Holy Land, Mariejois
The corridor was quiet.
The kind of quiet that only existed in the Holy Land, where every polished floor, every white pillar, every richly decorated hall seemed to carry the weight of old authority. Even footsteps sounded restrained there, as if the building itself expected reverence from all who walked through it.
Figarland Shamrock moved through that silence without hesitation.
His stride was sharp. Direct. The cloak over his shoulders shifted lightly with each step, and the red hair that marked his bloodline caught the light as he came to a pair of closed doors. He did not stop to knock.
He pushed them open and stepped inside.
The room beyond was spacious, elegant, and cold.
Two figures were already there.
Saint Manmayer Gunko stood near one side of the chamber, posture straight, expression composed, the sort of person who looked like she had never once wasted movement or emotion in her life.
Saint Shepherd Sommers lounged more than stood, one hand lightly resting against his hip, the lazy tilt of his posture making him look almost casual if not for the eyes. Those eyes were too interested in everything, the expression of a man who found amusement in places where no decent person should.
The moment they saw Shamrock enter, both acknowledged him.
"Commander," Gunko said.
"Commander Shamrock," Sommers echoed, with a smile just a little too pleased to be entirely respectful.
Shamrock stepped fully into the room and let the doors close behind him.
"We have a mission."
That removed the last traces of idleness from the air.
Gunko said nothing, simply waiting.
Sommers sighed dramatically and folded his arms.
"Please tell me it's not another cleanup operation," he said. "I've had my fill of disappointing people lately."
Shamrock did not entertain that.
"It's a retrieval mission," he said. "My younger brother is currently in Big Mom's territory. Whole Cake Island, or somewhere within Totto Land."
Gunko's eyes sharpened just slightly.
Sommers, on the other hand, let out a low whistle.
"An Emperor's territory?"
He clicked his tongue and tilted his head.
"I really don't want to deal with an Emperor."
Shamrock's expression didn't change.
"You won't have to."
Sommers raised a brow.
Shamrock continued.
"We are not going there to engage Big Mom. We are going there to retrieve Tenjin."
At the mention of the name, Sommers' smile widened.
"Tenjin," he repeated. "So that's the little brother."
Gunko remained still. "What is the extent of our objective?"
"Find him," Shamrock said. "Secure him. Bring him back to Mariejois."
Simple.
The way an order was supposed to sound.
Sommers gave a slow, thoughtful hum.
"And if Big Mom decides not to cooperate?"
Shamrock finally looked at him.
"If need be," he said, "I'll take care of Big Mom."
That should have ended the matter.
Instead, Sommers looked delighted.
Actually delighted.
His grin widened in a way that made even the air around him feel irritating.
"Oh," he said. "How rare."
Shamrock's eyes narrowed a fraction.
Sommers leaned forward slightly.
"That sounded almost affectionate."
Gunko did not react. She simply stood there, waiting for the actual mission to continue.
Sommers, however, had already found something far more entertaining than procedure.
He placed a hand to his chest as if genuinely touched.
"Commander Shamrock," he said, "do you love this so-called little brother of yours?"
Shamrock said nothing.
So naturally, Sommers continued.
"And what," he asked, smile growing wider, "will you do if it turns out this little brother doesn't love you back?"
The room held that question for a second.
Sommers looked ecstatic at the very thought of it.
Like the possibility alone had made the mission worthwhile.
Shamrock's expression remained still.
Then he said, coldly—
"Focus on the mission."
Sommers' smile stayed.
Shamrock took one step closer.
"And stop giving your attention to things that don't need it."
That was enough of an answer.
Or rather—
Enough of a warning.
Sommers lifted both hands in mock surrender.
"As you wish, Commander."
Gunko spoke then, restoring some dignity to the room.
"When do we leave?"
Shamrock looked at her.
"Immediately."
That was all.
The mission had been given.
So the three of them moved.
Gunko turned at once and headed for the door. Sommers followed, though not without one final amused look over his shoulder. Shamrock moved last, cloak shifting behind him like a dark banner.
And then they were gone.
Leaving the room empty.
---
New World — Whole Cake Island, Whole Cake Chateau
The room below Tenjin's hiding place felt much smaller now.
Not because it had physically changed.
Because Charlotte Linlin filled it.
Big Mom sat there like an entire disaster dressed as royalty. Massive, overwhelming, impossible to ignore. Even seated, she seemed to dominate the hall, her pink hair spilling over her shoulders, her eyes bright with the sort of childish cruelty that made every word feel dangerous before it was even spoken.
