Chapter 416

Above the Whole Sea, an endless fleet of Marines stretched across the horizon.

Steel prows cut through massive waves, warships standing dense as a forest, white Marine flags snapping fiercely in the gale.

Katakuri stood on deck, letting the sea wind brush the strands beside his ears, his eyelids still twitching occasionally.

Brella noticed and asked curiously.

“Brother, what are you thinking about?”

“Nothing.” Katakuri slowly shook his head, then quickly added: “Brella, if the Captain ever holds another concert, try not to watch it if you can.”

It’s so damn painful to look at.

Even after several days had passed, Queen’s ridiculous posing still flickered endlessly before Katakuri’s eyes.

Katakuri had originally thought—

Queen, as the Pest of the Beasts Pirates, was forced into dancing out of necessity, yielding under the Captain’s supreme authority.

He never imagined Queen was willing.

Because Queen adored dancing, he volunteered to be the lead dancer for the song “Mermaid.”

That’s why Kaido, who had spent the entire concert watching with the Captain, had turned pale from the very beginning.

Elders like Whitebeard, Gold Lion, and Rayleigh had laughed until tears streamed down their faces.

The Beasts Pirates really are full of talent.

The undercover king, Vergo; the dance king, Queen...

The Marine fleet drew closer to Whole Cake Island; Katakuri, however, felt a strange hesitation—wondering how his brothers and sisters had fared during his absence.

Surely nothing bad happened, right?

Meanwhile, on Whole Cake Island.

Luffy, now slimmed down yet still radiant, gritted her teeth as she glared at Longbread.

“So, Longbread.”

“For years you’ve been flirting with Barzab Seven—you think I didn’t notice what you were thinking?”

“Didn’t you plan to leave Whole Cake Island long ago?”

Charlotte Perospero, son of Luffy and Longbread, stood caught between them, head bowed in silence.

“Luffy...” Longbread looked helplessly at her.

“I’m a chef. I have the right to pursue every chef’s dream.”

Since learning from Barzab Seven years ago about the legendary sea AllBlue, Longbread had never stopped dreaming of following Barzab to witness every chef’s dream.

“Just like you wanted to become a pirate...”

Luffy cut him off sharply.

“You were my first husband. When you had children with me, you didn’t say that. Now you’re chasing dreams?”

Hearing this, Longbread immediately exploded.

“You dare call me your first husband? How many other men have you taken over the years? Do you know what they say about me on the seas?”

“They call me Longbread, the King of Green Hats, the Green-Capped King of the Sea.”

Once, Longbread hadn’t thought much of it—he even took pride in being Luffy’s first husband.

He, Longbread, was the man who had claimed a Four Emperor!

He was the first love of Four Emperor Charlotte Luffy!

But at some point, things changed.

Perhaps when the Wano manga swept across the seas, the term “green hat” spread like a low-class pirate or high-class pirate, becoming the hottest topic of gossip.

And Longbread, because Luffy had over thirty husbands, was branded the Green-Capped King.

Decades of reputation had been ruined by that title.

Even if it was true, no one could endure being pointed at and mocked endlessly by countless people.

“Green... hat... king?”

Luffy’s heart sank. If Longbread could be called the Green-Capped King, then what were they saying about Charlotte Luffy?

“What are they saying about me?”

Longbread, furious, glared and refused to answer. Luffy turned sharply to her eldest son.

“Perospero!”

Suddenly called out by his mother, Perospero shuddered involuntarily.

“Mother.”

“It’s all nonsense. Don’t take it seriously.”

“Tell me! I order you to tell me!”

“Uh.” Perospero whispered reluctantly: “Mother, they call you the... Sea... Queen...”

“Sea Queen? Who’s the Sea King?”

“It’s like this.” Perospero hurriedly explained the meaning of Sea King and Sea Queen to Luffy.

“Impossible!” Luffy’s face twisted in rage.

So what if she had over thirty husbands?

I do what I want. If you’ve got the guts, go find thirty husbands yourself.

If you can’t, then stop pointing and gossiping.

In the past, Luffy would have immediately slaughtered everyone to crush these rumors.

But times have changed.

To avoid the watchful eyes of the United Kingdom, she had to surrender her kingdom to buy time for her three hundred children to grow up.

She absolutely could not ruin this plan now.

Be patient, first hold back.

When her three hundred children are grown, when Charlotte Luffy returns to the seas as Pirate King, as World King, she will reclaim everything lost today.

Then, she will drown the world in blood.

With the Golden Ring, Luffy knew she had more than enough time.

Luffy took a deep breath and looked at Longbread.

“Setting aside my thirty-plus husbands, aren’t you at fault too?

All these years of our bond—what are they worth compared to your so-called chef’s dream?”

It wasn’t that Luffy deeply loved Longbread.

It was that Longbread’s Eat-Eat Fruit determined whether her three hundred children could eat enough, eat well, and grow strong enough to become adults.

Luffy would abandon Whole Cake Island entirely just to take Longbread into hiding with her.

And leaving Perospero and the other children behind made it easier to reclaim Whole Cake Island the moment she returned to the seas.

To realize her dream of becoming Pirate King, Luffy had calculated every detail.

“Sigh.” Longbread sighed, unable to bear severing their years of bond.

“Fine. I’ll go with you.”

Saying that, Longbread turned to his eldest son.

“Perospero, remember to take a few photos of your old man—use the Den Den Mushi.”

“Understood, Father.”

At that moment, Krios rushed over.

“Mother! Mother! Katakuri and Brella are back!”

Luffy quickly shot Longbread a glance, signaling him to take the three hundred children and leave from the rear of the island by ship.

With Katakuri present, the handover went smoothly.

Even though Admiral Kizaru wasn’t here, Luffy had no intention of causing trouble.

Whole Cake Island and its surrounding thirty-four islands—the entire Whole Kingdom—would become one of the United Kingdom’s provinces.

After exchanging a few words with Katakuri, Luffy turned and walked away without looking back, stepping on Zeus to meet Longbread.

United Kingdom officials, under Marine escort, swiftly began inventorying all land, population, and facilities within Whole Kingdom.

Three days later.

The official in charge of the census approached Kizaru and Katakuri with a troubled expression.

“Sir, Whole Kingdom... is utterly destitute.”