Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

As Stussy said, even if he went to Kaido's territory later to express his sincerity, what then? Would they believe him?

If Big Mom continues to make a big deal out of this, Kaido will most likely just kill him when he comes to him.

The next morning, Wood woke up to Baron Eggsy's knocking, as Big Mom's tea party was about to begin.

As for the venue, it is the largest castle on Whole Cake Island, which is also Big Mom's residence.

Although it was called a tea party, it was more like an extremely grand banquet, and those who wanted to participate in this banquet had to have a certain status on the high seas.

Big Mom is one of the Four Emperors, and Charlotte Linlin is one of the strongest people on the sea, unlike Wood who came to the tea party unwillingly.

Many people went to great lengths to participate in this tea party and make their faces known to the important figures.

At least when Wood and Robin arrived at the venue in their finest attire, they saw quite a few familiar faces.

The people attending the banquet here are not only pirates and people from the underworld, but also some princes and princesses from local kingdoms dressed in suits.

After all, countless islands and kingdoms dot this vast ocean, and many kingdoms trust powerful pirate crews more than the so-called navy.

No matter how powerful the navy is, it cannot take care of the entire ocean. However, the flags of certain pirate crews, once hoisted on an island, are clearly far more intimidating to attacking pirates than the navy.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Big Mom has princes or princesses from other countries. It is possible that their kingdom is one of the islands under Big Mom's protection.

BIG MOM's so-called tea party was not just a simple tea party; it was more like a large group's annual meeting.

The reason why bigwigs in the underworld attend Big Mom's tea party isn't just to give her face; it's because they want to pay their share of the money owed to Big Mom at this event.

That's right. Among the "Four Emperors," we'll leave aside the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates for now, but the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates have consistently interfered in the underworld.

Otherwise, without strong individuals to maintain order in the vast underworld, how could it be kept in check? Relying solely on figures like Doflamingo would certainly not be enough.

Whether it's the Big Mom Pirates or the Beasts Pirates, they can get a lot of money from the underworld every year, while the princes and princesses of those kingdoms attend the tea party to pay their protection fees for the year.

Of course, there are also people from some kingdoms who go to great lengths to participate in the tea party in order to gain the protection of the Big Mom Pirates.

After all, they are one of the "Four Emperors" pirate crews, so their prestige is quite high. It's not like you can just pay protection money and they'll allow you to fly their flag. They also have to see if the price you offer is satisfactory enough.

Just like Fishman Island, which lies 10,000 meters below the Sabaody Archipelago, it was previously protected by the Whitebeard Pirates.

After Whitebeard died in the Marineford War, Fishman Island sought refuge with the Big Mom Pirates.

As for the price, it was that a large amount of sweets and a certain amount of treasure had to be handed over every year. It was for this reason that the Tamatebako ended up in the hands of the Big Mom Pirates.

Of course, now that Fishman Island is safe, thanks to Wood's presence, the Fishman hero Tiger and Queen Otohime are still alive, and with the protection of Wood's weapons company, no one dares to mess with Fishman Island on the high seas, even without flying the flag of one of the Four Emperors.

At the tea party, in addition to guests from all over the sea, there were also members of the Big Mom Pirates, but their numbers were not large.

The reason is simple: Big Mom has so many children and husbands that she can't even remember all their names, and not everyone is qualified to participate in a tea party of this caliber.

Aside from Big Mom's formidable combatants, the only ones who could attend the tea party were the "Sweet Commanders" of the Big Mom Pirates and some "Ministers" who held important positions.

Pudding was very happy today. At only fifteen years old, she was wearing a white lace dress, her chestnut hair was tied into playful pigtails, and her forehead was covered by long bangs.

Although she doesn't look very old, you can tell that her figure is already quite beautiful.

As Big Mom's 35th daughter, Pudding has always been disliked by Big Mom because of her young age and average strength.

