"Honored guests, please follow me. We've already prepared your accommodations."
A troop of Homies dressed as playing card soldiers arrived with seven fantastical pumpkin carriages, tasked with receiving the seven underworld giants at the port.
Even the Big Mom Pirates had to show a certain degree of respect when dealing with the giants of the underworld.
After all, these were not weaklings sheltered by or intimidated into submission by Big Mom's crew. Giants like the Golden Emperor could easily ignore an invitation to her Tea Party altogether.
By his own strength alone, he was enough to stand against Big Mom's massive fleet. Not to mention, Gran Tesoro was recognized by the World Government as an affiliated nation.
It was proof that with enough money, one could do whatever they wanted—even buying the title of a World Government member state with an astronomical sum of Berries.
"Come on, let's all get in the carriages. It's been a long time since I chatted with Linlin—I really do miss her a little."
Stussy lightly pressed her lips together and let out a soft laugh. From her appearance alone, she looked less like the famed Queen of the Pleasure District and more like an aristocratic young lady on a countryside outing.
Yet, the six Underworld Emperors present all instinctively gave her a degree of respect — even the arrogant and proud Golden Emperor was no exception.
This wasn't merely because of Stussy's own strength or the influence of the Pleasure District. More importantly, anyone in the seas with enough standing knew that the Queen of the Pleasure District had a special connection — at the very least a familiar relationship — with the current Fleet Admiral of the Navy, Kizaru.
And anyone who couldn't afford to offend Kizaru naturally wouldn't dare provoke Stussy. Even the Emperors of the Sea themselves were wary of that "Navy Monster," let alone the comparatively weaker giants of the Underworld.
Especially now that Kizaru had not only been promoted from admiral to Fleet Admiral, but had also seized the title of "World's Strongest Man" — a crown that had rested on Whitebeard's head for decades — after defeating two Emperors of the Sea, leaving one dead and the other gravely wounded.
With his rise, Stussy's status naturally soared as well. Even Tezoro and Morgans, who liked to think of themselves as Kizaru's "partners," would tread lightly around her.
"Truly enviable… As expected of the Queen of the Pleasure District — equally at home in both the underworld and the light."
Although the other Emperors stayed silent and tacitly agreed to Stussy's proposal, Piacclo — who loved sparring with words — couldn't resist slipping in a jab.
Fortunately, Stussy didn't pursue the matter. She only offered Piacclo a mysterious smile.
Originally, Piacclo had wanted to say more, but his expression stiffened. In the end, he didn't dare utter another word.
As a top-class assassin, Piacclo's Kenbunshoku Haki was naturally highly refined, and on top of that, he possessed a special variation of Observation Haki.
But contrary to what most imagined, his specialty wasn't an assassination-based ability. Instead, it was something closer to Kizaru's "malice detection" — a kind of danger sense.
This unique Observation Haki allowed Piacclo to avoid potentially fatal threats, massively boosting his chances of survival.
It was precisely because of this powerful self-preservation ability that Piacclo had been able to rise to the throne of the assassin world, earning fame under the name Funeral House — instead of being eliminated by other killers the moment he made a name for himself.
Just moments ago, when Stussy smiled at him, Peclo suddenly felt the chilling presence of death — the same kind of pressure he once felt when he accepted a commission to assassinate Whitebeard.
When he disguised himself as a doctor and approached Whitebeard, just being close to him made his legs buckle. Forget attempting the assassination — he hadn't even had the courage to look Whitebeard in the eyes.
The sense of crisis that Stussy had just given him was naturally not as overwhelming as that time with Whitebeard. Still, as a top-class assassin who lived by the principle of survival, Piacclo naturally wouldn't keep provoking Stussy after sensing danger.
The arrival of the seven giants of the underworld usually signaled that all the guests for the tea party had arrived. As for those unlucky ones who failed to make it on time, Big Mom's children would later pay them a visit to "discuss" the consequences of rejecting her friendship.
However, to the surprise of all the guests, even after the seven giants of the underworld had assembled, the Big Mom Pirates still didn't immediately start the tea party.
