As if noticing Kaido glancing over from time to time, Charlotte Linlin frowned and said unhappily, "What? Why do you keep looking over here? Are you trying to steal my sweets?"
"Have you not heard the rumors lately? Golden Lion, Whitebeard, and that so-called Winter's Wrath are being called the Pirate Emperors of the New World. Plenty of busybodies are calling them the Three Pirate Emperors!" Kaido folded the newspaper and looked at Charlotte Linlin.
Hearing this, Charlotte Linlin's expression became slightly complicated.
Seeing that she did not answer, Kaido continued, "Shiki and Whitebeard are one thing. Those two are definitely strong. But what the hell is this Winter's Wrath, Valthior? What gives him the right to stand above us? Don't you find that humiliating?"
"Valthior is very strong!" Charlotte Linlin looked at Kaido and said in a deep voice. "Have you forgotten? Not long ago, he fought Garp on Savila Island. The newspapers said they fought for three days and two nights without a winner. You know better than anyone how strong Garp is, don't you?"
The last time Kaido was captured by the Marines, it had been because he ran into Garp.
Garp had pinned him to the ground and beaten him until his face was bruised and swollen.
At the same time, Kaido remembered what had happened back in God Valley in the West Blue. Garp had been as strong as a monster back then, chasing him, Charlotte Linlin, and Whitebeard all by himself.
Charlotte Linlin had struck Garp head-on in anger, yet that guy had barely been affected.
So Kaido truly had some trauma when it came to Garp.
However, he had never seen Valthior, nor had he fought him. Because of that, he really did not think much of Valthior, and he did not believe Valthior was truly qualified to fight Garp.
"Didn't you say that Valthior is a Celestial Dragon? Garp probably could not go all out because of that, which is why the fight dragged on for three days and two nights," Kaido argued.
Hearing this, Charlotte Linlin fell into thought.
She had once fought Valthior on Cake Island.
But how strong had Valthior been back then?
Honestly, he had not been absurdly powerful. At least, Charlotte Linlin had not felt that Valthior was stronger than her at the time.
His methods had simply been extremely strange. Those eyes of his had left a deep impression on her. Even someone as fierce as Harald had been heavily injured by Valthior after one careless moment.
But putting aside that strange ability, other than his extremely powerful Conqueror's Haki, Valthior had not shown any especially overwhelming strength.
He was a Mythical Zoan user, yes.
But Kaido was also a Mythical Zoan user.
The power of the Azure Dragon was extremely powerful even across the entire sea.
And Kaido was also exceptionally talented. It made sense that he looked down on Valthior, since the two had never truly fought.
Just then, Kaido said again, "And what is worth mentioning about those Valthior Pirates? Spencer? Sure, that guy has a high bounty, but he is only a scholar from Roger's ship. It is because he can read Poneglyphs that the World Government values him so much. Look at Ohara. It was destroyed. That means what they fear is the power of those writings, not how strong he is. As for the rest, they are all nobodies, just a group of little brats. That whole crew is being carried by Valthior alone, isn't it?"
These words also struck Charlotte Linlin's heart.
Among the entire Valthior Pirates, only Captain Valthior could really catch Charlotte Linlin's eye.
And their nickname, the "Baby Pirates," was not entirely baseless.
For such a pirate crew to be placed above Totto Land made Charlotte Linlin feel very unhappy, even if she restrained herself.
"In other words, among the Valthior Pirates, only Valthior himself can fight and is worth mentioning. But even if he can fight, do you think he can beat the two of us together? In my opinion, if people are going to talk about Three Emperors, then it should be our Beasts Pirates standing alongside the Flying Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates!" Kaido cursed.
Kaido's seemingly reasonable analysis greatly tempted Charlotte Linlin.
Had Garp really acted strangely because he was cautious of Valthior's Celestial Dragon identity?
To be honest, with Valthior only in his twenties, Charlotte Linlin also doubted whether his strength could truly match Garp's.
That was honestly beyond expectation.
On this sea, before a certain future troublemaker appeared, who dared claim they could run wild across the world at only a dozen or twenty years old?
That would be completely ignoring the monsters and powerhouses of the sea.
"So what do you mean?" Charlotte Linlin swallowed the cake in her mouth, then picked up the napkin on the table and wiped her mouth.
