About ten minutes later—
In the distance, the faint outline of a ship appeared. The three Charlotte sisters—Amande, Hachee, and Effilée—immediately moved to greet it. As the ship drew closer, its form became clear: a magnificently decorated pleasure boat.
Even the Charlotte family's massive cake ships seemed ostentatious enough, yet this boat surpassed them in extravagance.
Only a few figures stood on its deck. Leading them was a young woman with short golden hair, wearing a white flowered hat and a cream-colored dress that accentuated her elegant and refined demeanor.
It was none other than the Queen of the Pleasure District — Stussy.
"Ah my, how embarrassing,"
Before she even set foot ashore, Stussy's gentle, apologetic voice carried over the waves.
"I was nearly late, yet I still trouble you to come out personally to receive me. It's been quite some time, Amande."
"It's our duty, Miss Stussy."
A faintly stiff smile crept onto Amande's usually frosty face. She dipped her head in greeting.
"Most of the guests have already arrived, and the Tea Party will begin in a few hours. Please, proceed to the castle for a short rest. Someone will escort you to the banquet hall."
"How lovely," Stussy replied with a soft chuckle, brushing a strand of golden hair behind her ear.
With her white handbag at her side, she walked gracefully toward the grassy path where a lavish pig-drawn carriage awaited her. Behind her followed several attendants—each with strikingly unusual appearances.
One was a massive half-giant, another a panda-girl covered in soft fur… The only one with a seemingly human frame still stood nearly three meters tall, wearing a white hood that concealed his face.
The hidden face immediately made Hachee, the fourth sister, frown. She instinctively moved to block his path for inspection—but before she could act, a slender, icy hand caught her wrist.
"Don't cause unnecessary trouble,"
Amande's cold voice murmured in her ear.
"But, Third Sister," Hachée whispered, "didn't you just say we had to be cautious—make sure no uninvited guests sneak into the Tea Party?"
"That warning was for ordinary guests."
Amande's eyes followed the figure boarding the carriage as she replied calmly:
"Miss Stussy is one of Mother's closest friends. She's sensible enough to bring only a few attendants. It's fine. We can trust her."
"Understood, Third Sister."
Hachée nodded and fell silent.
The three sisters returned to their vantage point, waiting for the next group of guests to arrive.
The pig carriage rolled forward, carrying Stussy and her entourage toward the towering Cake Castle. Along both sides of the path, the trees and flowers swayed and sang together—the Homies of Totto Land welcoming the guests with cheerful melodies:
♪ "Delicate teacups, polished spoons, freshly baked cakes~"
♪ "And smooth, rich cream!"
♪ "Let's make delicious muffins!"
♪ "The cookies are rising so high~"
♪ "Please take your seats!"
♪ "All of this is prepared for you—our dear Mama's honored guest!"
…
Amid the lilting, sugary chorus, Stussy exhaled softly, adjusting her hat. Her tone was light, but her words carried a faint trace of exasperation—as if she were scolding someone behind her.
"This is your fault. You insisted on coming with me. We were this close to being discovered—you nearly scared me to death."
"Scared? I don't see any cold sweat on you."
The calm male voice that answered her came from behind.
"If the top undercover agent of CP can't even stay composed in a minor situation like this, perhaps it's time the whole department disbanded."
"There was sweat!"
Stussy protested, refusing to yield. She grabbed his hand and guided it toward her pale neck.
"It's just hidden under my clothes. If you don't believe me, go ahead—touch for yourself and you'll see—"
Before she could finish, the man brushed her hand aside firmly.
"Please show some restraint, Miss Stussy."
The hooded figure finally lifted his head, revealing a strikingly handsome face—cold and expressionless.
It was Nao.
"I've been married for six years," he said flatly. "I'm a father of two now."
"Hmph!"
Stussy stomped her foot angrily.
"Married! Married! Is there any woman in the world who doesn't know you're already married?"
"You men are all the same! First, you make a girl's heart flutter, and then you turn around acting all pure and aloof… Hey! Don't test me — I could change my mind right now, throw you out of this carriage, and report you for acting without authorization—"
"You won't."
The calm voice cut through her words.
"The arrow's already nocked; there's no taking it back now. Besides, if you really wanted to, you'd have done it a week ago. Wouldn't you?"
Hmph!
Stussy, her thoughts exposed, gritted her teeth in frustration but had no way to refute it, as Nao spoke the truth.
What a wicked man, utterly wicked!
...
A week earlier
New World — the Pleasure District. Inside a lavish bedroom filled with perfume and silk.
