Chapter 178: The Tea Party Begins
Once Loki's massive back disappeared beyond the tent flap, Hiyori walked to Kai's side, brows lightly knit, and asked in a low, uncertain voice, "Kai-sama, did you feel that Loki looked… a little strange just now?"
Kai burst out laughing. "You did not notice? Loki has fallen in love."
"Eh?!"
A chorus of disbelief exploded inside the tent.
Loki and Chiffon?
The size difference between them made Gaban and Ripley look reasonable.
Could those two even have kids?
"Hah. Mortals," Enel sniffed, still not on great terms with Loki.
"Hey now, do not say that," Kai waved it off. "Love isn't about race or size. It's one of the strongest powers there is."
Ace could not hold back. "By the way, Aniki, what was up with all those mirrors?"
Kai answered casually, "The Charlotte Family has a Mirror-Mirror Fruit user. They can move freely through mirrors and spy on the outside world."
"What?"
"That is disgusting. And way too low."
Every face darkened, especially the girls'.
Anyone would feel violated knowing their every move might be under watch.
Kai stayed calm. "Relax. After being called out to her face and warned, the Charlotte Family should rein it in for a while. They will probably avoid that kind of cheap trick for now. Even so, watch what you say."
Going all out to gather intel was normal.
If he were in their shoes, he would do the same.
Whether because the warning worked or simply because Linlin's head was full of Loki, the rest of the day passed quietly. Apart from Homie servants bringing rich meals on time, no one from the Charlotte Family came by.
With nothing else pressing, Kai dragged Enel off to drill the Conqueror's Haki he had only recently awakened.
Since he was at it, he roped in Ace, Zoro, and Sanji as well, all of them having the seed for Conqueror's.
Kai's Haki crash course opened again.
"If you want to awaken and truly master Conqueror's, the method is simple," he said, lips quirking.
At that familiar smile, all four felt alarms go off. A bad premonition prickled their skin.
"You experience it. Push through under extreme pressure."
Before the last word finished, Kai's eyes sharpened, and his aura exploded.
A tidal wave of Conqueror's Haki crashed outward, focused with pinpoint control on the four of them.
Their bodies shook as if caught in a storm at sea. Under that crushing pressure, their legs might as well have been boats made of leaves, ready to capsize at any moment.
Huge beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads and temples.
Every muscle shivered uncontrollably under the strain.
They clenched their teeth and hung on through sheer will.
Under that suffocating weight, a tiny, invisible seed deep in each of their hearts quietly cracked and began to sprout.
…
Night fell.
Kai hauled the four back into the tent like dead dogs.
The training was brutal, but the results showed.
Enel could now trigger his own Conqueror's Haki in a rough way, enough to blunt and eat away at Kai's pressure. Ace, Zoro, and Sanji had each taken a clear step toward awakening.
He had just finished settling them down when the flap flew up with a bang.
Loki squeezed his way in, beaming, face flushed with a joy he had never worn before.
"Dogahahaha! Chiffon said yes to my proposal!"
He announced it like the proudest news in the world.
…
At the same time, in the castle's main hall…
"Loki proposed to me," Chiffon said respectfully, reporting the "good news" to Mama.
She knew her every move was under that gaze. Even if she stayed silent, Mama would already know.
"Well done, my good girl."
Linlin smiled widely, but there was no surprise, and she did not ask for Chiffon's own thoughts.
Praise delivered, she turned to her favorite son. "Katakuri. What do you think about marrying Loki and Chiffon at tomorrow's Tea Party?"
Loki's feelings for Chiffon had far exceeded her expectations.
She could not wait to lock this "gift" in place.
Katakuri did not answer immediately. He glanced once, quietly, at Chiffon's forced smile before saying in a low voice, "Everything is as Mama decides."
He understood well how much Loki mattered to her. The question had only ever had one answer.
"Then make it happen. I want this Tea Party to be the best wedding ever."
Linlin waved a massive hand, not caring whether there was time or not.
"Yes, Mama."
Katakuri inclined his head and left without another word.
