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At noon several weeks later.
At the foreign trade junction of the Sky Kingdom.
The top officers of the Donquixote Family, Diamante and Pica, arrived with their trade items.
Katakuri stood with his arms folded across his chest as his younger brother stepped forward under his orders to verify the contents of the limited-time offering.
"No problems, Brother Katakuri," Cracker said, stepping forward to take the lockbox. After confirming that the two Devil Fruits were in good condition, he turned back toward Katakuri.
Hearing this, Katakuri nodded. "In that case, you may continue to maintain your authority over the SMILE transaction chain."
After seeing they had achieved their goal, Diamante and the others couldn't help but sigh in relief before hurriedly taking their leave.
News of this trade was quickly relayed to Robin, who gathered all intelligence, and Alex, who happened to be resting beside her, heard everything clearly.
Since the shield of the Celestial Dragons had been completely shattered due to Stussy's betrayal, the direct trading chain of artificial Devil Fruits to the World Government had been broken.
The operation had been buried for more than ten years, and those hidden assets had already matured, so Alex naturally didn't care much about it. Besides, for the Sky Kingdom, the artificial Devil Fruits from a previous era were already of little value.
Yet what was merely a mundane item to him was a treasure of gold and silver in the eyes of outsiders, especially the Donquixote Family, who had grown fat through the SMILE transaction chain.
Now, even though they had lost their largest customer—the World Government—there was no guarantee the Government wouldn't continue purchasing covertly. Not to mention that with Alex's lack of concern about concealment, the customer base for SMILE would only expand.
This wasn't just about money but also about extending networks of influence.
Doflamingo, well aware of the benefits, naturally didn't want to miss this opportunity. To maintain his position as the operator of the transaction chain, he had contributed numerous benefits to Alex's Sky Kingdom.
"Speaking of which, Doflamingo has been doing some maneuvering with the Flame-Flame Fruit recently," Robin mentioned.
Alex raised an eyebrow.
Setting aside Katakuri's ability to close the Den Den Mushi connection, Robin nodded and elaborated: "That man recently released information about the Flame-Flame Fruit overseas, apparently intending to use it to attract various big names from the New World before launching his main product, 'SMILE.'"
"Hmm? I just hope that guy isn't trying to carry water in a bamboo basket."
Alex leaned back in the soft chair supported by Maria, his fingers brushing past Robin's delicate face and gradually traveling downward without restraint.
"With our reputation, no one should dare cause trouble with Doflamingo and his crew," Maria said from behind him, while giving Robin a sidelong glance with flushed cheeks.
"That's not certain," Alex replied.
Hearing his words, Maria thought of something. "So it's the Red Hair Pirates, or the Straw Hats who've formed an alliance with those 'undead' samurai?"
Robin resisted the strange sensations on her body and maintained her composure, though she couldn't hide the intensity in her eyes. "Do you need us to send someone there?"
Alex smiled. "The current Doflamingo isn't worth enough for us to dispatch combat power, but..."
Alex withdrew his fingers from the flushed Robin and called toward the door: "Lilith."
After his command, Lilith—the head maid with long black hair—hurried in and greeted Alex respectfully. "Lord Alex, I await your orders."
Looking at Lilith, whose stunning figure hadn't diminished in the slightest, he couldn't help but recall the first trio he had brought to Wano Country when he had nothing to his name.
But now, they had all followed him step by step, becoming his direct subordinates as head maid, head chef, and musician.
After a brief moment of reflection, Alex began issuing orders: "There's a mission that requires you to travel. Imperial Court will be responsible for your actions during that time."
Lilith, hearing these words, quickly considered her fruit ability. She felt flattered and immediately responded, even before Alex could explain the task details.
"Robin will brief you on the specifics... Now, it seems you haven't been summoned in a while, so come here."
Lilith's face lit up with joy. Without the slightest tension or discomfort in front of Alex's retainers, she began unfastening the buttons of her maid uniform.
After giving Lilith her orders, Alex turned his attention back to his administrator: "Elbaf is celebrating the birth of their new king soon, so you'll accompany me there."
Robin nodded, and seeing that Alex had finished giving orders without instructing her further, she seemed to realize something and began quietly doing the same as Lilith.
"Ah! Really, Lord Alex shouldn't play favorites. I've been waiting here for so long."
Maria shifted her body in dissatisfaction behind him, causing even the armchair to shake.
Not long ago, since Alex had stopped using the Op-Op Fruit to control and prevent pregnancy, both the maids and female retainers had gone into a frenzy.
In recent days, Alex's schedule had been completely full every night, and he rarely had free time during the day.
Hancock and Yamato had become lifelong rivals, taking turns competing for his attention. Nami, Carina, and Koala employed various tactics. Perona and Vice Admiral Gion joined in occasionally. Then there was the formidable combination of Maria and Shirahoshi... and Toki.
Perhaps this year should be called the "crucial ten-year decisive battle," Alex thought to himself, though he didn't say it aloud.
After all, with all kinds of transformations, even Alex, who had been with Lady Poseidon for more than ten years, could still experience novel enjoyments.
What he didn't know was that it wasn't just the women—even his male retainers had been having discussions due to the recent heir situation.
The topic of "how to train the future young master into a great talent" had been raised by Lafitte, attracting much debate.
Law and Zoro had argued directly about everything from occupational differences to strength levels.
Even Mihawk, who rarely spoke much, had been contemplating the potential swordsmanship talent of Alex's descendants, and had begun warming to the idea of becoming a mentor.
Katakuri hadn't participated much in these discussions because he was distressed. His younger sisters had recently been frantically asking him to inquire about news from "that man."
He felt that advocating without authorization might cause displeasure among Hancock and his sisters, but he couldn't bring himself to refuse his sisters' requests.
Caught in this difficult situation with no easy solution, he could only sigh toward the ceiling: "Donuts are definitely better!"