— — — — — — —
Faced with everyone's confusion, Shiki remained calm and said, "Crazy woman, Whitebeard—we each deserve a full share."
"As for you three—John, Wang Zhi, Silver Axe—do you really think you qualify for an equal cut? You should be grateful you're even getting a third of a share between the three of you."
His words were spoken with such indifference that it only made things more infuriating.
The expressions on everyone's faces darkened.
Of course, the ones most affected were John, Wang Zhi, and Silver Axe.
Meanwhile, Linlin and Edward were just watching the show with amused expressions.
Edward may have set sail for the sake of his "family," but let's not forget—he was still a pirate.
And as a pirate, wealthwas something he absolutely desired.
In the past, he hadn't cared about treasure because he saw the Rocks Pirates as his greatest treasure.
But now?
Edward had finally understood—
"Family."
The Rocks Pirates were nothing more than a bunch of power-hungry lunatics.
They were never his real family.
His true family was something he had to find and build for himself.
And for that… he needed money.
Linlin and Edward continued spectating.
As for Compote, Katakuri, and Cracker?
They remained silent, watching with an air of detachment.
After all, this matter didn't concern them—it was none of their business.
The three brothers simply stood aside, letting the drama unfold.
Finally, Wang Zhi spoke up.
"Fine. We'll split one share among the three of us."
Shiki nodded calmly. "Good. That makes things easier."
With that settled, the group continued deeper into Hachinosu.
This island had once been the stronghold of the Rocks Pirates.
As they arrived at the central plaza—
CRACK! CRACK!
Shiki activated a hidden mechanism.
The ground trembled slightly before a massive underground vault surfaced.
Shiki, unfazed, said, "Inside this vault lies the treasure. Everyone takes a quarter. You can start collecting now."
His tone was completely indifferent.
The people here…
As long as they played by the rules, things would go smoothly.
But if anyone stepped out of line—
Then a full-scale war could break out at any moment.
No one was foolish enough to let that happen.
Soon enough, Edward took his share and left.
John, Wang Zhi, and Silver Axe did the same, carrying their portion away.
How they divided it among themselves was their own problem.
Linlin, too, grabbed her treasure and left.
Only Shiki remained behind.
To be honest, he had some ideas about Hachinosu.
But…
Taking over this island alone was impossible.
At most, he could leave behind a few hidden preparations.
That way, in the future, reclaiming Hachinosu would be much easier.
At the Harbor
Linlin and her three children loaded all their treasure onto the ship.
CLACK.
Footsteps echoed.
Linlin turned sharply, grinning. "Whitebeard! What do you want?"
"Gurarararara—"
Edward laughed heartily. "Relax. We have no beef with each other. I just came to take a look."
"Take a look?"
Linlin gave him a skeptical glance.
Then—without hesitation—she shut him down.
"Forget it. We're setting sail. If we meet again in the future, then maybe you can take a look."
"Gurarararara—"
Edward chuckled. "Cold as ever, huh? Well, that's pirates for you. Crazy woman, next time we meet, I hope I'll see the same brat from back then."
As he said this, he took a long, deep look at the ship, Queen Chanter.
Then, he turned and walked away.
SPLASH!
The Queen Chanter set sail.
Aboard the ship
"Phew…"
Cracker exhaled deeply, his voice still a bit nervous. "For a second there, I thought—"
"Cracker!" Katakuri interrupted sternly. "Not another word."
"Huh?"
Cracker was confused but nodded obediently.
Soon, the group entered the ship's interior and stepped into the Mirror World.
As soon as they arrived, Cracker turned to Katakuri. "Why didn't you let me finish?"
Katakuri's expression remained serious.
"Big Brother Joey cannot get involved in the God Valley War. Not even the slightest trace of him can be revealed. Hachinosu is already a powder keg, with countless eyes watching. If Joey's presence is exposed, it could be disastrous."
"Oh, I see!" Cracker finally understood and nodded.
At that moment—
Joey walked in, smiling. "That's right. Katakuri is absolutely correct."
He glanced at his younger siblings and continued, "If I, the family leader, show up, the entire Charlotte Family will be seen as just another pirate clan. That would make everything I've been planning meaningless."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Still—Why did Joey come here in the first place?
The answer was simple.
He didn't trust them.
His younger siblings were still too inexperienced.
And the Celestial Dragons' treasure was simply too enormous.
Even if it was risky, he had to personally oversee things.
Thankfully—Everything went smoothly.
"Alright!" Joey said. "Edward probably suspects something, but it doesn't matter. Whether he figures it out or not is irrelevant. He has no proof. Now, get some rest—you've all had a tough battle."
"Got it, Big Bro!"
