On the lawn of the mansion’s garden.
The grand wedding scene was filled with men and women dressed in gorgeous attire.
Melodious wedding music filled the air with a joyful atmosphere…
Long tables were set up on the lawn, decorated with various foods, desserts, and drinks for the guests to serve themselves.
Many waiters with trays moved among the crowd.
The wedding had not yet officially begun. A few girls gathered by the flower beds on the lawn, chatting and occasionally laughing, some shy, some bold.
Young men dressed to the nines mingled with the pretty girls, flirting and laughing; elegant and wealthy women grouped together, discussing family matters, boasting about their husbands or children, or casually showing off their jewelry; men in suits and ties smoked cigars or cigarettes, discussing the latest developments in the underworld or world events, such as the latest big news about Gold Lion’s escape, criticizing the incompetence of the Marines.
Black-suited security guards working as on-site security chatted idly, but kept a watchful eye on the various situations around them; next to them, there were also boys and girls in small suits and flowery dresses who innocently walked around the long tables and guests.
Even if they were a bit mischievous, they only made the adults smile and tell them to play on the lawn.
“It’s really lively!”
Liam sighed, casually using the Flower-Flower-Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) to grab a plate of exquisite food from the open-air dining table and throw it into his mouth to taste.
“Want some?” He handed another plate to Robin beside him.
At this moment, both of them were dressed in small black suits with neat bow ties, blending in perfectly with the children playing around at the wedding… except that Liam was a bit taller.
According to his memory, he should be around 11 years old now. But perhaps due to the rigorous training and good nutrition he had recently received, he had grown quite a bit and was now about 1.5 meters tall…
Meanwhile, Robin, almost 9 years old, was still skinny and barely 1.4 meters tall, looking quite small.
“Oh.” Robin took the plate and followed Liam, eating as they went.
When she thought about it, most of her memories of delicious food were associated with Liam.
Before she was 8, living with her aunt in her pristine hometown of Ohara, Robin hadn’t had a good life. Let alone exquisite food, having a bowl of hot soup was a luxury.
Most of the time, she ate coarse, tasteless bread or some cold leftovers… After 8, while running in fear, it was rare to be taken in by truly kind people.
Most of the time, she had to use the Flower-Flower-Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) to secretly steal food, never daring to take anything too good, usually just some bread or fruit from street vendors…
She slowly finished her meal and said quietly, “It’s delicious.”
“Of course,” Liam replied indifferently, “I wouldn’t give it to you if it wasn’t.”
After sneaking in with musician Old George, Liam and Robin mingled with the various crowds.
In front of Liam’s face was a virtual screen showing the real-time view of ‘B.I.B.’.
B.I.B.’ openly wandered among the various people at the wedding, and the various voices he heard were relayed to Liam through his ‘armor’ earpiece.
Robin stole a glance at him. Frankly, she had no idea why Liam had snuck into this wedding… This place was filled with the most powerful criminal organizations in West Blue.
Besides, according to her guess, the ‘Bullets’ who contacted the Fang Pirates probably did not have good intentions.
This wedding was likely to have unexpected incidents. The original Fang Pirates might have just been used as a cover by the ‘Bullets’…
“… Lately, the ‘Bullets’ have been making more and more moves!…”
“… Bege, that asshole, completely disregards the rules, he’s a madman…”
Hearing useful conversation through the ‘earpiece’, Liam paused. He pulled Robin to a long table, grabbed some food and drinks, and handed them to her, pretending to be casual.
In another corner of the wedding hall, several burly men in black suits stood like gatekeepers. Behind them was a coffee table where a few fat or strong, black-clad big shots lounged in soft chairs, smoking cigars, drinking tea, enjoying the breeze, and chatting.
B.I.B.’ sat cross-legged on the coffee table like a ghost, openly observing the conversations of these criminal organization leaders.
A fat boss puffed out a cloud of blue smoke and said contemptuously, “If this goes on, the ‘Bullets’ will be no different from those ruthless pirates! They’ll be finished sooner or later…”
Another black-clad big shot, who was enjoying his cigar, said slowly, “I don’t think Bege cares whether they’re pirates or criminal organizations… By the way, hasn’t he arrived yet?”
“Who knows.” The fat tycoon grumbled unhappily, “Daring not to show up at the old man’s daughter’s wedding, that’s just like him…”
Didn’t show up?
Liam frowned and concentrated on the perspective of ‘B.I.B.’ on the virtual screen. He absentmindedly reached for a plate of food on the table and suddenly bumped into another hand.
He looked at the person, who looked back at him.
They both said “huh” at the same time.
Liam’s concentration was broken and his attention shifted away from ‘B.I.B.’.
“Shanks?”
“Liam?”
Robin looked curiously at the red-haired man. He was also wearing a suit, but his tie was loose, giving him a casual, even sloppy look. Did he know Liam?
…
“So you really are here.”
The three of them moved to the edge of the crowd. Liam grinned, “I remembered that Musexin Island was where you said you were going, so I came with a try-my-luck mentality. I didn’t expect to actually run into you…”
He looked at the redhead wearing his suit so casually and teased, “Did you have so much fun that you forgot your companions on the Grand Line?”
“Forget what?” Shanks didn’t quite understand the strange phrase, but he didn’t mind.
He crossed his arms and looked out at the lively crowd with a smile, “Well, I got held up a few days… I was just about to leave when I stumbled upon this lively wedding. There’s a banquet, you know. How could a pirate miss a banquet?” He grinned.
“Days?” Liam was shocked.
“Don’t worry,” Shanks smiled confidently, “Those guys are probably having more fun than me! They might even be at a banquet right now…”
‘What’s there to be so confident about?’ Robin wondered silently.
Liam nodded and laughed, “You might be right!
What’s there to be right about? Robin was confused.
Shanks took a drink from a passing waiter’s tray and said, “But you, I didn’t expect to see such a big change in you after just a little while!” He took a sip and smiled, “The young hunter Giorno… I remember you told Kuzan that your name was Dio, right?”
“Something like that…” Liam replied nonchalantly.
At that moment, the emcee spoke and the music changed to a more solemn tune. The guests orderly moved aside to make way for a petal-strewn path.
“I’m here to freeload,” Shanks tossed a peanut into his mouth, “What about you, young hunter, is there any prey for you here?”
At the end of the path, a dignified old man with graying hair, and a bride in a white wedding dress on his arm, walked slowly toward the groom and the emcee, under the gaze of the guests.
“Prey, huh…”
Accompanied by the solemn wedding music, the dignified old man, the old godfather of the Dagger, slowly escorted the bride.
In the crowd to the left, someone suddenly lifted his head.
He opened his mouth and a cigar flew out like a window opening and landed in his mouth. He took a deep puff, and the tip of the cigar glowed red.
The old godfather of the Dagger seemed to sense something and looked to the side. He saw the cigar-chomping man grin and raise an empty hand, which opened like a window.
A pistol shot out and landed in his hand. The movement was smooth as he raised his once empty hand, now holding a gun, and aimed it at the old godfather’s head in the middle of the petal-strewn path.
“Bege…!!”
Bang!
With a cigar in his mouth and a sick grin on his face, Bege pulled the trigger without hesitation.
The old godfather only had time to push his daughter aside.
“He’s here,” Liam said to the redhead at the edge of the crowd.
Blood splattered.
The wedding scene descended into chaos.
……
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