Night fell.
The grand martial contest had ended, and the crowd dispersed, leaving only the Beast God Pirates silently waiting on the island.
On Whole Cake Island, Shiki used his ability to temporarily float the colosseum into the air, clearing a vast open space.
Round tables were set up by the pirates, and the area buzzed with noise as the pirates remained immersed in the intense battles of the past few days.
At the center of the many round tables, Caesar and the others sat at a massive one.
"Borororo! Crew! Drink to your heart's content tonight! After this, go enjoy the pleasure district if you want, do whatever you please! Tomorrow, we'll wipe out those annoying Marines and completely conquer the New World!"
Caesar raised his glass of wine.
With a roar, the densely packed pirates rose to their feet, lifting their bowls high.
"Wipe out the Marines! Conquer the New World!"
"Long live the Captain! Long live the Beast God Pirates!"
Caesar could tell that the large crowd of pirates in the square didn't seem particularly tense.
It couldn't be helped—the strength the Beast God Pirates now possessed was simply overwhelming.
Just the glimpse of high-tier combat power displayed during the grand martial contest over the past few days was enough to inflate the pirates' confidence to an unparalleled degree.
Not to mention, Shiki, Kaido, and Linlin hadn't even made a move yet!
Back then, an aging Whitebeard alone had managed to batter Marine Headquarters to such a state.
Now, with the Beast God Pirates at their peak, wouldn't they beat the crap out of Marine Headquarters?
The pirates were now fervently discussing how to earn more merits on tomorrow's battlefield.
Caesar turned to Doflamingo beside him. "Doflamingo, have the last twenty thousand doses of Indigo's serum been distributed?"
Hearing Caesar's question, Doflamingo froze for a moment before replying nervously, "Y-yes, they've been distributed."
Noticing his distracted state, Caesar asked, "What's wrong?"
Doflamingo's expression turned grim, his face shifting through various emotions before he finally sighed and said, "Boss, I'm sorry. It seems there's a traitor among my subordinates."
"Hmm?"
Around the table, everyone turned their gazes toward him.
Crocodile, sitting beside Doflamingo, slowly lit a cigar for himself.
Caesar didn't press for answers.
But Doflamingo quickly composed himself.
"Here's what happened. The day before yesterday, Indigo handed over twenty thousand Evolution Potions to me. I immediately ordered some men to distribute this batch of potions to skilled members of the ten legions."
"There were about two hundred people responsible for transporting the potions. But when the potions finally reached everyone, thirteen hundred were missing."
"Among the thirteen couriers, eleven were confirmed dead, and two went missing."
As he spoke, Doflamingo's eyes held a trace of anger and guilt.
"The two missing individuals are my subordinates, Diamante and Trebol! I suspect the missing Evolution Potions were taken by them!"
"Thirteen hundred? Not too many. Don't take it too hard, Doflamingo! Traitors are everywhere on these seas. It's nothing unusual!"
Caesar didn't seem inclined to blame Doflamingo too harshly.
As he said, betrayal was just a normal occurrence in this world full of pirates.
Even Rocks back in the day was betrayed by Newgate and the others, wasn't he?
"This is different!"
Doflamingo gritted his teeth, his eyes reddening slightly, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
"That fool Diamante! What reason did he have to betray us? Our Beast God Pirates dominate the New World, unmatched by anyone! Was his position and the benefits he gained not enough? He was my subordinate! His betrayal shames me! I will find him and make him understand that traitors have only one fate!"
"Death!"
Caesar patted his shoulder without saying anything.
Suddenly!
From the distant harbor, a speedboat came racing in.
Ganzui jumped off the ship with a grin, dragging two limp figures as he approached.
With two thuds, Ganzui unceremoniously dumped the two men before the group.
Seeing their faces, Doflamingo's eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He shot to his feet and rushed forward.
"Diamante! Trebol!"
"Huh? Ganzui, you old codger, how did you manage to catch them? You probably didn't even know who they were, right?"
Caesar couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Ganzui, despite his age, had rather eccentric habits.
He enjoyed wandering around alone, often going out to sea just for fun.
He'd cruise around several regions of the New World in his spring-powered ship.
Caesar thought the old man was lucky Bullett hadn't beaten him to death last time he wandered onto the Golden Ship.
He'd assumed Ganzui would learn his lesson and lay low for a while.
But just two days after returning, Ganzui had gone out wandering again.
Hearing Caesar's question, Ganzui looked quite pleased with himself.
"Hehehe, it was quite a coincidence. This old man wanted to sneak a peek at Blackbeard's situation, but on the way back, I ran into these two coming out of the Hachinosu waters."
Ganzui pointed at Diamante, who was currently being kicked by an enraged Doflamingo.
"They were wearing Beast God Pirates uniforms, with a strong lingering scent of blood and the distinct odor of large quantities of Evolution Potion! I couldn't mistake that smell, because I had been to Judge's research base and smelled it up close."
"Normally that wouldn't mean much. But these two fellows not only slowed down when they saw me, but also turned around to head back toward the Honeycomb Sea area once they had put some distance between us."
"Our men who finally managed to escape from the Hachinosu Sea area now rush back in panic the moment they see me. If this isn't guilty conscience, I'll fucking stand on my head and shit upside down!"
"Woroorororo, Ganzui, you've finally done something useful," Kaido mocked.
"You didn't kill them, did you?" Caesar asked.
"They won't die, just had some life force absorbed by the Seven-Star Sword."
Sure enough, after a while, as Doflamingo angrily kicked them, Diamante and Trebol who were lying on the ground finally regained consciousness.
When Diamante saw the group sitting at the table, he immediately understood everything.
Thump!
His face ashen, he directly knelt on the ground, having lost all strength.
Doflamingo roared furiously. "Diamante! Why? Why did you betray us?"
Seeing the rage on Doflamingo's face, Diamante laughed instead of showing fear.
"Why? Hahahaha, Doffy! I told you last time, you've changed! You're no longer that lawless king who refused to serve under anyone! I followed you to be second to one man, not second to a crowd! Hahaha..."
Watching Diamante's mad laughter, Doflamingo completely understood.
He remembered the similar words Diamante and Trebol had spoken when they found him decades ago.
"Tch, tch."
Two soft sounds, and thin lines appeared on Diamante and Trebol's necks.
Doflamingo's face darkened: "What I hate most is betrayal!"
Whoosh!
Two heads with unseeing eyes soared into the air!
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator