Chapter 689: The Whole World Is the Enemy
The Dragon Hunter Pirates' aerial descent was visible to anyone with eyes.
Katakuri was one of those who witnessed this scene. The moment he saw the entire Dragon Hunter Pirates arriving at Whole Cake Island alongside the Pacifistas, he became even more convinced that this was all a conspiracy!
Whether it was Capone Bege's Fire Tank Pirates or Ian's Dragon Hunter Pirates, they had long since secretly allied!
In that instant, Katakuri understood that Mama had made a grave mistake—she should never have allowed Ian to kill Arest. Given all the signs, Arest and Stussy's goals were solely directed at Ian alone. If only he had known things would escalate to this point, he would have ensured that Arest, a Marine Admiral, was kept alive to join forces with the Big Mom Pirates, taking down the Dragon Hunter Pirates together and suppressing this rebellion!
But it was too late for regrets now; there was no medicine for regret in this world. With Ian as a formidable challenger ahead and Big Mom in a berserk state, recognizing no one, Katakuri realized this was likely the greatest crisis the Big Mom Pirates had ever faced!
And ironically, the creator of this crisis had been invited by Big Mom herself with a tea party invitation...
Katakuri's feelings at this moment were indescribable, but he understood that if they couldn't withstand the assault from Ian and his Dragon Hunter Pirates, the Big Mom Pirates would truly be finished.
"Perospero, find a way to lead Mama away!" Katakuri quickly made a decision, saying to Perospero, "Mama's current state is a huge obstacle. Use any excuse you can to get her far from here!"
"Understood!" Perospero replied with a serious expression. "Should we continue making the wedding cake in the cake shop?"
"Of course we should!" Katakuri said. "Time is what we lack most right now. But if Mama can recover, we still have a chance, so we can't stop!"
Then, Katakuri added to Perospero, "As for you, Perospero, you'll be in great danger. If Mama realizes you're deceiving her, you might die!"
"I'm already prepared for that!" Perospero licked his cane and said, "I'm off then. The Big Mom Pirates are in your hands now!"
Katakuri said nothing, only nodded solemnly. Perospero, seeing this, said no more and ran toward the rampaging Big Mom. Standing before her, he shouted, "Mama! Calm down! The wedding cake is fine! I'll take you to get it now!"
Soon, Perospero led Big Mom away in another direction. In her berserk state, only sweets could capture her attention. But as Katakuri had said, Big Mom hated being deceived more than anything. If Perospero led her to find no wedding cake, the enraged Big Mom might directly take his soul...
By the time the Dragon Hunter Pirates had assembled, Perospero and Big Mom had already left. The remaining children of Big Mom gathered around Katakuri.
The third son, Charlotte Daifuku; the fourth son, Charlotte Oven; the fifth son, Charlotte Opera; the tenth son, Charlotte Cracker; the nineteenth son, Charlotte Mont-d'Or; the eldest daughter, Charlotte Compote; the fourteenth daughter, Charlotte Smoothie; the eighteenth daughter, Charlotte Galette; as well as Charlotte Pudding and Charlotte Amande—these were the main members of the Charlotte family present. However, a large number of Big Mom Pirates' combatants were already on their way, including those Ian had met before: Baron Eggplant, Bobbin, and Pekoms. When they arrived, the full force of the Big Mom Pirates would also be present.
Katakuri scanned his younger siblings but noticed that Brulee was missing.
"Where's Brulee!?" Katakuri immediately asked.
As everyone turned to look around, Caesar, who had been hiding behind Brulee, was finally discovered!
He was still lying on top of Brulee at that moment...
There was no help for it; Caesar didn't dare let go of his mouth! He was terrified that if he released it, Brulee would scream...
Though he had his mouth over hers, his eyes were darting around, searching for a way to kidnap Brulee and escape the scene.
But before he could find an escape route, he met a pair of furious eyes!
All of Big Mom's children now saw what Caesar had done to Brulee, and one by one, they glared at him with flames in their eyes.
"Caesar, what are you doing to my dear little sister!?" Katakuri's forehead bulged with veins, his voice as sharp as a knife cutting through Caesar's ears.
Caesar was terrified out of his wits. He quickly scrambled off Brulee, who beneath him was already dazed...
"Damn it! Were you trying to suffocate Brulee to death!?" Charlotte Oven suddenly remembered that Caesar was a Gas-Gas Fruit user and immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion, roaring in anger.
