Chapter 660: Mixed Signals
Feeling embarrassed by Ian's lack of courtesy, Ferud was a shrewd man nonetheless, so he chuckled and brushed it off without taking offense.
"Young Master Ian is quite cool!" said a beautiful woman in a ladylike hat sitting across from Ian, resting her chin on her hand as she studied him with interest from across the table.
She was Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District. When Katakuri had introduced her earlier, he'd told Ian that being called "Queen" meant this woman was the undisputed leader of the New World's red-light district industry.
In other words, she was a super madam...
Although Ian understood that these gray industries could never be eradicated from the human world, that didn't mean he could accept these people. He had come to the tea party merely to go through the motions and see what Big Mom wanted to discuss with him. He had no desire to associate with such individuals.
Moreover, as a transmigrator, he knew who Stussy really was. Despite her youthful and beautiful appearance, her actual age was close to Big Mom's—she was essentially an old hag.
More importantly, her true identity was that of a CP0 agent...
So Ian just glanced at her, said nothing, and busied himself with arranging his napkin, preparing to enjoy the food on the table. He was indeed a bit hungry.
Seeing Ian completely ignore them and start eating on his own, the atmosphere grew awkward. Stussy's face darkened, and she snorted coldly.
She could hold back, but others couldn't. A man wearing an iron mask with a lion's mane hairstyle spoke darkly to Ian: "Hohoho, Lord Ian, you haven't become an Emperor yet, but your arrogance is already greater than theirs..."
Ian shoved a piece of beef into his mouth, chewing as he glanced at him, then suddenly asked, "You're Drago, the funeral home magnate? That's how Katakuri introduced you, right?"
"That's right, it's me!" Drago nodded.
"Running a funeral home... did you save a coffin for yourself?" Ian asked bluntly, lowering his head to cut his meat.
"Cough, cough!!" Caesar, who had also sat down and just taken a couple of bites, choked on Ian's words and coughed violently.
He never expected Ian to start attacking Big Mom's guests the moment he sat down...
The sarcasm in Ian's tone was obvious to everyone. Drago got angry too, slamming the table as he stood up and roared, "You—!"
But before he could finish, a bone-chilling gust of wind swept past his head, cutting off his words and forcing him to swallow them back down!
Several strands of hair slowly fell from Drago's head, drifting past his eyes before landing on the table.
It was Drago's hair. In the instant he had opened his mouth, a sword slash had cleanly sliced off a section of his lion's mane from the top of his head.
Drago sucked in a cold breath because he hadn't even seen Ian draw his sword!
Even now, everyone present could see that Ian's sword was still perfectly sheathed, meaning his movement had been so fast that their eyes couldn't keep up...
Turning around, they saw a massive crack suddenly appearing on the wall of the banquet hall behind them, with light seeping in through the gap. Everyone understood that this was from Ian's sword slash—the thick castle wall had been cut straight through.
Ian's slash had conveyed a clear message: I can cut you down anytime I want!
So Drago was left in an awkward position. He wanted to sit down but didn't dare, and he also didn't dare to keep acting tough.
"Ian, wasn't that going too far?" Katakuri said, arms crossed, his expression displeased.
But Ian continued eating expressionlessly and said, "Katakuri, there's something I hope you don't misunderstand. I came to this tea party not because I need something from your Big Mom Pirates, and likewise, I wasn't coerced into coming. No one can threaten me. So I have a fundamental difference from your so-called 'guests.'"
Some things were better said outright. From the moment he set foot on Whole Cake Island, Ian had felt something was off. The Big Mom Pirates' apparent importance placed on him seemed excessive. Perospero hadn't held a grudge about Ian taking his lifespan, and even Katakuri acted as if they were old acquaintances.
But Ian figured they had only cooperated once during the robbery of Gran Tesoro—far from that level of familiarity.
So, taking this opportunity, Ian felt it was best to make his stance clear first.
I, Ian, am not your Big Mom's subordinate. We only have a "possible cooperative relationship." We'll see if negotiations succeed then. So please don't arbitrarily lump me in with your side!
Though both were Emperors, Big Mom and Whitebeard were completely different types of people. For Ian, shared ideals were necessary for becoming companions, so deep down, he kept his distance from the Big Mom Pirates.
Hearing Ian's words, not only Katakuri but also Perospero felt a jolt in their hearts!
They had discussed this issue after leaving Gran Tesoro, and as expected, they realized Mama might have been wishful thinking. With Ian's current attitude, bringing up the marriage proposal rashly would likely end badly!
But before Katakuri could speak, a tall woman entered the banquet hall.
The newcomer was none other than the fourteenth daughter of the Charlotte family, one of the thirty-four ministers of the Big Mom Pirates: the [Juice Minister], Charlotte Smoothie!
Smoothie had a pair of long legs adorned with gorgeous rose tattoos. They were truly long because she had Longleg Tribe blood, making her height quite imposing—much taller than Ian...
She had white hair and bangs covering one eye. As she entered the banquet hall, she carried two round glass cups filled with some unknown red liquid. Clearly unaware of what had just happened in the hall, she walked over to Stussy and set one cup down in front of her, saying, "Madam Stussy, here's your drink: [a six-legged Mink Tribe member]..."
After setting down the drink, Smoothie finally noticed the tense atmosphere in the room. She paused, confused, and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Then she noticed Ian, Reiju, and Caesar—the three new guests who had just arrived.
And she immediately recognized Ian...
Katakuri's eyes narrowed, and he inwardly cursed. His Observation Haki had glimpsed a short segment of the near future!
He tried to stop Smoothie, but speaking sometimes couldn't be prevented. Upon seeing Ian, Smoothie put a hand on her hip and asked him, "Oh? Black Dragon Ian? You're the one I'm supposed to marry—"
Before she could finish, Katakuri's voice finally arrived, shouting, "Smoothie!! Shut up!"
Smoothie looked at Katakuri in shock, confused why he was yelling at her like that.
But though she hadn't finished her sentence, Ian had already heard it. He stopped eating, looked up at her in surprise, and asked, "What did you just say!?"
Smoothie was about to answer, but Katakuri shouted again, "Enough, Smoothie! This has nothing to do with you. Get out!"
Smoothie didn't understand, but trusting Katakuri, she said nothing more and just turned to leave, though she couldn't help glancing back at Ian one more time.
After Smoothie left, the people present seemed to catch on, especially Big Mom's children. They looked at Katakuri in surprise, then at Perospero.
"No... no way!? You mean Brother Perospero and Brother Katakuri didn't mention Mama's intention to have Smoothie marry him when they sent the invitation!?"
Realizing this, Cracker and the others broke into a cold sweat. They had assumed Ian knew about it, and since he knew and still accepted the invitation to the tea party, it meant he agreed to the marriage. That was why they had been scrutinizing Ian earlier—they already saw him as a brother-in-law!
A brother-in-law was part of the family, but this family member didn't know how to protect the Charlotte family's honor, being rude to Mama's guests. That was very impolite.
So just now, Cracker had almost scolded Ian!
But now they finally understood—things had gotten mixed up!
So they fell silent, all eyes on Katakuri.
With no one speaking, Ian wasn't about to let it slide. He tossed his knife onto the plate with a clatter, then looked at Katakuri with a half-smile and said, "Aren't you going to explain this to me?"