Chapter 132: The Reactions of the Crowd!
"G-G-G... GRAAAAAAH!"
The sound was not of this world. It was a physical force, a sonic boom that originated from the heavens and crashed down upon the Whole Cake Chateau with the weight of a falling mountain.
The ornate stained-glass windows, depicting the glorious history of Totto Land, shattered instantly, raining down colorful shards like confetti of death. The golden chandeliers swayed violently, their candles extinguished by the sheer pressure of the air being displaced.
Every syllable of that thunderous roar struck the hearts of the crowd like a heavy war hammer. It bypassed their ears and vibrated directly in their ribcages, forcing the air out of their lungs and replacing it with pure, primal fear.
"It's... It's him!"
"That silhouette in the clouds... that azure scale armor!"
One of the Underworld Emperors, the "Shipping King" Umit, let out a trembling gasp, his cigar falling from his mouth and burning a hole in his expensive suit. He didn't even notice the heat. His eyes were glued to the hole in the ceiling, his pupils dilated to the size of pinpricks.
"Kaido... of the Beasts Pirates!!!"
Panic, like a wildfire fueled by gasoline, ignited throughout the entire wedding venue.
The name alone carried a weight that could sink islands. The "Strongest Creature on Land, Sea, and Air." The Governor-General of the Beasts Pirates. The tyrant who ruled Wano Country with an iron fist. A monster who had attempted suicide countless times only to break the guillotine blades with his neck.
Why would such a calamity appear here?
"Listening to him... he seems to be here to cause trouble!"
"He's crazy! Absolutely insane!" Du Feld, the "God of Fortune," was clutching his chest, his face pale as a sheet. "This is Big Mom's Tea Party! This is the most sacred event in Totto Land! To look for trouble with another Sea Emperor here? Is Kaido drunk?!"
"Kaido is the strongest creature... if they fight, this island will sink! We're all going to die!"
The faces of the Underworld bosses—men who usually decided the fate of nations with a signature—turned ashen gray. They felt as if they had stepped out of their houses without checking the almanac, only to walk directly into the apocalypse.
This was no longer a case of mere pirate skirmishes. This was not a clash of supernovas. This was a collision between disasters. When gods fight, mortals suffer. And right now, they were the ants standing directly at the impact site of two meteors.
"Hmph, a bunch of ignorant fellows! Where is your journalistic integrity?"
"Big News" Morgans, the President of the World Economy News Paper, adjusted his top hat. Though his wings were trembling slightly, his beak was curved in a manic grin of excitement. He lowered his voice, disdainfully explaining to the "big shots" beside him who were shaking like leaves in a storm.
"Have you all forgotten the history of the New World?" Morgans whispered, his eyes gleaming behind his camera lens. "Kaido and Charlotte Linlin... they aren't just rival Emperors. Decades ago, they were crewmates on the same ship! That legendary ship that rocked the world!"
He paused for dramatic effect, snapping a photo of the chaotic ceiling.
"They always addressed each other as 'older sister' and 'younger brother.' Their relationship is extraordinary, far deeper than mere alliances or rivalries. Of course... whether that relationship is good or bad, only the two of monsters themselves know! But for us? This is the scoop of the century! Kacha! Kacha!"
On the other side of the chaotic hall, amidst the screaming guests and running homies, Stussy sat in the corner.
The "Queen of the Pleasure District"—and undercover CP0 agent—adjusted her sitting posture silently like an elegant cat. She crossed her legs, smoothing out her dress, completely unfazed by the falling debris.
Her blue eyes gleamed with a cold, calculating shrewdness. She wasn't panicking. She was recording.
'Kaido's presence here is an anomaly,' Stussy analyzed internally. 'Intelligence suggested he was in Wano preparing for the Fire Festival. For him to fly all the way to Whole Cake Island alone... the variable must be significant. Is it related to the Marines? Or... is it related to that man?'
Her gaze, along with the subconscious attention of the entire terrified crowd, shifted uniformly towards the center of the anomaly.
In this venue of screaming aristocrats and crying pirates, there was one table that seemed to exist in a different dimension.
The dining table where the Suzaku Pirates were seated.
However, the sight the crowd witnessed made them feel an unprecedented sense of absurdity and shock. It was a scene that defied all logic.
Above Suzaku and his group, the ceiling was collapsing. Massive chunks of stone, heavy timber, and glass shards were raining down like hail.
But none of it touched them.
A deep, night-sky-like black canopy had unfurled at some unknown point, hovering just a few meters above their heads. It wasn't a solid barrier; it looked like a tear in reality, a void of swirling darkness.
