Marine Headquarters — Marineford
Night had fallen.
Inside the central command room, a high-level emergency meeting was underway.
All attendees were Vice Admirals and above. The room was packed. Even Zephyr, the retired former Admiral, was present.
The meeting was chaired by Fleet Admiral Kong himself.
The focus of discussion, unsurprisingly, was the recent abduction of Nao by Big Mom.
The fact that a meeting of this scale was being held over a Rear Admiral spoke volumes about Nao's importance within the Marine structure.
By this point, the meeting had already reached the halfway mark. And when it came to the issue of whether or not to launch a rescue mission—
There was near-unanimous agreement.
Yes. He must be rescued.
Whether in the eyes of Fleet Admiral Kong or the many Vice Admirals present—
Nao was the most promising talent the Headquarters Elite Camp had produced to date. He was all but destined to become the soul and pillar of the next generation of the Marines.
They couldn't afford to lose him to the clutches of a Yonko.
The real point of contention lay elsewhere—
Who would lead the mission?
How would the operation be executed?
And how much force should be mobilized?
Some advocated for a small, elite force to launch a stealth raid.
Others suggested a full-scale assault on Totto Land and an all-out war with the Big Mom Pirates.
Almost everyone was scrambling to volunteer. Garp wanted to go, Zephyr wanted to go… Even Kizaru from G-2 Branch called specifically, indignantly asking if he needed to come over…
It was truly an unprecedented sight.
Kong swore to the heavens—this was the first time he'd ever seen Borsalino so fired up.
Knock, knock!
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
The room fell silent as a staff officer entered, walking briskly to the head of the table and handing a folder to Fleet Admiral Kong.
"A message from Vice Admiral Sakazuki, sir."
Kong opened the file, skimmed it quickly—then frowned slightly and passed it to Admiral Sengoku, seated beside him.
Sengoku read a few lines. His expression mirrored Kong's.
"…What is it, Fleet Admiral?"
A Vice Admiral couldn't help but ask.
Kong leaned back on the sofa, arms crossed, his voice deep:
"Sakazuki says Nao sent a message by carrier pigeon—told us not to come for him. Says he can escape anytime on his own."
He paused, then added:
"And told us to wait for the newspaper one month from now."
The newspaper?
Everyone exchanged puzzled looks.
What was that supposed to mean?
"Hahahaha! Oh, this brat's got something cooked up—he's not swallowing this disgrace lying down. Bet he's planning something big!"
Garp suddenly burst into hearty laughter. The fury he'd worn earlier had vanished. He even pulled out a bag of rice crackers and started crunching away happily.
Totally shameless.
Everyone else stared at him speechlessly.
Meanwhile, Tsuru and Sengoku exchanged a glance, both stroking their chins thoughtfully.
"So… should we still send a rescue team?"
One Vice Admiral asked hesitantly.
"In my view—no."
Sengoku turned to Kong, speaking in a firm voice.
"Nao's never made hollow promises. If he says he can get out, he has a plan. And if he's asking us to stay out of it, we should respect that. Trust him."
Kong didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he looked over to Tsuru.
"What about you, Tsuru?"
"I agree," she said after sipping her tea. "But we should still make preparations. Reinforce G1 Branch. And get CP-0 involved. Have them monitor Totto Land closely."
"I second that!" Garp said around a mouthful of crackers. "We just sit tight and keep eyes on everything."
Nobody asked you.
Kong's eye twitched.
After a moment's contemplation, he finally exhaled and spoke, loud enough for the entire room:
"Then it's settled. No deployment for now. We follow Nao's wishes."
"Meeting adjourned."
...
Meanwhile—
INao was still confined within the book world. The sky was perpetually bright day, and if it weren't for food being delivered at regular intervals, one would barely notice the passage of time.
He didn't mind. He didn't need much sleep anyway, so he ate and drank as usual every day.
The rest of the time, he either meditated and contemplated or practiced Rokushiki, living no differently than he would outside.
His calm demeanor had deeply reassured Mont-d'Or, who would occasionally peek in through the pages.
In Mont-d'Or's view, the man who was to become his "father-in-law" had already accepted reality. Showed no signs of resistance. He must have come to terms with the marriage.
After all—
Marrying Mama meant gaining not only a beautiful partner, but also unimaginable status within the Charlotte Family.
Putting aside the opposing stances of the Marines and pirates, what man could refuse such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?
...
Just like that.
Over twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.
