Time at sea always flies by. Before long, Bege's ship smoothly arrived in Big Mom's waters.
As Big Mom's son-in-law, Bege was considered half a family member in this territory. He traveled unimpeded, leading everyone smoothly into Cake Island.
The Vinsmoke Family brothers had already received news. As soon as they heard Sanji was brought back, they leisurely came to pick him up.
After all, during this period of the marriage alliance, their fortress had been docked near Cake Island for convenience, except for mission requests.
In their eyes, Sanji was not a blood relative, but merely a useless tool for the family's marriage alliance, someone they needed to personally keep a close watch on to ensure no mistakes were made.
If it weren't for their fear that this "tool" would run away and ruin the crucial marriage alliance with Big Mom, the Vinsmoke Family brothers would never bother with this "waste" in their eyes.
Soon, Bege's ship steadily docked at the shore.
Bege was the first to disembark. Following him, Sanji, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, walked down with a nonchalant stride, his eyes not even glancing at the red, blue, and green trio beside him.
Sanji raised an eyebrow, extended his hand towards the stairs, and said with a hint of teasing and dissatisfaction, "You're always too lazy to walk, so how come that Mosshead can carry you, but I can't?"
Orochimaru slowly walked off the ship, her delicate features filled with helplessness. Sanji was acting crazy again, insisting on saying such suggestive things.
He looked up, his cool gaze sweeping over Sanji.
"I hate the smell of smoke."
As he spoke, Orochimaru's unique, husky voice seemed to raise the temperature of the surrounding air by several degrees.
Niji and Yonji instantly stared wide-eyed, their Adam's apples bobbing uncontrollably, their faces filled with uncontrollable infatuation.
Yonji's face flushed crimson as he stammered to Niji in a whisper, "This, this is just too…" He didn't finish his sentence, but Niji beside him understood immediately, nodding eagerly.
Ichiji, as the eldest brother, tried his best to maintain his composure, but his clenched fists betrayed his inner turmoil. His gaze was fixed on Orochimaru, his eyes burning with an intensity that seemed capable of scorching a person.
The Vinsmoke brothers naturally recognized Orochimaru. After all, the Straw Hat is now widely known, and Orochimaru, as the first mate, received even more attention.
To capture Sanji, they had meticulously investigated the Straw Hat.
However, photos are ultimately just photos; they can't compare to the shocking and alluring presence of the real person.
Sanji was originally certain that his three brothers would, like him, misjudge Orochimaru's gender, make a fool of themselves, and eventually return disappointed.
But he was terribly wrong.
Firstly, Orochimaru is currently at the height of his fame. The Vinsmoke Family, relying on its powerful intelligence network, had long since thoroughly investigated his background, so they naturally wouldn't mistake his gender.
Secondly, Sanji is very different from his brothers. Although the three of them were once considered emotionless machines due to their Lineage Factors, in reality, they are quite well-off.
On the contrary, because pity and fear were extracted, other human emotions were infinitely amplified.
They adhere to the highest hedonism. In their eyes, gender is completely irrelevant; as long as it brings happiness and pleasure, everything is not a problem.
Of course, it's also possible they found bullying Sanji the most enjoyable.
Sanji knew these brothers too well. Seeing their infatuated expressions towards Orochimaru, he felt a surge of satisfaction, just waiting to see them get thoroughly dealt with by Orochimaru later. Hmph, there's a good show coming!
However, watching Ichiji walk directly towards them, Sanji instinctively became alert, quickly stepping in front of Orochimaru.
But Ichiji completely ignored Sanji's presence, sizing up Orochimaru from head to toe, his arms crossed, an arrogant expression on his face, and he said, "Hey! Orochimaru, sleep with me."
Upon hearing this, Sanji was so enraged his lungs nearly burst, and he couldn't help but curse under his breath, "They truly are a bunch of shameless trash!"
But who would have thought that at this moment, Orochimaru, hearing Ichiji's voice, seemed somewhat dazed and instinctively replied, "Ah… okay… I'll be right there…"
ᓫ(°⌑°) This scene made Sanji's jaw nearly drop, and the cigarette in his mouth fell to the ground. He had absolutely not expected such a development.
Orochimaru, what are you saying! Do you even hear yourself?
"Then hurry up." Ichiji seemed to have anticipated Orochimaru's agreement. In his deeply ingrained beliefs, as royalty, he was born with the privilege to issue commands.
Sanji's eyes widened as he looked at the somewhat dazed Orochimaru, his heart burning with anxiety. He forcefully shook Orochimaru's shoulders, shouting loudly:
"Wake up! Wake up! Get a grip! Why are you spacing out at a time like this! Did you hear what he said after that! And you just agreed! You should really listen to the outrageous things he's saying!"
Orochimaru raised a hand to his forehead with a headache. This damned world. He suddenly heard a voice with the same tone as Sasuke's and didn't react for a moment.
(Sasuke: The desolate lands of Bashan and Chushui, your retribution is me.)
For a moment, Orochimaru wondered if he should poison Ichiji's voice. This person's presence was too disruptive to his plans. Forget it… he should just walk around him. But he also wanted to study the Lineage Factors… Even though it was junk, it was junk he hadn't seen before, ahhh… (⇀‸↼‶) So annoying.
Seeing Orochimaru's expression, a light bulb went off in Sanji's mind, and a theory emerged: perhaps there was something about Ichiji that could restrain Orochimaru.
He took a deep breath, composed himself, pulled out another cigarette and lit it, slowly exhaling a smoke ring. With a look of scrutiny and displeasure, he looked at Ichiji and said:
"Ichiji, you are truly rude. For someone who constantly prides himself on being royalty, do you not even understand the most basic royal etiquette?
Don't assume all pirates are inferior beings to be treated lightly. Orochimaru also comes from royalty."
Sanji flicked the ash from his cigarette, his gaze sternly fixed on Ichiji, his tone growing firmer.
"And the royalty Orochimaru belongs to is not an empty shell like Germa, which doesn't even have its own territory.
You'd best clean up your mouth and not act so wantonly here. Show some respect!"
With that, Sanji slightly turned, shielding Orochimaru behind him, his intention to protect Orochimaru very clear.
Orochimaru looked at Sanji in front of him and sighed. He couldn't even protect himself, so why act like a hero? That's why he couldn't do anything about these people.
Instead, Orochimaru reached up and covered his ears, turning to face Bege.
"Hey, you, quickly find someone to notify Big Mom. Tell her Black Joker wants to see her."
Bege was stunned for a moment, looking at Orochimaru with some disbelief. After all, everyone in the underworld knew that in the past two years, Joker had split into Red Joker and Black Joker.
This meant the Major Arcana and Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana was the original Joker, the Shichibukai, Heavenly Yaksha, Donquixote Doflamingo.
And the Minor Arcana was his lover, a mysterious person with incredibly overpowered abilities, whose identity no one knew.
Bege stared blankly at Orochimaru, his first thought being… Donquixote Doflamingo is truly amazing… He actually dared to "eat" such a "snake spirit/crazy person (derogatory nickname/insult for orochimaru)". Didn't it sting?
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