"Captain Vane is already waiting for you in Midnight Town."
Two giants stepped forward to clear the way, the highest courtesy currently offered on Sleeping Island.
Along the way, the clerk Mont-d'Or observed the people around them. He spotted Fish-Man, Longleg Tribe, Longarm Tribe…
"There really are a lot of people here. It's practically another Totto Land."
After so many years of development, Totto Land was certainly stronger than Sleeping Island in terms of population. But when it came to the number of races, the gap between them wasn't large. After all, Vane had acquired this group from the Celestial Dragons. Their collecting ability was even stronger than Big Mom's.
"Galette, remember your mission."
Galette's outfit today was relatively bright, though she wasn't wearing a formal wedding dress. In her heart, she knew this was a marriage alliance… no, it didn't even count as a marriage alliance. It was simply trading herself for benefits.
And planting a seed for the Charlotte Family to one day annex the Rocket Team Pirates.
Before departing, several members of the Charlotte Family had repeatedly instructed her on what to do once she was by Vane's side—if favored, whisper sweet words in his ear; if treated ordinarily, secretly gather important intelligence and send it back to the Charlotte Family.
Mont-d'Or said with some dissatisfaction, "Galette, even if there isn't a formal wedding, your expression should at least look better."
Galette remained silent. That was simply her personality. She couldn't put on a bright, cheerful smile.
She had originally harbored some hopes for the Devil Fruit Katakuri had brought back—the Paramecia-type Butter-Butter Fruit… a food-type fruit, highly favored within Big Mom's territory.
Unfortunately, Big Mom valued that Devil Fruit too highly. No matter what, Katakuri wouldn't dare give a food-type Devil Fruit to a daughter who was about to be married off.
And Big Mom had clearly half-abandoned Galette already. Of course she wouldn't let her eat the fruit. In the end, the Butter-Butter Fruit went into the stomach of Melise—the woman Galette despised deeply.
Galette's resentment ran deep.
The one-kilometer journey wasn't long. They soon arrived at Midnight Town.
Looking at the rather ordinary Midnight Town, Mont-d'Or immediately said, "I thought this place would be impressive. Not to mention Cake Castle—even the towns beneath us are far better than this."
Perospero: "Say less, Mont-d'Or. We're here to seek cooperation."
The largest building in Midnight Town was something resembling a former church, now used by Vane for meetings.
"Everyone, please come in."
The giants clearly couldn't enter. Fish Giant Big Pan and Mogan stood guard outside like two enormous statues.
Tap!
The moment Smoothie stepped through the door, the hairs on her body stood on end!
An extremely terrifying presence! There was no obvious hostility, yet the sheer pressure alone was overwhelming.
Smoothie looked inside.
In the spacious hall were three long tables.
One horizontal and two vertical—the horizontal one serving as the main seat.
At the center of the main seat sat the host, Vane. Standing on either side of him were Monet and Baccarat. Neither of them had taken a seat.
Seated at the main table were the onion-headed Moria, the pitch-black Bonez, the beautiful yet somewhat proud Hancock, and the unseen Fujitora.
These were the ones Vane currently considered qualified enough. Meowth should have been there as well, but to conceal certain information, Meowth did not appear.
Those seated at the side tables were no simple figures either.
On one side were Tant, Dice, Burgess, Lena… members of the Combat Squad.
On the other side were Tesoro, Stella, and Martha—administrative managers.
The further Smoothie walked forward, the heavier the pressure became. The people at the side tables were manageable, but those at the main seat exuded greater pressure one after another.
She didn't even dare use Observation Haki to probe Vane's presence. The moment her senses brushed against Fujitora, she was so shaken by his aura that she immediately withdrew her Observation Haki.
Vane spoke, "Perospero, we meet again. And Morgans—we've only communicated through letters and Den Den Mushi before. Today, we finally meet in person."
"This banquet was specially arranged for you. It can't compare to the tea parties of Whole Cake Island. Please, take your seats."
Perospero introduced the three people beside him. Mont-d'Or and Smoothie were briefly mentioned, but Galette's introduction was naturally much longer. After all, she was half the protagonist of this occasion.
Galette still wore that cold, expressionless look. It seemed that in her repertoire of expressions, there were only coldness and anger.
Yet at this moment, she felt a sense of relief. At least the real Vane looked the same as on the wanted poster—not some ugly creature.
Good looks were always justice. Given that she could no longer escape being used as a marriage tool, the fact that the other party fit her aesthetic standards was already a decent outcome.
Creak~ creak~
Galette heard some unpleasant sounds. The only woman seated at the main table, about her own age, was gripping a knife and fork tightly, staring at her as if the blade were carving into her flesh.
What was wrong with this woman? Why was her hostility toward her so intense?
According to the intelligence, didn't Vane have two suspected lovers—the two women standing beside him?
Perospero stepped in to smooth things over for the silent Galette.
"Little sister Galette had some unpleasant experiences when she was young, so she appears rather cold. But in truth, she's very gentle inside. Captain Vane, I hope you'll be understanding."
Gentle? The kind of gentle that sprays bullets from a Gatling gun?
"It's fine."
As long as she was beautiful, a bad expression didn't matter.
Everyone understood this was a transaction. The Big Mom Pirates wanted to lay the groundwork for eventually annexing the Rocket Team Pirates, while Vane wanted to profit from their money and open up his weapons market in the New World.
Due to an extreme shortage of manpower, Vane and his group had temporarily abandoned agriculture to focus on industrial development.
The weapons factory had already been established. Low-level weapons like repeating rifles and hand-cranked Gatling guns no longer required the Munch-Munch Fruit to produce—ordinary factory production was sufficient.
Perospero was led by Vane to tour the factory "assembly line." Of course, it wasn't some inhumane death assembly line. Even if he wanted to implement something that brutal, their productivity wouldn't support it.
Watching the workers assemble one weapon after another—each one making his mouth water—Perospero was already imagining what this production line would look like under the rule of the Big Mom Pirates in the future.
For now, however, he could only pay to purchase them.
"Brother-in-law, now that we're family, you've got to give us a better price."
"Of course!"
Originally, I could've made seven or eight times the profit from you. But since we're family, I'll settle for five or six times instead.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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