That's good… but, brother, is Mama alright?"
Smoothie finally let out a breath of relief, though when she glanced in the direction of Whole Cake Chateau, a flicker of hesitation returned to her voice.
Although she was one of the Sweet Commanders just like Katakuri, compared to her elder brother, Smoothie's temperament appeared somewhat soft for someone of her strength.
"Don't worry. From now on, Mama will also be one of the highest-ranking combatants of the Dark Matter Pirates under Lord Boros. Her status will be second only to his. She won't be in danger."
Even Katakuri stumbled slightly at that point, mainly because he wasn't fully accustomed to his new identity. But fortunately, he managed to phrase it correctly in the end, avoiding any embarrassment before his siblings.
"But… if that's the case, won't Mama come after us later?"
A younger sister asked uneasily. For those who had never even left Totto Land, nothing in the world seemed scarier than Mama's wrath.
Even the older children couldn't help but feel a chill at the thought, and the mood suddenly turned heavy.
"Don't be afraid. Lord Boros won't allow Mama to run wild. And besides… you still have me!"
Katakuri spoke firmly, his steady voice combined with his long-standing reliability and unmatched strength immediately giving his siblings a sense of reassurance.
"Then let's hurry and release Brother Snack. Everyone's really worried about them…"
The younger sister who made the suggestion grew quieter and quieter as she spoke, clearly realizing how out of place her words sounded.
Katakuri had already told everyone to trust him—yet here she was, making it seem as though she doubted him.
"Idiot! Brother Snack almost got us all killed…"
Another slightly older sister gave her a light smack on the head, scolding her with a trace of annoyance.
If the Big Mom Pirates had really followed Snack back then and tried to resist Lord Boros to rescue Mama, most likely, a lot of people would have ended up dead.
In fact, Boros himself wouldn't even have needed to act—just the Beasts Pirates that came along with him would have been enough to throw the Big Mom Pirates into disarray, causing heavy casualties.
Even the brothers who usually had the closest relationship with Snack couldn't say anything in his defense at this moment.
"Don't say that. Snack only wanted to save Mama… No matter what, we're still family!"
Katakuri stopped his younger siblings from condemning Snack. In Katakuri's eyes, what Snack had done was actually a good thing.
By using Snack as a contrast, even if Mama managed to escape, she wouldn't end up blaming too many others.
Of course, this was just a backup plan Katakuri had prepared in case of emergencies. Given the strength Lord Boros had shown so far, Katakuri didn't believe Mama had any chance of resisting.
"As expected of Big Brother Katakuri! I like you the most, Brother Katakuri!"
Flampe, wearing a spotted suspender dress, stared at Katakuri with sparkling eyes, looking like she was just about to throw herself into his arms to act spoiled.
Unfortunately, Katakuri only gave Flampe a glance before subconsciously tugging up his scarf, hiding his fangs from the siblings who idolized him.
Even though he knew exactly how they would react if they saw his face, that didn't stop Katakuri from working hard to maintain his image as the perfect older brother.
Led by Katakuri, the group soon arrived at the prison where Snack and several other siblings were being held. Their eldest brother, Perospero, was personally guarding the cell, to prevent any hot-headed siblings from trying to rescue them.
If something like that were to happen, and Lord Boros started questioning the loyalty of the Big Mom Pirates, it would be far too unjust.
"Katakuri? Why are you all here? Did something happen to Mama?"
Seeing so many of his younger siblings rush over together, Perospero was startled.
Thankfully, once he saw Katakuri and Smoothie at the front, he relaxed a little.
But almost immediately, another possibility came to his mind, and his voice trembled as he asked:
"No, don't worry. We've received Lord Boros' permission—Snack and the others are allowed to go free."
Katakuri immediately guessed what Perospero was worried about and straightforwardly conveyed Boros' decision.
Hearing this, Perospero finally breathed a sigh of relief. Since Mama's defeat, he hadn't smiled once, but now a grin appeared on his face again. He lifted his candy cane and gave it a heavy lick.
"Thanks to Lord Boros' mercy, this result couldn't be better!"
Perospero was quick to adapt to his new identity. Even though he was Charlotte Linlin's eldest son, neither before nor now had anyone ever considered him the second-in-command of the Big Mom Pirates.