"You're saying… you want me to smuggle you into this year's Tea Party?"
Stussy looked up in disbelief from her vanity, halfway through removing her makeup.
The man sitting casually on her window ledge gave a faint nod.
"No way. Forget it!"
She rejected him instantly, not even hesitating.
"Reason?"
"Reason?" She scoffed. "Let's start with the fact that I don't even know how you learned about my real identity…"
Her eyes narrowed.
"But listen, White Dragon — if you were still in the Marine, I might actually consider it. You'd definitely have been one of the Admirals by now. In that case, I'd gladly cooperate with you."
"But you resigned. You're just a civilian now. What right do you have to give me orders?"
"It's not an order," he said quietly. "Just a request — between acquaintances."
"Acquaintances, my ass." Stussy spat. "We've only met once — at your wedding, no less! That hardly makes us friends—hey! What do you think you're doing?"
Her tone suddenly wavered with alarm.
The man had leaned forward from the window.
That impossibly handsome face drew closer and closer, those deep black eyes like a dark, endless lake. His every breath carried a quiet, dangerous allure.
Stussy's cheeks flushed crimson, her heart pounding wildly in her chest like a trapped deer.
"What are you so afraid of?"
Nao's voice was low, soft, almost teasing.
"Afraid that I don't have the strength to destroy the Charlotte Family? That I'll expose your cover instead?"
"O-of course I am!"
Stussy stammered — something she almost never did.
"S-so what if you did beat Big Mom once before? This time, you'd be on her home turf! White Dragon, you can't seriously believe you can walk into her territory alone and win?"
"That's suicide! You have no idea what you're walking into. I've spent years building my relationship with Linlin — I won't let you ruin that because of some reckless stunt!"
"And what if I insist?"
Nao reached out, gently but firmly tilting her chin upward until she had no choice but to meet his gaze.
"What will you do then?"
"I'll report it!" she snapped, defiant but trembling. "I'll leak your entire plan to the World Government and Marine Headquarters — maybe even tip off Linlin herself, tell her to keep an eye out for you!"
"No," he said simply, eyes steady. "You won't."
They held each other's gaze. Nao suddenly let the corner of his mouth lift into a gentle smile, showing eight teeth. "I believe you'll choose to help me in the end, won't you?"
Stussy fought hard to turn away, but froze mid-motion. She stared dully at Nao's smile; a pleasant flush quickly climbed her cheeks, and for a long moment she did nothing.
Thump, thump, thump…
A strange sound broke the silence of the bedroom.
It was the heartbeat of CP-0's most trusted senior female agent — suddenly racing, wildly pounding.
No one knows how long it lasted.
At last the pounding slowed. A timid, mosquito-soft sound escaped: "Yeah..."
…
Back on the speeding pig carriage.
Stussy hugged her handbag in a huff and refused to speak. Nao chuckled softly, rested his arms behind his head, reclined comfortably, and closed his eyes to relax.
A little over a month earlier, after settling matters in the East Blue, he crossed the Calm Belt and entered the New World.
After casually dealing with a few pirate crews along the way, Nao stopped wide-scale hunting. Instead, he set his sights squarely on the three Emperors of the Sea — Big Mom, Kaido, and Whitebeard — and in his plan, not one would escape.
He intended to use the fastest means to utterly reshape the balance of power in the New World, to complete his final objective — and to test the results of the three years of his training against the world's top fighters.
So.
Of the three, the one with the deepest feud and the most encounters was Big Mom; her enormous Charlotte family became his obvious first target without hesitation.
The annual Tea Party presented the perfect opportunity to catch them all at once.
…
Some time later.
Feeling the carriage jerk to a stop, Nao opened his eyes. At that moment Stussy's sharp voice rang out:
"Still asleep? We've arrived at Cake Castle — get off the carriage!"
Stussy, the short-haired blonde, hopped down in a huff and strode toward the main gate of Cake Castle with her attendants. Nao smiled and followed right away.
Along the way they were met by Charlotte family maidservants who respectfully escorted them. Nao looked around with interest and found the rebuilt Cake Castle was nearly a one-to-one, perfect restoration of the original — even more lavishly decorated now.
It seemed the Charlotte family had poured tremendous effort into rebuilding the castle after he'd destroyed it…
A pity.
Nao shook his head slightly. Then, as if his Observation Haki had sensed something, he narrowed his eyes toward the front steps.
"Welcome, Miss Stussy!"
A man dressed like a clown, who had evidently been waiting on the steps, bowed — it was Perospero, the Charlotte family's eldest son.
