Chapter 189: Entering The Venue (part 1)
“Celebration~ Celebration~ Whole Cake Island’s celebration~”
“Celebration of all races~”
“Mother’s celebration~”
Amid the song of countless homies, Perospero led the first batch of guests and finally docked.
“Oh~ So this is Cake Island? It’s truly magnificent!”
“Are those cake castles real?”
“These houses and flowers and grass are actually singing?! It’s truly unbelievable!”
“Eh? You didn’t know?”
“Those on Candy Island did it before too, but for some reason three days ago they suddenly stopped singing.”
“Maybe they sang themselves tired~”
Because the entry order was arranged by status, this first batch of guests consisted only of some minor factions with names in the New World.
These factions were mostly here specifically to curry favor with the Big Mom Pirates or seek protection, so they lacked much experience; just some casual displays from the Big Mom Pirates were enough to make them marvel.
Of course, there were definitely reporters from the World Economic News Agency among them.
In fact, they were the first to jump off the ship, then over a dozen reporters quickly occupied all the shooting positions to photograph these guests from every angle without blind spots.
But among them, the one photographed the most was Katakuri, who had long been standing on the shore waiting.
This second son of Big Mom, a young man just turning seventeen, was already hailed as the Charlotte Family’s ‘greatest masterpiece’.
The outside world was quite interested in everything about him.
“Brother Perospero, you’ve worked hard.”
Ignoring the surrounding flashbulbs, Katakuri greeted Perospero with his usual composure.
“Katakuri, these people are yours to arrange. I’m going to receive the second batch of guests. Perorin~”
“Mm, leave it to me.”
After a simple handover, Perospero returned to the ship.
Though running back and forth like this was troublesome, it ensured no mishaps and showed Whole Cake Island’s level of regard for these guests.
“Esteemed guests, please first follow my brothers to the banquet venue in Cake Castle and take your seats.”
He had no intention of personally escorting these guests; Mother’s instructions were for him to enter with the final batch of guests.
“Y-yes. We’ll follow your arrangements, Lord Katakuri.”
The first batch of guests replied cautiously, their attitudes clearly laced with flattery and ingratiation.
The venue for the ceremony was not far from the dock, and the group soon arrived in horse-drawn homie carriages.
Due to the massive scale of this celebration, the ceremony was not held at the castle rooftop used for past tea parties, but on a vast lawn outside Cake Castle.
There, countless flower homies swayed their forms, singing celebratory tunes that adorned the place with a fairy-tale charm.
“It’s truly amazing, just like a world from a picture book.”
A king from a small country said.
His country bordered Totoo Land but was only half the size of Candy Island, and resource-poor, one of those nooks and crannies Big Mom wouldn’t bother with.
“I wonder how many Belly it takes to become a resident here.”
“Was that Katakuri just now? What an intimidating presence~”
“He feels even stronger than the rumors.”
……
The guests were like Liu Laolao entering the Grandview Gardens, finding everything here novel and unbelievable.
They were indeed visiting the core territory of Big Mom for the first time.
But they soon quieted down, because the second batch of guests had arrived.
“Th-that is…”
Leading the way was a man dressed like a pirate, except his captain’s hat bore not a skull mark but a huge anchor.
【Sea Transport King】—’Deep Sea Current’ Umit!
“By the way, can you get those MADS guys to develop tech for ships to sail in the Calm Belt? I can pay a high price.”
“Haha~ Sorry, those guys decide what they want to research and what they don’t; I can’t call the shots.”
“I’m just the one footing the bill.”
Answering Umit was a man with slicked-back hair, a cigar in his mouth, dressed like a mafia boss.
【King of Usury】—”Fortune God” Du Field!
“But why did that undertaker guy get an invitation too?”
“Ha?! Can’t an undertaker attend a ceremony?”
Hearing this, a man wearing a butcher clown mask, dressed in work clothes, with a huge scythe on his shoulder, turned back discontentedly.
【Undertaker Tycoon】—”Master Undertaker” Dracula Pikolo.
“Haha, not that you can’t come… it’s just not very auspicious.”
“Gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle! You, reeking of blood all over, have no right to say that to me. Du Field!”
“Gurgle gurgle~ You two petty guys stop arguing~”
A man with long drooping mustaches, a red bulbous nose from drink, always holding a wine bottle and swigging from it now and then—【Veteran Storage Industry】—”Concealer” Gibson—interjected:
“By the way, when exactly are you picking up that stuff I have? It’ll be trouble if the Navy gets wind of it.”
“Especially your ‘goods’, Jigra.”
“Well~ It’ll probably have to stay a bit longer; after all, they’ve already paid the deposit. And some are even for my father.”
【Organ Trafficker】—Jigra rubbed his hands and laughed.
As soon as these underworld bosses who wielded great influence appeared, the previously chattering guests fell instantly silent, some even standing up unconsciously.
After all, many of them depended on these bosses’ favor to survive, so they didn’t dare sit first before them.
Unexpectedly, Morgans, who usually loved the spotlight, was walking at the back of the group, chatting with the elder beside him.
“Ya ha ha ha! Mediya, so it really was you at the ceremony.”
“No choice; Big Mom only sent our family one invitation.”
Old Mediya laughed; on the surface, he appeared completely a kindly old man.
“As expected of the 【Magician of Gunpowder】, such masterful techniques.”
“The other families probably still don’t know which one has the invitation~”
“Haha~ You’re too kind. These old bones of mine only know these little tricks to fool people; they don’t hold up to 【Big News】.”
Hearing the other’s flawless words, Morgans gave a noncommittal laugh, then looked toward Caspar beside him.
“By the way, you and the 【Beasts Pirates】 seem to have some trade friction lately~”
“How about it? As an arms industry senior, you won’t stint on sharing some valuable ‘experience’ and ‘guidance’ with newcomers, right?”
“That’s not a funny joke, President Morgans. We’re just—”
“Haha! No talk of guidance; after all, we’re all businessmen—fair competition.”
Before Old Mediya could finish, Caspar beside him couldn’t help interjecting, then turned his gaze to Morgans and politely extended his right hand.
“Ah~ How rude of me. I’m the Mediya Family’s heir this generation—Meiya Caspar.”
“Please take care of me in the future, President Morgans.”
“Ya ha ha! What an ambitious young man! Mediya, you’ve got a proper successor.”
Morgans’s eyes were full of amusement as he gripped the young man’s hand.
And Caspar, looking at the bird wings gripping his hand, similarly couldn’t hide the smile at the corner of his mouth.
……