Now, he had simply gone from the Big Mom Pirates' chief steward to a mid-level officer in the Dark Matter Pirates.
Still, with the special status of being Linlin's firstborn, and with Lord Boros seemingly appreciating Katakuri, Perospero believed the future still held great promise.
"I'll go release Snack and the others."
Smoothie had already taken the keys and entered the prison. Soon, she came back out with a dejected Snack in tow.
Having been locked up for several days, Snack had calmed down, realizing that his actions had nearly gotten his siblings killed.
Especially those few younger brothers who trusted him enough to join his reckless plan—if Katakuri hadn't subdued them in time, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
"I'm very sorry, Brother Katakuri…"
The tall and heavy-set Snack lowered his head and walked up to Katakuri, speaking in a deeply ashamed tone.
"We're family! No need to apologize, Snack!"
Katakuri patted Snack's shoulder, not minding in the least that Snack had once considered him a traitor.
"Katakuri, have all the tea party guests arrived?"
Seeing the reconciliation between Katakuri and Snack, Perospero happily licked his candy cane, then curiously asked.
This tea party would announce the unification of two Yonko crews. As a member of the newly formed Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates, Perospero was already looking forward to seeing a true ruler rise over the seas.
"Mhm, the only ones left are a few underworld kingpins. But if nothing unexpected happens, they should arrive within the next couple of days."
Katakuri nodded, unaware that while he had gone to release Snack, the underworld bosses he mentioned had already arrived on Whole Cake Island.
From the world's greatest entertainment city, Gran Tesoro—the man rumored to control 20% of the world's wealth, the richest man alive: Gild Tesoro!
Through both direct and indirect means, the one who controlled every red-light district across the seas, the Queen of the Pleasure District: Stussy!
The editor-in-chief of the World Economic News, master of countless news birds, the ever-flamboyant: Big News Morgans!
The three titans of the underworld had clearly agreed to come together. Though not officially affiliated with Big Mom's territory, even they tread cautiously when dealing with Charlotte Linlin.
"Gya gya gya! Big news, big news… such exciting big news!"
Morgans strutted with exaggerated steps, humming a wildly off-key tune, unable to contain his eagerness to uncover the "big news" Kizaru had spoken of.
"Shut it! Your singing is terrible…"
Tesoro bit down on his cigar and muttered irritably. For someone who doubled as a top-class singer, listening to Morgans's off-key nonsense was nothing short of torture.
"Gya gya gya, really that bad? I have great confidence in my voice, you know~"
Morgans stroked his long beak with narcissistic flair. Unfortunately, neither Tesoro nor Stussy had any appreciation for his "singing."
"It is quite terrible, Morgans. If I borrowed your voice, I'd scare away all my clients the moment I opened my mouth."
Stussy, clutching her handbag gracefully, spoke softly. The three were not only underworld giants but also had close ties with Kizaru—enough that there was some genuine camaraderie among them.
Otherwise, someone as socially shrewd as Stussy would never openly mock Morgans to his face.
"That really hurts my feelings, Stussy. But given your… special relationship with that man, surely you'd know better than us what Big Mom's tea party is really about, right?"
Morgans stared at her with sharp eyes, as though ready to whip out a notebook and jot down every word.
Even Tesoro instinctively glanced over. He hadn't originally planned to attend the tea party—after all, even Big Mom had little leverage over a king recognized by the World Government.
But Kizaru had recently dragged a cluster of Marine higher-ups to Gran Tesoro for "vacation." Tesoro didn't fear the Marines, but so many top brass gathering at once still made him uneasy.
So when Big Mom's invitation arrived, he decided to attend after all, curious to see what this tea party would reveal.
"What a shame. Kizaru hasn't sought me out in quite some time, and when Linlin sent me the invitation, she didn't mention what the purpose was."
Stussy didn't hide her special connection with Kizaru—in fact, it wasn't much of a secret across the seas. Without it, her red-light network would never have spread so far.
Unaware that Stussy had already defected to Kizaru, the World Government actually encouraged her to keep close ties with him, hoping this special relationship might one day be put to use.
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