Although she is extremely good at disguising herself, and is even the second most beloved sister in the Charlotte family, she usually doesn't have the opportunity to attend important occasions like the Big Mom Tea Party.

Just a few days ago, when her brother Perospero suddenly told her that her mother wanted her to attend a tea party in a few days and asked her to dress up nicely, Brin was really happy.

Because she was a three-eyed person and had only average strength, Charlotte Linlin, as her mother, never liked Pudding and even disliked her.

This time, however, her mother took the initiative to let her attend an important tea party, which made Brin believe that Big Mom had changed her opinion of her and started to value her.

It's worth noting that in previous years, only the children favored by their mother or important members of the family could participate in the Big Mom Pirates' tea party.

It's obvious that Brin, who wasn't even one of the 34 ministers, didn't belong to this group before, but this time she was specially instructed to participate, so it's normal for Brin to think this way.

"I thought I was the exception, but I didn't expect that Sister Pudding would also have the opportunity to participate in this tea party. It's really surprising."

The one who spoke was BIG MOM's 36th daughter, Flampe, who was only one year younger than Brin's sister.

However, because Big Mom had so many children, the relationships among her siblings were not actually very close.

Pudding is a master of disguise and a true actress, so she prefers the innocent and kind-hearted Lola among the sisters.

Franpe, on the other hand, is willful and spoiled, and relies on her cute appearance to consistently rank first on Charlotte's list of the family's most beloved younger sister.

Although Flampe is younger than Pudding, she is stronger. Not only are they close in age, but they are also ranked first and second on the younger sister list, so it is quite normal for them to secretly compete with each other.

At this moment, Franpe's long, dark hair was tied in a ponytail, and she was wearing a polka-dot dress, exuding a youthful and lively aura.

In terms of looks, Franpe felt she was no less beautiful than Brin, but when her gaze fell on Brin's chest, she couldn't help but look dejected.

However, she quickly regained her confidence and said, "It's not that the bigger the better, and besides, she's older than me. I'll definitely grow up by next year."

Pudding didn't intend to get too entangled with Flampe's secret rivalry, and instead maintained her "weak" persona.

Perhaps finding it pointless to keep bullying a pushover like Pudding, Flampe quickly lost interest and went straight to bother her brother Katakuri.

As more and more important figures arrived, the tea party gradually reached its climax. At the banquet, Big Mom, as the host, naturally sat in the seat of honor.

However, not everyone who attends the tea party has a seat; only prominent figures are entitled to be seated.

Moreover, the closer one is to Big Mom's location, the more distinguished one's status is.

Because of the rule of one person per table, Robin obviously couldn't sit with Wood. However, as the second-in-command of Wood Weapons Company, Robin also had his own seat, just much further back than Wood.

At the tea party, as is customary, some royal envoys who had come to pay their respects to Big Mom first. Then, Perospero took out a flag belonging to Big Mom and let these royal envoys bid on it.

The rule is quite simple and brutal: the higher the "protection fee" that kingdom can pay each year, the more likely it is to take the flag back to the island and hang it there, thus gaining the protection of the Big Mom Pirates.

Big Mom's tea party usually offers one or two spots, but this time there was only one, making the competition even fiercer.

Chapter 327 Wood's Conqueror's Haki!

Meanwhile, Wood, sitting to the side enjoying his meal and watching the kingdom's envoy bid hundreds of millions of Berries at a time, also had a stunned expression on his face.

He never imagined that the Four Emperors' pirate crews could make money more easily than he, an arms dealer.

The price for just one year of protection by the Big Mom Pirates is so high that it can be easily inflated to such an astronomical figure.

The protection fees that the Big Mom Pirates collect each year must be an astronomical figure.

However, if you think about it, it doesn't seem strange at all.

After all, the Four Emperors' pirate crews are powerful enough to rival the Marine Headquarters on the high seas. By flying their flag, they are basically untouchable.

