Bar Hall.
Gurd found an intact table and chair, poured himself a drink after sitting down, then leisurely watched Ulti fight Galette.
He loved watching women fight, especially two beautiful ones.
Big Mom's daughter before him also had an excellent curvaceous figure, particularly those gorgeous long legs—just slightly inferior to Ulti's.
Mainly because Ulti was younger, her skin smoother, giving her a bouncy, firm, and supple appearance.
However, Galette had more feminine charm than Ulti, her form-fitting red bodycon dress looking incredibly sexy.
"Brother Oven lost!"
Seeing Oven embedded headfirst into the ground, Galette's focus shattered, her abilities faltering repeatedly.
Ulti was already fast enough to dodge Butter attacks easily, and now it was even harder to catch her.
"Hey, greasy lady, if you keep spacing out like this, you'll lose for sure! Not that you stood a chance against me anyway, duh!"
"After all, I'm younger, prettier, more popular, and even my boyfriend's better than yours, duh!"
Ulti darted around Galette at high speed, leaving only afterimages, all while relentlessly taunting her.
"Eh? Don't tell me you don't even have a boyfriend? How pathetic, duh!"
"Shut up, you brat!"
Galette's veins bulged in fury.
More than the difficulty of the fight, she hated the other's foul mouth—it hadn't stopped since the battle began, and every word stabbed at her sore spots.
"I'll tear that mouth of yours apart, brat!"
Galette raised both hands, summoning more Butter that coalesced into flowing, disc-like shapes, growing larger and larger.
"Butter: Extra-Large Restraint!"
The Butter cascaded down like a curtain, enveloping everything in all directions!
Her opponent's speed had severely disrupted her perception. If she couldn't catch her, she'd resort to an area attack.
But Ulti had vanished!
Galette frantically scanned her surroundings before suddenly looking up—Ulti was crouched upside-down on the ceiling, legs coiled like springs!
The next instant, the girl appeared before her like lightning, her forehead radiating a dark Haki Aura.
"Ulti Headbutt Gun!"
"BAM!!!"
Their skulls collided violently!
Galette's eyes rolled back as the hardened bone beneath her skin cracked like ice, fracturing into a web of fissures.
Her body stiffened before collapsing to the floor.
Ulti triumphantly planted her hands on her hips.
"Gu Jiang! Page One! Look, I won, duh!"
"Oh, so amazing!"
Gurd and Page One hurriedly clapped.
Any slower, and the girl would've snapped at them.
Soon, Oven and the other two were tied up.
A large bucket of ice water was dumped on them, jolting them awake. The moment they saw Gurd, their eyes burned with rage.
"Mom will never forgive you!"
"The Beasts don't fear Big Mom."
Gurd's gaze was dismissive.
The fight had been easy—only Oven among the three had decent strength, while the other two were mid-tier at best among Big Mom's children.
Meanwhile, the three of them were core officers of the Beasts Pirates. Losing here would've been too shameful to face Kaido afterward.
"Now, hand over Caesar."
"Dream on!"
Oven roared.
Gurd shook his head, drawing a pistol from his waist and pressing it against Mont-d'Or's temple, his expression icy with threat.
"If I'm not mistaken, Caesar is inside your book. Killing the ability user will nullify the corresponding power—surely I don't need to teach you that?"
"You—"
The trio's faces paled.
Especially Oven, who couldn't bear the thought of his beloved younger siblings dying before his eyes—it would be worse than death itself.
Suppressing her humiliation, Galette gritted her teeth and spoke: "Brother Mont-d'Or, hand Caesar over to them!"
"Galette, Mama will be furious—"
"We'll die!"
Galette sharply cut Mont-d'Or off.
They couldn't afford to worry about Mama's feelings now. If they were all killed, Caesar would still fall into the Beasts Pirates' hands.
Then their deaths would be for nothing!
Handing Caesar over meant they still had a chance to reclaim him and seek revenge. They couldn't die here in vain.
Mont-d'Or's expression shifted uncertainly before he finally spoke in anger.
"Release me!"
"Page One."
Gurd waved his hand in signal.
Soon, Mont-d'Or freed Caesar from the Book Prison.
"Waaah—sob sob!"
Tears and snot streamed down Caesar's face as he wailed hysterically, not even registering the appearances of Gurd's group before beginning his lament.
"Joker, you've finally come to save me!"
"I was scared to death!"
"You don't know what they—"
When he finally saw Gurd's trio clearly, Caesar froze mid-scream, his relief turning to terror—especially under Gurd's towering, disdainful gaze.
Those vicious eyes were even more terrifying than Oven's group.
"Who are you people? Where's Joker?"
"Joker is still on his way."
Gurd replied calmly.
"We are the Beasts Pirates."
"Beasts?!"
Caesar's eyes bulged in horror, snot spraying from his nose. Compared to Big Mom's crew, the Beasts' reputation was far more terrifying!
Earlier, he'd been drinking fine wine and singing merrily when pirates—the notoriously fearsome Big Mom Pirates—suddenly kidnapped him.
Everyone in the underworld knew Big Mom's infamous reputation.
Totto Land was known as the place where "entry is permitted, but departure is forbidden." Anyone trying to leave would have their soul extracted by Big Mom.
He didn't want to be imprisoned in Totto Land—without freedom, how could he enjoy the company of the ladies from Girls' Ship?
Yet compared to the Beasts, staying in Totto Land at least guaranteed survival. Its citizens were famously prosperous, with many struggling to gain entry.
But in Beasts territory? You'd never know when death might come. Worse, one of his sworn enemies was among them!
Terrified, Caesar collapsed onto his rear, scrambling backward on hands and feet before clutching Oven's sleeve and bawling: "Please, don't abandon me!"
"..."
Oven's fury deepened at Caesar's terror.
Clearly, Caesar had no ties to the Beasts—meaning their attack was undeniably an act of war!
Oven roared his accusation: "Earth Calamity, what is your purpose? Did Kaido order this?!"
"Kaido has no time for such trivialities."
Gurd shook his head, turning to Caesar.
"Caesar, tell them—who is your backer?"
"Joker, of course!"
Caesar blurted out.
Back at Punk Hazard, to secure funding for his Land of the Dead research, he'd partnered with Mingo—a connection facilitated by Vice Admiral Vergo of G-5.
Wait—perhaps Joker's name could intimidate them.
Seeing a glimmer of hope, Caesar hastily added.
"My backer is Joker, none other than the boss of the underworld, the Heavenly Yaksha, one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea—Lord Doflamingo!"
"Silence!"
Gurd snorted coldly, glaring at Oven.
"You heard that!"
"..."
Oven's face twisted with fury.
Other factions might not know, but their Totto Land had long received intelligence—half a year ago, Doflamingo had taken over Kaido's weapons trade.
In other words, Kaido was Doflamingo's backer, and Caesar, who relied on Doflamingo, naturally belonged to the Beasts.
They had been the ones to abduct a subordinate of the Beasts first.
"If you understand, then get lost."
Not daring to utter another word of defiance, Oven led his siblings away in disgrace, his heart seething with rage and humiliation.
They couldn't win the fight—and they weren't even in the right.
They couldn't even find a reason to seek revenge.
By the time they returned to their ship, Oven's face was contorted with fury.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
He was about to explode!
"Galette, contact Katakuri immediately! We absolutely cannot let go of the person Mama wants!"
(End of Chapter)