Chapter 674: The Banquet Scene
Ian sat at the table, carefully taking a sip of the watermelon juice squeezed by Smoothie, and was surprised to find it wasn't bad.
So he raised his glass toward Smoothie in a toast, a smile spreading across his face.
But the moment Smoothie saw Ian's smile, she immediately turned her head away in panic.
"N-No... I can't meet his gaze..."
Ian hadn't noticed yet that Smoothie had already fallen for him. After smiling, he began surveying the wedding venue, and spotted the Fire Tank Pirates at a table to his right rear.
The members of the Fire Tank Pirates all looked like a bunch of gangsters. Whether it was because their captain was about to get married and leave bachelorhood behind, or because they already knew about today's action plan, each of them wore a serious expression. When they noticed Ian's gaze, Capone Bege's subordinate Vito—the one with the long tongue—gave Ian a slight nod.
Ian didn't respond. He needed to act like he didn't know these people.
Just then, the Queen of Pleasures, Stussy, arrived, and appearing alongside her was none other than BIG MOM, Charlotte Linlin.
They were chatting and laughing, looking like close sisters. At BIG MOM's arrival, many people stood up to greet her.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma! What a joyful day today, having so many guests come to the tea party!" BIG MOM laughed loudly as she responded to everyone.
"Mother..." Katakuri walked up to her, his expression hesitant.
Seeing this, Stussy tactfully covered her mouth with a laugh and said, "Alright, Linlin, I'll go take my seat!"
With that, she headed toward the table where Freud and the others were sitting. As she passed by Ian, Stussy glanced at him, the corners of her mouth slightly raised.
Ian didn't notice Stussy's expression. He watched as Katakuri leaned close to BIG MOM's ear, whispering something.
"Is he reporting on last night's situation?" Ian guessed inwardly as he sipped his watermelon juice.
Sure enough, after Katakuri finished his report, BIG MOM suddenly laughed loudly again and waved at Ian, saying, "Ian, come sit at my table!"
After only a moment's hesitation, Ian stood up and walked over to BIG MOM's table, taking a seat beside her.
Since he had to play the part fully, Ian wore a friendly expression after sitting down, as if he had completely forgotten about yesterday's conflict. He smiled and said, "It's an honor. It seems you're in high spirits today, BIG MOM!"
Katakuri had only told her that the task with Pudding was complete, but hadn't yet reported the intrusion into the treasure room. So when she heard Ian's words, BIG MOM laughed even louder. Confirming that Ian's attitude had finally shifted, she asked directly, "Ian, really now, even if the tea party invitation only had your name on it, it didn't say you couldn't bring others! Why didn't you bring that giant from your crew, Sardine, along?"
Ian's heart stirred, but he pretended to be puzzled and blurted out, "Oh, Sardine? That guy flat-out refused when he heard we were coming to Whole Cake Island. I don't know why..."
Hearing this, BIG MOM's expression dimmed.
When she was young, because of the "Sheep's House" orphanage run by Carmel, BIG MOM had spent a long time in Elbaf. Although she later accidentally killed the giant elder Jorul during one of her hunger fits and was expelled from Elbaf as an evil god, deep down, BIG MOM still felt guilty about it. That time in Elbaf had been the happiest period of her life.
It was this guilt that had driven BIG MOM to constantly try to repair her relationship with the giants. In her Totto Land, she had gathered countless races and rare creatures, but giants were conspicuously absent. With her power, it wasn't that she couldn't subdue a single giant—she simply didn't want to.
Ian's Dragon Hunter Pirates had a giant slave named Sardine, and BIG MOM knew this. She had brought it up just now hoping that Ian might be able to call Sardine to Whole Cake Island as well.
It could be said that if Sardine had come, the treatment he'd receive on Whole Cake Island might not have been much worse than Ian's...
But unfortunately, Ian hadn't lied. He had indeed asked Sardine about it once, but Sardine had refused to come to Whole Cake Island with a look of disgust.
This disgust was genuine. Even Sardine, who had never met BIG MOM, felt it, showing just how terrible the giants' impression of BIG MOM was...
