As night fell, a carriage, seemingly enveloped in a light mist, drove down the street, ignoring the menacing figures lining the road, and stopped in front of the tavern where the Big Mom Pirates' officers were located.
Then, in full view of everyone, the Old Man driving the car got out and Door Opening like an old servant...
Then everyone saw the person inside—a man wearing a black and red cloak, an aristocratic-style formal suit, and a bat-shaped eye patch on his face. His suit also had several bat-shaped patterns painted on it.
The officers in the tavern, including many who possessed Observation Haki, had already noticed what was happening outside.
Two Shadow Bat flew over and pushed open the tavern's sleek louvered door, while the "Vampire" outside walked in with an air of aristocratic composure.
"Kid! Don't you know this place is booked out?" Mondol slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
Charlotte Mondol, Big Mom's 19th child, is a user of the Book-Book Fruit. She wears a black suit, but human bones are drawn on it in the corresponding positions. She has a long Red Nose, and her small upper body and thick lower body make her look somewhat comical.
"Mondol, don't get excited. Let's hear what Mr. Vladimir has to say first," Smoker said, calmly swirling her wine glass.
Meanwhile, his two twin sisters, Strengths and Snack, subtly curled their lip at Mondol, clearly showing their disdain for their "brother."
Among Big Mom's children, Mondol is considered one of the better ones, at least ranking in the top half. However, the three Smoker sisters have always been arrogant, looking down on everyone except for a handful of their brothers and sisters.
Moreover, Big Mom's children have been disliking each other for a long time. Only the oldest ones have a deeper bond because they fought together during the early days.
Among young people, those who are less capable are always looked down upon!
"It is a great honor that Miss Smoker has heard of me. The strategist of the Beasts Pirates sends his greetings and pays the highest respect to His Queen Charlotte." Sig said, bowing with his hand on his chest.
Charlotte Linlin, also known as Big Mom, is not only the Captain of a pirate crew, but also theoretically the king and queen of Whole Cake Island. Calling her "Your Majesty" is perfectly acceptable.
Mondol looked at Smoker with surprise—he was hearing about Kaido's advisor for the first time.
Sig wasn't surprised that Smoker had heard of it. Although Wano Country was isolated and Whole Cake Island and the Beasts often clashed, Big Mom and Kaido were relatively well-connected "overlords."
Although Mondol is the older brother, Smoker holds a much higher position in the Big Mom Pirates and is better able to know more firsthand information.
"The Beasts Pirates' strategist? Heh, Governor Kaido reminded my Mom that if she saw Vampire, she shouldn't listen to Vladimir nonsense and should just kill him." Smoker's tone was somewhat mocking, as if she was sarcastically criticizing Vladimir for "talking nonsense" and daring to spout off under the guise of "the Beasts Pirates' strategist."
"That really saddens me. Perhaps Kaido has some misunderstanding about me," Sig said, looking distressed.
Sig estimated that given the complex relationship between Kaido and Big Mom, who are both enemies and friends, they probably wouldn't come to deliver a message in person so soon. Perhaps they would use some other means of communication, such as the rare long-range Den Den Mushi.
"Hmm." Smoker took a sip of the juice in her glass of red wine, offering no comment.
However, even Mondol had given up the idea of "taking action" at this point.
What Kaido says is unimportant; they weren't Kaido subordinates. Big Mom and Kaido were indeed once "comrades" of the Rocks Pirates, with Big Mom even considering herself Kaido's Big Sister. However, after the Rocks Pirates disbanded, they had their share of conflicts.
Kaido's description of Vladimir might lead the Big Mom Pirates to believe that this Vampire is no ordinary person...
After all, the fact that Kaido had such a strong hold on them, yet they managed to escape Wano Country unscathed, is itself proof of their strength.
"So what are you doing here? It's not like Governor Kaido sent you here to die, is it?" Smoker asked bluntly, crossing her legs and scrutinizing Sig.
Unfortunately, no matter how closely she scrutinized him, she failed to realize that the seemingly sophisticated Vladimir, clearly the two-faced type, was actually the same Fish-Man had grabbed her by one leg and slammed her around like a Hulk...
"I admire Her Queen Charlotte. I have heard that Her Queen Charlotte intends to target the Giant Kingdom, so I have come to offer my advice," Sig said politely.
The tavern was silent for a moment, then erupted in bursts of laughter...
"Kid, are you going to recommend yourself? Not bad, not bad. Let me count, there are still a few sisters who aren't married yet." Mondol chuckled mischievously as he counted.
Similar to Whitebeard's logic, but different, joining the Big Mom Pirates also requires being a "family member." However, Big Mom doesn't accept adopted sons, but she does accept sons-in-law!
"If I had to choose, I think Miss Smoker would be a good fit," Sig continued politely.
This level of crude humor wouldn't even be considered an appetizer for pirates.
Smoker merely chuckled coldly, "Heh, Mom's about to give birth; she doesn't necessarily need you as her son-in-law."
Why doesn't Big Mom need a son-in-law now that she's expecting a baby?
Because after giving birth, you can rest for a few days and then marry another husband!
However, Sig deduced something else from this threat—Big Mom was about to give birth, so... was Smoker and the other executives here to take advantage of Big Mom's pregnancy and try to save face, or... did Big Mom really want to take advantage of her temporary absence from caring for her baby to launch a campaign against the Giant Country?
Judging from the information in the original work, Sig believes it should be the former.
After all, Big Mom still has feelings for and fear of the Giant Country, but her children may not care about these things. As the overlords of the seas, the Big Mom Pirates have repeatedly avoided the Giant Race, and they may harbor resentment...
Of course, Sig didn't think that this was Smoker's doing— Smoker didn't have the courage or the ability to mobilize such a large force.
Furthermore, if it's just Big Mom's children acting on their own initiative to "save face," then this war shouldn't break out, or at least it won't escalate too much.
"Then congratulations to Your Queen Charlotte on the birth of your son. After I have assisted Prince Katakuri in dealing with the Giant Race, I may meet with Your Queen Charlotte again if necessary." Sig's words carried several probing questions.
And even though Smoker had a straight face and didn't seem to reveal any information to the naked eye, Sig still knew what he was trying to test!
As expected, the Elbaf crisis was orchestrated by Katakuri. As expected... "that matter" shouldn't have happened this year!