The Queen Mama Chanter finally arrived at Totto Land, docking at the port of Whole Cake Island.
Nao was finally released from the book world, and for the first time in a long while, he saw the evening twilight again and breathed fresh air.
As far as the eye could see, Whole Cake Island was quite lively. Ships came and went in the harbor, and people flowed like a river.
The trees and flowers, given souls by Big Mom to become Homies, swayed in the wind, singing and dancing, welcoming Big Mom's return.
"Mamamamamama~ Looks like all the invited guests have arrived!"
Big Mom looked at the ships in the harbor, grinning happily:
"Hey! Perospero! If most of the guests are already here, why don't we just hold the wedding sooner? Hmm… how about tomorrow!?"
"This…"
Her eldest son wiped sweat from his brow and said carefully:
"Preparations still need time, Mama… There's a lot we haven't finished. Some guests haven't arrived yet. The earliest would be five or six days…"
"Hmm?"
Big Mom's gaze instantly turned cold.
"Three days."
Perospero tensed up and blurted out quickly:
"Three days! The wedding will be held three days from now! That's the absolute soonest we can make it perfect, Mama. After all the trouble we went through to bring him back, you wouldn't want anything to go wrong, right?"
That struck a nerve.
Big Mom squinted at him, scanning him from head to toe.
Finally, when he was sweating bullets and practically shrinking into himself, she snorted.
"Fine. Three days. But if anything goes wrong…"
"Then I'm willing to take full responsibility, you can punish me however you wish…"
Perospero breathed a sigh of relief, patting his chest and quickly saying, "Mama, rest assured!"
Big Mom then turned her head back, glanced at Nao, who stood silently in the distance, subtly licked the corner of her lips, and said with a sweet smile:
"Katakuri. Take him to the castle. Give him the best room."
She paused. Her tone dropped half an octave—
"Until the wedding, you'll stay in the room next door. Understood?"
Clearly, she didn't trust even a cooked duck until it was in her stomach.
Katakuri let out a long sigh inwardly.
But he bowed and said respectfully:
"Understood, Mama."
He approached Nao, who followed without a word.
They boarded a pig-drawn carriage and set off toward Whole Cake Chateau.
Nao was unusually cooperative. Said nothing. His attitude seemed peaceful—even kicked up one leg to cross over the other, leisurely admiring the scenery as they rode.
Katakuri, seated beside him, couldn't help but wonder—
This man… the same one who'd fought me to the brink… the one who surrendered to protect his subordinates…
Has he really just accepted his fate?
The port was several dozen kilometers from the castle. Even with the pig-drawn carriage, it took nearly half an hour to arrive.
In that time, word of Big Mom's return—with Nao in tow—spread like wildfire.
People flocked to the roadsides to get a glimpse of the man who had captured their queen's heart.
And…
It caused chaos.
Shrieks and screams erupted as the carriage passed.
Katakuri witnessed it all firsthand.
Dozens of women collapsed on the spot after making eye contact with Nao. Some outright fainted.
And the worst part?
It didn't stop at the civilians.
When they arrived at Whole Cake Chateau, members of the Charlotte Family came out to welcome them.
The brothers were composed.
The sisters?
Disaster.
They gazed at Nao with adoration.
Some were completely entranced.
And when he smiled back?
They turned red and looked away like guilty children caught in the act.
The wedding hadn't even taken place, and the relationship hadn't been established.
Yet, their filial piety was already at risk of deteriorating.
"…This guy."
Katakuri furrowed his brow, strangely annoyed.
If he really joins the Charlotte Family… is that a good thing? Or a catastrophe?
That charm of his was too much.
Finally shaking off his reluctant sisters, he brought Nao to the guest room on the third floor. Katakuri opened the door, and after Nao entered, he sighed:
"You heard it at the port just now, the wedding is in three days. Until then, get some good rest here. I'll be next door. If you need anything, you can always come find me, Fa—"
He choked on the last word. His face flushed red. The "father" just wouldn't come out.
"If you're not used to it, just call me by my name. After all, you're quite a bit older than me…"
Nao looked at him with a smile. This guy had called him teasing names quite smoothly when they first met, so why was he choking now?
"Hmm, or we can just stick to our own ranks. 'Father' is too formal. How about this: I call you 'brother,' and you call me 'dad' from now on? How's that?"
Katakuri's expression went black.
Veins popped at his temple.
Without a word, he turned and walked away.