Chapter 206: Dividing The Cake (part 2)
“Mother, what exactly happened here? Perorin~”
Perospero, who had finished repairing the venue, was both surprised and curious. From the on-site devastation that looked like it had been bombed by a Demon Buster Order, it was clear his mother had taken action.
But if that was the case, how had she restored calm in such a short time?
By herself?
Impossible?
“Nothing much, just helped educate that brat from Kaido’s side.”
“That’s not important.”
Big Mom didn’t want to bring up those matters again. This time, in her clash with Kaido, she had indeed been outmaneuvered by him.
Thinking of how that once silent and naive ‘younger brother’ had now become such a calculating person, Big Mom felt both gratified and annoyed.
“Hey, Morgans, come here.”
“Gah!”
Morgans, who had been looking around curiously wondering why these groups had suddenly stopped, felt a bad premonition when called out.
“Wh-what is it, Charlotte?”
As he spoke, he shoved the Den Den Mushi hidden tightly under the feathers in his bosom a bit deeper.
“You guy, you took quite a few photographs just now, didn’t you?”
“Uh… haha~ th-this…”
『Far more than photographs… this guy even recorded the footage from start to finish!』
The other underworld bosses who were with Morgans all inwardly grumbled.
Morgans just mumbled vaguely while unobtrusively retreating a few steps, planning to run if the situation turned bad.
As a reporter, the Den Den Mushi in his bosom now was his life.
“Hmph!”
Big Mom let out a cold snort, directly stunning the other.
“You’ve known the old lady for a long time, so I won’t say much.”
“You should know very well yourself what things can be published and what things cannot.”
Looking at Big Mom’s massive body full of sense of oppression, Morgans swallowed and nodded honestly.
There was already enough explosive news this time; even after cutting out the parts Big Mom didn’t want, it was enough to print several special issues.
The top priority now was to safely bring these photographs back.
Seeing the other being so sensible, Big Mom withdrew her momentum and brought up another matter—one she had arranged in advance based on the possible alliance with the Beasts Pirates.
“By the way, you should have handled that incident, right?”
“Hm? Which one… oh! That incident!”
“Yahaha! Of course!”
Hearing Big Mom mention “that incident,” Morgans couldn’t help revealing a schadenfreude smirk.
Although the Whole Cake Island Founding Ceremony this time had many accidents, some even beyond Big Mom’s own control, overall, all parties had gained quite a few benefits from using this gathering.
The Beasts Pirates side—not only did Aoxi get punched with discipline and restraint, opening up new ideas from then on; Beasts Heavy Industry also gained channels to sell weapons to the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line.
The Roger Pirates obtained the contents of one of the four Road Poneglyphs they had long been seeking.
The Golden Lion side could finally track the whereabouts of Roger, that elusive man.
Whitebeard’s sons also… well, watched a good show. Though not hands-on themselves, seeing that brat Aoxi get beaten was a breath of fresh air.
And the Big Mom Pirates not only took a cut from the massive arms profits from the Beasts Pirates’ future, but could also use this opportunity to strengthen their faction infiltration into the Four Seas and ‘Paradise,’ establishing a more comprehensive and perfect intelligence network.
Plus, the truth of the Road Poneglyph that Big Mom had always been obsessed with would also be learned from the Roger Pirates.
As for the Founding Ceremony that had been thrown into chaos?
Wasn’t it proceeding smoothly right now~? Where was the big disruption to the celebration?
What just happened was merely a small after-show program. These old foxes on site, even the slow ones, upon seeing the kids placed next to Big Mom, had all gotten the picture~
Believe tomorrow’s World Economic Journal would publish 《’Whole Cake Island’ Founding Ceremony unprecedentedly grand, Totoo Land Queen well-deserved!》…
Of course, some rejoice while others worry; some enjoy peaceful times, while others bear heavy burdens forward.
……
“That guy Old Media is probably frantically packing up to flee to the North Sea by now.”
“Yahaha!”
Morgans covered his mouth with his wings, chuckling wickedly nonstop.
He had previously schemed to lure Old Media away, saying he had connections in the North Sea, and that was indeed true.
In fact, he not only had connections in the North Sea, but also in the East Blue, West Sea, South Blue… even ‘Paradise.’
As for the masters behind these connections…
“Mama~ mama~ that’s good.”
Hearing that the other had handled the matter, Big Mom’s mood improved somewhat.
“Perospero, go notify our people in the North Sea and have them cooperate as much as possible with our ‘little lamb.'”
“I know, Mother. Perorin~”
Though not on the same level as the New World, the Four Seas and ‘Paradise’ still had their own intricate and complex faction networks.
Though the Big Mom Pirates were powerful, they were too far from those places after all, and those left there were just small fries; if they really clashed with some local tyrants, they might not gain any advantage.
But if there was a starving wolf kicked out of the New World to blaze the trail, that would be different.
A strong dragon wouldn’t bother pressing local tyrants, but a starving wolf driven from its pack wouldn’t care… no matter if you’re red or green, it all tastes the same in the stomach.
Of course, in Big Mom’s eyes, the other wasn’t even a starving wolf yet—at best, just a lamb for clearing weeds from the fields.
And since it was for weeding, she needed one with a big appetite and bold enough, lest it get full after two bites or get scared off by some grasshopper or earthworm.
The semi-anonymous invitation she sent to those arms dealers in the underworld was precisely to select the most suitable little lamb from among them.
Once the Mediya Family cleaned up the North Sea, send someone to whip him twice and drive him to the South Blue to continue clearing.
Anyway, the Beasts Pirates needed time to ramp up production, and for now, the gap left by Mediya’s departure in the New World was enough.
Poor Old Media, thinking he had manipulated those competitors in the palm of his hand, only to end up as a pawn casually manipulated by these true top factions.
……
Thud!
The massive ceremony birthday double cake was carefully taken out from the mirror by Perospero and Katakuri and carried before Big Mom, with no accidents this time.
“Mama~ mama~”
Accompanied by that signature laughter, Big Mom personally cut the first slice of cake and divided it in two to hand to La beside her.
Everyone saw this action of hers, then also moved to cut their own portions of cake and began tasting. The entire celebration formally returned to track amid this lively atmosphere and reached its climax.
Everyone acted as if nothing had happened, with conversation, exclamations, toasting, and the distinctly different laughter of various races filling the entire plaza.
