Chapter 190: Plan Finalized

Soon everyone obtained almost all the intelligence they wanted, from the defense distribution of Cake Island to the abilities of important executives. But what interested the three most was the fatal weakness of Devil Fruit Users.

"I see." Onoki stroked his chin, his gaze sweeping over the two siblings, "No wonder Yagura's Water Release made you so wary."

Yagura looked at Cracker trapped in the Water Prison, the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "It seems that in this world, my Water Release just happens to counter these so-called Users."

Cracker heard his sister leaking intelligence inside the Water Prison, suddenly let out a fierce laugh: "Truly pathetic, I actually got trapped by a little woman's move."

"Bastard!" Yagura's forehead veins bulged, his usually gentle face instantly turned gloomy, "I'm a man!"

The Water Prison suddenly contracted, Cracker grunted, his face turning red.

"Yagura, calm down." Onoki coughed lightly, "We still need him to provide intelligence."

Yagura took a deep breath, slowly released his hand, and the Water Prison returned to its original state. He coldly stared at Cracker: "Knowing their weakness, our action in Totto Land will be a bit more assured."

"By the way," Onoki frowned, "you just mentioned that tomorrow's Tea Party, the Kid Pirates will launch an attack?"

Brulee bit her lip and nodded: "We got intelligence. They plan to ambush Cake Island during the Tea Party."

"That is an opportunity." Onoki narrowed his eyes, "Once the Kid Pirates attack, the entire Cake Island will surely fall into chaos."

"Just right to act amidst the chaos." Ai said directly, turning to stare at Brulee, "Now, take us into your Mirror Space."

Onoki dispelled the Added-Weight Rock Technique, Brulee staggered to her feet, waving both hands in the air, a mirror flashing with silver light appeared out of thin air.

Ai grabbed Brulee's arm in one go, "Go in!"

Brulee was pulled into a stumble, stepping into the mirror, Ai followed closely behind, Onoki and Yagura exchanged a glance, escorting Cracker as they also walked into the mirror.

The Mirror World was an irregular circular corridor, surrounded by mirrors of all sizes, each mirror reflecting different scenes of the outside world.

"The entrance to the Tea Party is over there." Brulee pointed to an inconspicuous mirror ahead, her voice carrying a hint of trembling.

"Don't waste time." Ai said impatiently, "Hurry up and lead the way."

Yagura escorted Cracker walking at the back, his gaze vigilantly scanning the surroundings, in this eerie space, he always maintained a high level of alertness.

At this moment Brulee walked ahead with her head down, but the corners of her mouth hooked up a barely perceptible cold smile: "Wait and see, Katakuri Elder Brother's Observation Haki will foresee your every move clearly. Then you will know the outcome of invading Mom's territory."

……………………

At this moment on the other side

After nearly an hour of sailing, the giant wheel transporting ingredients slowly approached the port.

Under the morning sun, the outline of a huge building gradually became clear, it was a castle piled up from countless cakes and biscuits, emitting a dreamlike brilliance under the sunlight.

"Truly an exaggerated building." Rasa walked to Minato's side, lowering his voice.

Minato did not respond, just nodded slightly, the two followed the team transporting supplies, using the cover of the Transformation Technique to walk into the castle.

"Stop." The guard raised his hand to stop the team, carefully checked everyone's pass, then allowed them to enter.

Passing through the wide city gate, Minato suddenly paused his steps, frowning tightly. Rasa noticed his companion's abnormality from the corner of his eye, using the motion of adjusting the ingredient box to approach and ask: "Did you discover something?"

"The Flying Thunder God Kunai I gave to the Raikage and the other two," Minato lowered his voice, "suddenly became blurry, as if separated by a layer of membrane, the perception is not clear enough."

"What does that mean?"

"As if entering some kind of special space," Minato looked around, "this world seems to exist abilities that can affect space."

"Do we need to change the plan?" Rasa subconsciously clenched his fist.

Minato carefully perceived for a while, shook his head: "Although the perception is blurry, the mark is still moving, it should be no big problem..."

"Hey! What are you two dawdling about?!" A loud shout interrupted the two's conversation.

The two turned around, only to see a short old man with hands on hips, face flushed, walking over here with big strides: "The snacks for the Tea Party are still waiting, do you want to make BigMom Adult angry?!"

