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'So the Glare-Glare Fruit was never fated for Viola,' Arthur mused.
His early move—handing Dressrosa over to Doflamingo three years ago, long before it was supposed to happen—had twisted the girl's destiny. At such a young age, she had simply never encountered the fruit.
It was a small change, but a significant one.
It confirmed his theory: the Great Pirate Era itself was an unstoppable tide, a force of history that could not be altered. But the era that followed?
This new age would not be the "Whitebeard Era." It would be the "Thunder God Era."
And that... was now his to write.
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"The Gummy-Gummy Fruit, Spring-Spring, Arms-Arms, Heal-Heal, Sickle-Sickle, Whisper-Whisper, and the Glare-Glare..."
Arthur stepped down from the golden throne, a rare, satisfied smile gracing his features as he claimed the seven fruits.
"You've done well, Doflamingo. A haul like this in three years is... reasonable."
The Heal-Heal Fruit was a significant asset. The Arms-Arms Fruit was a curiosity, its potential severely limited by the user's stamina. But the Glare-Glare Fruit... that was the real prize.
A reconnaissance ability with a four-thousand-kilometer range. It was a strategic game-changer. In the hands of the Navy, it would mean the end of secrecy for every pirate on the sea.
In Arthur's mind, it was, without question, the single greatest intelligence-gathering fruit in existence.
'He's even seen the full Devil Fruit Encyclopedia?'
Doflamingo thought, his smile straining. 'He recognized them all instantly.'
"Fuffuffuffu! As long as the Lord Thunder Emperor is pleased," Doflamingo chuckled, a wave of relief washing over him. He had been dreading this meeting, and it had gone far more smoothly than he'd dared hope.
His relief was short-lived.
"Doflamingo..." Morgans suddenly squawked from his seat, his voice a gleeful, grating sound. "Didn't you collect more than just these? The Captain doesn't care about Zoans, so giving those to Kaido is one thing. But I heard you also made a tidy little delivery to Big Mom..."
"Oh?"
The smile vanished from Arthur's face. The atmosphere in the great hall didn't just chill; it became charged, heavy with ozone.
He turned slowly. The seven fruits floated from the chest into his hand, which crackled with energy. The now-empty treasure chest burst into flames and disintegrated into ash.
"Zzzzzzzzt!"
Violent, purple arcs of lightning snaked across his shoulders and chest, the sharp crackle filling the dead silence.
To his own crew, Arthur could be tolerant. To outsiders, he was a different beast entirely. He'd earned his title as the "Most Dangerous Man on the Seas" for a reason. His mood could shift like a sudden storm.
Power was the ultimate trump card. A man who stood at the pinnacle didn't need to negotiate. He didn't need to play by the rules. He was the rules. He could tear the entire board apart at any moment.
Doflamingo's entire plan was painfully transparent: play all sides against each other. Keep Arthur happy, keep Kaido supplied, keep Big Mom placated. He wasn't building an alliance; he was building a business, positioning himself as the indispensable broker to the world's great powers, fanning the flames of their conflicts from the shadows.
It was a smart plan... but it was also a profound insult.
Arthur's Conqueror's Haki descended, a suffocating, physical weight that slammed Doflamingo to his knees.
The other captains watched, cold smiles on their faces, not a shred of pity for the underworld's most famous broker.
"..." A cold sweat beaded on Doflamingo's forehead. He was desperately calculating an exit, any exit. He swore to himself that if he got out of this, he would never set foot on Raijin Island again.
This place was a madhouse. These people were lunatics. They talked about killing as casually as breathing. Big Mom and Kaido were monsters, yes, but they were predictable monsters. Their rages followed a certain logic.
This man Arthur... he was a dangerous chaos. Doflamingo thought he had his measure, but he had been disastrously wrong.
"Fuffuffuffu..." A strained, strangled laugh escaped Doflamingo's throat.
"Doflamingo," Arthur's voice was a low, chilling whisper. "Did you think that ferrying me here three years ago gave you a free pass? Did you think you could play games in my territory and I wouldn't notice?"
"No... of course not—" Doflamingo choked out, the pressure threatening to crush his bones.
"You're still useful to me. So I won't kill you. Today," Arthur stated, his voice flat. "But you will tell me what you gave to Big Mom."
"I-I didn't check it that closely!" Doflamingo lied, his mind racing. "I just knew it wasn't a Zoan or a Logia!"
Doflamingo had, of course, seen the encyclopedia as a child. He just hadn't bothered to memorize it. The only fruit he'd ever truly cared about was the one on the very first page, the one described in vague, ambiguous terms, the one whispered about as the "Ultimate" fruit—the red, heart-shaped Op-Op Fruit.
"Describe it," Arthur commanded.
"Round... with a ringed pattern... purple..."
"When did you send it?" Arthur's voice was no longer a whisper. It was a low growl, an absolute demand.
He knew the fruit instantly. There was only one described with that shape in the encyclopedia.
The Mirror-Mirror Fruit.
A top-tier Paramecia. Its abilities were insane—barriers, reflections, clones... but its true power was legendary:
The ability to create an entire world within mirrors.
A pocket dimension that dwarfed the Castle-Castle Fruit, combining the powers of a dozen other abilities into one.
It was an unacceptable loss.
"Two days ago," Doflamingo gasped, the rebellious, violent rage in his own heart almost bursting from his chest. But he was trapped. In the face of absolute power, submission was the only path to survival.
Arthur was silent for a moment. He looked at the seven fruits floating near his hand, then plucked one—the Gummy-Gummy Fruit—and tossed it at Doflamingo's feet.
"Here is your new mission. You will take this fruit to Big Mom, and you will get the Mirror-Mirror Fruit back."
"You have one month."
"If you fail—if you are not back here in one month with my fruit—I will personally hunt down and annihilate every last member of your Donquixote Family. Am I clear?"
It was an impossible task. A suicide mission. Big Mom, a creature of childish greed, would never make such a trade. She would simply take the Gummy-Gummy Fruit and keep the mirror fruit as well.
But that was Doflamingo's problem, not Arthur's.
If Doflamingo succeeded, it would prove his usefulness. If he failed... Arthur would just have to wait a few years, and then go take the fruit from Big Mom himself.
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