Asa looked down from above and said indifferently, "Big Mom Pirates—if you're just passing by for the show, then get lost now."
"What a domineering little brother," Armand murmured, her beautiful eyes barely visible under the brim of her wide hat. She exhaled a smoke ring and added, "It'll be interesting when someone like you starts killing people."
"Oh? Kill me?" Asa raised a brow, licking the corner of his mouth with a sneer. "Since you won't leave... then stay here forever."
Dazzling bolts of lightning coiled around his arm.
He had no fear of provoking Whitebeard, so what if it was Big Mom? Killing one of her kids wouldn't change a thing.
"Wait!"
Katakuri suddenly felt a wave of dread. Without hesitation, he stepped in front of Charlotte Owen and Armand, shielding them. If Asa acted now, the two of them would be in grave danger.
He quickly flipped his palm, revealing a beautifully crafted invitation.
"The annual Tea Party of Totland is approaching. We're here to deliver the invitation that Mother has personally addressed to you."
The invitation was ornate and delicately designed—but the pirate flag of the Big Mom Pirates printed on it spoiled its elegance.
With a flick of his fingers, Katakuri tossed the invitation into the air.
"Tea party?"
Asa lowered his raised hand. Every year, Charlotte Linlin hosted a grand event, inviting notable figures from across the New World.
The truly powerful rarely attended. But the smaller factions scrambling to survive were always eager to curry favor with Big Mom.
"The tea party will be held in half a month, in Totland... it's for my mother's wedding," Katakuri said flatly.
The Charlotte Family ruled all of Totland, with Cake Island at its center. Their presence in the New World was widely known.
"Charlotte Linlin is getting married again? Tsk... that ridiculous woman who never fails to amuse. Truly terrifying." Asa glanced at the invitation with thinly veiled contempt.
Originally, the Charlotte Family had intended to arrange a marriage between Asa and one of Big Mom's daughters. But when Perospero and the others witnessed Asa casually slaughtering Whitebeard's son, they immediately crossed that idea off themselves.
Aside from eating cake and getting married—what else could Charlotte Linlin do?
She'd been married twenty or thirty times, had dozens of children—and surely more to come.
Is she chasing her dream through these meaningless things? Or does she think her ever-growing family will one day realize her dream for her?
"Hahahahahaha..." Asa clutched his forehead and burst out laughing.
"Does that woman, Charlotte Linlin, seriously think she can conquer the world by spreading her offspring across it? That's hilarious!"
His reaction wasn't without reason. Her children came from all races and possessed incredible talents. If they reached their full potential, they could become a terrifying force.
"Hey! Asa, don't be so arrogant!" Perospero couldn't hold back after hearing Asa mock their mother so blatantly.
"Arrogant? Weaklings like you have no right to talk about arrogance." Asa looked at them with utter disdain.
Arrogance belonged to the strong!
"Asa! Mother expects your presence at the tea party. Now that the invitation's been delivered, we won't linger." Katakuri gestured, and the soul-infused rudder turned the Singing Ship around.
Nearly everything Charlotte Linlin used had been given souls and could talk and sing. The Soul-Soul Fruit had been honed to a fearsome degree.
"Heh...heh." Asa's shoulders trembled as if suppressing laughter, but his eyes remained ice-cold.
"'Inform me'? Who the hell does Big Mom think she is, using that tone with me?"
Zzzzzzzzz!
Thunder crackled violently in his palm as the invitation was reduced to ashes, scattering into the wind.
The expressions of the five on the Singing Ship changed instantly. They hadn't expected Asa to go this far.
Or rather, they couldn't have anticipated such behavior—utterly unpredictable and irrational.
"You stupid, arrogant little pirate... how dare you refuse Mother's invitation?!" Charlotte Compote's face, eerily similar to her aunt's, twisted in disbelief.
Even Katakuri and Armand—normally calm and collected—were visibly stunned.
Burning the invitation was no trivial matter. It meant outright rejection of Big Mom's goodwill—and a direct insult.
She was second only to the great overlords of the sea like Whitebeard and the Golden Lion. Who would dare to openly defy her?
The siblings couldn't comprehend it. Asa had already provoked Whitebeard's crew—and now Big Mom's? It was suicidal.
Usually, entering the New World meant forming temporary alliances to survive.
Would Asa join forces with someone? Impossible.
"But that's what makes it fun," Asa said, eyes shining with excitement. "What could be more thrilling than offending the strongest figures in the world? Hahahahaha!"
"Madman... This guy's a complete lunatic! Even crazier than Mother!" Perospero was frozen in disbelief. He had never met anyone like this.
The New World had all kinds—arrogant, overconfident, and impulsive. They'd seen plenty. But the number who actually survived? Very few.
Offending two sea emperors simultaneously? That was just asking for death.
"Go back and tell Big Mom—tell that gluttonous old hag," Asa raised his head proudly, "that someone like her isn't qualified to give me orders."
"While I'm still in a good mood, get lost!"
"What gall... What unbelievable gall!" Charlotte Owen trembled with rage.
"A mere rookie dares to disrespect Mother? You're finished! You're already dead!"
Burning that invitation in front of Big Mom's children was a public slap to her face. She would have to respond—or risk losing her fearsome reputation.
"If you won't leave… then stay!"
Asa's figure vanished, replaced by a beam of lightning that blasted downward with terrifying speed.
At this point, offending one or two enemies made no difference—it was all the same to Asa.
"Go—get out of here, now!"
Cold sweat beaded on Katakuri's forehead as his expression finally cracked. His weapon was instantly hardened with Haki as he braced for the lightning strike.
At the same time, he commanded the Singing Ship's soul-infused coating device to submerge and escape into the deep sea.
Katakuri's spiritual intuition screamed at him—if they stayed a second longer, they'd all die.
(End Of Chapter)
Gimme Powerstones :)))
Also Check out my Patreon at [Patreon.com/GGFanfiction]