[135] : So Be It

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Arthur, hovering above them, his voice cold and indifferent, said, "Big Mom Pirates. If you're just here to gawk, THEN GET LOST."

"What a domineering young man~" Amande, her beautiful eyes, usually hidden beneath her wide-brimmed hat, gleaming with a predatory interest, took a drag from her cigarette. "Someone like you…it would be fun to break you."

Arthur's eyebrow twitched, a cold smile playing on his lips. "BREAK ME? If you're not leaving—then you can stay here—permanently."

Lightning crackled around his arm, his power barely contained.

He wasn't afraid of Whitebeard's wrath. Big Mom's? He could handle it.

"WAIT!" Katakuri, a sudden wave of premonition washing over him, intervened, shielding Oven and Amande. A fight now would be disastrous for them. He produced an ornate invitation.

"The annual Tea Party on Whole Cake Island is approaching. We have an invitation from Mama—specifically for you."

The invitation, beautifully crafted, was marred only by the Big Mom Pirates Jolly Roger emblazoned upon it.

Katakuri flicked it towards Arthur.

"A Tea Party?" Arthur, his hand outstretched to attack, paused.

Charlotte Linlin hosted a grand gathering every year—inviting notable figures from across the New World.

The true powerhouses usually declined, while smaller crews and ambitious upstarts saw it as an opportunity to curry favor with Big Mom.

"The Tea Party will be held in two weeks, on Whole Cake Island—It's also Mama's wedding," Katakuri explained, his voice flat.

Everyone in the New World knew of Whole Cake Island and the Charlotte Family's control over Totto Land.

"Big Mom's getting married again? That ridiculous woman is something else." Arthur opened the invitation, a hint of disdain in his eyes.

The Charlottes had initially planned to propose a marriage alliance—Arthur marrying one of Big Mom's daughters—but after witnessing his casual disregard for Whitebeard's son, they'd revised the invitation.

What else did Big Mom do besides eat cake and get married?

She'd been married over twenty times, had dozens of children—and that number was only going to increase.

Conquering the world through procreation—or perhaps, through her children's influence and alliances? It was a ridiculous notion.

Arthur chuckled, shaking his head.

"Does she plan to conquer the world by populating it with her offspring? That's hilarious."

It wasn't an entirely unfounded assumption. Her children were diverse, representing various races and species, each possessing unique talents and abilities. If they all reached their full potential, they would be a force to be reckoned with.

"HEY! Show some respect, Arthur!" Perospero snapped, his temper, usually under control—getting the better of him.

Arthur's gaze was cold. "Respect? I don't have time for fools like you. You want respect? Earn it."

Arrogance was a privilege reserved for the strong.

"Arthur, Mama expects you to attend. The invitation has been delivered. We'll take our leave now." Katakuri, seeing the rising tension, ordered the ship's helm—imbued with a soul by Big Mom, to turn back.

Almost everything Big Mom used was given a soul, able to speak and sing—Her mastery of the Soru Soru no Mi was truly something to behold.

Arthur's shoulders shook, as if suppressing laughter, his eyes narrowed.

"Expects me? What is she—some kind of queen? She thinks she can order me around?"

Zzzzzzt!

Lightning crackled in his hand, incinerating the invitation, the ashes scattering in the wind.

The Charlotte siblings stared at him, stunned. They hadn't anticipated this.

Arthur's actions were unpredictable, his motives inscrutable—They couldn't comprehend his brazen defiance.

"You—you arrogant little pirate! You dare refuse Mama's invitation?!" Compote, her face mirroring Big Mom's outrage, couldn't believe it.

Even the usually stoic Katakuri and Amande were shocked.

Destroying the invitation was a direct insult—a rejection of Big Mom's "generosity."

She was one of the New World's Emperors—second only to Whitebeard and Shiki. Who would dare refuse her invitation?

And they couldn't understand how Arthur, having already offended Whitebeard, would also antagonize Big Mom? It defied logic.

Making enemies of the world's strongest would leave him isolated, vulnerable—It was suicide.

The only way a newcomer could survive in the New World, challenge its established order, was to form alliances.

And Arthur?

He wouldn't ally with anyone.

Arthur's laughter echoed across the waves. "So what? Nothing's more exciting than making enemies of the strongest! HAHAHAHAHA!" His eyes gleamed with a manic energy.

"He's insane… completely and utterly insane! Even crazier than Mama!" Perospero's face, usually a mask of cunning and calculation, was etched with disbelief.

He'd seen all kinds of pirates in the New World—arrogant, ambitious, and reckless.

But few survived for long.

Crossing two Emperors? That was suicide.

"Tell that gluttonous, child-bearing PIG—" Arthur's voice was laced with contempt, his gaze cold, "—she's not worthy to give me orders."

"Now—get out of my sight, before I change my mind."

"You…you've got some nerve—!" Oven trembled with rage.

"A ROOKIE PIRATE, DISRESPECTING MAMA? YOU'RE FINISHED! YOU'RE DEAD!"

Burning the invitation in front of Big Mom's children was a direct challenge—a slap in the face she wouldn't ignore.

"Or—you could all stay."

Arthur vanished, a bolt of lightning striking the Queen Mama Chanter.

Might as well go all in. One enemy, two enemies—it made no difference.

"GO! Now!" Katakuri, his face pale, cold sweat dripping from his brow, his usual calm replaced by a flicker of fear, his body hardening with Armament Haki as he shielded the others from the lightning strike. He ordered the ship's helm—animated by Big Mom's soul—to dive, to escape.

His highly developed Observation Haki sensed the danger—they had to leave...

NOW!

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