Snake folk

As Nicholas spoke, the crew of the Sea Sovereign turned their gaze towards Katakuri, who stood there with a scarf wrapped around his neck. Even Vista, emanating his Haoshoku Haki, erupted with a commanding presence from within.

The Homies, who had been swaying and singing around, were all trembling in fear, clearly reminded of the aura that Charlotte Linlin emitted when she was angry.

"Captain Nicholas, is this a misunderstanding?"

Under immense pressure, Spero spoke up, clearly unwilling to lose his life just like that.

"You are strong, so strong that I don't have the courage to act against you for now."

Katakuri, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke up, his hand gripping the handle of his Trident.

"But I will be stronger in the future. One day, I will challenge you!"

Earlier, when he had used his Observation Haki to sense Nicholas, the latter had detected it almost instantly.

Despite being only in his teens, he didn't have the qualifications to boast about defeating Nicholas, who was on par with the top figures of Totoland.

"Ha ha ha! The kid has ideals and the potential to become a king."

Nicholas laughed heartily and reached out to pat Katakuri's shoulder, wearing an expression of approval.

Meanwhile, Compote and Perospero could only offer forced smiles from the sidelines.

Katakuri, however, looked shocked. He hadn't shared the fact that he possessed Haoshoku Haki with even his closest companions. How did this guy know?

"Are you the Nicholas that Linlin has been talking about?"

As Katakuri pondered, a cold voice suddenly echoed from not far away, and a figure emerged.

The most striking feature of this figure was his long, slender neck, taking up three meters of his nine-meter height.

Seeing the sudden appearance of the figure, Perospero stepped forward with a warning tone, "Lord Snake, these are guests invited by Mother. Don't cause trouble."

However, Snake ignored Perospero and took a step forward, a cold and indifferent gaze fixed on Nicholas:

"Why are you here?"

"Why can't I be here?"

Upon hearing Nicholas' reply, Snake's eyes grew even colder. "Whatever you intend to do, I warn you, Linlin is mine."

Understandably, the onlookers' gazes towards Nicholas changed immediately. Even Stussy and Simon couldn't help but smile. However, Spearo, Compote, and Katakuri's expressions were filled with shock.

Especially Spearo and Compote, their gazes towards Nicholas seemed different now. They began to ponder how they would address Nicholas in the future. After all, for Linlin, most of those spouses were treated as lovers. However, with Nicholas, who was almost as powerful as themselves, the treatment might be different.

Do they have to call Nicholas 'Dad' in the future?

"You're out of your mind, aren't you? I don't have your preferences, and I don't drive private cars. Am I running a maritime bus service?"

Nicholas laughed, feeling irritated. It seemed that Linlin's spouses were all a bit eccentric. Perhaps it was because of love? After all, goddesses in the eyes of sycophants were always perfect.

Understanding Nicholas' words, Brook and Simon immediately showed sly smiles. Stussy's face under the mask even blushed.

Ignoring the commotion, Snake drew his sword abruptly, the renowned "White Fish" gleaming under the sunlight.

"Nicholas, let me see if you're worthy of being Linlin's bedfellow!"

Snake's voice was cold, his words deliberate:

"Defeat me! If you can defeat me, I'll acknowledge your strength and personally take you to Cake Castle to meet the others. Otherwise, get back to wherever you came from!"

As soon as the words fell, a fierce aura emanated from Snake's body, akin to a venomous snake ready to strike, making everyone wary.

Nicholas was momentarily taken aback. This guy seemed to be a bit crazy. However, seeing the way he looked...

Nicholas decided to give him a lesson. Lightning formed a long sword in his right hand.

"Acknowledging my strength? You're overestimating yourself! And, can't you understand human speech?"

With a deep and forceful voice, Nicholas' eyes turned cold. Then, he slashed towards Snake without hesitation.

Buzz!

The surrounding air vibrated as two sword energies clashed. In that instant, Nicholas' attack seemed to crush Snake's, which disintegrated almost instantaneously. Nicholas' sword energy remained undeterred, continuing its momentum towards Snake.

Boom!

In the terrifying turbulence, Snake had no time to dodge. He could only muster all his strength to block with his sword, "White Fish". However, it barely lasted half a second before he felt as if a huge ship had collided with him. He couldn't withstand it any longer, screaming as he was sent flying, crashing into a Homie tree dozens of meters away and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Snake, Sir!"

"Snake, no!"

"Snake, hiss!"

The snake people who followed Snake rushed over, one on each side, helping Snake up. As the most handsome of the snake people, Snake was their foundation in Cake Island. They couldn't afford any mishaps. One of the snake people turned pale and shouted to the surrounding soldiers:

"Stop all of you!"

He couldn't let anything happen to Snake, who was practically the cornerstone of their status on Cake Island.

"Stop!"

The soldiers swiftly surrounded the members of the Freedom Pirates, preparing to attack. However, before they could strike, a commanding voice stopped them:

"Hold your positions!"

It was Perospero. As the eldest son of Big Mom, he couldn't afford to let Totoland clash with Nicholas. After all, Totoland had already been in conflict with Whitebeard, Kaido, and other major pirates in the New World. Offending Nicholas would only complicate matters further.

"Perospero, what are you trying to do?"

A snake person questioned Perospero's decision loudly. He knew that as Big Mom's eldest son, this kid's position among the Totoland soldiers was much higher than his own.

"What do I want to do? I should be asking you what you want to do! Do you want to provoke a powerful enemy for Totoland!?"

Perospero said sternly, his young age notwithstanding, his imposing aura had intimidated the snake people.

Ultimately, the snake people left with Snake, their heads hanging low.

"You're welcome to Totoland, Captain Nicholas. Allow me to escort you to Cake Island!"

Once the snake people had left, Perospero smiled and offered to take Nicholas and his crew to Cake Island.

 [AN- Currently big mom has not become ugly yet that's why everyone is trying to Explore her cave]