"Today is truly lively."
Stussy crossed her arms, looking at the bustling venue with a slight smile. "It seems Linlin values this tea party very much."
"I heard it's for Dr. Reddy."
Umit, the Shipping King, glanced at Morgans, the president of the World Economic News Agency, with a sly grin.
Morgans rolled his eyes and retorted irritably, "Don't flaunt your pitiful scraps of information. This tea party isn't as simple as you think."
"What does Linlin plan to do at the tea party?"
Loan Shark King Ludo Feander looked eager. He couldn't wait for a war to break out between the Big Mom Pirates and Reddy. Once the fighting started, business opportunities would follow. Whether investing in Big Mom or Reddy, it was a guaranteed profit.
Morgans gave him a sidelong glance. "This is intelligence I paid a heavy price to obtain."
"I can pay."
Ludo Feander insisted on buying the information from Morgans.
Stussy ignored their exchange. Outwardly, she chatted amiably with Umit, but secretly, she observed the entire venue.
The news of Smoker's capture naturally couldn't escape her, Big Mom's "best friend."
From Big Mom, she had also learned that Smoker had indeed destroyed the indispensable cake for the tea party.
However, another piece of information Big Mom inadvertently revealed worried her.
The highlight of the tea party… the cake had a backup.
Moreover, before that, Big Mom would bring Smoker to the venue for a public display, followed by his execution, as a strong response to the Navy's actions against Totto Land.
"Katakuri, Cracker… the Sweet Commanders, Perospero, and the other key executives are all here."
Stussy quickly spotted Perospero and the others in the venue but was surprised not to see Reddy, one of the main figures of this tea party.
Meanwhile, Katakuri was instructing a young girl. "Flampé, you will accompany Dr. Reddy."
As he spoke, he handed a rabbit doll to his sister Flampé.
This doll was something he had hastily prepared overnight. Hidden inside was a net that could be remotely activated.
Once the tea party began, if Reddy refused or any other unexpected situation arose, he would trigger the net, working with his elder brother Perospero to restrain Reddy.
"Understood, Brother Katakuri."
Flampé, who idolized her seemingly omnipotent brother, agreed without hesitation, completely unconcerned that Reddy was a powerhouse on par with their mother, Big Mom.
"Katakuri, I never thought you'd make such a slip-up."
With the tea party about to begin, Perospero was in high spirits and teased his brother playfully.
A hint of confusion flashed in Katakuri's eyes, and he shook his head.
He didn't know why he had overlooked placing someone close to Reddy.
The Big Mom Pirates had no shortage of children.
At that moment, Daifuku hurried over to Katakuri, his voice low and panicked. "Streusen is missing."
"What?!"
Perospero, with sharp ears, paled upon hearing that the head chef Streusen had disappeared. He immediately lowered his voice and pressed, "What about the cake?"
Whether Streusen was truly missing didn't matter to him. The crucial thing was that the indispensable cake for the tea party must not be affected.
"The cake…"
Daifuku wore an expression as if his mother had died. "The cake is gone… According to the chefs, Streusen wasn't satisfied with the finished product and destroyed it himself. After that, no one saw him again."
"Was it him?"
Reddy's face instantly surfaced in Katakuri's mind, his expression darkening.
In his view, only Reddy, with his mastery of Bloodline Factor technology, could have created a clone of Streusen to infiltrate and destroy the tea party's essential cake at this critical moment.
But how Reddy had accomplished this, he couldn't fathom.
Perospero was frantic, his words spilling out in a rush. "Why are we still standing here? Before Mama notices the cake is gone, hurry and make another one!"
"Who should do it?"
Daifuku looked lost.
Perospero snapped, "Of course—"
He froze mid-sentence.
Right.
Who had been in charge of the previous cake?
Which of their siblings had the skills for such an urgent and crucial task?
Katakuri, too, felt a familiar sense of unease but couldn't pinpoint its source.
"Call Chiffon."
Unable to identify the source of his unease but with time running out, Katakuri made the decision to have Chiffon, their most skilled cake-making sister, hastily prepare a replacement.
Daifuku understood and immediately went to fetch Chiffon.
Perospero watched Daifuku leave, his voice low and agitated. "Katakuri, the plan seems to have hit a snag."
Katakuri shook his head. "As long as Chiffon can finish the cake in time, the plan won't be affected."
At that moment, Reddy, hands in his pockets, entered the venue under the escort of a squad of Chess Soldiers.
Katakuri immediately cut off Perospero's complaints and led Flampé forward to greet him.
"Dr. Reddy, this is my sister Flampé. She will accompany you throughout the tea party."
As he spoke, he released Flampé's hand, his gaze fixed on Reddy, hoping to detect any clues from his expression.
But he was disappointed.
Reddy's interest was clearly on Flampé. Without hesitation, he accepted the arrangement, pointing at the rabbit doll in Flampé's arms and smiling. "My apologies. I didn't know there would be such an adorable young lady here and forgot to bring a gift. Since you like dolls, I'll give you an interesting one later."
"Really?"
Flampé feigned delight but inwardly scoffed.
A doll?
Do you think I'm some naive little kid?
If not for Brother Katakuri's request, I wouldn't bother with you!
Katakuri soon escorted Reddy and Flampé to their seats, then excused himself, saying he had other matters to attend to and left Flampé to entertain Reddy.
"Why do I suspect him?"
The sense of unease in Katakuri grew stronger. He couldn't understand why he suspected Reddy of making moves before the tea party even began.
But he had no time to dwell on it.
"MAMAMAMA…"
With her signature laugh, Big Mom entered the venue and took her seat at the head table, placing a photo frame on the table.
"You only have one chance."
Stussy smiled outwardly but silently reminded herself.
The tea party was about to begin. Soon, Big Mom would publicly execute Smoker.
Drake and the others were running out of time.
...
"Remember everything?"
With Captain Smoker captured, Drake automatically took command and spoke calmly. "Destroying the cake and triggering Big Mom's eating frenzy is our only chance to rescue the Captain."
He pointed to a hand-drawn map. "This is the place. We must destroy the cake while it's being transported to the venue!"
"Prince, whether we can rescue the Captain and escape successfully depends on you."
Prince nodded.
Drake then looked at Tina and Peacock, his voice firm. "I'll handle destroying the cake alone. Your job is to rescue the Captain."
Tina and Peacock exchanged solemn glances and nodded.
"Understood!"