Three days later, as the colors of the surrounding sea and sky gradually shifted, the Twin Goddesses, following behind a ship from the Big Mom Pirates, finally began to approach Totto Land.
At a glance, Totto Land was an enormous sea region formed by nearly thirty-four scattered islands, all encircling the central Whole Cake Island.
"What a great place!"
To be honest, Yemu really liked this kind of terrain.
The thirty-four islands, clearly visible to the naked eye, formed layer upon layer around Whole Cake Island. From a geographical standpoint, this structure provided natural, multi-layered protection, making Whole Cake Island both easy to defend and difficult to attack.
No wonder that in later events, Totto Land was known as a powerful force in the New World, one that even the Marines and the World Government hesitated to invade.
It made him wonder if there were any other seas in the New World with a similar environment.
However, for now, Big Mom's dream had yet to be fully realized. Most of the islands in Totto Land were still sparsely populated, with little activity and few inhabitants.
Only upon reaching the inner rings of islands did signs of various races and lifeforms gradually begin to appear.
The islands themselves were lively, with everyone busy preparing all kinds of sweets and desserts, creating the atmosphere of a grand festival about to begin.
With Perospero and Katakuri guiding them, the patrol ships naturally didn't dare approach for inspection, and the group quickly made their way deeper into Totto Land.
Soon, the massive, cake-shaped, fairy-tale-like island came into view.
Aboard the Twin Goddesses, Perospero, as the host, enthusiastically introduced everything in sight to the members of the Sky Pirates.
Unlike their earlier arrogance when they first met, after witnessing the battle between Yemu and Kaidou, even the most headstrong among them, Charlotte Oven, had noticeably softened his tone when speaking to Yemu.
At the same time, perhaps in an effort to build goodwill, Perospero and the others provided the group with a wide variety of sweets.
It might be unclear just how strong the Big Mom Pirates were in other aspects, but when it came to making sweets, they were truly unmatched.
"So good!"
Flare, Baby-5, and Ayala had absolutely no resistance to sweets.
The Kuro Brothers, in their massive dinosaur forms, also wore blissful expressions.
The men led by Yemu were equally full of praise.
This quickly brought the two sides much closer together. At the very least, interacting with each other no longer felt awkward.
"Kukukuku, we've finally arrived at Whole Cake Island, Captain Yemu. Mama has been looking forward to meeting you for a long time."
"I've been looking forward to it as well."
Although Yemu wasn't particularly interested in his own origins, solving a mystery was still worthwhile. At the very least, it could clear up many of the questions in his mind.
As the ship docked and everyone disembarked, under the somewhat surprised gazes of the Big Mom Pirates, the Twin Goddesses was sent into the separate dimension of the Doa Doa no Mi.
Seeing this, Perospero said in surprise,
"Is that a spatial ability like Brûlée's?"
Yemu responded politely,
"My apologies. It's not that we don't trust you. It's just that, as you know, our ship holds many secrets, so we hope you can understand."
"Secrets!?"
Perospero immediately thought of the method for extracting Devil Fruit abilities, and his heart stirred.
With a space like that, could Brûlée's Devil Fruit ability sneak inside? If he could obtain the method to extract Devil Fruits, then Mama's dream…
But at that moment, a single sentence from Yemu made cold sweat break out across Perospero's back.
"By the way, just to be safe, all the mirrors on the ship have been put away."
"Huh!?"
BIGMOM's children were all startled. Although Brûlée's ability wasn't exactly a secret within the crew, Yemu had known about it right after entering the New World.
It seemed his intelligence network wasn't something to take lightly.
In an instant, the Sky Pirates appeared even more mysterious in the eyes of Perospero and the others.
"Kukuku, Captain Yemu sure likes to joke. Let's go, Mama has been waiting impatiently!"
As they walked along the cream-paved road, Perospero added meaningfully,
"In two days, Mama's tea party will begin. A lot of people will be attending, including some familiar faces for Captain Yemu."
"Oh? Who would that be?"
"Doflamingo. That rookie pirate who debuted around the same time as Captain Yemu wants to cooperate with Mama, so he's come to Whole Cake Island. Morgans is here too. He's the one who told Mama the details of your departure from Fish-Man Island. And there's Umit and Feld. Those two have been going on about avenging their subordinates…"
That caught Yemu off guard.
"Umit and Feld? Who are they?"
Perospero paused for a moment, then smiled when he saw Yemu's genuinely puzzled expression.
"Kukuku, fair enough. People like them aren't worth remembering for someone like Captain Yemu. Still, let me explain. Umit is one of the emperors of the underworld, known as the Shipping King. The group you ran into at Water 7 were his subordinates. As for Feld, he's also one of the underworld emperors, known as the Loan Shark King. The auction house on the Sabaody Archipelago, where you seized those nobles, belonged to his people."
"So it's those two…"
Yemu didn't seem particularly interested.
"Anyone else?"
"Kukuku, of course. Vinsmoke Judge of the Vinsmoke family will also be bringing people to attend."
"Looks like all the familiar faces are gathering."
As Yemu said this, something suddenly crossed his mind, and he abruptly stopped.
Perospero was startled and asked,
"What's wrong, Captain Yemu?"
"Nothing. I just realized that since we're visiting as guests, it would be a bit rude not to bring a gift."
Perospero immediately brightened.
"Kukukuku, that's not a problem. Mama is already very pleased that you're attending her tea party. And if you really want to prepare something, there's no need to rush. There are still two days before it begins, so you have plenty of time."
Yemu thought for a moment.
"That's true."
Besides, he still had no idea how this visit to Whole Cake Island would turn out.
Were they unwelcome guests, or would it just be tea and conversation? No one could say.
At that moment, a large group of Chess Soldiers hurried over from the distance, escorting five luxurious carriages as they arrived before the group.
The leading Chess Soldier spoke politely,
"Welcome to Whole Cake Island and Mama's tea party. Mama is already waiting for you at the castle. Please board the carriages, and we will escort you there."
After speaking, he turned to Perospero and the others.
"Perospero-sama, by Mama's order, aside from you and Katakuri-sama, the rest may return for now."
The others were taken aback, but none of them dared to question Mama's command.
"In that case, we'll head back first."
Perospero nodded. Watching his younger siblings leave, he turned back to Yemu and the others and said politely,
"In that case, Captain Yemu and everyone from the Sky Pirates, please board the carriages."