Whole Cake Island, Northwest Region — the base of the Fire Tank Pirates, Capone "Gang" Bege's stronghold.
"..."
Bege wiped the cold sweat from his brow, staring in disbelief as Luffy and Chopper devoured mountains of local Whole Cake Island delicacies. The endless stream of pastries and sweets being hauled in made him swallow hard.
How much can these idiots eat?! And that tanuki—is that really a tanuki?!
Feeding a pet this lavishly... are they insane?!
In Bege's eyes, the Straw Hats had originally been nothing more than sacrificial lambs for this tea party—
They would serve as Big Mom's public demonstration of power: utterly crushed, their souls extracted, turned into Homies, their fate laid bare for all the guests as a warning against challenging a Yonko.
The very fact they dared to come here—and even brought others with them—was nothing short of suicidal.
Bege had even begun to hesitate, wondering if he should disclose his plan to them...
After all, it was clear they hadn't fully grasped the peril that awaited them in Totto Land.
When the Straw Hats finally reached the stronghold, Bege's wife, Charlotte Chiffon, came out with their son, Capone Pez, to greet them. It was then that Nami, catching sight of Chiffon, gasped, "Lola?!", stunning Bege.
Charlotte Chiffon's twin sister, Charlotte Lola, had fled an arranged marriage and accidentally wandered into the Florian Triangle, where she was turned into a boar by Gecko Moria...
It was the Straw Hats who had defeated Moria and rescued Lola, and in gratitude, Lola had given Nami Big Mom's Vivre Card!
The moment Nami laid eyes on Chiffon—called "Ma'am" by Bege's crew—she recognized the uncanny resemblance to Lola!
After some clarification, the atmosphere quickly warmed—Chiffon, regarding the Straw Hats as Lola's saviors, treated them as her own benefactors. Thus, Bege couldn't harm them.
A notorious wife-doting maniac, Bege naturally heeded his wife's wishes. Cooperation with the Straw Hats became inevitable.
First, though, came the task of filling up those two bottomless pits.
During this time, a small incident occurred...
Fire Tank Pirates' so-called "Negotiation Specialist," "Monster Gun" Vito, took an unusual interest in Sanji's siblings, attempting to subtly fish for information...
But Reiju skillfully deflected all his probing—raising the group's vigilance.
Had he figured something out?
Even though Germa 66's comic strips were once famous, they had ceased publication nearly a decade ago. None of them had made public appearances frequently since then. For someone to recognize them as members of Germa 66 now...
Could he be a hardcore fan? Like, the extreme kind?
After a private conversation between Vito and Bege, Bege's gaze toward the Straw Hats grew even more complicated.
I didn't expect... the Straw Hats to be hiding so many monsters! Just what is their goal...?
Once everyone was well-fed and rested, Chiffon hosted a full meeting in the lounge. The Fire Tank Pirates and the Straw Hat Pirates sat facing each other on the sofas, ready to talk business openly.
"I just don't get it," Bege said, a cigar clenched between his teeth, staring at Luffy with bewilderment. "Did you lot really have no idea how dangerous the 'Tea Party' is? You just got an invitation and thought, 'Sure, let's go'?!"
"You picked a fight with Big Mom back at Fish-Man Island—ruined her plans, fought with her envoy—and you think you, of all people, can just waltz into Whole Cake Island and punch her out?!"
"Anyway, we're planning to fight the Yonko eventually," Luffy replied without hesitation, nodding fiercely. "Whether it's now or later, we have to face them!"
"If we miss this chance, it'll only get harder to take her down later!"
"This time, we've skipped past all the outer defenses and headed straight for the heart!"
"Plus, there's something here we need from Big Mom!"
"Something you need?" Bege frowned deeply.
As expected, even if the Straw Hat captain was reckless, his crew clearly wasn't composed of fools. Their actions weren't blind; there was a purpose behind them.
"And what would that be?"
"It's not the right time to say..." Robin cut in quickly when Luffy looked ready to blurt it out. Beside her, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all jumped in to cover Luffy's mouth.
"Since we're being so cautious," Robin said coolly, "I imagine you, Captain Bege, have some intentions of your own too."
On Skypiea, Wright had explained the classifications of Poneglyphs to Robin.
Apart from the "Instructional Poneglyphs" that recorded history, the key to reaching Laugh Tale and becoming the Pirate King was to gather the four red "Road Poneglyphs."
Many prominent figures of the New World possessed rubbings of these Road Poneglyphs.
The Straw Hats needed someone to read them—Nico Robin.
During her time with the Revolutionary Army, Robin had focused on gathering intelligence about the Road Poneglyphs.
She discovered that even though there were only four Road Poneglyphs, two of them had already gone missing.
The only known ones were in the hands of two Yonko: Kaido and Big Mom!
Initially, Luffy had wanted to challenge Red-Haired Shanks first. But after Robin explained the necessity of the Road Poneglyphs...
Kaido and Big Mom's rubbings became absolute priorities!
The confrontation at Fish-Man Island hadn't been a random act of defiance. Luffy already knew he would one day have to fight Big Mom. That's why, when facing her emissaries, he had shown no hesitation.
If we can't even defeat Big Mom's underlings, how can we face her head-on?
Of course, the Marines' intervention had complicated things. But once they received the Tea Party invitation, the Straw Hats had no choice but to come to Totto Land.
They were well aware that, in a direct confrontation of force, they weren't yet ready to defeat a Yonko.
Therefore, attempting to sneak into Totto Land's innermost sanctums—the Whole Cake Island treasure halls—to steal a Road Poneglyph rubbing was pure fantasy.
But with an official invitation to the Tea Party, they could attend as guests. Until the ceremony began, even in the lion's den, Big Mom's forces couldn't legally attack them.
It was the perfect opportunity to get the Road Poneglyph rubbing!
Of course, Luffy's instinct was still to charge in and brawl—but the others knew they had a long way to go before they could truly take on Big Mom.
After meeting Sanji's siblings, the crew became even more thankful for Robin's intel and planning.
Infiltrating Totto Land under normal circumstances was practically impossible—the endless Homies acting as Big Mom's eyes and ears made sure of that.
"Hmm... well then," Bege exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Since you're my little sister-in-law's saviors, let's lay everything out on the table."
Despite being ruthless, sinister, and very much the stereotypical Mafia godfather…
There was one thing Bege valued above all: family.
Of all Big Mom's many children, it was only Lola—Chiffon's twin—that Bege recognized as true family.
"The 'Big Mom Assassination Plan'..."
Bege leaned forward, his voice low and dangerous.
"How about it? Want to join forces with me?"
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