"Hurry, hurry. This old lady cannot wait to share this good news with that brat Kai."
Linlin was almost giddy.
Who would have thought that a Tea Party to win over Loki would give her such a windfall?
So what if Kai had poached Loki first? Loki would be her best son-in-law.
In her soaring excitement, she never noticed the hardening resolve in her daughter's eyes.
"Mama, if there is nothing else, I will go."
Chiffon buried the surging emotions in her chest and did her best to look happy.
"Go. Get ready. Tomorrow you will be the brightest girl on Whole Cake Island."
Linlin waved her off carelessly.
Once outside the hall, Chiffon's smile vanished.
Just now, she had made up her mind.
Run.
She had to run.
Loki was not bad. But she would not accept a marriage without love.
As she turned over plans to escape Whole Cake Island, a tall figure stepped out from around the corner.
"K-Katakuri-nii-san…" Chiffon swallowed, words stumbling. "Wh-why aren't you busy with the wedding? What are you doing here?"
Katakuri did not answer. He just looked straight at her.
Under those eyes that seemed to see through souls, the color drained from Chiffon's face.
At length, he spoke.
"Sometimes, the most dangerous place is the safest one."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked away.
"Katakuri-nii-san…"
Chiffon's feelings tangled. She bowed her head heavily at his retreating back.
…
The next afternoon.
The Tea Party officially began.
Under Linlin's absolute will, even with such rushed preparations, the feast—doubling as a Tea Party and a wedding—was still more extravagant and grand than most.
To make room for the groom's bulk, the venue had been moved from the castle rooftop to the broader grounds outside.
"Loki, who would have thought you'd be the first of us to step into the hall of marriage," someone laughed.
Ever since the announcement, the crew had been teasing today's groom.
Whether it was the new role or the sudden shift in identity, the always wild Loki actually looked a little stiff and shy for once.
He might have lived fifty-seven years already, but for a giant, that made him about nineteen in human terms.
Still just a kid in his own way.
Surrounded by banter, they finally reached the venue.
Banners snapped in the wind. Voices buzzed like a hive.
Guests clustered in small groups, chatting in low tones.
For them, the Tea Party was more than a chance to show fealty. It was a precious networking hub.
Here, you could see people who were otherwise almost impossible to meet.
Kai swept the crowd and spotted several familiar faces.
The Shipping King Umit, whose fleets crisscrossed the seas and held a monopoly on Grand Line transport routes. The Warehouse King Giberson, who controlled the central warehouses of the underworld's goods. The Undertaker Drug Peclo, monopolist of the funeral trade and secret boss of a killer syndicate.
And of course, the bird-man with the ever-present camera, fluttering around the venue and snapping from every angle.
Who knew how Linlin had gotten all of them to Whole Cake Island on such short notice?
"Kai!"
Drawn by his newsman's nose, Morgans locked on to him like a seagull spotting fries and flapped over, eyes shining.
Calamity Kai.
The name worked like a spell. The din of the hall dropped.
Then, like a tide turning, gazes swept toward him from all directions.
In the next heartbeat, the crowd parted and flowed toward Kai's group.
In front of him, these so-called emperors of the underworld, who could shake that world with a stomp, were small fry.
Not everyone was willing to play the toady, though.
"Hmph."
Not far away, Umit snorted and swirled the amber in his glass, making no move to join the rush.
Feeling the hostility, Kai glanced over.
So that was all.
Just Umit.
"Underworld Emperor" sounded impressive, but most of them used it to dress up the fact that they did not have the strength to rule the open sea.
Morgans drifted closer, chuckling with schadenfreude. "Your Beasts Logistics carved off a nice slice of his business."
Umit's transport monopoly had once run like clockwork, Berries streaming into his coffers.
Then the Beasts Pirates brought the Fish-Men into their fold and created the ruthlessly efficient Beasts Logistics.
With that new force on the board, a huge chunk of the shipping pie got cut out overnight.
Put two logistics outfits side by side.
One backed by a Yonko who ruled the New World.
