgate and Shiki.
She had only even heard about the situation of the Rocks Pirates in a short video related to One Piece; she only knew that the Rocks Pirates were destroyed at God Valley, and she knew nothing else.
"Uh... he's alright, I guess," Kurozumi Higurashi said somewhat stiffly.
Having been in the Rocks Pirates for several years, she knew exactly how terrifying Shikaku was. But facing Charlotte Linlin, who was also a great executive, she had to reply, though her tone leaned more toward Shikaku.
"Hmph, looks like our aesthetics are a bit different; we're not on the same page," Charlotte Linlin, who possessed Observation Haki capable of sensing emotions, glanced at Kurozumi Higurashi by her calf and said pointedly.
Seeing the look Charlotte Linlin cast her way, Kurozumi Higurashi could only laugh with an awkward Japanese-style smile.
Opposite them, the skin on Shikaku's forehead wrinkled tightly, and his protruding long tongue flickered incessantly with his rage as he roared angrily:
"Get her! Let her know the consequences of insulting this Cult Leader!"
He was a pirate! It was already good enough that he had controlled his emotions once because of Charlotte Linlin's beauty. Since this woman didn't know what was good for her, he would let her know the strength of Shikaku, the Pirate Cult Leader!
The pirates behind him immediately drew their weapons and charged at Charlotte Linlin.
In his extreme annoyance, he had forgotten that Charlotte Linlin was a great executive on the same level as him, not some ordinary woman he usually met, and she possessed strength equal to his own.
"Lady Linlin, be careful! As a non-combatant, I'll be retreating first," Kurozumi Higurashi said while backing away.
Charlotte Linlin, already knowing Kurozumi Higurashi was useless, ignored her. She drew the nodachi 'Nothing' from her waist with her left hand, casually performed a sword flourish, and said deeply:
"Perfect, I also want to test the strength of the other executives in the Rocks Pirates!"
Amidst the gale kicked up by the blade, pink Conqueror's Haki spread out like a tide. The charging pirates rolled their eyes and collapsed limply to the ground, sliding for a distance before completely losing consciousness.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! You woman actually have Conqueror's Haki too!"
Shikaku's eyes widened, and he pointed a trembling right hand at Charlotte Linlin, speaking in a frantic rage. His protruding, forked tongue was dancing up and down at an extremely fast speed.
It seemed that Charlotte Linlin possessing Conqueror's Haki was something that made him angrier than her calling him ugly earlier.
"Oh, you little punk, don't tell me you don't have Conqueror's Haki? Then you definitely won't be able to become an Emperor or a King in the future."
Charlotte Linlin, catching his emotional shifts, said with interest. At the same time, in her Observation Haki vision, Shikaku's hands were rapidly being covered in black Armament Haki.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! You woman really deserve to die!" Shikaku roared even more frantically.
As a top-tier pirate and pirate godfather, he knew well that Conqueror's Haki was the ticket to the peak—it was a power he dreamed of but had never been able to awaken! And opposite him, a woman! She actually had that ticket! This made him even more furious and jealous!
Moreover, those who possessed Conqueror's Haki would never submit to someone without it. Even if Charlotte Linlin bowed her head now, he wouldn't dare to take her in, because people with Conqueror's Haki would cause those around them to follow them involuntarily. In the end, it would be uncertain who the power he built would belong to!
The appearance of Charlotte Linlin's Conqueror's Haki completely shattered Shikaku's idea of recruiting her. At this moment, he had only one thought: make this woman pay for what she just said!
"Woman! Die for me!"