Feeling a pang of gloom, BIG MOM's mood soured, and the surrounding atmosphere seemed to drop. Freud and the others, along with the Fire Tank Pirates, all fell silent in fear.
This was due to BIG MOM's Conqueror's Haki unconsciously leaking out. Sitting so close, Ian could feel it. Though it didn't affect him, he couldn't help but feel a bit alarmed.
Ian's own Conqueror's Haki was also powerful and intimidating, but he couldn't yet reach the level where even unconsciously leaked Haki could influence others.
BIG MOM had been famous for decades and had trained her Haki for just as long. Ian couldn't compare in that regard.
Seeing her mood suddenly turn from sunny to cloudy, Ian smiled and tapped the table, saying, "Don't worry. I don't know why you want to meet my giant subordinate, but since you want to, there's always a chance!"
"That's right!" Hearing Ian's words, BIG MOM suddenly cheered up again and laughed loudly, "Ma-ma-ma-ma! After you and Smoothie get married, your Dragon Hunter Pirates and the BIG MOM Pirates will be like one family. We'll have to visit each other often!"
Ian just smiled and didn't respond to that, but behind him, Smoothie couldn't take it anymore. She covered her face with her hands, trying to hide behind Katakuri, but she was too tall for him to conceal her...
Seeing Ian cheer BIG MOM up with just a few words, the underworld big shots at Freud's table exchanged bewildered glances. They couldn't understand it at all. Yesterday, when Ian heard about the marriage alliance, he had wanted to leave without a second thought. But now, he showed no sign of opposition!?
The world was changing too fast—they were completely lost...
While Freud and the others were puzzled, Stussy's heart skipped a beat. A terrible suspicion suddenly flashed through her mind.
As a CP0 agent, she had been pretending to be BIG MOM's friend for years. She knew the BIG MOM Pirates' situation well enough. Ian's sudden change in attitude made her think of BIG MOM's daughter, Charlotte Pudding...
D-Damn, could it be that Ian's memory had already been altered!?
A slip-up had occurred... Stussy lowered her head, and beneath her ladylike hat, her expression turned dark and menacing...
But at that moment, no one noticed her expression. With BIG MOM's mood improving, everyone else became cheerful again.
Ian noticed the thundercloud Zeus floating above BIG MOM's head and, on a whim, waved at it.
Zeus had the personality of a child, evident from the child's baseball cap it wore. Seeing Ian smiling and waving, Zeus curiously floated down, approached Ian, and asked, "What do you want?"
BIG MOM was also startled, watching Ian and Zeus.
With a soft "crack," Ian formed a small ball of lightning in his hand and tossed it to Zeus, saying, "Here's a treat!"
The moment Zeus saw the lightning ball, its eyes lit up, and it gobbled it down in one gulp.
"Delicious! So tasty!" Zeus danced around Ian in a circle, sticking out its tongue like a begging puppy and saying, "I want more! I want more!"
But Ian ignored it and waved at Prometheus instead. When Prometheus came down, Ian formed a black fireball and tossed it to him.
In an instant, Ian's lightning and fire energies had won over BIG MOM's two helpers, and they began circling around him.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma!" Seeing this, BIG MOM grew even happier and laughed loudly, "See? I told you, you and Mama are a great match! This is the first time I've seen Zeus and Prometheus get so close to someone else!"
"Of course!" Ian agreed with BIG MOM, then, as if suddenly remembering something, he asked her, "By the way, you said you'd tell me about Kaido's information..."
"Of course!" BIG MOM was in high spirits now, and her chatty mood had greatly increased. Without a second thought, she began, "Speaking of which, you must have heard the news recently, right? That Kaido guy has made a move on Wano Country again!"
Ian nodded. This topic also piqued the interest of the other guests. Hearing one Emperor talk about another Emperor was a rare occurrence.
BIG MOM counted on her fingers and said, "Let me see... once, twice, three times... All told, that Kaido guy has attacked Wano Country thirteen times over the years!"