Minato and Rasa hurriedly lowered their heads in agreement, following the crowd forward.

Passing through several winding corridors, turning several corners, the scene before their eyes made both of them stunned.

A kitchen as big as a ninja school auditorium appeared before them, dozens of huge stoves neatly arranged, steam rising, mixed with the sweet scent of cream and chocolate, all kinds of chefs shuttling back and forth.

"Newcomers!" A burly Sous Chef walked over, "Go whip cream over there. Remember, every snack at BigMom Adult's Tea Party must be perfect, make a single mistake and I'll make you into tomorrow's dessert!"

The two walked to the mixing table in the corner. Rasa stared at the large barrel of cream in front of him, his hand somewhat unnatural when he picked up the mixer: "This... I really haven't done this before."

"Leave it to me." Minato picked up the mixer, skillfully adjusting the speed, seeing Rasa's surprised gaze, he smiled: "I often made snacks for Kushina before, have some experience."

Minato stirred while injecting subtle chakra into the cream, controlling every bit of force.

Soon, the cream began to become fluffy and white, emitting a faint fragrance.

"Impressive." Rasa looked at Minato's technique in surprise, "How did you do this?"

"Chakra Control." Minato's hand movements did not stop, his voice lowered extremely, "Injecting wind attribute chakra at a specific frequency can make the cream's texture more delicate."

He paused, gesturing with his eyes, "Want to add your secret ingredient?"

Rasa was stunned, then understood. He let a wisp of fine Gold Dust seep from his fingertips, silently sprinkling it into the cream.

Minato seized the opportunity to speed up the stirring, wind attribute chakra carrying the Gold Dust rotating at high speed.

The Gold Dust under the effect of chakra was ground finer and finer, evenly fused into the cream.

In the blink of an eye, the originally white cream emitted a faint golden light, flashing with tiny gold specks under the light, like a layer of starlight had been sprinkled.

"Oh?" A passing chef was attracted by this unique color, stopped to observe, "This effect... not bad."

"Let me see." Several more chefs gathered around.

"What are you all crowding here for? The preparations for the Tea Party are not finished!" The Sous Chef's booming voice suddenly rang out. The crowd consciously parted, making way for a passage.

The Sous Chef strode to the mixing table, seeing the cream shining with golden light in the bowl, his movement suddenly paused. He took a deep breath, his gaze tightly fixed on that flowing golden color, carefully extending a finger to dip a bit.

"This is...!" The Sous Chef widened his eyes, the golden light jumping on the surface of the cream, like countless tiny stardust flowing: "Gold Leaf Cream? No, the texture is more even."

"Gulp." The Sous Chef swallowed it in one gulp, instantly his whole body was like struck by lightning, frozen in place. After a while, he came back to his senses, staring fixedly at Minato: "This... this texture, as smooth and tender as silk."

His voice trembled slightly: "No, more delicate than silk." Saying this, he hurriedly scooped another spoon, eyes shining, "Most importantly, this color effect, simply like..."

"Golden starry sky." Someone beside said softly.

"Right! That's the feeling!" The Sous Chef slapped his thigh, turning to look at Minato.

His eyes sparkled: "Use this to make puffs, call it 'Star Puff'? BigMom Adult will definitely like it!"

The Sous Chef turned to Minato and Rasa, his tone brooking no argument: "From now on, the two of you are exclusively responsible for making this cream! No one else is to disturb them!"

"Thank you for the trust, Sous Chef." Minato's lips curved slightly upward; this was exactly the effect he wanted.

Upon entering the Castle, he discovered the defenses here were strict, with soldiers patrolling almost every Corner. Wanting to investigate intelligence without attracting attention was nearly impossible.

But the kitchen was different.

As the key location for preparing the Tea Party pastries, this place was instead the most laxly defended. If they could secure an exclusive work Area, it would be equivalent to having a relatively safe foothold in this heavily guarded Castle.

Gaining trust here would make obtaining intelligence much more convenient.

The two continued devoting themselves to the cream-making work. As time passed, the atmosphere in the kitchen grew increasingly tense, with everywhere making final preparations for the Tea Party.

Just as Minato was adjusting the stirring speed, his brow suddenly twitched. Those three vague marks suddenly became clear, and all gathered in one Spot, their Locations relatively fixed.

One of the marks was pulsing rhythmically — this was the emergency contact signal they had agreed upon beforehand.