Everyone nodded and returned to their cabins to rest.
Only Joey, Amande, and Custard remained awake.
After all—The ship couldn't be left completely unguarded.
That would be reckless.
After everyone left, Joey sank into the sofa, deep in thought.
"It's time to start upgrading the family. That's the most important thing right now."
Everything else? Meaningless.
No matter how he looked at it—
The Charlotte Family's strength needed a major boost.
For example—
If every family member reached Silver Rank 3, Joey himself would be pushed up to Silver Rank 9.
And even if he couldn't unleash his full power…
He'd still be unbeatable.
Right now, within the family—
Only Linlin was at Silver Rank 3.
Katakuri was also at Silver Rank 1.
But the others? Not strong enough.
"Hmm…"
Joey narrowed his eyes, pondering.
After a brief moment—
He made a decision.
First—boost their potential.
After all—He had 300 Aptitude Pills.
These pills could raise someone's potential up to Gold Rank 1—which was more than enough for now.
Previously, he had used them to elevate:
Perospero, Compote, Daifuku, Oven, Amande, Opera, Counter, Cadenza, Cabaletta, and Gala—
Ten siblings—all reaching Gold Rank 1 in Potential.
Now, it was time to strengthen the rest.
He started with:
Mondée, Hachée, and Effilée (all at Silver Rank 1 Potential) → Upgraded to Gold Rank 1 Potential.
Custard and Angel (both at Silver Rank 3 Potential) → Upgraded to Gold Rank 1 Potential.
Next—
It was Brûlée and Broyé's turn.
But something puzzled Joey.
Broyé had Silver Rank 3 potential, which was pretty good.
But Brûlée?
Only Bronze Rank 6.
"What the hell? Why is Brûlée's potential so low? That doesn't make sense…"
After all—They were twins.
Yet their potential was worlds apart.
"Could it be… that Broyé absorbed most of the nutrients before birth?"
Considering this possibility, Joey muttered, "Is that really the reason…?"
After a moment of thought—He stopped overthinking.
Just boost her potential.
No need to hesitate.
As long as they were family, any investment in them was worth it.
Thus, Brûlée and Broye were both upgraded to Gold Rank 1.
After that, Joey continued upgrading his other younger siblings.
Zuccotto went from Silver Rank 2 to Gold Rank 1.
Nusstorte, Basskarte, and Dosmarche—triplet dwarves born with Silver Rank 4 potential—were all boosted to Gold Rank 1.
Noisette was already Silver Rank 5 and also reached Gold Rank 1.
Mash, Moscato, and Cornstarch—another set of triplets—were only at Bronze Rank 9, but he boosted them to Gold Rank 1 as well.
Compo, Laurin, and Mont-d'Or, the 18th, 19th, and 20th children, all had Silver Rank 5 potential and were upgraded too.
By the end—
He had spent 149 Potential Pills, leaving him with 151 remaining.
Not bad—
He had only used about half.
But now—
Joey had another problem to consider.
"My siblings' potential is set. Next, we need training. I need someone to properly train these kids."
This…
This was a headache.
Finding a qualified teacher wasn't easy.
Especially for laying the foundation—Martial arts, Haki, swordsmanship, shooting…
They'd need exposure to all of it before finding their specialties.
Not everyone was a freak like Luffy, who could brute-force his way through anything and never die.
Joey needed a proper training system.
After all—
There were many more siblings to come. He couldn't personally train all of them forever.
"Hmm…"
Rubbing his temples, Joey muttered, "This is really important. Besides boosting potential, I can't just force power onto them without proper training."
Technically—He could just use Achievement Points to force power onto them.
But—Just like himself, possessing power didn't mean mastering it.
And that was the real issue.
Thinking about this, Joey mused, "If possible, I should gather training manuals. Doesn't matter what kind—if I have Achievement Points, I can convert them into something useful."
"Hmm…"
At that thought, a new idea came to mind.
The "Body Refining Technique" was good, but not perfect.
It mainly focused on physical toughness, which wasn't enough.
"System," Joey asked, "How many Achievement Points do I need to upgrade the 'Body Refining Technique' into a perfect Physical Refining Technique?"
"3,000 Achievement Points!"
"The upgraded technique will be called 'The Body'—it will refine the bones, muscles, skin, blood, marrow, and organs to absolute perfection. In other words, it will eliminate all weaknesses."
"Hmm…"
Joey was silent for a moment, then asked, "If trained to Silver Rank 9, can it still allow someone to fight a Gold Rank 1 opponent?"
"Yes!"
"Then upgrade it now!"
"Ding!!!"
Without hesitation, Joey made his choice.
.
.
.