He offered a formal welcome with a wide, toothy grin. "The Tea Party starts in just over an hour, though many guests have already entered. Would you like to rest in your room first, or shall we head straight to the banquet hall? Lick~"
Why does your grin make me want to punch you?
Stussy glanced coolly at Nao behind her, smiled, and said, "Let's go straight there. I've been late to the Tea Party several times before; since I came early this time, I don't want Linlin to have to wait for me."
"No problem — please follow me!"
Perospero beamed. After a quick look at Nao and the others, he turned without a care and tapped his candy cane on the wall.
Clack, clack.
Two light knocks, and a staircase of candy extended from in front of him — spiraling upward, leading to the top floors of Cake Castle.
It was clear that this was the real passage leading to the Tea Party venue — without a Charlotte Family member to guide the way, outsiders could never reach the top floor of the castle.
Under Perospero's lead, Stussy and her group soon arrived at the top level. The grand banquet hall appeared to be divided into two sections — the outer hall and the inner hall.
To reach the inner hall, one first had to pass through the outer one.
At this moment, many guests had already gathered in the outer hall, chatting in small clusters.
But as soon as Stussy appeared at the entrance, the entire room fell silent. Dozens of gazes — filled with both reverence and flattery — turned toward her. You could almost hear a pin drop.
After all, the name of the "Queen of the Pleasure District" carried tremendous weight throughout the New World.
Many of the people here were influential figures in their own right — but compared to Stussy, they were on a completely different level.
Stussy, however, was a frequent attendee of Big Mom's Tea Parties and paid no attention to the stares. With a casual gesture toward an empty table, a few of her attendants immediately understood and went ahead to take their seats.
As for Nao, who was disguised as one of her attendants…
"Perospero,"
Stussy turned to him with a faint smile. "Fujiwara's situation is a little special. It's rare for him to accompany me to a Tea Party — bringing him into the inner hall shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Fujiwara?
Perospero froze for a second and glanced curiously at Nao. As the one overseeing all of the Charlotte Family's intelligence operations, that name was no stranger to him.
Rumor had it that "Fujiwara" was a masterless samurai from Wano Country — a top-tier swordsman whose skill was both exquisite and deadly.
He had served as Stussy's right-hand man for the past decade. Stussy's current standing — and even the success of the Pleasure District — owed much to this swordsman's power and loyalty.
He was known for his discretion and rarely showed his face in public. So seeing him here today at the Tea Party was, indeed, unexpected.
"Of course, of course!"
Perospero quickly regained his composure, nodding repeatedly with a grin. "Since it's Mr. Fujiwara, naturally he qualifies for entry into the inner hall. I'll personally arrange a seat for him — you can rest easy, Miss Stussy."
They entered the inner hall.
Here, the number of round tables was far fewer — and only those truly valued by Big Mom herself were granted a place.
Stussy's seat was to the left of Big Mom's sofa. The rest of the guests at this table were all Emperors of the Underworld.
Morgans, president of the World Economic News Paper, Loan Shark King Du Feld, the Major Undertaker Drug Peclo, the Concealer Giberson… all present and accounted for.
Nao, meanwhile, was seated at the next table, arranged by Perospero himself.
The guests there held slightly lower status, but upon realizing he had come with Stussy, none dared to treat him lightly — they all smiled and raised their glasses in greeting. Nao gave a small nod in return.
But his attention wasn't on them at all. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the pink sofa at the head of the hall — Big Mom's seat.
"…Strange."
Nao frowned slightly, murmuring under his breath.
Was that really Big Mom's seat?
Why did it look so much smaller than before — almost half the size it was during the wedding? Could she even fit in that thing?
"What's wrong?"
Stussy, seated right beside him, caught his mutter and leaned over, lowering her voice.
"That sofa… doesn't it look off to you?"
"Sofa?"
Following his gaze, Stussy instantly realized what he meant — and couldn't help laughing softly. She leaned close to his ear, teasingly whispering:
"Hey, tell me something — have you not been keeping up with the Charlotte Family's news these past few years?"
"I really haven't," Nao admitted frankly. "Why?"
He already had a vague suspicion, but wasn't certain — until Stussy giggled and whispered:
"Why? You probably wouldn't believe it. After losing to you last time, Linlin took it really hard. For the past two years, she's been obsessively dieting and exercising — nobody can talk her out of it."
"As for her current appearance…" Stussy's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Well… she's still not quite as breathtaking as in her youth, but she's very close. You could honestly call her a full-fledged beauty again!"