This was the first time Naruto had heard Smoothie's cold, clear voice. During their previous battle, the woman had remained completely silent, attacking without a single word.
'This sounds so familiar… isn't this Tsunade-nee's voice?!' (T/N: In the Anime, Smoothie's Japanese VA is also Tsunade's.)
After a brief moment of recollection, Naruto finally remembered where he had heard a similar voice before.
'Well, well. Even though they're from completely different worlds, their voices sound exactly the same. For a second, I almost got confused.'
Smoothie, being stared at so directly by a man, suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.
'Tch. So what if he's just some strong fighter?'
'If it weren't for Mama's orders, there's no way I'd ever marry him.'
'Sure, he's powerful, handsome, and has overwhelming presence and ambition… even daring to stand up to the Celestial Dragons head-on.'
'But still… but still…'
Smoothie's inner monologue grew weaker the more she tried to convince herself. In the end, she simply turned away and coldly said:
"Let's go. Take my ship. Don't keep Mama waiting."
Naruto scratched his head, slightly surprised.
Because just now, he had sensed a strange, hidden emotion from Smoothie.
How should he put it…
He had felt something similar from a few other women before.
At this point, he was used to it.
With that thought, he decided not to delay any further and prepared to leave with Smoothie.
After all, this time, he was the one asking for a favor, so he needed to maintain a proper attitude.
Beside him, Zuccotto suddenly reached out and grabbed the sleeve of Naruto's haori.
He knew the real reason behind Mama's invitation to Naruto.
But judging by the current situation, Naruto himself seemed completely unaware.
Knowing his Mama's domineering personality, Zuccotto had a bad feeling about this, 'The marriage plan probably wouldn't go as smoothly as before.'
Considering Naruto's strength, which is enough to single-handedly challenge the entire Big Mom Pirates, Zuccotto doubted even his Mama could force Naruto if he refused.
'Please don't let this turn into another all-out war.'
After their brief time together, Zuccotto had come to respect Naruto.
On a personal level, he didn't want this man to become an enemy of his family.
But at the same time, he couldn't go against Mama's grand plans.
"-Be careful. Don't anger Mama."
In the end, Zuccotto could only mutter these words.
Naruto responded with a grin.
"Don't worry."
He could sense the genuine concern in the other party's words, so he gave Zuccotto's shoulder a reassuring pat before following Smoothie off the island.
Big Mom's tea party invitations had a wide reach.
Aside from Naruto, the main guest, others like Morgans and Stussy had also received invitations.
Aboard the World Government's CP high-speed transport ship, Stussy was smiling as she examined the tea party invitation in her hands-
Along with the secret intelligence about Big Mom's plan to arrange a marriage with Naruto.
This information had been smuggled out of Totto Land by one of her spies, hidden within the invitation. Right now, she was likely the first person outside the Big Mom Pirates to know about this.
Beside Stussy sat Kaku, Rob Lucci, Kalifa, and Blueno… the remaining members of the original CP9. The other two oddballs, Kumadori and Fukurou, had already been reassigned to other departments.
As for Nero, a newcomer who was supposed to join CP9, he had been outright rejected by their new superior, Stussy, due to his personality.
At this moment, the temperature inside the ship's cabin seemed to drop slightly.
Though Stussy was still smiling as sweetly as ever, every CP agent present could clearly sense the vicious, cold killing intent radiating from the woman.
It was as if a vampire had already locked onto its prey in the shadows.
'This new superior is truly impressive… far better than that useless Spandam.'
-That was Kalifa's thought. After undergoing Stussy's training, she had developed a sense of admiration for her fellow female CP agent.
'Is this woman planning to go on a killing spree during this mission?'
-That was the thought of prodigy Rob Lucci. Having mastered the basics of Haki and further developed his Devil Fruit's Abilities in training, he had been itching for the next mission.
Unlike Spandam, who was all ambition and no ability, this new superior at least had strength… something Lucci could respect.
As for Kaku and Blueno-
They had no particular thoughts.
Just follow orders obediently.
Between Stussy's crimson lips, her sharp fangs had subtly elongated beyond her control.
Her nails dug lightly into the mission report on the table.
'Good job, Linlin. Really, really good.'
This might have been the first time in all her years as an agent that Stussy had lost control of her composure in front of others.
"How much longer until Totto Land?"
"Y-Yes! Approximately three more days of sailing."
The World Government official answering her did so with extreme caution.
Since they didn't need to pass through Fish-Man Island, their journey would be faster than usual.
"Speed it up."
"But-"
The poor official swallowed his words under the oppressive smile of the woman before him.
Meanwhile, Donquixote Doflamingo's Numancia Flamenca, as well as the ship of Loan Shark King, Lu Feld, were also heading toward Totto Land.
For some reason, Naruto had a strange premonition.
"Hey, kid, what's wrong with you?"
Even Kurama inside Naruto's body felt the same 'tingling' feeling as Naruto.
After their first 'joint effort' in wiping out a group of human scum, the tension between Kurama and Naruto had eased somewhat.
Liking the same things doesn't necessarily make people friends.
But hating the same things? That's a surefire way to bond.
At the very least, when it came to their shared disdain for the Celestial Dragons, Naruto and Kurama were in perfect agreement.
Though they were still far from achieving 'perfect sync', as Naruto still didn't even know Kurama's real name, still calling him 'Nine-Tails' like always.
"Nothing… just feels like someone's got their eyes on me."
On Smoothie's ship, Naruto took a sip of the 'beef juice' she had freshly squeezed using her Shibo Shibo no Mi powers and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. (T/N: Wring-Wring Fruit.)
'Huh… tastes surprisingly good. Kind of like beef broth.'
After the first sip, Naruto's initial expression of suspicion immediately changed. He quickly downed the entire glass.
Watching Naruto gulp down the drink she had prepared, Smoothie's face remained as cold and indifferent as ever.
As if offering him juice was nothing more than the bare minimum of hospitality.
But in a place no one could see-
The rhythm of her fingers tapping against the armrest of her seat had quickened ever so slightly.
She wanted to tell him about Mama's plan for their arranged marriage, but the words that came out instead were:
"-Would you like another glass?"