At noon the next day, the sun was shining brightly.
Cake Island had returned to its usual bustle. Only the scar carved by Garen's sword aura silently spoke of the terror of last night's earth-shattering battle.
Meanwhile, a grand banquet was being held inside Big Mom's castle.
Because of the upcoming grand wedding, Big Mom's children, normally scattered throughout Totto Land, had all gathered on Cake Island over the past few days.
Big Mom herself loved lively occasions, so she had held family banquets of considerable scale every day, gathering her children and subordinates together to create the bustling image of one harmonious family.
However, today's gathering was somewhat different.
Besides her children and subordinates, there was one special guest at the banquet:
Garen.
After choosing to make a temporary peace agreement with the Big Mom Pirates, he had immediately become Big Mom's honored guest.
Big Mom had not only arranged luxurious accommodations for Garen, but had also specially invited him to her banquet and reserved him a comfortable seat close to the main seat.
In the past, only Katakuri, the Big Mom Pirates' second-in-command, had been qualified to use that seat.
Big Mom's regard for and desire to recruit Garen were obvious.
Even during the banquet, Big Mom's attention was entirely on Garen, as though she had made him the protagonist of the feast.
After exchanging a round of meaningless pleasantries with Garen, she bluntly steered the conversation further:
"Garen."
"Mommy is very happy that you could become a guest of the Big Mom Pirates."
"However, are you interested in taking our relationship a step further and becoming family with us?"
"Huh?"
Garen froze slightly, then immediately darkened his expression.
"Not interested!"
"You should go back to Doflamingo!"
He had come here as a guest to watch Doflamingo make