Chapter 102: Charlotte Katakuri is Dead?

"I am not dead?!?"

Charlotte Katakuri's entire body throbbed with pain as he half-opened his eyes, seeing only an empty, eerie world before him.

Then—

An old, witch-like face came into view.

As his vision cleared, the blurred figure became the grotesque form of a woman. She had a scar running down her face, spiky purple hair exploding like thorny vines, and tree-like skin. She wore a green fur coat draped over her tall frame, exuding a sinister aura.

"Bree?"

Katakuri tried to speak, but his words faltered. His teeth felt strange—leaking air through the gaps. Instinctively, he reached up to cover his mouth to hide his face…

But he couldn't.

His hands, legs—his whole body—were immobilized, wrapped tightly in white gauze. One of his legs was gone.

"Brother, you're awake!"

Bree, the woman with the witch-like appearance, leaned closer in relief. "This is the Mirror World. You're severely injured—don't try to move."

"…I'm still alive?" Katakuri muttered weakly. "Marco didn't kill me on the spot?"

He glanced down at his missing leg. The memories were hazy, but he recalled the intense pain when Marco crushed his leg and sent him flying into a deep pit, right before everything went black.

"The leg doesn't matter," Bree said with forced cheer, trying to reassure him. "You can use your fruit powers to recreate one when you recover."

She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "After you were blasted into the pit, Kaido suddenly dropped from the sky. The island sank into the sea during the chaos, and both Kaido and Marco left. I led Sica and the others to dive underwater to rescue you. They're Fish-Men, so swimming through those waters was no problem."

"…I see."

Katakuri fell silent, letting the situation sink in.

"Bring me a scarf," he finally whispered.

Bree's expression softened. "Brother, you don't need to hide yourself. You don't have to be perfect all the time! You'll always be perfect to me, no matter what you look like."

"…"

"We'll arrive at Totto Land soon," she added optimistically. "When we return to Mom, she'll find the best doctor to treat you. Don't lose heart just because you lost to Marco. After all, he's the first commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."

Bree tried to sound encouraging, but Katakuri remained silent. He knew better.

He knew the truth—Mom doesn't need losers.

…

A few days later

Under Bree's care, Katakuri returned to Totto Land and Cake Island.

But what happened next was worse than he imagined.

Bree had expected the family to show compassion for her injured brother. Instead, what greeted them was mocking laughter.

"Black hahaha~! The ugly sister saved an ugly monster!" one of the siblings jeered. "So much for the perfect brother—he's just another loser!"

"The weak will always be weak!"

"Once a failure, always a failure! You'll carry that mark for the rest of your life!"

Bree's eyes burned with anger, but she was powerless to stop them. She lacked the strength to fight back and was beaten for trying.

Meanwhile, Katakuri remained silent, his expression stoic, though his heart felt cold and heavy.

"Brother, I'll take you to Mom! She'll find the best doctor to heal you!" Bree said desperately, her voice cracking. She hoisted him onto her back and rushed toward Big Mom's chambers.

Boom!

The door slammed open—only to be met with a massive slap from Big Mom, sending both Katakuri and Bree flying.

"Katakuri… You know what failure means, don't you?"

Her voice was like poison, dripping with malice. Bree trembled uncontrollably, paralyzed by fear.

Katakuri lay motionless, cold despair washing over him.

Ssshhhkk!

Without hesitation, a strange force gripped Katakuri's fallen body. A white, soul-like energy mass was forcibly sucked from his form, flowing directly into Big Mom's outstretched hand and then absorbed into her body.

"Forty years of your life," she said coldly. "This is your payment. Consider it an act of mercy."

In the corner of the room, Charlotte Flampe, blowing bubbles with gleeful malice, sneered, "Blackhahaha~! Mom gave you a chance to live. You should be grateful, loser!"

"Mom!" Bree cried, unable to hold back her emotions. "Please! Find a doctor for my brother—he's dying!"

Boom!

Bree was kicked out by Flampe along with Katakuri.

The door slammed shut behind them.

Outside the room, Charlotte Flampe looked down at Katakuri and Bree with a mocking sneer, her words cold and dripping with malice.

"Don't expect any doctor to treat you, hee-hee!" Flampe giggled. "In the entire Totland Kingdom, not a single doctor will dare heal someone as ugly as you, wow!"

She bent down, her voice brimming with cruelty as she delivered Big Mom's final decree.

"If you manage to stay alive…"

"…you are stripped of your star status. From now on, you're nothing but a garrison soldier stationed at Cocoa Island. You'll live and die as a mere foot soldier for the Charlotte family."

---

Bree's mind reeled, and a buzzing filled her ears.

"Snap~!"

Her heart shattered into pieces.

For the first time, the horrifying truth struck Katakuri: the family he had bled and sacrificed everything for was as cold and merciless as the sea itself.

Bree's eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn't process it—she refused to believe it.

They had risked everything to return to Totland, hoping that Big Mom would provide the best care for Katakuri.

But instead—

Forty years of life were ripped from him.

No doctor was allowed to help him.

His hard-earned star status was gone. He was condemned to live out his days as an ordinary fighter, posted on Cocoa Island, where any cadre could demand his life at a whim for the sake of the Charlotte family.

The cold, unfeeling verdict shattered Bree's soul.

Though she looked wicked like a witch on the outside, she never imagined the same cruelty the family unleashed on others would be shown to her beloved brother—the strongest and most perfect sibling, who had given everything for their family.

And now, here they were—cast aside like trash.

…

Bree carried Katakuri on her back, leaving Cake Island.

His body trembled from pain, but his voice was steady.

"Take me away."

Bree's breath hitched. "Where?"

Katakuri's gaze remained distant as he whispered, "To Cocoa Island."

Then, after a pause, he murmured, "No… Take me out of the Totland Empire."

"Huh?!"

Bree stopped in her tracks, her heart pounding with confusion.

Blood began to seep through the white gauze that covered Katakuri's body, staining the wrappings red.

Bree gasped in panic, adjusting her grip on him as fear tightened her chest. But Katakuri didn't flinch. Not even a crease appeared on his brow as the pain worsened.

"Forty years of my life are gone—Mom took them." He spoke calmly, though his words were heavy with finality. "That's her payment. It means I'm free to leave the Big Mom Pirates. No one will stop me now."

In the pirate world, mercy was a myth. The weak were stripped of everything—even the right to live.

And Big Mom—one of the Four Emperors who ruled the New World with iron cruelty—showed no exception, not even to her own children.

…

On that day, a nameless ship with no flag set sail from the Totland Empire.

It drifted out of Big Mom's domain without resistance, unnoticed and unchallenged.

No one in Totland cared.

"Charlotte Katakuri…"

"…is dead."