The moment Perospero sprang into action, Big Mom's other sons were far from idle. Several of the older ones stepped forward and charged at the white-suited CP0 agents.
The wedding venue descended into chaos. Other guests scattered to the sidelines, fearful of involvement. Only Morgans, the news-obsessed bird-man who valued headlines over his own life, directed his staff with frantic excitement, cameras clicking wildly. A dozen headline ideas were surely racing through his mind.
"Hurry, keep shooting!"
"This is enormous — front-page material!"
Yukiko and the others did not rush to intervene either. They stood to the side with Yuri. This was Big Mom's territory, and this level of disturbance did not yet warrant their assistance. Jumping in would only diminish Big Mom's pride.
Big Mom's face had darkened like a thundercloud overhead. She had placed immense importance on this Tea Party, yet she had not even tasted the cake before the chaos erupted. Still, she held back, expecting her children to subdue the intruders.
But when she glanced around, she noticed her second son Katakuri had still not appeared. That fact only deepened her fury.
Boom — the battle had already begun.
Oven, Daifuku, and the others clashed with the agents. Perospero's candy attacks rained down with ferocity. This sudden turn of events left Doflamingo's group uncertain of how to proceed.
"Doflamingo, who are these people?" Trebol whispered to his leader.
Doflamingo's mind worked quickly. He grinned. "Heh heh heh. It seems someone does not wish to see the Donquixote Family and Charlotte Family united." He did not lower his voice — he declared it openly and without restraint.
Big Mom, not far away, heard every word. That was exactly what Doflamingo intended.
He had never come here to marry. The more chaos, the better. The identity of these white-suited figures was not hard to guess. It would be ideal if Big Mom also sustained some losses while dealing with them.
Big Mom, however, was not as sharp as Doflamingo. His words sent her fury skyrocketing. Her eyes blazed as she glared at the agents. Standing nearby, Doflamingo could hear the cracking of her clenched fists.
"Doflamingo, so you know who these people are?" Big Mom said in a low voice. Doflamingo felt an overwhelming wave of pressure crash down upon him — like a mountain collapsing — making it difficult to breathe.
"Heh heh heh. I used to be a Celestial Dragon. Naturally, they would not want their bloodline mixed with that of pirates." Doflamingo did not particularly enjoy broadcasting his former identity in public — it should have been a source of shame.
He was supposed to be a god standing above the sky, yet he had become a lowly pirate. But none of that mattered anymore.
He was certain those self-righteous, long-rotten World Nobles would eventually crumble along with the Red Line itself. And he, by following in the footsteps of the Raiden Shogun, would ascend back to the heavens. Until that day arrived, let the waves of this ocean surge even more violently.
"So you are saying it is the World Government?" Big Mom said coldly.
Between her and the World Government, grievances old and new ran deep. Leaving aside the Rocks Pirates era, the incident with John alone had cost her crew dearly. Wang Zhi and Silver Axe had both perished at sea, and the treasure ended up in the World Government's hands. In truth, Ren and Redfield had split it between themselves, but Big Mom grew angrier the more she thought about it.
The enemy being the World Government did not mean she would back down. She might not dare launch a direct assault on their headquarters, but could she really tolerate those who came to her doorstep to provoke her? She could not hold back any longer.
"Napoleon!" she roared, raising her hand.
Instantly, a bicorne captain's hat flew toward her, transforming mid-air into a bizarre saber. Bizarre because the blade had human facial features along its edge.
"Indra!"
Big Mom gripped the massive sword and swung it mercilessly at the agents. A violet-black flying slash, shaped like a colossal crescent moon, shot forward and nearly cleaved the entire venue in two.
As for Big Mom's children, every one of them was sharper than a monkey. The moment she called for Napoleon, they had already retreated. Napoleon was Big Mom's most trusted weapon — her decision to wield it personally was unmistakable.
Her attacks, even a casual swing, were terrifyingly powerful. People here capable of blocking it existed, but those agents were certainly not among them.
The agents saw the colossal slash bearing down on them and froze, nearly forgetting to dodge. At the last moment, one dark and one crimson figure burst forward —
Two blades wrapped in Armament Haki slashed into Big Mom's strike.
"Kamusari!" Shanks wielded Griffin, channeling the swordsmanship of Gol D. Roger with devastating skill.
The other was Dracule Mihawk. Though his Haki was not quite at the highest level, his swordsmanship was extraordinary. Fighting in tandem with Shanks, they actually managed to deflect Big Mom's flying slash. However, Mihawk's expression showed far more strain than Shanks'.
The arrival of these two figures was spectacular enough to stun even Doflamingo. His inner reaction was rather different, however: What the hell are these two doing here? This is not the time for them to appear!
Doflamingo had wanted to watch the World Government, the Marines, and Big Mom tear each other apart like dogs fighting over a bone. He had no intention of acting now and had sent no signal. But every single member of Buggy's crew was driven by emotion over reason.
They had been waiting patiently when fighting suddenly broke out inside the venue, and their concern for Doflamingo surged. When they waited in vain for a signal and then felt Big Mom's enormous presence, they assumed Doflamingo's plan had been exposed — that he had been surrounded before he could send word. So they rushed in.
Shanks and Mihawk had not yet realized the problem when Buggy and Enel suddenly vaulted into the fray.
The two of them wore capes draped over their shoulders, looking dashing as they stood atop the high walls and began raining bombs down below. The throwing knives Buggy once used between his fingers had all been replaced with explosives.
Boom — boom — boom.
Buggy cackled wildly as he hurled his payload. "Hahahaha! Doflamingo, I have come to rescue you!" He then made faces and waggled his eyebrows. "Are you moved enough to pledge your loyalty to me?"
Doflamingo's face, already sour from being exposed, now looked as if he had swallowed a dead fly whole. These useless fools would never amount to anything in their entire lives.
[
Dear Readers,
I hope you are doing well. I am writing to you today because things have become genuinely difficult, and I need to be honest about where I stand.
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