Rocks rested one foot on an oak barrel, tilting his head back to pour the strong liquor down his throat.
Wiping his mouth, he suddenly remembered something and turned to Whitebeard, who was currently chugging from a massive sake bowl beside him.
"Right, Newgate."
"Where's that kid Teach?"
Whitebeard fell silent, his emotions incredibly complicated.
Seeing an opportunity for some entertainment, Lu Mingfei immediately leaned in and recounted the entire grudge between Blackbeard and the Whitebeard Pirates to Rocks.
After listening, Rocks also fell silent. A moment later, he parted his lips and let out an awkward laugh.
"Hahahaha."
"I remember him being pretty cute when he was little. I never expected him to become so insidious."
"Whatever!"
"A remnant of the old era like me shouldn't worry about the trivial affairs of the younger generation!"
...
Meanwhile, beside the ruins of the former Marineford.
A charred, humanoid creature lay sprawled on the edge of an ice floe, his body twitching incessantly.
Blackbeard Teach wasn't trembling from the cold, but from the endless, bottomless hunger radiating from his stomach.
The Hunger Pangs that Yang Yi had blasted into his body had now transformed into a ravenous monster, rampaging madly inside his gut. His stomach demanded anything and everything it could devour.
He felt like he could swallow an entire island, like he could tear the clouds from the sky and stuff them into his mouth.
But all around him, aside from the block of ice keeping him afloat and the bitter seawater, there was absolutely nothing.
"Hungry..."
"So... hungry...!!!"
A hoarse roar tore from Teach's throat. Ultimately unable to bear it, he broke off a chunk of the ice floe, shoved it into his mouth, chewed it to pieces, and swallowed it down.
However, the ingested ice only brought him deeper hunger and agony.
...
A massive paw-print bubble traveled through the clouds at high speed.
Below, the fantastical archipelago made of countless cakes, biscuits, and chocolate—Totto Land—was already in sight.
On the sea, dozens of bizarre ships shaped like egg tarts and wafers had long since assembled, their cannons aimed squarely at the sky. Observers lurking within the mirrors broadcast the image of the bubble to every single island.
When the bubble dissipated and the Kuja pirate ship was revealed in the sky above Whole Cake Island, everyone below held their breath.
But a second later, as the members of the Big Mom Pirates got a clear look at the figure standing at the bow, they collectively lost their voices.
The candy cane in Perospero's hand clattered onto the deck with a *smack*, his long tongue practically unrolling all the way to the ground.
Katakuri stood quietly to the side.
And beside him was a woman whose long pink hair danced like fire in the sea breeze. She was tall, peerlessly beautiful, and exuded the unrivaled aura of a queen...
"Is... is that Mama?!"
"Mama really did get younger, just like in the broadcast!"
The misunderstanding was quickly cleared up by Big Mom's own hearty laughter.
What followed was the prelude to a grand banquet worthy of going down in history.
Countless soul-infused Homies sang joyfully as they served desserts and fine wines made from the highest quality ingredients. The legends of the sea toasted one another, while the powerhouses of the new era feasted to their hearts' content.
Watching the bustling scene, Yang Yi couldn't help but feel that something was missing.
He swatted at the empty air.
Several figures were suddenly repelled in from who knows where.
"Waaaaahhhh—!"
Accompanied by a chorus of screams, several figures tumbled out of the paw bubbles in a sorry state.
Zoro landed headfirst, slamming solidly into the floor and seeing stars.
Sanji followed closely behind, spinning to land steadily on his feet. A second later, his eyes turned into hearts as he stared fixedly at Big Mom in front of him.
Then Nami, Robin, Chopper, and the rest of the Straw Hat crew appeared, not a single one missing.
"Zoro! Sanji! Nami!"
Seeing everyone, Luffy completely forgot to swallow the meat in his mouth.
"Luffy!!!"
After a brief moment of shock, the crewmates hugged each other tightly, basking in the joy of their reunion.