Pudding stood before her.
And she looked smaller than Tenjin had ever seen her.
Not physically.
In spirit.
In the way she held herself. In the way her shoulders had tightened. In the way her hands remained carefully still at her sides, as though any unnecessary movement might invite a harsher mood from the woman before her.
Big Mom leaned forward.
"So," she said, voice thick with mocking delight, "my precious little failure finally came."
Pudding did not answer.
She knew better.
Big Mom smiled wider.
"What a shame," she continued. "Still no awakening. Still no use. Still just standing there being pretty in that useless sort of way."
Pudding's face remained composed.
Only barely.
Big Mom tilted her head and let the cruelty sharpen.
"Tell me," she said, "do you still hide that eye because you know how ugly it makes you look?"
Pudding flinched.
It was tiny.
Almost invisible.
But Tenjin saw it.
Big Mom saw it too.
And of course that only pleased her more.
"Mama—" Pudding began quietly.
"Don't whine," Big Mom cut in. "You were supposed to be useful to me. That eye was supposed to make you useful. Instead I get a daughter who can't awaken her gift and looks ridiculous trying to hide it."
Her laugh rolled through the room, huge and ugly.
"An utter disappointment."
Above them, hidden in the shadows of the upper stonework, Tenjin's hands had already clenched into fists.
He had tried.
He really had.
From the moment he snuck in, he had known exactly how stupid this was. He had told himself this was reconnaissance only. A quick look. A glimpse of an Emperor. Then out.
He knew that.
Understood it.
Repeated it in his own head like a lesson.
Do not interfere.
Do not fight.
Do not do anything stupid.
And for a while, he managed it.
Even when Big Mom started mocking her.
Even when he saw the way Pudding's face went carefully blank, the way she did that thing people did when they were trying not to let pain show where others could enjoy it.
Even then—
He held it in.
Until he couldn't.
Tenjin stepped out from hiding so suddenly that his boots striking the floor sounded almost like an attack.
The room changed instantly.
Big Mom's eyes shifted.
Pudding's head snapped up.
And Tenjin, standing there in a Marine coat, still injured, still far too deep inside an Emperor's castle for his own good, pointed at Big Mom and shouted—
"That's enough!"
His voice rang through the chamber.
Angry.
Entirely too fearless for the place he stood in.
Pudding's eyes widened so much they almost stopped looking like hers.
"What are you doing here?!" she whispered harshly. "Are you stupid?!"
Tenjin ignored her.
His glare remained fixed on Big Mom.
"You call yourself her mother and that's how you speak to her?"
Pudding stared at him in complete disbelief.
Tenjin went on, heat rising in his voice with every word.
"She's beautiful," he snapped. "And that eye you mock? It suits her more than anything you've ever given her."
Pudding felt warmth flood her face instantly.
Just a little.
Just enough to feel it.
And at the exact same time she also felt the overwhelming urge to shake him by the shoulders until sense came out.
'What the hell is he doing?'
This is Big Mom.
An Emperor.
An actual Emperor.
And yet—
He was standing there.
Saying those things.
To her.
To Big Mom.
Big Mom, meanwhile, had not moved.
She simply stared at him.
Then smiled.
Not with humor.
The sort of smile that came before disaster.
"A Marine?" she said.
That was all.
But the room itself seemed to darken around the word.
---
New World — Waters Leaving Cacao Island
The sea rocked gently beneath the waiting Tart ships.
Several vessels floated in position just off the island routes, their decks manned, their crews alert, each one ready to move at a command from above. The wind carried the sweet scent of cacao from the island behind them, but no one present was in the mood to appreciate it.
Baron Tamago stood near the edge of one of the lead ships, cane resting lightly beneath one arm, monocle catching the light as he peered toward the route they had been told to watch.
Around him, other Tart crews waited in growing annoyance.
No Marine.
No sign of anyone.
Only sea.
Tamago clicked his tongue lightly.
"Where," he said, "is this so-called Marine Lady Pudding warned us about?"
One of the nearby crewmen shifted uncertainly.
"Perhaps he changed direction?"
Tamago's expression soured.
"Was it a dud?" he asked. "Did we come all this way for imagination, chick?"
He looked again toward the open sea, irritation growing.
Still nothing.
Still no target.
And all the while—
The Marine they were meant to intercept was nowhere near the route they expected.
Because he was already far past them.
Already inside Whole Cake Chateau.
Already standing before Big Mom herself.
---
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