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This was the second Emperor of the Sea Byakuya had encountered in his years in the pirate world.
Seeing Big Mom in person was overwhelming, far surpassing what he'd seen in the anime.
Towering in height and massive in build, with heavy lipstick and light purple eyeshadow, she was—simply put—hideous.
Byakuya could hardly connect this person in front of him to the young Big Mom shown in Oda's flashbacks.
Time and excess weight truly were a person's greatest foes.
Looking at Big Mom's form, even larger than Whitebeard's, Byakuya couldn't help but marvel at her husbands over the years.
They were true warriors—anyone else would struggle even with the lights off!
While Byakuya silently mocked her in his mind, Big Mom turned her gaze to the Vinsmoke family and the Night Organization.
According to her plans, these two groups were the focal points of this tea party.
One held scientific expertise she desired, and the other possessed strength worth recruiting under her banner.
Both were promising candidates for alliance through marriage.
Big Mom would have tried to bind them to her crew with marriage arrangements if not for their animosity. After all, she had plenty of daughters.
But since a dual marriage wasn't an option, Big Mom had devised a different plan to win both the scientific support of the Vinsmokes and the allegiance of the Night Organization.
As the banquet commenced, exquisitely crafted desserts were brought to the tables, each prepared with great care by Big Mom's pastry chefs.
Among them was a special selection of sweets infused with souls through Big Mom's Devil Fruit powers, giving them partial consciousness and the ability to speak.
She had painstakingly crafted these delicacies, using up years of her subordinates' lifespans.
Big Mom considered these soul-infused sweets the most perfect in the world. Only on such grand occasions could guests experience food of this calibre.
Byakuya and his team had specially modified masks prepared for their visit to Totto Land, allowing them to taste the banquet treats.
Byakuya's mask, in particular, had a retractable mouthpiece for easier tasting, a detail only he would consider.
When Byakuya picked up one of the enchanted sweets, it shrieked, "Please, sir, don't eat me! I don't taste good!"
Ignoring its pleas, Byakuya promptly popped it into his mouth. "Crunch! Crunch!"
As he chewed, an indescribable burst of flavour filled his mouth, far surpassing any sweet he had tasted before, causing his eyes to light up.
"No wonder this is an Emperor's crew. Even their sweets try to trick you," he said, savouring the taste.
"They're delicious, even if they say otherwise." Byakuya suddenly thought Big Mom was wasted as an Emperor.
With her talents, she should have become a world-renowned pastry chef rather than confining herself to piracy in the New World.
Of course, not everyone could stomach these talking sweets.
Many found it disturbing—the sweets had voices, could speak, and lacked only bodies to appear human.
Biting into them while they screamed was unnerving, as though one were consuming a live being.
When Byakuya finished serving, he glanced at Lucci and the others, surprised to see they hadn't touched theirs.
"These are delicious; you're not going to try them?" Sonic replied thoughtfully, "Lord Byakuya, these need to be heated first.
They'd taste better roasted." The sweet on Sonic's plate began shouting, "Heat me? Are you trying to burn us alive? We're fine as we are!"
A cake-shaped sweet added irritably, "Are you crazy? Do you want to be eaten that badly?"
Then it turned to Sonic and Byakuya, saying, "Ignore him! Eat that guy over there. If you eat us, you'll get an upset stomach."
These sweets were clever—light-years ahead of Weevil's IQ!
Seeing his comrades not partaking, Byakuya casually gathered the uneaten sweets before him, savouring each one as it screamed in vain.
After all, these weren't real people, so what was the harm? Letting them go to waste would be the real crime.
As the feast continued, Big Mom watched her guests enjoying the banquet. Once most had eaten their fill, she finally broke the silence.
"Today's tea party has two honoured guests—the Vinsmoke family from the North Blue and the rising Night Organization."
Hearing this, the Vinsmoke family, led by Judge, sat up with visible pride in their demeanour, casting hostile glares at Byakuya's group as they feasted.
Niji, in particular, looked especially fierce. Having been seriously injured by Enel, he resented Byakuya's faction deeply.
Were it not for the advanced medical technology of the Vinsmokes, he would have died under Enel's lightning.
Even so, he had spent a month in recovery before he could walk again. For Niji, who had never suffered such a blow, his hatred for Enel ran deep.
Niji was chewing his special dessert with intense force, as if imagining it was Enel himself, and smiled cruelly as the dessert let out whimpers of pain.
"Enjoy your meal because this will be your last," he sneered. Judge, on the other hand, sighed in relief, feeling reassured.
In his mind, the alliance between the Vinsmoke family and the Big Mom Pirates was as good as sealed.
With this connection, the Night Organization would naturally become a shared enemy.
After all, it wasn't the Night Organization's strength that was so feared, but rather its mystique.
The entire organization would appear and disappear across the seas without a trace.
No one knew their base's location or even their members' true identities—qualities that made them a particularly terrifying adversary.
Yet here they were, attending the banquet, having cast aside the shroud of secrecy that had kept them safe.
To Judge, this was as good as walking into a trap.
He planned to wait until the end of the banquet, then ambush the Night Organization with Big Mom's forces, finally ridding himself of this lingering threat that had plagued the Vinsmokes for months.
He believes allying through marriage with Big Mom's crew was a wise choice.
Initially, he thought their marriage alliance would deter the Night Organization from attacking the Vinsmokes.
Still, to his surprise, Big Mom was already moving against the Night Organization by inviting them to her tea party.
The efficiency was astonishing. While she was a pirate, she certainly seemed to honour her in-laws.
Internally, Judge couldn't help but give Big Mom a thumbs-up!
Meanwhile, Byakuya continued eating his dessert, entirely unfazed by the resentful looks from the Vinsmokes or Big Mom's speech.
He'd already anticipated a battle before arriving and was now fully fed and prepared to fight.
Win or lose, he'd gain considerable source power from Sanji not joining the Straw Hat crew, making this trip to Totto Land worthwhile.
Big Mom noted everyone's reactions, lowering her internal evaluation of the Vinsmoke family by a few points.
"Now, aside from sharing these fine desserts with you all, there are two main reasons I've called this tea party," she announced.
"The first is that I've heard some… conflict between the Vinsmoke family and the Night Organization. I'm willing to act as a mediator to resolve your issues. What do you all think?"
The faces of the Vinsmokes darkened immediately. This was far from what they had planned, and Niji, in particular, was enraged.
If it weren't for Ichiji and Reiju holding him back, he might have confronted Big Mom immediately.
Sanji sensed that something was off in the unusual tension filling the air.
He'd heard bits and pieces of the conflict between his family and the Night Organization.
He knew his arranged marriage with Big Mom's family was supposed to fortify them against the Night Organization.
However, he hadn't expected Big Mom to propose reconciliation between the two sides before announcing their alliance. It was completely unexpected.
Judge rose to his feet, face darkened with displeasure, and said, "Big Mom, this wasn't part of the plan."
"I changed my mind. Do you have a problem with that?"
Big Mom replied with a wild laugh, leaning forward with an intense gaze that reflected Judge's figure in her eyes.
Judge glanced around and noticed that their seats were surrounded by Big Mom's high-ranking officers, who were closing in subtly as she spoke.
Clearly, the slightest disagreement would result in immediate action from her formidable subordinates.
Judge's confidence wavered, his expression shifting.
Proud as he was, he understood that the strength of the Vinsmoke family was far from that of Big Mom's forces.
But he hadn't expected her to suddenly break their previous agreement right in the middle of the banquet.
<End Chapter>
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