As the dreamlike candy elevator slowly carried them over, the members of the Big Mom Pirates, led by Perospero, stepped onto the deck of the Twin Goddesses.
Yemu finally saw several of the Big Mom Pirates' top officers who had stood out in the story, especially Katakuri, the man said to possess the strongest Observation Haki.
However, seeing how young he still looked, it was clear he had not yet reached the level he would in the future as a Yonkō's right-hand man. Yemu quickly lost interest.
Not wanting to waste time, Yemu stood on the deck with his crew and spoke straight to the point.
"Is Charlotte Linlin really that impatient? I just arrived in the New World, and she already sent you to invite me."
Before Perospero could respond, Charlotte Oven snapped the moment he heard Yemu say Mama's name so casually.
"Hey, brat, show some respect when you say Mama's name!"
"Is that so? Then my apologies."
Under normal circumstances, Yemu would not have cared, but since it was a son defending respect for his mother, he chose to be polite.
"Tch!"
Yemu's immediate apology caught the Big Mom Pirates' children off guard, and Charlotte Oven found himself with nothing more to say.
Seeing this, Perospero stepped forward, gave a slight bow, and got down to business.
"Kukuku… a pleasure to meet you, Captain Yemu. You're just as young as the reports say. We've come under Mama's orders to invite you to her tea party."
"Do you really need this many people just to invite me? And since when is firing cannonballs part of an invitation?"
"Kukuku… please don't misunderstand. That's simply how pirates in the New World greet each other. As Captain Yemu, with a bounty of 940 million Belly, I'm sure you wouldn't mind such a small detail."
"You really do have a way with words."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Let's stick to the main point."
"Of course."
As he spoke, Perospero took out an invitation from his coat. Erik stepped forward and received it.
"This is an invitation to Captain Yemu and all members of the Sky Pirates to attend Big Mom's tea party on December 15th."
"Signed, Charlotte Linlin."
"December 15th? That's just five days from now!"
Tiger exclaimed in surprise when he saw the date.
Perospero nodded and continued.
"That's right, five days. It has been over half a year since Mama last sent an invitation to Captain Yemu. Since you hadn't entered the New World, Mama grew quite anxious. Once we received news that you were preparing to leave Fish-Man Island, she immediately sent us to invite you. We were worried we might not make it in time, but it seems everything worked out perfectly. From here to Totto Land, five days is more than enough."
"What a coincidence."
Yemu said this as he handed the invitation to Flare.
"So, Captain Yemu, will you accept the invitation?"
Perospero asked with a smile.
Yemu nodded.
"Yeah. This was already part of my plan. It's a bit earlier than expected, but it doesn't matter. We were going to meet sooner or later."
That response surprised several of Big Mom's children.
They had expected this outcome, but very few people could remain this calm at the thought of meeting Mama.
Even her own children would grow tense in her presence.
Seeing the task completed so smoothly, Perospero quietly let out a breath of relief.
He had already prepared to resort to force if necessary to bring the Sky Pirates to Totto Land, but avoiding a fight was naturally the best outcome.
After all, they were Mama's guests.
"Kukuku… what impressive composure. In that case, if you don't mind, would you travel to Totto Land together with our ship?"
"No problem."
...
On the calm sea, the Big Mom Pirates' ship sailed side by side with the Twin Goddesses, while twelve pirate ships followed behind as escorts on both sides.
On the Big Mom Pirates' ship, the people on deck all wore strange expressions after seeing the mission completed so easily.
"Tch, I thought we were actually going to fight!"
Charlotte Oven looked disappointed. After all, he had really wanted to test whether the Mera Mera no Mi was stronger, or his Netsu Netsu no Mi.
After hearing the full story, Charlotte Daifuku said with disdain on his face,
"So this is the guy with a bounty of 940 million Belly? Looks like he's nothing special. Maybe deep down, they already wanted to join Mama's side."
"That man is actually pretty handsome. If he became our brother-in-law, that might not be so hard to accept."
The youngest, Galette, recalled what Yemu had looked like when she saw him on the deck.
He really was just like his wanted poster, tall and handsome. Overall, he was a pretty good-looking man.
Hearing their little sister call him brother-in-law made Amande and Custard's expressions shift, but once they thought back to the man they had just seen, neither of them could say anything.
After all, as Big Mom's daughters, their fate had been set from the moment they were born. Their marriages were never going to be theirs to decide.
If they had to marry someone, a handsome man was still better than one of those bizarre-looking creatures.
As they listened to their younger brother and sister talking, the only two who remained silent were Perospero and Katakuri.
As Big Mom's eldest son, Perospero knew many things others did not, so he understood better than anyone just how much Mama had been looking forward to this pirate's arrival.
He vaguely remembered that day half a year ago, when he handed Mama the newspaper carrying the news of Pirate King Roger's execution. After the shock of Roger's death, she saw another photograph and revealed an expression of disbelief and excitement.
From that day on, Perospero had often heard Mama ask the same question.
"That boy still hasn't reached the New World... I'm really looking forward to meeting him..."
It was an expression Perospero had never seen from her before. Even when Mama was facing her favorite cake, she had never shown that kind of anticipation.
Perospero had once wondered whether this boy might be Mama's son, but whether by age or timing, that seemed impossible.
That only made him even more curious.
If Perospero knew nothing of the full story, then another person, Katakuri, knew at least a little.
Among all her sons, Katakuri was the one Big Mom considered the most reliable and steady, so she entrusted many matters to him.
For example, sending Vinsmoke Judge to Water 7 to capture Yemu.
From the bits and pieces Mama had let slip, Katakuri had vaguely guessed something. It seemed to be connected to events from sixteen years ago, back when Mama was still on the Rocks Pirates' ship. Beyond that, though, he knew nothing more.
Still, anything connected to that man could not possibly be something trivial.
Then, at that moment, Katakuri's Observation Haki suddenly picked up an extremely dangerous presence.
He abruptly lifted his head and looked into the distance.
In the clear sky far away, a mass of dark clouds was slowly moving toward them.
"This is bad..."
Katakuri's eyes widened instantly, startling everyone on the ship.
Perospero had just been about to ask what was wrong, but the moment he followed Katakuri's gaze, his face turned deathly pale. With an ugly expression, he shouted,
"Why is that man here..."
The moment those words fell, a dragon's roar echoed across the calm sea.