It wasn't only the inhabitants of Wano who wondered why the weather had suddenly switched so dramatically, venting a deluge of rain onto their pitiful selves with more than ten lightning strikes resonating every second.

"The kiddo sure does like to be flashy... go and get him, Black Maria."

"As you wish~."

...

Veyron descended from the skies with a massive wooden box levitating next to him. The box was at least 30 feet in height, surprising the onlookers gathered at the entrance of Onigashima Castle. A certain blonde lady with horns and a beautiful kimono was waiting for him.

Veyron had to admit he was astonished by her beauty; she was also a gigantess, which made her more exotic in his eyes. A pity... she was the enemy, and this was not an enemy he was going to spare. He already knew from her wanted poster that she was one of Kaido's main associates, one of the Tobi Roppo.

She was captivated by his figure descending from a lightning storm in the skies and imagined the massive box next to him was the air combustion engine.

"It is a pleasure to have you here, dear God~" She bowed down like a proper courtesan to receive him. Next to her stood her entourage of at least twenty men and women wearing barbarian armour. Though they were not part of her division, they were tasked with ensuring the prey walked into the trap.

Veyron smiled and nodded, "The pleasure is mine, Black Maria." His voice sounded a little sluggish, and she noticed.

"Are you okay?"

"It is alright. I've been a bit stressed lately."

"I imagine~ I'm honoured that you know my humble name. Please follow me as I lead you into our premises. Would you like to walk, or do you prefer to mount me?~"

There seemed to be a hidden message in her seductive tone, but as a focused man, he decided to ignore it and carry on with his mission.

"It is okay. I prefer to float."

Black Maria seemed to hope that she'd get 'mounted,' but seeing the boy who could effortlessly fly, she had to give up and began leading him inside.

Veyron looked around; the castle was gorgeously designed. There were members of the army all over, all looking at him as if he were a lamb heading into the den of lions.

"I heard that you're a swordsman, sweetie... where is your sword?"

"I left it at home. This is supposed to be a peaceful negotiation, isn't it?"

"Fufufu, sure~ I must admit you do look way older in person. Suppose I wanted to eat you whole; you'd be nice and ripe, isn't that wonderful?"

"Not many have the chance to 'eat me,' Black Maria," he snickered, and she shrieked. Her subordinates were even mumbling and wondering what the heck was going on. She was being way too brazen for someone he had never met before.

"And you seem to be behaving rather friendly. Does your captain know about this?"

"I'm a humble courtesan. What's wrong with me offering my services to a distinguished lord?~"

He didn't know what sort of relationship Black Maria and Kaido had, but given how beautiful she was and how she declared herself a 'courtesan,' it couldn't be anything serious.

"I have too many lovers already. I'm afraid if I took your services, my life may get forfeited."

"What is the problem with a last naughty rendezvous with this lady, sweetie? Your life is about to be forfeited anyway~"

"Hahaha!"

"Fufufu~".

Veyron laughed heartily while she giggled coquettishly, the members of the Beast Pirates around him laughed as well. The door far behind had already closed, and as far as they were concerned, he was 'trapped' here.

Black Maria flashed him an extremely seductive yet vicious look.

"To be honest, I've been your fan ever since I first saw your wanted poster. So young yet so strong and strong-willed. It is a bit of a pity that I can't keep you for myself. I'd be more than willing to take you away with me as we fled together… I'd keep you in my little basement as my little pet. We could have so many nights of pleasure."

Veyron gulped a bit; this woman was getting a bit too intense for his tastes. Thankfully, neither of his girls was present, or the plan would have already been spoiled as they'd not kept quiet after what she just said. He smirked and looked at her.

"Then why don't we do that, Black Maria? I wouldn't mind entertaining you for a bit."

She gasped and looked back at him, even stopping in her tracks. It was as if she didn't expect this answer at all. When she turned back to look at him, he was serious, even committed. The woman bit her lips harshly and looked around back and forth.

"But there are plenty of eyes on us. I can't act, sweetie."

'This woman... she's not joking?!' Her eyes looked so obsessed as if he had already accepted her nonsensical proposition. Which he hadn't, at least not truthfully.

A cold breeze swept through her body, and all of a sudden, she felt like the whole darkness of this corridor was looking at her, even if she looked back, there was nothing but an abyss on the other side.

Even Veyron gulped a bit; that pressure wasn't focused solely on her, and for him, it was as if the darkness was saying 'focus!'.

'It was just a bit of banter, Robin, nothing more!'

"*cough* I guess it can't be helped. This is the place, right?" Veyron coughed a bit, and the pressure receded. In front of them was a massive door that the giggling but sweating Black Maria opened. She didn't know what was that just now but figured out it could have been one of their 'special guests' from Marie Geoise.

The boy looked around the main hall where a party seemed to be going on, and the main attendees were the elite pirates of this world.

'Kaido, Linlin, Katakuri, Smoothie, Craker, King, Queen, Jack...' He resisted the urge to whistle; every single one of them was a force to be reckoned with, and the moment he entered, all of their gazes focused on him.

"Oi, the boy's here!" (Jack)

"Look what we have here! The Lightning God in the flesh!" (Kaido)

"Happy to see you're already in the middle of a banquet!~" (Veyron)

"Mamamama!!~ Come in, come in! Let's have a last meal together!" (Big Mom)

With such a jovial introduction, the smiling Veyron laughed heartily and entered the lion's den. The doors behind him closed and locked as he put the massive box to the side.

"You're as beautiful and big as ever, Linlin," he flirted with the gargantuan woman who more resembled a mountain with the toxicity spitting out her mouth.

"Mamama~ what a little gentleman."

"Did you bring the stuff, kiddo?" Kaido downed his sake and erupted, he wasn't beating around the bush. 

"Here it is… now, do you have my stuff?" Veyron took a seat and pointed at the massive box. He was served directly by Black Maria, who struggled due to their difference in size. His jovial attitude and happy-go-lucky self left the invitees stupefied.

'Does the brat really not know what's going on? Is he that gullible? Or maybe it is because he's young and naive?'.

Smoothie sat with her legs crossed, watching him; she was supposed to get engaged to this boy, but it seemed like that wouldn't be possible anymore, 'A pity, he's rather charming but seemingly not as clever'.

They couldn't understand who could be so happy while walking into a death trap.

"Naturally, I'll bring them to you once I verify that this is what I want. My daughter should be playing with them right now, so you don't need to be worried. Go ahead and eat to your heart's content. Oí, Queen, go and check it out!"

BAANGG!!

"Yey!~" The All-Star mashed up the box to see what was inside. He was a scientist and engineer, so he naturally wanted to know about the gigantic and odd-shaped device in front of him.

"Oi, this doesn't look like the one in the projection," he growled, but his eyes flashed with genuine curiosity at the device.

"I wanted to be a good guest and give you an even more advanced version of my air combustion engine. Wanna know what it is called?~."

"Hoho!~ As expected of you, brat. What gift did you bring us?!~."

Veyron walked up to the gigantic droplet-like object and patted it a few times with the most flawless and innocent smile ever.

"You will be quite happy, Kaido. I call this baby 'Fat Man'. I promise you will be so satisfied with its performance, hah! You will want more of them right away!".

***

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