Morgans watched as the Den Den Mushi mirrored Ash's expression, and fear gripped him so tightly he nearly lost control of himself. He cried out in panic, "Guaaaa! I was forced into this by that woman! You have to understand, if I didn't agree to deliver the invitation, I wouldn't have made it out of Cake Island alive!"
Ash suppressed the sour taste lingering in his mouth and looked at the Den Den Mushi, its face now mimicking Morgans' tearful expression. He frowned in clear disgust. "What are you doing? I only asked you to repeat the contents of the invitation. I didn't blame you."
"Gua... uh... the invitation says you are invited to attend a tea party on Cake Island next Friday."
Taking advantage of the pause, Ash tilted his head back and finished the juice in his glass.
"And it sincerely invites you, sincerely invites you… to form a marriage alliance with Ms. Charlotte Linlin..."
"Pfft..."
Ash immediately spat out the lemon juice he had just swallowed. Ignoring Saff's sharp glare, he wiped the corner of his mouth and spoke coldly. "Hearing it again is still disgusting. But it's not surprising that Big Mom would do something this ridiculous. What I'm more curious about is which idiot brought my name into this."
"Uh... it seems to be the Queen of the Pleasure District, Stussy. Yes, it was that woman!" Morgans recalled before quickly adding with frustration.
"Fine. Tell Charlotte Linlin to get lost. That's all."
Ash ended the call, his expression darkening.
Saff noticed the shift in his mood and recalled the true identity of Stussy that Ash had mentioned years ago. A trace of concern appeared on her face.
But Ash wasn't troubled at all.
The only reason he frowned was because the lemon juice had left a sharp, sour aftertaste in his mouth.
Since arriving in the New World, he had already considered that his recent actions might draw attention from the World Government, or even cause dissatisfaction.
What he didn't expect was that after defeating Silvers Rayleigh and briefly going off the radar, the World Government would make such a move.
On the surface, it looked like Charlotte Linlin was simply acting recklessly and provoking him. But to Ash, who knew Stussy's identity, it was obvious that the World Government was exploiting Big Mom's tendencies to apply pressure on him.
Still, he didn't care about a mere Emperor.
"Heh..."
After sorting out the situation, Ash let out a dismissive chuckle.
"I've just been taking it easy. It's not like I'm gone."
"You can keep testing me and talking behind my back. Just make sure you're ready for the consequences."
"As for Big Mom, maybe forty years ago I would have been interested. But now, you seriously lack self-awareness."
"Don't worry, your turn will come. Right now it's Kaido, but eventually, it will be you."
---
In reality, Ash had misunderstood part of the situation.
The World Government, more specifically the Gorosei, initially only knew that Ash had defeated Rayleigh. That alone wasn't enough to provoke such a strong reaction.
To them, defeating Rayleigh only meant that the "blade" they held had become sharper than expected.
The real turning point came a few days earlier.
When Donquixote Doflamingo realized he might be in serious trouble, he was forced to contact the Gorosei.
Because of that call, they learned that Sali had returned to Dressrosa, drawing their attention to the situation.
Doflamingo had never been favored by the Gorosei. In fact, they despised him more than most, and he was well aware of it.
But he had no choice.
If he didn't seek reinforcements, White Lion Sali might destroy everything he had built.
During his months of recovery, Doflamingo had carefully analyzed Sali's strength. In the end, he came to a grim conclusion, Sali hadn't even used his full power in their previous fight.
Just comparing lightning abilities alone, Sali's power far surpassed what had been displayed before. The restraint shown in Dressrosa wasn't due to limitation, it was because he didn't want to harm civilians.
Understanding the gap between them, Doflamingo had no intention of putting up a futile resistance.
Why fight a battle he couldn't win?
Why push things further and risk an even worse defeat?
In the end, he chose the lesser humiliation, asking the Gorosei for help rather than facing total destruction.
After all, he had endured ridicule from the nobles of Mary Geoise for decades. Losing a bit more face meant nothing.
However, it was this very call that shifted the Gorosei's focus onto Ash.
---
Who are the Gorosei?
They stand at the very peak of power in the world.
Do they care about minor conflicts between the Seven Warlords?
Not at all.
As long as the balance of the seas remains intact, they couldn't care less who fights whom.
Even sending Kizaru to intervene was merely a response to Doflamingo's threats. For them, it was a trivial order.
Their real concern was always balance.
They had already been evaluating several possibilities.
Was there a deeper connection between the four Warlords who entered the New World around the same time, Ash, Sali, Wyper, and Dracule Mihawk?
Could their combined strength spiral out of control?
Had Ash's power already crossed into the level of an Emperor?
Would his existence destabilize the current order?
These were the questions that mattered.
Originally, the issue of multiple Warlords losing contact had only troubled Sengoku, and he had no intention of escalating it.
But Doflamingo's call changed everything.
Now, the Gorosei demanded answers.
When they obtained Ash's contact information, they discovered something alarming.
Four Warlords had gone silent.
At that moment, all previous assumptions about Ash were overturned.
The labels of "obedient," "manageable," and "knows his place" were stripped away.
In their place, a new conclusion emerged.
Ash was dangerous.
Unpredictable.
And potentially uncontrollable.
For the Gorosei, there was only one question that mattered.
Was he still obedient?
---
Unaware of this shift, Ash believed the World Government was merely testing him and stirring trouble.
At the same time, in the eyes of the Gorosei, he had already become a volatile threat.
The only uncertainty left was simple.
Who would make the first move?
For now, the World Government had already taken the opening step, subtle, but deliberate.
__
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