At this moment, Oven and Daifuku had already charged into the crowd and, without holding back, dealt with the group causing trouble, effectively showing a bit of their skills.
Many of the surrounding guests looked unsurprised. Those who could survive in the Underworld had all weathered storms before. Instead, Bege continued speaking.
“See that? Aside from Big Mom herself, these two are among the biggest threats to this operation.
The foremost of the Three Sweet Commanders, Katakuri, the man who can briefly foresee the future. If he notices us before we act, it’s all over.”
“Oh, I remember him. Pineapple Head and Ace said he was a pain to deal with.”
“You’ve met him?”
“I saw him before in Dressrosa. He also seemed to have something called awakening, turning the entire ground into mochi. I wonder if it tastes good.”
Luffy was serious for once, but it lasted only a very short time, and the bit of confidence Bege had just gained vanished again.
“That’s not important. The cat-man next to him is a Mink, the husband of the current Duchess of Zou Island, a senior officer of the Beasts Pirates, Zeraora the Thunderclap.”
“Can he foresee the future too?”
“No idea. There’s no intelligence saying he can, but his speed is such that even after seeing you make a move, he can forcibly interrupt your next action with sheer speed alone.
The relationship between the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom is very complicated; sometimes they clash, sometimes they’re closely connected. I don’t even know what his true purpose is in coming here this time.”
The greatest advantage of the Castle-Castle Fruit was probably that they could loudly plot inside it right in front of others, since no one outside could hear anything. The Big Mom Pirates didn’t have mind-reading abilities, and Katakuri’s Future Sight was different from mind reading to some extent.
“There’s more. See that green-haired man?
Gild Tesoro, the man known in the Underworld as the Golden Emperor. He’s another troublesome person.”
“Yohohoho, that’s my boss. I can’t believe he came here too.”
Law had just taken over the conversation when Brook carried it away, and his mention of “boss” drew everyone’s attention.
“Boss?”
“Yeah, didn’t I tell you? For the past two years, I’ve actually been under contract working as an actor.
He’s the chief CEO of Beasts Fruits, and a celebrity himself, but I really didn’t know he was also the Golden Emperor of the Underworld.”
“He plays both sides, and commands immense influence. Whether it’s pirates, the Marines, or even the World Government, he has connections everywhere.
He’s somewhat similar to Doflamingo, but there’s one important difference. He’s not a broker like Doflamingo.
Tesoro is a core figure of the Beasts Pirates. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the purse of the crew.
Sending him here shows that the Beasts Pirates are taking this very seriously.”
Law took back control of the topic and continued explaining.
“So, is he strong?”
Luffy didn’t really care about such things. To him, résumés and past exploits only sounded intimidating, whether someone could actually fight was what mattered.
“No idea. Very few people have seen him make a move. I’ve only heard that anyone who offends him ends up suffering terrible luck for no apparent reason. He’s another troublesome character. Bone-ya, have you ever seen him fight?”
“No. He rarely makes a move, but I’ve heard him discuss Haki with his guards, so he should be no weakling.”
“Then who’s that guy next to him? His guard? Why does he use the Three Sword Style like Zoro?”
Among the guests dressed in Western-style formal wear, Kojiro, clad in Wano Country attire, stood out conspicuously. The two short blades at his waist and the extra long sword gave him a look reminiscent of Zoro.
“That guy’s from Wano Country. He was one of the earliest people to join the Beasts Pirates. He’s originally a merchant, but his ancestors seem to have been samurai.”
Twenty years had passed. Kojiro had grown a beard and looked far more mature overall, but Kin’emon still recognized him at a glance.
With the current Straw Hats plus their allies, they had finally figured out the enemy’s exact situation, and Bege also introduced the other children of Big Mom who were worth paying attention to.
“When we were allies before, those guys were all very reliable, but now that we’re taking action, they’re a real headache. Alright, preparations are basically complete. Now it all comes down to the final operation.”
“Father, the chefs for the tea party have finished their work and are holding a banquet. I’ve temporarily blocked the route, so it’ll take a bit of time for people outside to get up here.” [TN: Bege’s men generally address him as “Father” similarly to the way that Mafia members address their high ranking leader as “Godfather” ]
“Father, the Horned Den Den Mushi that can jam transmissions are also ready. Once they’re set in place, there won’t be any communication in the venue. Wishing you success in the operation.”
After that, there was no more sound from Bege’s Den Den Mushi, which also meant the operation was approaching its final stage.
At the main table of the tea party, most of the guests were already seated, with only the last empty seat still unoccupied.
Those attending a tea party for the first time were mostly staring curiously at that seat, wanting to know who Charlotte Linlin had reserved it for.
Some people also took issue with the seating of the guests.
“The Underworld people are one thing, but why do those two Mink kids get to sit there?”
Meowna and Wolff were also near the main table at this time, but they weren’t sitting there obediently; instead, they were moving around nearby.
“Shut up. Don’t you see who’s beside them? Their dad is a big shot. Look over there, the last guest has arrived!”
Several chess soldiers stepped forward, and the one in the middle was holding a photograph—the picture of Sister Carmel, the most important person in Charlotte Linlin’s heart.
“Mamamama~ Sister has finally arrived.”
Everything seemed unchanged, but when the chess soldier reached the front of the table and set down the photo in its hands, something suddenly went wrong with its movement. Right in front of Charlotte Linlin, the photograph slipped and fell toward the floor.
Seeing the falling photo, Charlotte Linlin’s eyes instantly widened, and her whole body went stiff as if she had lost the ability to move, yet the sound of shattering never came.
A blue Aura shield caught the photo before it hit the ground, and the soft blades of grass provided further cushioning, preserving the photo intact. Meowna and Wolff, who had just been playing around nearby, ended up being a huge help.
“Be more careful. How can you be so careless with something that important?”
Meowna was very good at catching falling objects, she had even trained it into a special instinct. All of this could be traced back to the fact that the two of them often knocked things over around the house while playing.
Setsuna would always get angry when things were broken, so Meowna gradually developed this ability. Through Aura and her own vines and leaves, she could catch fragile items like tableware in time. Naturally, picture frames were included as well.
“Sister!”
Seeing that the photo was completely unharmed, Charlotte Linlin let out a sigh of relief, then looked at Meowna.
“What an adorable girl. You’ve helped me a great deal, just as charming as your father was when he was young.”
Hearing Charlotte Linlin’s praise, Zeraora’s face twitched slightly, and Wanda understood why Setsuna had insisted on having her come along even when she was busy.
However, Charlotte Linlin didn’t dwell on the matter for long. The smile on her face instantly turned into furious rage.
“You actually dared to… try to break Sister’s photo?!”
A pressure at the level of the soul surged toward the chess soldier from just now, and then she noticed something was wrong. This wasn’t a Homie she had created at all. With a single slap, that Homie turned into a puddle of ink, with a small fragment of a Vivre Card left behind.
That was its true nature. It was a soldier drawn by Kanjuro. Using a portion of the Vivre Card Lola had given Nami, he had painstakingly drawn a Homie realistic enough to pass as the real thing, and with Bege’s assistance, it had replaced the original Homie soldier.
Breaking it on the way meant it might be saved by other soldiers, so Kanjuro ordered the soldier he drew to break the photo in front of the table, but he hadn’t expected Meowna, this uninvited variable, to appear.
“Who was it?!”
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