Albedo, dressed in her pure white gown that contrasted sharply with the chaotic surroundings, held one hand out gracefully. Her expression was one of composed elegance, with a hint of disdain for the "filth" falling from above.
As the huge shattered stones—some weighing tons—fell onto the canopy, there was no sound of impact. No thud, no crash. They were like clay pebbles falling into a bottomless ocean. They were silently decomposed, annihilated, and swallowed by the void. Not even a speck of dust was allowed to fall onto her master's table.
"Filthy rocks," Albedo murmured, her golden eyes narrowing. "Do not dare disturb Lord Suzaku's meal."
Beneath this absolute defense, Suzaku and a little girl—the very focus of the tension—were still... still eating!
The contrast was jarring enough to cause mental whiplash.
"Lord Suzaku!"
Rem, the blue-haired maid standing faithfully behind him, finally couldn't help but gently tug at her Captain's sleeve. Her voice was soft, polite, but carried a hint of urgency amidst the roaring dragon outside.
"Lord Suzaku, pardon the interruption."
Suzaku was busy. He was currently holding a silver fork, intently scooping up a large, perfect dollop of whipped cream from a strawberry shortcake. Hearing her, he didn't turn around. He just mumbled with his mouth half-open.
"Hmm? What is it, Rem? Is the tea cold?"
"No, my Lord," Rem whispered, glancing upward at the gaping hole in the roof where azure scales were visible. "Rem just heard... that big guy overhead seems to be looking for you. Or rather, he is looking for someone connected to you."
"Hm?"
Suzaku finally raised an eyebrow. But his hand didn't stop moving. His priority remained the dessert.
"Why do I hear him saying he's looking for Katakuri?" Suzaku shrugged, dismissing the threat of a Yonko as if it were a noisy neighbor. "Whatever. He's drunk. Drunks never make sense."
Saying that, his eyes suddenly flashed with a mischievous light.
While Akame, the black-haired assassin sitting across from him, was distracted by the falling debris, Suzaku made his move.
He swiftly extended his fork with lightning speed—a speed that would have made Kizaru proud.
Swish!
He "intercepted" the entire slice of premium cake, adorned with three plump, glistening strawberries, that Akame was just about to put into her mouth. With a fluid motion, he stuffed the entire slice into his own mouth.
"Mmph! Delishush!"
"???"
Akame's movement froze in mid-air.
Her mouth was slightly open, ready to receive the holy offering of sugar and cream. But her fork hit nothing but air.
She blinked.
Her beautiful red eyes slowly lowered to her empty plate. Then, they shifted to Suzaku's puffed-up cheeks, which were currently chewing her cake.
The realization hit her.
The tragedy. The betrayal.
"..."
Akame's aura changed instantly. The calm assassin vanished. In her place was a starving beast whose territory had been violated.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The next second, she snapped back into action. Like a cat guarding its food from a thief, she stretched out her arms to fiercely protect all the remaining delicacies in front of her. She pulled the plates of donuts, tarts, and meats closer to her chest, creating a fortress of food.
Simultaneously, her other hand became a blur. It moved so fast it left afterimages. She frantically stuffed meats and pastries into her mouth, her cheeks bulging like a chipmunk's.
Munch munch munch munch!
Her eyes darted around warily, especially glaring at Suzaku, fearing that this unscrupulous Captain would snatch away even a bit more of her precious rations.
"Mine," she muffled through a mouthful of meat. "Survival... requires... calories."
While the Captain and the Assassin were engaged in a war over dessert, the two legendary ninjas at the table had a different reaction.
Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, had completely forgotten about the food. He had turned around in his chair, craning his neck to look up at the massive dragon circling the sky.
"Ooooh!"
Hashirama enthusiastically patted the person next to him, his eyes sparkling with the excitement of a country bumpkin seeing the big city for the first time.
"Madara! Madara, look! It's a dragon! A real, living dragon! Just like the stories!"
He pointed at Kaido's massive azure body coiling through the clouds.
"It's so big! Although... hmm..." Hashirama rubbed his chin, analyzing the creature. "It's not quite as handsome as the Wood Dragons I make. And it lacks the majesty of the divine dragons the elders described. But look at it! It looks as cute as a Tailed Beast! Maybe we can keep it as a pet for the village?"
Next to him, Uchiha Madara's forehead twitched violently. A vein popped out on his temple.
He was sitting with his arms crossed, trying to maintain his dignity as the Ghost of the Uchiha in this chaotic world. But his idiot friend was making it very difficult.
