Wedding (I)

When Hancock saw Gion approaching Allen with a platter of fruit, she immediately unleashed Mero Mero Mellow!

Pink heart-shaped beams shot toward Gion!

Without even turning her head, Gion drew Famous Sword Konpira half an inch from its sheath. An invisible sword slash precisely scattered the heart-shaped beams, and the fruit platter was placed steadily before Allen.

Hancock stomped her foot in fury. "Damn it! Sword woman!"

"Allen! Take this!"

Covered in sweat, Yamato lunged forward, trying to give Allen a Bear Hug.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Allen slightly activated his Time Ability. His figure blurred, and Yamato crashed into the giant iron grill roasting meat with a thud.

"Ow! Hot, hot, hot!" Yamato hopped in place.

Nana held a plate of exquisite pastries, smiling sweetly. "Brother Allen~ Try the little cakes I just developed. They use Cloud Shell Powder, a specialty from Sky Island~."

Allen's eyes lit up. Just as he reached out, Hancock and Yamato pounced at the same time. "This Empress/I want some too!"

Robin sat elegantly in a beach chair beside Allen, flipping through an ancient book.

"Allen, judging by the way you grill meat, your use of wrist strength is quite methodical. How about... we go spar with swords in that open area over there?"

Gion gave Allen a meaningful look, hinting that they should be alone.

Hancock immediately shrieked, "No! What are you trying to do, you nasty woman?!"

Hiyori knelt on Allen's other side, her delicate hands performing a tea ceremony.

The fragrance of tea drifted through the air, and her movements flowed like water, pleasing to the eye. "Lord Allen, please have some tea. This is freshly picked Gyokuro from Wano Country, brewed with morning dew. It is especially good for calming the mind and focusing the spirit."

Her voice was as gentle as water.

Negi-Negi Ghosts and miniature ghosts circled around Allen, while Perona herself floated in the air, hugging Kumashi and acting cute in a soft voice. "Lord Allen~ Perona is so bored~ Why not let the ghosts play with you? Or... roast some meat for Kumashi too?"

Just as the women chattered around Allen and the situation was about to spiral out of control.

A very soft yet incomparably clear cold snort came from beneath the parasol.

At some point, Imu had removed her sunglasses. Her eyes, carrying the majesty of eight hundred years and a trace of lazy displeasure, calmly scanned the crowd.

There was no Conqueror's Haki. Yet that cold gaze of someone long accustomed to power alone made the air instantly grow several degrees quieter.

Hancock's petrification pose froze, Yamato shrank her neck, Nana stopped massaging his legs, Robin closed her book, Gion pressed a hand to her sword hilt, Hiyori's smile slightly faded, and Perona's ghosts hid behind Kumashi.

As though she had merely driven away a few annoying flies, Yiyi put her sunglasses back on, picked up her fashion magazine, and continued enjoying her queen's afternoon tea.

What a bunch of noisy little girls... Only that red-haired girl and the archaeologist are somewhat interesting... Hmph.

Taking advantage of the rare silence, Allen quickly stuffed Nana's cake into his mouth, gulped down a mouthful of Hiyori's Gyokuro tea, winked at Gion to signal tonight, then swiftly activated Kamui!

"Oh my, it seems there's some activity in the space. I'll go see what Imu... no, Yiyi needs!"

He vanished in an instant. The women were left staring at one another, before immediately turning their fire on each other again.

Inside the Kamui Space villa.

Allen appeared beside Yiyi's beach chair.

Yiyi seemed to have expected it. Without lifting her head, the corner of her lips curved into an extremely faint, nearly imperceptible smile.

Allen bent down and swiftly Sneak Attacked a kiss onto her smooth cheek, chuckling softly. "Our Yiyi is still the most worry-free. One look from you settles them all."

Yiyi elegantly turned a page of her magazine and replied blandly, "...Boring."

Yet the tips of her ears seemed to have taken on a suspicious flush.

A month later, all of Hachinosu Island had been transformed into a bizarre, wildly mixed-style giant wedding party venue.

Colorful lights and decorations hung everywhere, but the styles of those lights were utterly inconsistent.

Elite Revolutionary Army fighters led by Koala were now grimy and exhausted as they climbed up and down.

Not only did they have to build a massive stage and arrange guest seating, they also had to deal with all sorts of absurd demands.

Hancock's heart storm: "Here! Here! And there too! Every rose must be heart-shaped! They must be the brightest red! They symbolize This Empress's blazing love for Lord Allen! Throw away every single one that isn't heart-shaped!"

Hancock personally supervised the work, with Nana following behind her as pink bubbles flew everywhere.

The logistics personnel looked at the wilted roses in their hands, forcibly bent into heart shapes, and felt like crying without tears.

Yamato's sense of aesthetics: "Not imposing enough! Not mighty enough! Put two gigantic Wolf-tooth club statues on either side of the stage! They have to look exactly like Ken!"

Yamato waved her blueprints around.

The craftsmen looked at the drawings, then at Yamato's expectant gaze, then at the massive Wolf-tooth club "Ken" requisitioned as a model nearby. They all fell into deep thought—how were they supposed to carve this thing? Would it end up looking like some indescribable object?

"Kumashi~ We need lots and lots of ghost balloons~ Floating ones~ Semi-transparent ones~ The kind that can even make 'yohohoho' laughing sounds~"

Perona hugged Kumashi and directed the Negi-Negi Ghosts to inflate balloons.

The ghosts passed right through the balloons. The balloons either deflated or burst one after another, leaving behind colorful scraps of rubber and the confused murmurs of Negi-Negi Ghosts. "Mm..."

The Revolutionary Army fighters silently took out air pumps...

Imu, who had been forcibly dragged over by Allen to offer suggestions, wore casual clothes as she coldly Scanned the bustling decorating site.

Covered in sweat, the Logistics Supervisor approached with a pile of fabric samples. "Lady Yiyi, what color and material do you think would be best for the main stage backdrop curtains...?"

Yiyi did not even raise her eyelids. Her red lips parted slightly. "Whatever." The two words were light and airy, yet they instantly made the Logistics Supervisor feel crushing pressure, as though he were being enveloped by eight hundred years of authority!

"Wh-Whatever... what kind of whatever do you mean, my lady?!"

He was almost in tears. Yiyi ignored him, turned around, and found a quiet corner to read.

The enormous temporary dressing room was like a battlefield.

Hancock wore a gorgeous queen-style wedding dress studded with jewels, its skirt so enormous that it took ten people to hold it up. She struck all kinds of poses before the mirror. "This Empress... This Empress must become the most beautiful bride in Lord Allen's eyes today!"

Yamato wore a modified Shiromuku wedding dress, though her Shimenawa was tied around her waist in a glaringly mismatched fashion, and a miniature Wolf-tooth club ornament was slung across her back. She practiced punching at the mirror. "All right! I have to be full of energy today too!"

Robin wore an intellectual and elegant mermaid dress that accentuated her perfect curves. Using her Flower-Flower Fruit ability to arrange her veil, she wore a mysterious smile.

Nana wore a sexy, glittering backless wedding dress that emphasized her petite yet impressive figure. She adjusted her bra pads before the mirror.

Her gaze was sharp. "Hmph, I'll definitely charm Brother Allen to death today!"

Gion wore a dashing pure-white swordswoman's formal dress, with a slit in the skirt for easy movement. Konpira hung at her waist as she practiced drawing her sword toward empty air.

Hiyori wore a lavish, intricate traditional Shiromuku, dignified and elegant, while Kawamatsu carefully arranged it for her.