"In the New World, titles are meaningless in the end. What matters is strength. If Valthior dares carry the name of one of the Three Emperors, then he has to be worthy of it. I already said long ago that Frost Island has extremely rich resources. Now they are standing above us too. You might be able to swallow that, but I cannot. What I mean is, we go hit Valthior once and measure his level. Let's see whether he is qualified to bear the name of one of the Three Emperors of the New World!" A murderous light flashed in Kaido's eyes.
Charlotte Linlin's fingers tapped lightly on the table, making crisp clicking sounds. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she quickly considered Kaido's words.
Seeing this, Kaido also fell silent and did not interrupt her thoughts.
It had to be said that what Kaido had said made sense.
After a long while, Charlotte Linlin suddenly opened her eyes.
"Letting him stand above us really is humiliating… You are right. In the New World, strength decides everything. I am also very interested in the title of Pirate Emperor…"
At this stage, Totto Land and the Beasts Pirates were indeed focused on development.
But pirates were part of a circle that fought for fame and profit.
One step behind meant every step behind.
If the rumors on the sea had been about Four Emperors and included both her and Kaido, perhaps Charlotte Linlin would have accepted it and not provoked Valthior.
After all, although they did have enmity, that grudge had not reached an irreconcilable level.
Charlotte Linlin was still willing to spend time developing first, then settle the account with Valthior later when the timing was better.
But just as Kaido said…
Could Valthior alone really stand above both of them?
Was that not looking down on them too much?
"You are the queen of Totto Land, and I am the one in charge of the pirate crew. So once we seize the name of Pirate Emperor, it has to be placed in my hands!" Kaido immediately said.
There was also a little selfish thought hidden in that. Linlin is Queen of Totto Land, and I'm the Pirate Emperor. Doesn't that pair up nicely?
Charlotte Linlin could not be bothered with Kaido's little thoughts. She immediately said, "Katakuri!"
Not far away, Katakuri, who had been sitting there eating doughnuts and had not joined the conversation at all, looked over.
"I am here."
"Go investigate. I heard Valthior is not in the New World right now. Find out where he went, when he will return, and what route he will take. Report to me once it is clear," Charlotte Linlin ordered.
In terms of intelligence, Charlotte Linlin could not compare to Valthior.
After all, if Valthior truly got serious, he could use the underworld, pirates, CP, and Marine Headquarters' intelligence resources to help him.
But if one only looked at the pirate world, then Charlotte Linlin was indeed known for having the best intelligence network.
Back when she was with the Rocks Pirates, her main job had been organizing intelligence for the crew.
This was thanks to her extremely wide network of marriages and connections. A large number of former husbands and devoted admirers were obsessed with her and would always work for her.
"Why go through all that trouble? We can just attack Frost Island directly and be done with it," Kaido could not help saying.
"Idiot!" Charlotte Linlin glared at Kaido. "That would become a fight to the death. Do we have some life-or-death hatred between us? Right now, we only want to measure whether he is qualified or not. Since he did not reject the title of Three Emperors, he must know in his heart that he would face these things sooner or later. So this does not count as a personal grudge, and there will still be room to negotiate afterward. But if we attack Frost Island, it will become an all-out war. Whether we win or lose, as long as we do not kill him, we will have to prepare for his full revenge afterward! That is not worth it, Kaido!"
"He stole your Poneglyph and sent you to prison. That still does not count as a grudge?" Kaido cursed.
"I will settle that account with him one day…" Charlotte Linlin said in a low voice.
In truth, if she was being honest with herself, the fault for that incident lay with Roger—it was the Roger Pirates who had started it. Valthior was only a secondary factor.
As it happened, Linlin and Kaido weren't the only ones considering taking a swing at the Valthior Pirates.
Many powerful pirates across the New World were also wondering whether they should take a shot at Valthior.
Although his battle with Garp had greatly boosted Valthior's reputation, there were still many people on the sea who were unconvinced that he was worthy of the title of Three Emperors.
That was why Valthior understood very clearly that this title had to be forged through iron and fire.
How could the throne of a Pirate Emperor be free of blood?
Many people on the sea could already see that a new storm in the New World was taking shape.
And when that storm passed, only those still standing at the peak would be worthy of the name Pirate Emperor.
This was true for Valthior.
It was also true for Shiki and Newgate.
After all, not everyone was like Charlotte Linlin and Kaido, focusing only on Valthior.
Arrogant pirates would never fear challenging authority.
And on this sea, the one thing that was never lacking was arrogant people.
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