"Cute? A pet?" Madara's eye twitched again.
He glanced up at Kaido with a critical, unimpressed sneer. To a man who had enslaved the Nine-Tails and ridden it into battle like a horse, this "Strongest Creature" was just an overgrown lizard.
"Hashirama..." Madara squeezed out two words through gritted teeth, his voice dripping with annoyance. "Shut. Up."
"But Madara, look at its scales! Very high quality!"
"I said shut up! It's just a lizard with a loud voice. Sit down, you're embarrassing us!"
The entire Suzaku Pirates' demeanor—eating, bickering, ignoring the apocalypse—was completely out of place with the tense, life-threatening atmosphere of the scene. It was a bubble of absurdity in a sea of terror.
However, the master of this castle was not amused.
"KAIDO!!!"
A roar capable of freezing the soul erupted from the head table.
Charlotte Linlin, Big Mom, finally exploded.
She suddenly stood up from her massive throne-like chair. Her towering height of nearly nine meters cast a shadow over the guests. Her pink eyes were spinning with bloodshot rage, and her soul pressure expanded outward, cracking the floor beneath her feet.
At this moment, the oppressive feeling radiating from her massive body even overshadowed the giant dragon on the roof.
Prometheus, the sun homie, flared into a raging fireball on her right. Zeus, the thundercloud, turned pitch black on her left.
"Who gave you the guts to interrupt my tea party!!!" Linlin screamed, her voice shaking the island.
Her tea party! Her meticulously prepared marriage alliance! Her stage to re-establish her prestige after the newspaper fiasco!
First, Suzaku rejected her publicly. And now, this uninvited bastard comes crashing through her roof?
She was seething with anger with nowhere to vent!
"If you don't give me a reason, I will kill you right here, Kaido!"
The threat hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.
"Ugh... ro ro ro ro..."
A strange, drunken laughter echoed from the sky.
After being roared at by Charlotte Linlin, Kaido on the roof seemed to sober up a bit. The alcohol fog clouding his brain lifted slightly.
The massive dragon head lowered through the broken ceiling, staring down at the pink-haired giantess with glowing yellow eyes. Smoke billowed from his nostrils, smelling of strong liquor and sulfur.
"Linlin..." Kaido's voice was still like rolling thunder, causing vibrations in the wine glasses below. "Why are you so angry? Hic..."
He hiccuped, a burst of flame escaping his mouth.
"I'm not here to fight you, old hag. I'm here... to find that kid. That kid who came into contact with 'Suzaku.' Didn't I hear that your subordinate happened to meet him?"
Kaido narrowed his eyes, trying to focus.
"Come on... call out your subordinate! I'll ask him personally! Where is that Suzaku brat hiding?!"
Kaido's words caused the entire venue to fall silent once more. The silence was absolute.
Guests blinked, confused.
Looking for someone who came into contact with "Suzaku"?
"Isn't he talking about Katakuri?" Morgans whispered to himself, scribbling furiously. "Katakuri fought Suzaku's crew."
"But..." Stussy's eyes darted to the table under the black canopy. "The Suzaku Pirates are sitting right there. Is Kaido blind? Or is he just that drunk?"
The irony was palpable. The man Kaido was hunting was literally eating cake fifty feet away from him, wiping cream off his face.
Hearing this, Charlotte Linlin's anger subsided slightly. The red haze in her eyes cleared, replaced by the calculating gleam of a pirate who had ruled the seas for decades.
Countless thoughts flashed through her rapidly working brain.
Kaido wants Suzaku. I want Suzaku's technology and bloodline. But Kaido is here now.
If they fought here, Totto Land would be destroyed. But... if she could use this?
"Kaido..."
A sweet, yet utterly chilling smile suddenly bloomed on Charlotte Linlin's face. It was the smile of a witch trapping a child.
She looked up at the dragon, her expression shifting from rage to cunning negotiation.
"You want information? Mamamama..."
She stepped forward, ignoring the debris.
"Do you remember, Kaido? That day at God Valley?"
Her voice dropped an octave, becoming heavy with history and obligation.
"Do you remember that you owe me a huge favor?"
Kaido, floating in the sky, was startled. His massive dragon body froze for a second.
"Favor?" he rumbled, the memory cutting through his drunken haze. "When was that...?"
"Don't play dumb with me!" Linlin grinned, her eyes flashing. "That Mythical Zoan Fruit... I gave it to you! You owe me a life debt, Kaido!"
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