"N-no!" Caesar shrieked. "It's not what you think!"
But just then, Brulee finally came to her senses. Though Caesar's kiss had been pleasant, she hadn't forgotten the situation. Regaining her composure, she turned her head from the ground and shouted to Katakuri, "Brother Katakuri! It was him! He set off the bomb! I saw it with my own eyes!"
Hearing this, Katakuri grew even angrier and sneered, "So it was you, you bastard! It seems you really are in league with Ian and Capone Bege..."
"It really wasn't me..." Caesar was on the verge of tears.
But Katakuri and the others had no intention of listening to Caesar's explanations. Smoothie stepped forward first, sword in hand, charging at Caesar to kill him.
Caesar wasn't stupid. His Seastone handcuffs had been removed, so he had no intention of standing still and waiting to die. Seeing Smoothie charge, he immediately elementalized his body and fled desperately backward.
However, the direction he fled happened to have several people standing there—none other than the Vinsmoke family...
Caesar, panicking and running blindly, rushed toward them without giving Judge or the others any time to react.
In truth, Judge and his family still hadn't figured out how all this had happened. First, the cake exploded; then Big Mom went berserk; then the Fire Tank Pirates suddenly turned traitor; and finally, the Dragon Hunter Pirates descended from the sky. It all felt so fast, leaving them unable to keep up.
In Judge's mind, he hadn't even decided whether to get involved in this mess when he saw Caesar flying toward them.
What should he do? Should he stop Caesar to show that the Vinsmoke family stood with the Big Mom Pirates?
But... the opponent was Ian and his Dragon Hunter Pirates. Last time, the Germa Group had been chased all over the sea by that brat Ian and a bunch of Warlords. That scene was still fresh in Judge's memory. If he sided with the Big Mom Pirates, wouldn't he have to fight Ian again?
Or should he just neither block nor help, staying neutral?
But before Judge could figure out what the Vinsmoke family should do, Caesar floated in front of Reiju, screaming, "H-help! You're with Ian, aren't you!? Help me!"
Caesar recognized Reiju and immediately remembered her riding in a carriage with Ian. Now that the Big Mom Pirates were chasing him, he naturally wanted to latch onto Ian as a lifeline. But since Ian wasn't there, Caesar instinctively begged Reiju for help.
This Caesar was truly something else! His instinctive plea for help from Reiju might not have mattered, but Judge, witnessing this, nearly spat out a mouthful of blood!
Sure enough, before Reiju could respond, Katakuri's cold voice rang out, "Smoothie! None of the guests on this island can be trusted anymore!"
It wasn't surprising that Katakuri made this judgment. There were precedents: first, Stussy, an old friend of Big Mom, turned out to be a CP agent; then the priest Big Mom brought to officiate the wedding was a Marine Admiral; and now, even the groom, Capone Bege, was a traitor. These successive betrayals dealt a heavy blow to the Big Mom Pirates, making them feel as if the whole world was against them.
Under these circumstances, Katakuri would rather kill the innocent than let anyone slip through. He listed everyone not part of the Big Mom Pirates as suspects.
At this critical moment for the Big Mom Pirates' survival, Katakuri couldn't afford to worry about the consequences. He didn't know if there were more hidden agents among the remaining guests, so he decided to treat them all as enemies and strike!
Thus, with Katakuri's words, the Vinsmoke family, along with underworld bosses like Ferude and Drago, were all caught in the crossfire. Charlotte Oven and Charlotte Daifuku had already charged at these big shots!
In fact, even without Katakuri's declaration, Smoothie, chasing Caesar, couldn't help but boil with rage at the sight of Reiju!
Upon learning that Ian's memory hadn't been altered and that everything he did was just an act, Smoothie was heartbroken. A woman scorned has no reason. Seeing Reiju, she instinctively recalled the image of Reiju standing shoulder to shoulder with Ian, and this imagination instantly turned into a belief: it was because of this little bitch from the Vinsmoke family that Ian didn't want her!
Coupled with what Big Mom had said to her earlier, Smoothie had long harbored the desire to kill Reiju. The two factors combined, and it all exploded!
"Kill you! Kill you, you little slut!" Smoothie's face was terrifyingly dark. Abandoning Caesar, she descended from above and swung her sword down at Reiju!