One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 113 The Feast at Hongmen

The base commander of the Navy's New World G-5 branch is dead.

Before even returning to Whole Cake Island, Perospero contacted Katakuri to inform him of the news. This was because the pirates who killed the base commander and destroyed the G-5 warship were Katakuri and Cracker of the Big Mom Pirates.

Katakuri didn't react much when he heard the news. It was common for pirates to encounter the Marines and fight each other. Casualties were inevitable.

Besides, that person had grabbed You at the time.

Yu listened intently from the side, picked up a piece of fruit, and casually asked, "What's the base commander's name?"

She knew the flying squirrel from branch G-1, but not the one from branch G-5; he probably wasn't very famous and hadn't been in office for long.

“Kukukuku seems to be called Vergo.”

Yu didn't reply, just stared at Katakuri in disbelief, remaining silent for a long time. He didn't even react when the piece of fruit he had just picked up fell to the ground.

Vergo... he's dead?!

"The person who arrested you is the base commander, you should remember him." Katakuri picked up a skewer and forked another piece for her, but Yu didn't take it.

She certainly remembered what the person who grabbed her looked like, but she wasn't sure if the mushroom-headed guy with food scraps on his face was actually Vergo.

"He was wearing sunglasses and had food residue on his face?"

Katakuri nodded, giving an affirmative answer.

It really is him, the spy Doflamingo planted in the Navy, who is now the base commander of the G-5 branch.

But now that Katakuri has killed him, what will Doflamingo do if he finds out?

Yu's reaction was a bit unusual. Katakuri suspected that Vergo might have known Yu before, but if they knew each other, why would he have captured her?

"what happened?"

Yu came to her senses and shook her head. "It's nothing. I just didn't expect the person who captured me to be the base commander. I thought he was just a junior officer in the navy."

He told a lie and barely managed to get away with it.

“Kukukuku Yu, don’t run out like that next time, or I won’t know how to explain it to Mom.”

Perospero felt a headache coming on when he thought about his mother asking about Yu's situation again. "Smoothie and I helped you cover it up. Don't let it slip in front of your mother when you come back."

“Perospero, didn’t I already tell Mom that Yu would go to sea with me to find my brother?” Cracker was smart for once and realized that something was wrong with what Perospero said.

"I don't know either. My mom asked again, and then that was it." It's strange, but it also seems like nothing.

"..." Cracker also felt confused, but his mother's actions were never based on any reason.

"By the way, Yu, how are you recovering? Mom wants to throw a tea party and specifically asked for the desserts you made." These past few days, Perospero has been extremely busy, arranging the tea party and contacting his brothers and sisters who went to sea.

He's so annoying! Mom's happy, but he, the older brother, is sad...

Yu agreed to this small matter without hesitation. "Don't worry, you prepare the materials and wait for me to bake. I promise it won't interfere with the tea party."

Katakuri wanted to refuse on Yu's behalf; their return journey was slow, but it wouldn't take more than ten days.

Yu's most serious injury was caused by the Devil Fruit, and she healed it herself after regaining her strength. She's mostly recovered now, but Katakuri doesn't really want her to do anything; after all, the chefs of Whole Cake Island aren't useless.

Perospero chattered on and on, mostly just his constant complaints.

My mom always suddenly wants to do something; she'll be exhausted sooner or later...

As the Minister of Candy, he also needs to maintain a good image...

When will someone be able to help him share the burden...?

If things aren't arranged properly, then Mom will definitely take away his lifespan herself...

Not only do they have to manage these things, but they also have to look after their younger siblings…

He's been working himself to death every day...

It's clear he's been really busy these past few days; his words are a bit incoherent, and he's just saying whatever comes to mind.

Cracker couldn't stand it anymore and, thinking he was going to hang up the Den Den Mushi, actually did.

Yu rolled her eyes at him and mercilessly retorted, "It's truly remarkable that Perospero has managed to hold on this long..."

"Oh, Perospero just vents occasionally, that's enough." Cracker said innocently, he wasn't really that cold-blooded, "Big Brother, Owen, and my eldest sister will all help."

Cracker wanted to say something more, but Katakuri had already left the deck with Yu.

"Tch, brother forgets his brother for a pretty face." Cracker pouted in dissatisfaction.

……

Upon returning to Whole Cake Island, Yu and Katakuri made a trip back to Wheat Island before staying there.

This tea party wasn't very formal, but there were still quite a few things to prepare. Yu was completely absorbed in making the desserts, so much so that she had no time to think about anything else.

Katakuri settled the wolf cub on Wheat Island and had someone take care of it. Katakuri had originally planned to wait until Yuu was more recovered before discussing the matter of the wolf cub, but now, because of the tea party, he had to postpone it again.

Preparations for the tea party were proceeding smoothly, with the only change being that the location was moved from Cake Castle to the Temptation Forest near the coast.

At the tea party, BIGMOM seemed to be having a great time, as did everyone else from the World of Warcraft.

However, apart from ministers and officials, no one else attended this tea party.

You knew all these people, so you felt none of the timidity and unfamiliarity you felt when you first came to the Kingdom of Ten Thousand.

The only thing that bothered Yu was that Franpe and Celluloid also came to participate.

Never mind, I won't see it for now.

"Mommom~ Mommmom~ Yu, you held a tea party when you first arrived in Whole Cake Island, huh?" Big Mom, who had been focused on eating her dessert, suddenly started talking to Yu. "You've been a member of my pirate crew for three years now, haven't you?"

“Yes.” Yu answered, though she didn’t understand.

The woman's tone turned cold. "After these three years, I still don't know what special abilities you have."

Why did you join the pirate crew in the first place?

Everyone present fell silent. Having spent so much time with his mother, the minister of the Kingdom knew very well that this was a sign of impending anger.

Mom is in a very bad mood right now.

"I was trying to escape the Beasts Pirates when Katakuri saved me, and I was later persuaded to join them," Yu replied calmly.

Yu was speaking the truth, and although she missed a few other things, what she said was true.

But after hearing this, the woman's expression didn't improve; in fact, it worsened.

"Were they genuinely persuaded, or were they just pretending to be persuaded?"

"Mom~ Yu, you're a member of the Navy, right?"

Apart from Katakuri, everyone else was more or less surprised by their mother's words.

“Mom, if Yu is a member of the Navy, why would Kaido want her to join? How could she possibly join our Big Mom Pirates?” Perospero stepped in to defend Yu.

Katakuri added, "Mom, Yu has been in my sight ever since she joined the pirate crew, and she hasn't done anything that could be considered a Marine."

The older woman clearly wasn't listening to what the two were saying. "Are you defending her? Hmm?"

"Never forget who you are; you are my sons."

Perospero was the first to back down; his mother's tea party today turned out to be a trap for Yu. No matter how much he and Katakuri argued, it was useless.

"Mom, I told you long ago, this person joined the pirate crew with ill intentions, and today we'll make her disappear!"