One day later.
Aeridar, still strolling along Dressrosa's central avenue, received a call from Doflamingo, asking him to come to the palace.
So, Aeridar, realizing Doflamingo was back, casually led his group to the palace on the King's Plateau.
As soon as he entered the palace hall, Aeridar saw Doflamingo with white bandages wrapped around his arm and chest. He was still perched on the throne in his usual devil-may-care manner.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa~ What's the situation here?"
Aeridar was a bit speechless. For Doflamingo to sustain such injuries, had he been battling a monster?
"Fufufufufu~ I fought a monster and nearly lost my life!" Doflamingo chuckled.
"Someone who can make even a monster like you call them a monster... Could it be a Yonko?" Aeridar teased with a smile.
Of course, this was just Aeridar's teasing. A Yonko was impossible; otherwise, it'd be questionable if Doflamingo would even return.
Take Crocodile, for example: he challenged Whitebeard and lost an arm. Gekko Moria clashed with Kaido and suffered a complete rout, both physically and mentally.
If Doflamingo had faced a Yonko, even if he came back, he'd likely be missing some parts or bearing several unhealing scars.
"If it were one of those big shots, I wouldn't have gone," Doflamingo's face darkened, then he began to explain.
It turned out the important criminal the World Government was escorting was named Devin Hubert, a 37-year-old genius scientist from the Maeon Kingdom in the first half of the Grand Line.
He was extremely proficient in medicine, biology, and even machinery. He had published many famous papers in newspapers, and the World Government had originally tried to recruit him, but he refused.
The World Government naturally didn't want to let go of such a brilliant scientist, so they kept him under surveillance.
Three years ago, Devin Hubert secretly developed a nutrient solution that could nourish the human body, slow cell division, and delay aging. Although incomplete, it still greatly shocked the World Government and the World Nobles who got wind of it, making them desperate to obtain it at any cost.
Thus, the World Government and the World Nobles dispatched agents to forcibly take Devin Hubert, wanting to acquire the formula for that medicine. However, Devin Hubert escaped during the capture.
After escaping, Devin Hubert didn't stop his research. Instead, he bribed jailers in the Dorita Kingdom prison, hiding himself within the prison. He then used some of the healing medicines and potential-enhancing drugs he researched to connect with various pirate crews, earning massive funds and cutting-edge equipment to continue his research.
Originally, all of this was done in secret, and there were many other factions competing in the underworld, so it wasn't particularly conspicuous, which meant the World Government's agents couldn't find Devin Hubert's whereabouts.
However, during this period, the widespread success of Malice Drug (EDU5) allowed the World Government's informants in the underworld to learn about it and search for the scientist researching Malice Drug.
Because when Devin Hubert escaped, a good deal of his data hadn't been destroyed. By chance, Felix Gregory discovered clues and experimental records related to Malice Drug in these leftover documents.
He bought a dose of Malice Drug from the underworld, and through his research, he found that it indeed matched the leftover research clues and experimental records.
The exposure of this matter made the World Government realize that Malice Drug was definitely related to Devin Hubert.
The World Government and World Nobles, upon receiving news of him again, naturally wouldn't let him go. After a period of investigation and searching, they finally found Devin Hubert hiding in the Dorita Kingdom prison and successfully captured him.
However, when Devin Hubert was captured, he also sent out a message, contacting the pirates he was allied with.
Those pirates naturally wouldn't let go of such a cash cow.
Three pirate crews immediately took action, assembling five large warships to raid the Marine prison ship.
Felix Gregory, who was caught by surprise, first contacted the Five Elders, then received authorization to ask the nearest Doflamingo for support.
Who would have thought that even a great pirate with a bounty of over 500 million, like Duke - Garfield Caesar, would mobilize?
Doflamingo and Garfield battled for several hours on Dismaina Island without a clear victor, until Marine reinforcements arrived, led by Admiral Aokiji Kuzan himself.
Realizing his objective couldn't be achieved, Caesar didn't want to be surrounded by a Marine Admiral and a Warlord of the Sea, risking the same fate as Demon Mask Gutte. So, he left with the remaining pirates.
The end of the battle should have been good news, but during the cleanup, it was discovered that Devin Hubert had disappeared, or rather, escaped, or possibly even rescued.
This meant the World Government had paid a huge price but ultimately gained nothing.
"Hahahahaha..."
After listening to Doflamingo, Aeridar burst into laughter. He had no affection for the dark, corrupt, and rotten World Government, so he was naturally happy to see them suffer a major loss.
However, Aeridar had deeply memorized the name Devin Hubert. If he could gain this person's allegiance, with his abilities combined with Dalt's, they might be able to research an even more perfect 'Devil Fruit Consumption Technology' and an even more perfect 'Super Soldier Technology.'
Creating a large number of useful 'magic items' from Devil Fruits and countless super-soldiers... When Aeridar himself possessed strength comparable to a Yonko, taking down a Yonko would be a simple matter.
"...Those guys in the World Government... their foresight can still be quite sharp at times," Doflamingo had to admit, Devin Hubert's value was probably second only to Vegapunk.
"Doffy, I want to place an order with you."
At this moment, Aeridar spoke to Doflamingo.
"Oh~ What do you need? I'll give you a 30% discount," Doflamingo said, a smile appearing on his face as he looked at Aeridar. With business coming his way, he was naturally pleased.
"Thank you then."
Aeridar nodded. A 30% discount would save him a significant amount of funds, so there was no reason to refuse.
"I need a thousand pistols, ten thousand rifles, a hundred 18-pounder cannons, thirty 24-pounder cannons. If you have 32-pounder and 48-pounder cannons, I'll take a few of those too, and give me five basic loads of ammunition," Aeridar said, making a grand request.
"Fufufufufu~ That's a big order, and I have all of it," Doflamingo's smile deepened as he spoke. "I have eight 32-pounder cannons, and as for 48-pounder cannons, I only have two."
This was because very few countries possessed the technology to build 32-pounder and 48-pounder cannons. Even Doflamingo didn't have this technology.
Moreover, in warfare, these heavy cannons and fortress cannons were the first to be destroyed, so they rarely appeared on the black market.
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