Immediately after, a few more people dropped out from another set of bubbles.
Sabo, dressed in his blue noble attire, was so overwhelmed with emotion at seeing Ace and Luffy safe and sound that he couldn't speak.
The two of them were equally thrilled to see that Sabo was still alive.
Behind him stood Dadan, still clutching a giant rice paddle and looking completely bewildered. When she got a clear look at the three brothers standing shoulder-to-shoulder before her, she froze completely.
"Ace... Luffy... Sabo..."
Looking at the three fully grown figures before her, Dadan's eyes instantly turned red.
But she didn't cry. Instead, she hefted her rice paddle, charged forward, and whacked each of them on the head.
"You three brats have grown so big! And you didn't even think to come back and visit me!"
Only after scolding them did she pull all three into a tight embrace and burst into loud, wailing tears.
Reunited after so many years, the three brothers—Ace, Luffy, and Sabo—felt Dadan's embrace. Their own eyes grew red as they hugged each other fiercely.
Right at that moment, a massive shadow was cast from the sky above.
A colossal floating island slowly descended.
"Jihahahahaha!" A wild, unbridled laugh echoed through the clouds.
Golden Lion Shiki stood at the bow of his ship, looking down at the downright luxurious banquet below.
"Your battle a few days ago ended way too fast, I didn't even make it in time! There's no way I'm missing out on this banquet!"
"Rocks! Newgate! I'm here!"
The legends of the old era converged in this very moment.
The atmosphere of the banquet was pushed to its absolute climax.
After several rounds of drinks, the legends were flushed and tipsy, and the conversation gradually shifted to boasting.
In another corner, Buggy the Clown acutely noticed that a News Coo's camera lens was pointed right at him.
The desire to perform, carved deep into his DNA, instantly erupted.
He *swished* into a perfectly straight posture, crossed his arms while holding a wine glass, and cast a look of extreme, disdainful contempt toward Golden Lion, Rocks, and the others who were loudly conversing nearby.
This exact scene was plastered on the front page of the news, spreading across the entire world.
"Did you see that?! Facing a group of legends, the great Lord Buggy couldn't even be bothered to look at them straight on!"
"That's the demeanor of a king! In the eyes of Lord Buggy, they're nothing more than ordinary!"
Buggy's worshippers boiled over with excitement once again.
On the other side, a highly intoxicated Doflamingo, driven by the alcohol, actually took off his iconic flamingo sunglasses.
A pair of beady dot-eyes, which instantly left everyone around him dumbfounded, was exposed to the air. However, a second later, he quickly sobered up and hastily shoved the glasses back on.
This unprecedented, supreme grand banquet lasted for three whole days and nights.
Photos of their banquet were urgently sent back to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
Looking at the photos, the people who should have been erased by the "Mother Flame" were actually gathered together, partying wildly on Whole Cake Island.
A look of apprehension appeared in Imu's ringed eyes.
How could that Paw-Paw Fruit be so powerful?
Subsequently, an order was swiftly issued.
"Halt the modifications on Bartholomew Kuma immediately, and put all efforts into researching his Paw-Paw Fruit!"
After issuing the order, Imu directly activated the Ancient Weapon 'Uranus', targeting Totto Land's Whole Cake Island!
On Whole Cake Island, the banquet's atmosphere had reached its peak.
Luffy was putting on a show for everyone, swallowing a three-story-tall donut in one bite, but he suddenly froze halfway through.
It wasn't just him.
Rocks, who was in the middle of a drinking contest with Whitebeard, stopped his movements.
Kaido, who was laughing uproariously, had his laughter abruptly cut short.
Golden Lion, who was clinking glasses with Red Hair, left his cup suspended in midair.
All the top-tier powerhouses raised their heads in unison to look at the sky.
An invisible pressure instantly bore down on them. A violent sense of crisis made their hearts pound uncontrollably.
Something... was coming.