The progress of the event was brief; the ordinary residents around hadn't even had a chance to escape before everything was over here.
Perospero sent Kaidou and his crew up on the candy elevator, watching them safely reach the venue. By this time, Katakuri was still on his way, unable to fly, and it would take him some time even if he hurried.
Zeraora's battle was so fast that when the members of the Hundred Beasts stepped onto the candy elevator, Katakuri had just reached the edge of the mountaintop.
As the people of the Hundred Beasts disappeared from view, the smile on Perospero's face completely vanished.
"Take these people away, pry open their mouths, and find out who is behind them, every single one of them!"
The fate of these people would be to have their lifespan drained by BIG MOM, but that's certainly after the tea party. Perospero wanted to figure out who was behind them before then.
Otherwise, when Charlotte Linlin asks about it, and he knows nothing, he would be in trouble again.
After watching the Chess Soldiers take everyone away, a group of people in chef uniforms arrived to repair the damaged streets. Only at this point did Katakuri arrive.
Along with him were his two twin brothers, Daifuku and Owen.
"Perospero, where are the enemies?"
"Katakuri, it's already been handled."
Katakuri addresses his siblings by their names directly, even with blood relatives from different fathers. This is the pirate family; strength influences status. Katakuri isn't the eldest, but he has already shown abilities surpassing Perospero's.
To be accurate, there are more than a few who surpass Perospero in strength, but as the eldest, Perospero holds significant authority in the BIG MOM Pirates.
Seeing the arrival of the Katakuri trio, Perospero felt a bit relieved. When mistakes happen, he doesn't want to face Charlotte Linlin—that's something outsiders cannot understand.
When Charlotte Linlin's children are under the age of ten, they can still feel some maternal love. But beyond that age, obtaining her favor relies solely on talent and strength.
"Ma is really angry. She wanted to come personally, but I stopped her."
"...Thank you."
Perospero understood what Katakuri meant; he wasn't boasting but reminding Perospero to handle the subsequent matters well. Otherwise, if Charlotte Linlin gets angry again, no one could save him.
"I won't be heading to the tea party. Please give Ma my regards."
Although it was a wasted trip, the fact that things had already been resolved was a relief for Katakuri. Originally, Perospero should have arrived at the tea party venue with Kaidou, but now he needed to extract information.
...
At the venue, Kaidou and his crew stepped off the candy elevator, and the main characters of this tea party finally arrived at the meeting.
Charlotte Linlin seemed to have forgotten the earlier matters. After all, Kaidou's presence here signaled that her sons had already handled everything.
"Mama~ Mama~, this is Kaidou. I assume you all know him, so no need for introductions."
She did not say to the crowd that Kaidou is her brother or anything of the sort. In an ordinary tea party, making such a statement might mean we are closely acquainted, encouraging others to show more respect.
But this is the world of pirates; it's something Charlotte Linlin can say privately to her children or in a Radio Snail to Kaidou but not in front of so many people.
"Kaidou, did you bring quite a few kids this time? They all look so adorable." Needless to say, when in a calm state, Charlotte Linlin does not discriminate against any race. Whether human or Fur Race kids, they all fall under the category of adorable in her eyes.
"Burowaie, Moscato, take the kiddos to have some fun. The adults have serious matters to discuss. Enjoy the tea party."
Charlotte Linlin called over two similarly aged children to take the youngsters of the Hundred Beasts to a nearby sub-venue. What remained here were adult conversations.
"Go on, just have fun."
However, though the Hundred Beasts seemed to be a bunch of kids, the true child was only Setsuna. Zeraora was a creature created by Arceus with considerable intelligence, yet when it comes to age, it's less than a year old.
Then there's Olga, who, although in a ten-year-old's form, is actually over a hundred years in real age.
Elizabeth is the same; her real age and species age cannot be calculated conventionally.
.....
The kids went off to play, leaving only Queen and Kaidou here.
After Kaidou took his seat, Queen stood to the side. All those seated here were leaders in their respective fields, and Queen did not have seating qualifications.
At Kaidou's signal, Queen took out the small box slung over his shoulder.
Looking at this box, Stussy's expression remained unchanged, but inside, she was already tense.
She didn't know what was inside, but what exactly did the Hundred Beasts Pirates bring, and what were they specifically showing off at the BIG MOM Pirates' tea party?
Newly developed contraband? Someone's head, the person who offended them? Certain business contracts? Dangerous weapons? Stussy imagined many things, but when the box was opened, she was left puzzled.
The box was full of fruit, though the three types were ones she'd never seen before, it was just fruit.
It couldn't be Devil Fruits; never mind that devil fruits wouldn't have such a pleasant aroma, but there couldn't be so many identical ones.
Forget about Stussy, everyone else was equally baffled, except for one very pleased person—Charlotte Linlin.
"Mama~ Mama, Kaidou, are these the new varieties you mentioned?"
"That's right, these are them. Queen, why don't you explain them in detail."
"Leave it to me, Brother Kaidou. These are our newly cultivated fruits. This one is the Pecha Berry, with a very high sweetness level. Besides the edible fruit, the leaves can be used to make sugar, resulting in exceptionally flavored candy.
This one is the Sitrus Berry, although not as sweet as the Pecha Berry, its sweet and sour flesh is equally delicious. Though its skin has a bitter taste, once air-dried and ground, it can be made into curry powder, an excellent spice for curries..."
Queen highlighted the fruits' effects as examples, yet saying more wasn't as effective as trying them firsthand. The BIG MOM Pirates didn't lack chefs; soon, someone turned these fruits into a fruit platter and brought them out, while other ingredients were being processed in the kitchen.
Looking at the fruit platter in front of her, Stussy suddenly felt a bit exhausted. She had worried earlier about some major issue, only to find out that the Hundred Beasts' business was actually selling fruit...