The other by an "emperor" who only mattered in the dark.
As long as the prices weren't worlds apart, anyone with sense knew where to sign.
In the New World, raw strength and deterrence were their own kind of currency.
Only because Beasts Logistics had its own bottom lines—sticking to legitimate trade and arms transport, refusing the filthy profits of slave trading and contraband—did the Six Underworld Emperors remain six.
Otherwise, that number would have dropped to five.
"Hey, Kai. Got any exclusive scoops for me?" Morgans leaned in, eyes burning. "The whole world's guessing whether the Beasts are going to use this chance to form an alliance with the Charlottes."
Using marriage to bind interests and expand influence was one of Linlin's favorite tricks.
More than one vassal crew had joined the family that way.
Too bad Kai shut that line down with a single answer.
"Loki's wedding does not equal our alliance."
Inequality, proven.
Morgans let out an exaggerated squawk of disappointment, wings drooping.
Still, the cursed prince Loki marrying a Charlotte daughter—and joining the Beasts crew—was big enough news.
It would have to do.
After shooing the reluctant Morgans away, a sweet, soft voice slid in.
"How impressive, Kai-sama."
Stussy glided over in a crisp white dress, every move precise and elegant, her social smile flawless.
"A cursed prince with a 2.6 billion bounty is no joke. Bringing him into the Beasts Pirates… now that is adding wings to a tiger."
As Linlin's good "sister," she had, of course, received an invitation.
"This news will travel across the world very soon," she said behind her fan, words carrying a hint of meaning.
Kai heard the warning and only smiled.
If fear of the World Government's attention and retaliation had been enough to scare him off, he would have stayed in Wano as a local king and never stepped out.
After a few polite exchanges with Stussy, Kai spotted another old acquaintance.
"Doffy. Long time no see."
Caught out, Doflamingo, who had been lurking at the edge of the crowd to avoid Kai's eye, instantly plastered on an exaggerated grin.
"Fufufufu. My dear brother Kai, Forgive me. I was in the middle of some business and did not have the chance to greet you sooner."
"Looks like you and the Charlottes are pretty tight these days," Kai said mildly.
Just being on the Tea Party guest list was proof of status and relationship.
"Business is better when you have more friends and more routes," Doflamingo answered, smiling a shade too stiff.
He really wanted to say this was his first Tea Party. He had only just gotten a real foothold with the Charlottes in recent years.
It felt uncomfortably like getting caught cheating.
But he had no choice.
One of the Tea Party's most infamous rules was simple: skip it, and you suffer.
So here he was.
Kai's eyes flicked to Umit, still wearing his scowl at Doflamingo's side, and everything slotted into place.
Beasts Logistics might handle arms and legitimate goods, but Doflamingo's portfolio ranged far wider.
Underground auctions, slave trade, smuggling of every forbidden item under the sun.
With his ex-Celestial Dragon status and Warlord privileges, there was almost nothing too dirty to touch, as long as the profit was high enough.
Naturally, partnering with Umit's vast shipping network was the logical move.
One man's private fleet could not compare to Umit's global channels.
"Good luck," Kai said, and left it at that, slipping back into the crowd.
He left Doflamingo and Umit staring after him, brows knotted.
"Doffy… you think he noticed something? About that deal of ours…"
Names carried weight.
Kai's unreadable tone put Umit on edge.
Especially since the business they had just discussed brushed right up against the lines Kai had drawn for the Beasts and their allies.
Not liking Kai was one thing. Crossing his red lines was another.
"Are you an idiot? We have only just started. How could he know?" Doflamingo snapped.
Even as he said it, a sliver of unease coiled in his gut.
He knew exactly how dangerous Kai was.
But the promises he had received from certain "higher" powers burned hot in his mind.
In this world, the timid starved and the bold grew fat.
If he wanted to return to the Holy Land, he had to gamble.
He shot another sidelong glance at Umit, still chewing his worry.
If not for that shipping web Umit had spent years weaving, Doflamingo would never have partnered with him.
Spoils always tasted best when you did not have to share.