Minato turned his head to look at Rasa; the other understood and nodded.

"Sous Chef," Minato raised a hand to wipe sweat from his forehead, "could you let us go to the washroom? We've been stirring for so long our hands are a bit numb."

"Go and return quickly." The Sous Chef waved a hand. "Don't delay too long."

The two passed through the noisy kitchen and turned into a secluded storage room. The cramped Space was piled full of various seasonings and utensils.

Minato held his breath and sensed for a moment. Confirming no one was around, he signaled Rasa with a glance. Both formed Hand Seals simultaneously; as the white smoke dispersed, their respective Shadow Clone Jutsu stood beside them.

"Remember, if there's any abnormality, Unseal immediately." Minato instructed his own clone. The Shadow Clone Jutsu nodded silently.

Then, Minato's clone placed a hand on Rasa's clone's shoulder. In the next instant, Golden Light flashed, and the two figures vanished into thin air.

"Let's go, we can't stay here too long." Minato pushed open the storage room door and, together with Rasa, returned to their work posts as if nothing had happened.

At this moment, on the wilderness at the edge of Totto Land, two figures appeared out of thin air. Minato and Rasa's Shadow Clone Jutsu looked around, only to see Onoki floating in mid-air waiting.

"Where are they?" Minato asked.

"The situation is a bit complicated. Come with me."

Onoki led the two to a seemingly ordinary mirror, gently pressed his hand forward, and the mirror's surface suddenly rippled.

Minato followed and stepped inside, instantly understanding why the Flying Thunder God marks had become vague.

This Space seemed to be separated from the outside world by a thin film. Currently, Minato's Flying Thunder God marks could only Jump within the same Space, unable to cross into another Dimension.

In the center of the Space, two people were tied on the ground. One was a purple Long Hair woman, the other a burly man. Both bore wounds, clearly having gone through a fierce battle.

"This is...?" Rasa looked at the two bound inside and frowned.

"This is the Mirror Space." Onoki's tone was heavy. "We captured Big Mom's daughter; she possesses the ability to manipulate mirrors. This Space belongs to her; through here one can enter any Location on Totto Land."

Yagura continued at this point: "Big Mom has recalled everyone's Life Cards, leaving only one. This Life Card is hidden behind the Holy Mother Photograph on the long table in the Tea Party Hall."

"Is the intelligence reliable?" Rasa stared at the two, his gaze sharp.

Onoki let out a cold laugh: "Already used Genjutsu to interrogate; there should be no problem."

He paused, glancing at Minato: "There's also an Unexpected Harvest. A pirate crew is preparing to raid Totto Land during the Tea Party."

"This is an opportunity," Rasa mused. "We can act amidst the chaos."

"We have some findings on our side as well." Minato pondered for a moment. "We've already successfully infiltrated the kitchen, responsible for making the Tea Party pastries."

"Can you get close to the Tea Party venue?" Onoki's eyes brightened.

Minato nodded: "And we've gained their trust. If we act during the Tea Party, we can do something in the process."

"I have an idea." Rasa gestured in the void. "We're responsible for making the cream pastries; we can add specially made Gold Dust into them. Once the time is ripe, I'll be able to control this Gold Dust."

"Coordinate with Yagura's Water Release," Onoki's eyes brightened. "Can create massive chaos in an instant. As long as Minato touches the Life Card, he can use Flying Thunder God to leave."

……

The discussion lasted about a quarter-hour. The several people carefully deliberated every detail of the plan.

After confirming no mistakes, Minato and Rasa exchanged a glance. Both of their Shadow Clone Jutsu simultaneously dissipated into white smoke.

In the kitchen, Minato and Rasa who were stirring cream simultaneously experienced a Pupil Shrink as the Shadow Clone Jutsu's memories flooded their minds.

"This batch is about done." Minato casually set down the mixer, expression unchanged.

"Mm." Rasa responded, his hands not stopping.

"Progress looks good." The Sous Chef strode over, looking satisfied at the several large vats of cream flashing with Golden Light. "These will be sent to the Head Chef later."

"Right," the Sous Chef walked two steps then stopped, turning back to say: "The Head Chef saw the cream samples you made and felt this starlight effect was too outstanding. He wants you to make a few more batches, to be used to decorate the Main Cake in the Hall."

(Chapter End)