"My foolish little brother, no matter how high his bounty is, it can't possibly surpass Mama's… and he'll become part of our family. Between family, we should be a little more tolerant."
Perospero comforted his younger brother like this, though what he truly thought was that no matter who it was, once they stood before Mama, they would obediently submit.
Any newcomer who didn't know how to bow their head would die at Mama's hands. And those slaves who had escaped from Vane's subordinates would eventually be swallowed up by their pirate crew as well.
Daifuku wore a sour expression.
"It's just a higher bounty, that's all. These days, plenty of people with bounties higher than ours have died at our hands. He'd better know what's good for him."
In Daifuku's view, Vane's actual strength didn't match his bounty at all. He had simply done something that infuriated the World Government—just like a few years ago, when they placed a bounty of tens of millions on a little girl only a few years old.
Sometimes politics outweighed actual strength when it came to bounties. A newcomer from "Paradise" who could match them evenly at the start was already considered excellent. In any case, Daifuku didn't believe Vane possessed the strength of someone worth 1.1 billion.
And so, they made their way all the way to the Boar Island where Vane had docked.
...
"Don't shoot, don't shoot! We're not enemies."
As soon as members of the Big Mom Pirates approached, the several ships anchored nearby reacted. Perospero quickly raised his hands, signaling that they meant no harm.
"Candy Slug!"
Perospero swung the oversized Christmas donut in his hand, producing a massive amount of candy. The candy fell into the seawater and formed into a gigantic slug.
Such was the wonder of a Devil Fruit. Perospero's candy could assemble into various animals even in seawater, carrying him across the ocean without being affected.
By contrast, the Gold Emperor's gold was easily washed and destabilized by seawater.
Riding the candy slug, Perospero came ashore alone onto the beach.
He did so with confidence in his own strength. Later on, his bounty would reach the 600 million range—second only to Big Mom's Sweet Commanders. Even the unknown-bounty former Sweet Commander Snack probably wouldn't exceed him by much.
"Perospero, what do the Big Mom Pirates want with me?"
With a light step, Vane appeared on the beach, standing face to face with Perospero.
His Observation Haki had already swept across the area. There were no Sweet Commanders aboard their ship—only three of Big Mom's officers.
For an ordinary rookie, facing any one of them would be tough—Devil Fruit abilities and Haki, far beyond the level of the first half of the Grand Line.
Unfortunately, Vane was the exception. At this stage, even if Katakuri came, Vane was absolutely confident he could suppress him alone. Only two Sweet Commanders together would count as a real threat.
As for Oven and Daifuku, in Vane's eyes, they were practically comic relief.
The former once tried to imitate Whitebeard by stopping and moving a massive structure ship—only to be crushed into the mud.
The latter's posture when activating his steam ability looked like… a deer holding a steel pipe.
"Of course we're here to discuss cooperation with the rising superstar of the pirate world, Captain Vane… Since Captain Vane can call out my name and knows about the Big Mom Pirates, you must also understand our strength."
"The World Government will never give up hunting you. Join our pirate crew. Even the World Government wouldn't dare make a move against you then."
For reasons unknown, the World Government truly showed immense tolerance toward the Yonko powers. Unless absolutely necessary, they would not take the initiative to go to war against a Yonko.
Big Mom had already reached a level of strength that made the World Government wary, and clashes between the two sides were indeed rare.
"If that's all you have to say, then please head back. See that warship over there? Before today, we just defeated two Vice Admirals and took it from them."
One doesn't strike a smiling face. Perospero hadn't adopted an overbearing attitude, and Vane had no intention of offending Big Mom so quickly either.
He first needed to settle down safely in Sleeping Island. In the short term, there was no need to provoke that madwoman.
"Our Big Mom Pirates have always been very sincere. Of course we wouldn't ask a rising star of the pirate world to join us for nothing."
"The Big Mom Pirates are bound by blood ties. Join our crew… and you can marry one of my beautiful sisters."
Perospero pulled out a stack of photos and fanned them out like playing cards.
Now that's something worth staying awake for… Ahem. Let's examine the Big Mom Pirates' sincerity with a critical eye.
It had to be said—among Big Mom's many children, there were quite a few odd-looking ones. But with so many births, some inevitably inherited excellent genes—beautiful women, or at least those with a unique kind of charm.
"17th daughter, Melise."
"18th daughter, Galette."
"19th daughter, Poire."
"And if you don't mind Fish-Men, the 20th daughter, Prim, and the 21st daughter, Praline, are also outstanding."
The daughters Perospero presented were all from a similar age group and notably attractive, including those of mixed races.
Vane glanced at Praline's photo. Wasn't this the future wife of the Fish-Man Aladine? A shark mermaid with freckles—perhaps those who liked animal-girls would appreciate her. Unfortunately, Vane didn't share that particular hobby.
Melise had a youthful, girlish style. She was actually the oldest among them, yet her overall vibe made her look the youngest.
Galette gave off a cold, mature aura. Her figure was curvy and well-proportioned, though her expression was icy.
Poire appeared to be Galette's twin. Her legs were longer, though her proportions weren't quite as balanced.
"Well? They're all my outstanding sisters. Marry any one of them and you'll enjoy great fortune. Once you're married, you're one of us. With us backing you, you won't have to worry about threats from the World Government."
Marrying a beautiful wife and gaining a powerful family as backing—it certainly sounded tempting.
Unfortunately, Vane knew exactly what kind of crew the Big Mom Pirates were.
For small forces—like the mobster Capone Bege in the original timeline, who ate the Castle-Castle Fruit—Big Mom could tolerate their existence, using her daughters to win them over for mutual benefit.
But for larger forces, Big Mom's personality would never allow a threat to remain at her side. A woman who could casually extract her own children's lifespans would never care about something as fragile as the relationship of a "son-in-law."
The Vinsmoke Family was a prime example. She set up the entire scheme—not wanting the family's head at all. Kill him, then swallow the whole family.
Vane felt he was simply another "Vinsmoke."
A pirate crew of over a thousand members was, to the current Big Mom, an absolutely luscious cake—one she would certainly want to devour completely.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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