Oak and the others followed Linlin into the castle on Whole Cake Island. From the entrance to the main hall, her children stood on either side to welcome them, giving them a grand reception.
Once inside, they ran into the Gourmet Knight, Streusen.
"Long time no see, everyone!"
Their former comrade greeted them warmly, but Shiki walked straight past him without a glance.
Shiki had never thought much of Streusen, even back on Hachinosu. If he hadn't seen him today, he might not have remembered Streusen had ever been one of them. The reason was simple: Streusen was weak.
In the Rocks Pirates, he had been dead last, barely worth noticing.
Even Newgate gave him only a slight nod and said little. Kaido looked down his nose at him, speaking without a shred of courtesy.
"Hmph!"
"You're not dead of old age yet?"
When Kaido had first joined the Rocks Pirates, he had still been weak. Streusen had put on airs and bullied him, and the two had clashed several times. Later, once Kaido had grown stronger and started running with Oak, he had paid Streusen back. Unable to beat Kaido, Streusen had turned fawning instead. Kaido had always despised people like that.
Despite being snubbed one after another, Streusen showed no embarrassment. The warmth on his face never faded.
He was used to it. Hachinosu had been a place where the strong preyed on the weak. Strength was everything; if you were stronger, you could do as you pleased.
As the weakest of them in those later days, anyone could kick him around. Without Linlin, he wouldn't even have qualified to join the Rocks Pirates.
This chilly reception was nothing compared to back then!
Only Oak treated him relatively kindly, though his question was much the same as Kaido's.