"Indeed," El replied.
It had been quite some time since they last met, back when he went to seize the Eternal Pose for God Valley.
Big Mom's expression softened with a hint of nostalgia.
"How quickly time flies!" she sighed.
"I've grown so old and weathered... yet you still look exactly as you did back then, barely past twenty!"
"El... your strength... you must be very close to becoming a God, aren't you?"
Her casual remark sent shockwaves across the entire world!
"Becoming a God?!"
"Did I hear that right? Big Mom said El is close to becoming a GOD?!"
"What does it even mean to have the power of a God?!"
Some refused to believe it.
"Impossible! How can simply being strong make you a god?!"
"Then tell me—how do you explain that he hasn't aged a single day in decades?!"
Debates erupted everywhere.
In truth, it wasn't just the spectators who were stunned.
Even the people sitting around that round table were filled with doubt and unease.
Could it be true? Is El really about to ascend to godhood?
Many of the Marines were thinking exactly that.
If anyone understood the terrifying extent of El's power...
it was them. After all, they were the ones who had been crushed by it.
The absurd, overwhelming strength El displayed did lend some truth to the idea.
Even his own subordinates — Crocodile, Jinbe, and the rest — were half-convinced.
Boa Hancock, however, believed it almost instantly.
Women, after all, were far more sensitive to such matters.
The loss of beauty and youth was an inevitable tragedy for them.
Seeing El remain forever young and unchanging filled her with immense envy.
She desperately wanted to know exactly how he had achieved it.
After greeting El, Big Mom exchanged a few words with Whitebeard as well.
They were old acquaintances, after all.
Despite her current alliance, Big Mom and her crew were still far closer to the pirate camp than they would ever be to the Marines.
Once she had finished her greetings...
Big Mom walked straight over to the Marine side...
and took the seat right next to them.
"Sorry, old friends," she said to Whitebeard and El.
"The Marines offered me terms I simply couldn't refuse. I'm here to stand with them this time."
Whitebeard laughed heartily. "I knew it! That's just the kind of person you are!"
El shrugged indifferently. "You're just here to add some bravado for these cowardly dogs. No one really cares."
For Big Mom to attend this meeting... the Marines must have paid a truly exorbitant price.
During the Summit War, they hadn't even considered asking for her help.
Back then, they had still been supremely confident in their own strength.
It was only after the war... that they realized if they faced El and Whitebeard alone today...
they would be ruthlessly extorted out of vast sums of wealth and territories.
They had no choice but to pay a heavy price to hire Big Mom for support.
The Marines hadn't brought Big Mom here just for show.
Their main goal was to ensure El and Whitebeard wouldn't have everything their way during the negotiations.
Now that the Marines had lost so much strength and leverage... they had absolutely no bargaining power against El and his allies.
They needed Big Mom to act as a counterbalance. Otherwise, they would have been forced to make devastating concessions.
Of course, the price paid to Big Mom was no small matter.
Twenty massive sweets factories were to be built across the globe, dedicated entirely to satisfying her endless cravings.
Such a demand required immense manpower and resources.
Fortunately, while their top fighters were beaten and broken, the Marines still had resources to spare, backed by the World Government.
"Alright then... is everyone finally here?" Shanks asked, sounding slightly annoyed.
The Marines had secretly brought Big Mom in at the last minute, catching everyone off guard.
It left a very bad taste in his mouth.
"We are," replied Fleet Admiral Sengoku, glancing smugly at El and Whitebeard.
With Big Mom's power standing behind them, the Marines felt much more secure.
"Good. Then let the negotiations begin!" Shanks announced.
And so, the great conference that would reshape the entire world officially commenced.
In later history, this day would be remembered as The Summit Assembly.
Surprisingly, the first to speak was Big Mom — the very last person to arrive.
She looked past El, straight at Boa Hancock, and let out a shrill, mocking laugh.
"Boa Hancock! You failed to beg me for help... so you ran crying to El instead, did you?!"
She was ruthlessly exposing the private dealings and humiliations that had taken place behind the scenes.
Hancock never expected Big Mom to bring this up in front of the whole world.
After all, such a story revealed her weakness... and showed that she was now a dependent under someone else's protection.
To the proud Pirate Empress, this was an unbearable insult.
Her expression turned instantly dark and icy.
"Charlotte Linlin... what is the meaning of this?!" she demanded, staring daggers at her.
Big Mom shook her head, feigning innocence. "I'm simply stating facts. Why? Are you ashamed of what you did?"
Her tone was dripping with sarcasm.
In truth, because Hancock had refused to ally with her and build factories on Amazon Lily...
Big Mom considered it a personal slight and disrespect.
Naturally, she was determined to take revenge and humiliate her.
What she didn't understand was that building those factories was completely impossible for Amazon Lily.
The geography, climate, and society of the island simply couldn't support such a massive industry.
This exchange revealed to the whole world exactly why Hancock had allied with El.
Immediately, viewers everywhere began talking.
"No wonder she joined El! So that's what happened!"
"It seems the Marine pursuit really left the Kuja Pirates with nowhere else to go!"
"Even as Warlords, they don't seem all that powerful after all..."
People were beginning to reconsider their opinions on Hancock's true strength.
Just then, El spoke up.
"Charlotte Linlin... you talk far too much."
His voice was calm, casual — as if discussing the weather.
But the moment the words left his mouth...
Big Mom suddenly felt a freezing chill run down her spine.
She clamped her mouth shut instantly!
She knew better than anyone: El was not someone to be trifled with.
__________________
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