Those allied nations of the World Government also have to pay the Celestial Dragons a considerable amount of "Celestial Gold" every year for protection, but in general, the Navy's protection for them is not as effective as that of the "Four Emperors".

Since it's going to cost money anyway, why not choose the protection of the "Four Emperors" who offer a higher level of security? This is why these kingdom envoys are so eager to adopt this flag.

After the bidding for the flag protection rights ended, the islands that had previously been protected paid protection fees, and some of them had their flags taken back because they were unable to continue paying the protection fees.

This also resulted in Big Mom offering asylum at each tea party, but the number of asylum recipients remained relatively constant.

After the kingdoms and islands in various places have collected their protection fees, the next step is for the emperors of the underworld to pay their share.

Even those who are prominent figures in the underworld have to lower their proud heads in the face of behemoths like the "Four Emperors".

To survive in the underworld and gain some protection, paying tribute to the Four Emperors is essential, and this applies even to Doflamingo, who is at the height of his power in the underworld.

Of course, there was one exception among those present, and that was a certain dark-haired man who was second only to Big Mom in rank.

At this moment, the other emperors of the underworld handed over their annual contributions to BIG MOM, but despite being one of the giants of the underworld, he was acting as if he didn't belong to anyone and was only concerned with the food in front of him.

So-called rules are made by the strong, and they only apply to the weak.

Wood is undoubtedly one of the emperors of the underworld, and the most powerful one at that. Generally speaking, he is required to pay a certain amount of money to Big Mom and Kaido.

However, this guy has never given it to anyone, and neither the Big Mom Pirates nor the Beast Pirates have ever caused him any trouble because of it. This is the symbol of a strong person.

Wood Arms Company is powerful. It was one thing for them to secretly withhold money from the Four Emperors in the past, but now that Wood himself has appeared at Big Mom's tea party, if they don't make a gesture now, the Big Mom Pirates' reputation as the overlord will be damaged.

If Wood hadn't been there, the underworld bosses and others present wouldn't have dared to comment on the two behemoths, the Big Mom Pirates and Wood Weapons Company.

But now all the other underworld bosses have paid their share, and Wood is just sitting there watching helplessly. What will the other underworld kings think?

"The reason why the underworld has been able to maintain its current order is not only because everyone here has divided their own territory, but also because of the strength of the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates in maintaining stability."

Therefore, it is entirely reasonable to give these two pirate crews a certain amount of money.

But if someone breaks the rules, it's bound to make the others present feel that it's unfair..."

The one who spoke was Doflamingo. Because of a past grudge between the two, Doflamingo had been very uncomfortable ever since he heard that Wood was coming to attend Big Mom's tea party and thought he would run into Wood there.

However, he quickly realized that although he didn't want to see Wood, that annoying guy, the fact that Wood was here might not be a bad thing for him.

Indeed, as Wood Arms Company grew stronger and stronger, and even got in touch with the Golden Emperor Tesoro, Doflamingo felt that his revenge was a long way off.

At least for now, the Donquixote Family has no chance of winning if they clash with the Wood Arms Company.

Just because the Don Quixote family couldn't deal with Wood doesn't mean that other forces at sea were helpless against him.

So after confirming the location of Whole Cake Island where Wood had come from, Doflamingo leaked the news through the underworld that Wood had come to Whole Cake Island and intended to join the Big Mom Pirates.

That's right, the person who acted even before Stussy was none other than Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Whether Wood actually intends to join the Big Mom Pirates is no longer important. It's normal for information to be both true and false. The key question is what Kaido, who knows about this, will think.

The same applies now. Doflamingo knows that he cannot take revenge on Wood on his own, so he drags other underworld bosses into the fray and takes the opportunity to attack him.

After Doflamingo's words, Wood had no choice but to step forward and make a statement.

If Wood were to back down and contribute money to the Big Mom Pirates, then the Beasts Pirates would certainly receive their share as well.