Instead, they waited an entire extra day, holding off until every single invited guest had truly arrived before officially declaring the tea party open.
This abnormal behavior made those who had been delayed—whether due to long travel or unexpected accidents—feel extremely fortunate, while at the same time stirring suspicion among many of the guests.
After all, Charlotte Linlin was never known for her consideration of others. Otherwise, she wouldn't have pulled that ruthless stunt of hosting a second tea party immediately after the first had ended.
Unfortunately, even the pirates and Homies of the Big Mom Pirates were clueless about the reason for such an abnormal arrangement. They only knew it was an order passed down by Katakuri.
Because of this unusual "generosity" from the Big Mom Pirates, the number of attendees at this year's tea party was nearly double the usual, with even the leaders of minor factions receiving invitations.
The square in front of the Cake Castle had been transformed into an oversized tea party venue, decorated with blossoms everywhere. Countless Homies bustled about, diligently serving the guests with all kinds of delicacies.
"This is certainly… lively. Has Linlin come up with a new trick? Don't tell me she's planning another marriage?"
Stussy looked around with some surprise. For the past two days she had been trying to meet Charlotte Linlin, but her children politely declined, saying she would see her during the tea party.
"Big news, big news… What kind of big news could it be?"
Morgans, sitting nearby with his wings propping up his head, wore a bird face full of very human-like anticipation. At this point, he could hardly contain himself, already fantasizing about what earth-shaking event was about to unfold.
"Have the tea parties always been like this? The BIG MOM Pirates still haven't shown up."
Tesoro raised his eyebrow slightly. It seemed that anyone who had spent enough time around Kizaru would unknowingly develop this habit of raising an eyebrow whenever something surprised them.
Although this was Tesoro's first time attending one of BIG MOM's tea parties, with his status, finding out about the usual process and how things had gone in the past was just a matter of asking.
What he hadn't expected, however, was that his very first tea party with BIG MOM would already be met with some unexpected development.
"Gagagaga, it's never been like this before. Tea parties are usually Charlotte Linlin's top priority—how could the BIG MOM Pirates not be watching things closely at all times… I've got a feeling, this time's bound to bring some big news, gagaga!"
Morgans spoke with great excitement, even pulling out a video transponder snail and a fax transponder snail he had prepared in advance, ready to transmit any breaking news back to the newspaper headquarters immediately.
At the same time, four other underground big shots sat together. They were all regular attendees of BIG MOM's tea parties and were especially sensitive to such abnormalities.
"Where the hell have the BIG MOM Pirates gone? I spent a fortune to come to this tea party—I didn't pay just to sit here as a display for others!"
Du Feld angrily snipped the end of a cigar. If not for the fact that every tea party's conclusion brought him a steady stream of high-value clients desperate for his loans, the King of Usury—whose life revolved around money—would never have wasted time and Berries buying gifts to attend.
Hic! "The booze from Totto Land is still the best!"
Giberson, on the other hand, didn't mind at all. His main reason for attending every tea party had always been the BIG MOM Pirates' food and drinks.
After all, with a captain who loved nothing more than gorging herself, it would be strange if their cuisine weren't first-class.
"Since the tea party hasn't started yet, I'll go find a few potential clients to pitch my business to."
Stussy suddenly stood up. Times were hard for assassins too—bounty hunters often stole their jobs, and new upstart assassin organizations constantly tried to challenge the prestige of the famed Funeral Parlor.
As the king of killers, Stussy himself never lacked for work, but the assassins who followed him also needed to eat.
"I'm going to the restroom."
Umit spoke sternly. Without waiting for the other bosses to respond, he signaled a Homie to guide him away from the tea party.
Once the guiding Homie was stationed at the restroom door to prevent anyone from entering, Umit stepped inside, awakened a horned transponder snail designed to jam signals, and then pulled out another modified private-line snail.
This private-line snail, after modification, had lost the ability to communicate with other ordinary snails. In exchange, it could maintain contact with another private-line snail even under heavy signal jamming—untouchable even by black snails designed for eavesdropping.
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