Pekoms had just slowly woken up from his sleep, and before he could fully clear his head, he suddenly found himself surrounded by a group of people.
This sudden situation instantly made him dumbfounded.
His glasses, due to his just-woken-up movements, were crookedly perched on his head, and the small eyes hidden beneath them blinked without focus, giving him an inexplicably innocent look.
He looked up and saw the familiar faces of the Straw Hat, as well as the two kings of the Mink Tribe, not to mention the large crowd standing densely behind them. This lineup made Pekoms feel his head swell, and he was speechless.
Luffy and the others' gazes focused on Pekoms' blinking eyes beneath his glasses. In their minds, they suddenly recalled Mingo wearing glasses; if Mingo looked like this... "Pfft," someone couldn't help but laugh, and then, a group of people's shoulders shook, their faces red from holding back, trying their best not to let their laughter burst out.
The Straw Hat's sudden laughter made Pekoms, who was already confused, even more bewildered.
"What exactly is going on! You guys speak up!" Pekoms couldn't help but shout loudly.
With great difficulty, everyone managed to suppress their laughter. Franky looked at Pekoms with a serious expression and questioned:
"That companion you brought, he disappeared with two of our Crewmates, saying something about going to get married. What exactly is going on?"
Pekoms couldn't help but frown. Why did Bege act on his own without discussing it with him beforehand, and why didn't he take him along?
After a long silence, Pekoms sighed helplessly and asked, "Do you know Vinsmoke Sanji's identity?"
Everyone looked bewildered, tilting their heads and asking in unison, "What's that?"
Pekoms, full of helplessness, waved his hand and said, "Never mind, never mind. Since you saved my country, I'll explain it to you from the beginning.
My name is Pekoms, I am a Pirate under the Big Mom Pirates, one of the Four Emperors."
"Vinsmoke Sanji, he is the third son of the Vinsmoke Family.
The Vinsmoke Family are nobles from North Blue. Although they don't have actual territory, they are still royalty and have the right to attend the World Conference.
Not long ago, the Vinsmoke Family and the Big Mom Pirates reached a marriage alliance.
The male and female leads of the alliance are Sanji, the third son of the Vinsmoke Family, and Pudding, the thirty-fifth daughter of Big Mom.
Bege and I were ordered by Mama to take Vinsmoke Sanji away. This is the invitation to the Tea Party."
Pekoms said, reaching into his pocket, then pulled out an invitation from the bag and handed it to everyone.
"What!!! Sanji is getting married????"
The others instantly erupted, their eyes wide with shock, jaws practically hitting the floor, their bodies involuntarily leaning forward, pressing close to the invitation to examine it carefully.
Brook shivered at the surname. "Is Vinsmoke Sanji's surname? It sounds a bit creepy."
Pekoms looked at Brook in surprise. "You bony fellow, you actually understand quite a bit.
The Vinsmoke Family is a nation skilled in technological assassination. You could say they are an assassin group. Haven't you heard of Germa 66, that war fortress?"
Nami looked at Pekoms speechlessly. "Isn't that a fictional evil army? How absurd."
Pekoms sighed and shook his head. "No, it's a real organization, and at its top is the Vinsmoke Family. Their boss is Black Leg's father."
However, Luffy didn't pay attention to any of that. He blinked his eyes, swaying back and forth like a roly-poly toy.
"Oh... Sanji is getting married. Really, he didn't need to sneak off.
We could have gone to the wedding too! But it should be fine, right? He'll come back after he gets married, won't he?
We'll just go pick him up, or wait for him in Wano Country. Sanji will definitely come back to adventure with us!"
As he spoke, he scratched his head, his face full of trust in Sanji.
"But what is Orochimaru doing there! He must have secretly run off to play! How cunning!" Luffy shouted, waving his arms, his face full of dissatisfaction at being left behind by Orochimaru.
Robin's expression was solemn, her slender fingers gently resting on her chin as she pondered, looking at Luffy.
"So, Orochimaru really did run away from home, didn't he? Don't you think the timing is very suspicious?"
As she spoke, she held up a newspaper she had obtained from who knows where, her fair fingertips resting steadily on the date on the newspaper.
"We slept for a whole day and night. Normally, we wouldn't voluntarily sleep for so long, would we? This clearly means Orochimaru didn't want us to follow. And..."
Robin slightly turned her body, extended her arm, and precisely pointed to Nami's log pose.
"Nami, look closely, we've drifted very far off course, haven't we...?"
Pekoms looked at these people whose thoughts had completely gone astray, and felt an anonymous fire "whoosh" up.
He "swished" off his sunglasses, his eyes wide and round, full of the anger of not being able to make something of them, and roared loudly:
"Can you guys focus on what's important!! Is Black Leg Sanji getting married not as important as that Orochimaru running away from home!!!"
His chest heaved violently. After calming down, he continued, "If Vinsmoke Sanji marries Mama's daughter,
normally, your Straw Hat Pirates would automatically become a Pirate Crew under Mama!
Looking at you guys, you don't seem like the type to willingly submit to anyone, do you! Ga-oh!!"
Luffy pouted disdainfully, waving his hand at Pekoms. "Yada, I don't want to be assimilated by Big Mom. It'd be more like her joining us."
As soon as he finished speaking, Luffy blinked his eyes, pointed at Pekoms' eyes, and said, "Speaking of which, your eyes are so cute! Hahaha."
Pekoms felt like he was going crazy. "Listen to what you're saying! You want to assimilate the Big Mom Pirates???
Mama is one of the Four Emperors, watch your words! Be careful or I'll wipe you out!! Even if you are my benefactor! Don't get too carried away!"
Luffy stopped laughing and nodded, looking at the furious lion.
Pekoms felt a surge of blood and qi, so angry that his liver began to ache faintly. He clutched his liver in discomfort, his mouth twitching uncontrollably, his face filled with helplessness and collapse.
"Forget it..." He sighed deeply, his voice full of weariness.
"Anyway, I'm just telling you, Black Leg Sanji can't come back!
He can't escape this marriage.
But there's one thing you can rest assured about: you won't be joining Mama's Pirate Crew.
This is a political marriage with the Vinsmoke Family. Mama always likes to form blood ties with those who submit to her.
This marriage is a ceremony held by the Vinsmoke Family and the Charlotte Family to establish a blood connection, and it has nothing to do with you.
To put it plainly, once the marriage is complete, Black Leg Sanji will no longer be your Companion."
Luffy's smile froze the instant he heard the last sentence. His normally vibrant face instantly turned as gloomy as the sky before a storm.
Without another word, he suddenly reached out, grabbed Pekoms' collar tightly, pulled him close, and roared, enunciating each word with unwavering determination:
"Sanji is my Companion! No one is going to take him away from us!"
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