As a CP0 agent, Stussy had escorted and protected Celestial Dragons more times than she cared to count. Few in the world had stood closer to those haughty "gods."
Bigoted, twisted, depraved, arrogant, cruel—their vices were an inventory of humanity's darkest corners. Doflamingo, once one of them, was no exception.
To imagine he would "cooperate as equals" with a Marine was as ridiculous as asking her to kneel and call Darren her father. She dismissed the notion at once.
With the unreasonable stripped away, one conclusion remained: Darren knew exactly what Doflamingo was and still couldn't stop him, forced to let him run wild across the North Blue.
So they were likely enemies.
Stussy weighed the clues with practiced care, the answer settling into place.
"Any record of a conflict between Donquixote Doflamingo and Rogers Darren?" she asked abruptly.
Her subordinate paused, then nodded. "Yes. When Doflamingo first reached the North Blue, they clashed fiercely on Rubeck Island. They nearly leveled the town, but for some reason called a truce."
Stussy's mouth curved; her suspicions tightened. Darren must have discovered Doflamingo's true identity and balked at the fallout, holding his hand at the last moment.
"What happened after?" she pressed. With a snake like Darren, verification was everything.
The subordinate hesitated, then snapped his fingers. "Right—when Rogers Darren was captured by Kaido, his second-in-command—Momonga, now Supreme Commander of the North Blue—took five battleships and blockaded Rubeck Island, the Donquixote Family's base. It was a deadlock."
Perfect. Back then, while the Marines were hunting Douglas Bullet, Kaido had seized Darren mid-operation. The North Blue had teetered, unsure of his fate.
Momonga's blockade had been Darren's contingency against Doflamingo.
Her certainty set. Those two were enemies, no question.
If that was true… was there room for her to work with Doflamingo?
The thought sparked bright and hot.
"Shall we escalate against Doflamingo, Madam?" the black-suited subordinate ventured, cautious in her silence. "His raids are hurting business in the Pleasure District. If we let him keep stripping our fleets, our reputation will suffer."
He had no way of knowing the man's true lineage.
"No. Hold for now." Stussy smoothed her expression; a dazzling smile bloomed on her crimson lips, bold as a mandala in full flower. "No need to hurry. He's made too many enemies. Someone else will lose patience and move first."
Her Majesty seems much happier all of a sudden… She's been in a temper for days…
The subordinate froze, briefly caught by the radiance of her smile, then bowed out.
Alone again, Stussy lit a cigarette and let the smoke curl. She hadn't forgotten that damned bet with Darren. It was the reason she'd been sleeping poorly and snapping at everyone.
And now the board looked grim. With the second round of candidates announced, the scales had tipped hard toward that despicable, lecherous man.
Of the seven Shichibukai slots, five were Darren's: Crocodile—the "Sand Crocodile"—and Douglas Bullet, the "Demon Heir," plus alternates Dracule Mihawk, Fisher Tiger, and Gecko Moria.
Seven seats, and he effectively controlled five.
Nothing was set in stone, but his confidence said enough.
Which meant if she wanted to win, her only leverage lay in the remaining two.
What if… I put forward Donquixote Doflamingo?
The idea flashed and took root.
By her reckoning: a former Celestial Dragon, arrogant and incapable of bending to Darren, with a grudge born in the North Blue—he could never be Darren's candidate.
If she extended an olive branch… no. Too overt. Darren would sniff it out.
It would have to be done in shadow.
There was room to move. Doflamingo's strength clearly cleared the bar for the Shichibukai.
The problem was status.
The Holy Land had stripped him of every privilege. The Gorosei likely despised him. Under normal circumstances, they would never sign off on his appointment.
All she needed was the right opening.
This will work.
The more she turned it, the more brilliant it seemed. That bastard would never guess she'd go all in on his sworn enemy. The moment Doflamingo became a Shichibukai, she'd grind that shameless man beneath her heel.
"You seem in quite a good mood today, Your Majesty…"
A deep voice cut through her reverie. Stussy blinked, then watched a Marine Vice Admiral float in through the window.
She leaned back, resting her cheek on her hand, her black suit tracing every elegant line as she smiled. "When the 'King of the North Blue' honors our modest Pleasure District, how could I not be delighted?"
Just you wait, Darren. Victory is mine.
Her smile bloomed again, bright and deadly, her eyes on him like a butcher sighting a lamb for the block.
To be continued...