Perospero watched the entire scene from the side. After confirming that his two younger brothers only needed a short period of rest, he calmly began analyzing Vane's strength.
Being able to subdue Oven and Daifuku with ease, and even possessing Conqueror's Haki—his strength clearly matched the bounty placed on his head.
Within their family, if Mama were excluded, then even the strongest, Katakuri, would not be Vane's opponent.
What was even more terrifying was that he was still young. Katakuri was already over thirty. Comparing the two, Vane's current strength—and his future potential—would both surpass Katakuri's.
If they truly recruited him into the family, then one day, should Mama no longer be around, the Charlotte Family might very well fall into his hands.
Because of the strength Vane had displayed, Perospero's thoughts began to shift. As the strategist of the Big Mom Pirates, he had to consider many things—and think far ahead.
Unless they recruited him and killed him while Mama was still alive, this man would undoubtedly become the greatest source of instability for the Charlotte Family in the future.
"Captain Vane truly lives up to his reputation. If you could form a marriage alliance with the Charlotte Family, it would bring great benefits to both our sides."
In the end, Perospero decided to give it a try. As long as the other party arrived at Cake Island, within Mama's sphere of control, he wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble.
"Then send her over."
Perospero: "???"
The two stared at each other, both clearly failing to understand the other's meaning.
Perospero had meant for Vane to bring everyone with him to Cake Island for the wedding.
Vane, on the other hand, meant that they should send the bride to him. Go to Cake Island? Don't joke around—he had no intention of becoming Vinsmoke Judge.
Besides, hadn't they seen that meme? If you run up and ask someone whether they want a wife, and they agree, shouldn't you be the one delivering her to their doorstep?
You want a wife or not? As long as you say the word, I'll send her right to your door.
Vane: This guy must be plotting something shady.
Perospero: This guy's a slippery one too.
The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward. Both sides wanted the benefits, but neither wanted to take the risk.
Worse still, both had their reservations and couldn't easily make a move.
"How about this? We can't let you come all this way for nothing. Are you interested in some high-grade weapons?"
The marriage matter could be set aside for now. Vane decided to do some business with the Big Mom Pirates instead.
A large part of the reason Doflamingo thrived so well in the New World was his identity—the largest arms dealer in the New World. Making a move against him would cause massive upheaval.
Right now, Doflamingo was still in the North Blue, being chased everywhere by Tsuru. The weapons market in the New World was chaotic, and the quality of weapons was far inferior to what it would be over a decade later.
Vane dared to guarantee that the weapons he provided would be far superior even to those Doflamingo would supply in the next ten years.
With Meowth's inventive genius and Electivire's Munch-Munch Fruit constantly providing processed materials, producing modern-level submachine guns and rifles was entirely possible.
Outclassing the flintlock guns of this world would be effortless.
"Weapons?"
For unofficial forces like the Big Mom Pirates, this was precisely what they lacked most. They had almost no internal industry to speak of, or at best, extremely backward craftsmanship.
Fortunately, they were pirates. In this world, individual power often outweighed most conventional weapons. Without production lines, they could always seize weapons by force.
If you lacked technology, then conquer it—that was exactly how the Vinsmoke Family had been targeted.
"I can guarantee that if your crew is armed with weapons we produce, your firepower will surpass even the Marines."
"And since you'd be our first client in the New World, we can offer certain discounts as well."
Although Vane currently had a great deal of money, he was still wary of eventually running out if he only spent without earning. By selling weapons that others would see as highly advanced, he could gain both money and resources.
Clearly, the Big Mom Pirates were an excellent customer—wealthy and with strong demand.
...
"We're just leaving like this? Achoo—"
"Stay away from me, Daifuku. Your sneeze just hit my face."
Perospero looked at his two somewhat foolish younger brothers with obvious disgust.
One had caught a cold from being frozen. The other was wrapped in bandages. They had stormed in aggressively to cause trouble, only to end up in such a miserable state.
"Information about Vane must be reported to Mama immediately. Our strategy needs some adjustments."
Big Mom's Totto Land was located toward the front of the latter half of the Grand Line, so it took them less than two days to return.
"Brother is back."
"This time he went out to seek a pirate for a marriage alliance. I wonder which sister is about to get married."
"Mama loves wedding banquets the most."
Everyone in the Big Mom Pirates knew the purpose of Perospero's trip, but no one knew which daughter would be married off.
That was the Charlotte Family—marriage procedures were never discussed with the daughters. By the time they found out, they were already trying on wedding dresses.
As for what kind of person the groom would be—that was entirely a matter of luck. If fortune favored them and they encountered a compatible and good husband, it was actually quite easy for a Charlotte daughter to betray her mother.
In Oda's portrayal, among the three clearly married daughters—Chiffon, Praline, and Pudding—two had committed outright betrayal, and the third, though harboring different intentions, had also taken actions that amounted to betrayal.
"Could it be Galette?"
"Maybe. It'd be best to marry off that cold-faced woman. Just seeing her face annoys me."
With so many children in the Charlotte Family, it was only natural that various small cliques formed. Because Galette was one of the few daughters with a normal and beautiful appearance, she had, to a large extent, been ostracized by the others.
Everyone else looked like monsters—why should you be the beautiful one? And with that foul temper too. Naturally, there were more who disliked her.
Galette wore a red feathered coat, her expression indeed somewhat cold. But anyone who had been isolated since childhood would hardly be cheerful.
She was a strong-willed woman who also wanted to enter the core ranks of the family.
And in the Charlotte Family, if you didn't want to be casually traded away, you needed strength.
Unfortunately, her talent for combat was average. But there was another way—consume a Devil Fruit that would be extremely useful to Big Mom.
If she couldn't find a powerful fruit, then the best option would be a Devil Fruit related to food. That way, she could still secure a certain standing in Mama's eyes.
"I heard that second brother Katakuri recently found a Devil Fruit related to food…"
Katakuri was the most caring of all the siblings, never discriminating against any brother or sister. If she could meet second brother early enough, there was a high chance she could eat that Devil Fruit.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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