The reality wasn't far from Naruto's speculation.
During the big battle on Whole Cake Island, Orochimaru actually had a chance to escape in the chaos.
But he didn't.
He still needed to gather more sufficient information. What could he do if he left Whole Cake Island now, having lost all his memories?
Therefore, apart from secretly hiding some Marines and pirates, he didn't do anything too out of line.
If this action made Linlin slightly more satisfied with him, then his subsequent actions truly dispelled the suspicions of that Emperor towards him.
He caught Diamante, who was trying to escape with the unconscious Doflamingo.
Even though he had no memory of combat, Orochimaru still relied on this body's immortality to stubbornly delay the other party, preventing his escape.
He ultimately succeeded in attracting the attention of Katakuri and other executives, leading to Doflamingo, the temporary turncoat, being imprisoned again.
Because of such 'loyal' performance, Orochimaru earned himself the privilege to move freely on Whole Cake Island.
As long as he didn't leave the main island, no one would bother him about what he wanted to do.
This was much better than being restricted to the castle earlier.
As for Doflamingo, the underground broker, Big Mom wasn't planning to kill him directly.
This guy still had plenty of use.
Not only the Gigantification method she coveted, but also the Artificial Devil Fruits Kaido desired were seen by Big Mom as her own 'bargaining chips'.
In fact, after Doflamingo was imprisoned by her, Queen, Kaido's subordinate, had actively contacted her, wanting Doflamingo back.
For this, they were willing to offer appropriate 'compensation'.
Although she had been a crewmate with Kaido on the Rocks Pirates and had a deep personal friendship, business was business.
Big Mom had no intention of giving up such an extortion opportunity. At the same time, she was sending a message to others.
If someone like Doflamingo, who switched sides temporarily, didn't pay a price, wouldn't everyone dare to play tricks in front of her later?
Since Kaido wasn't around, Queen could only eat this silent loss, constantly retreating in the negotiations.
Things were almost settled, but who would have thought that Jack would directly clash with Big Mom's subordinates, trying to forcibly take Doflamingo away.
The result was the matter being shelved again, and Doflamingo could only be tightly bound by Seastone Chains, trapped in Big Mom's dungeon along with his executives.
Of course, except for the petrified Senor Pink, the others had mostly recovered to their previous state.
"Young Master, what should we do?"
Baby-5, as a Devil Fruit User, also enjoyed the treatment of Seastone Shackles, though compared to Doflamingo, who was wrapped up like a dumpling, she only had shackles on her hands.
Perhaps even Big Mom's subordinates didn't consider this strange woman a threat.
"We've been locked up here for so long. What about Dressrosa..."
Diamante was also bound hand and foot, his eyes showing some worry.
"Fufufufufu... Don't worry. Someone will come to rescue us soon."
Although he looked the most disheveled, Doflamingo's face showed no worry.
He knew very well that he held too many people's secrets and was involved in too many interests.
Now that he was trapped in Totto Land, he believed those business partners... even the Celestial Dragons, were probably getting restless, right?
They might not boldly snatch him from Big Mom's grasp, but they would definitely take some action.
At the very least, his life wasn't in danger. Returning to Dressrosa was just a matter of time.
"As for Dressrosa, with Trebol and the others there, there won't be any chaos."
Doflamingo was quite confident in his family executives.
Even disregarding the combat strength of others, just Sugar's mastery of the Hobi Hobi no Mi was enough to eliminate any unstable factors threatening his rule.
Those turned into toys by the Hobi Hobi no Mi would no longer be remembered by anyone. It was absolute.
As long as Sugar was safe, the Donquixote Family's rule over Dressrosa was as solid as a rock.
'Just wait... just wait, a turning point will definitely come soon.'
Doflamingo firmly believed this.
As it turned out, he wasn't wrong.
A turning point did appear soon.
But what surprised him was, the person who appeared before him was someone he had never seen before.
A pale-skinned, somewhat gloomy-looking young man.
The exposed parts of his skin had something like snake scales... 'Ah!' He remembered, 'Wasn't this the marriage partner Big Mom mentioned?'
"Hello, Donquixote Doflamingo. May I call you that?"
Orochimaru looked at the four people in the cell and showed what he thought was a kind smile.
Although he tried to restrain it, that innate gloomy and cold aura still made Diamante and Baby-5 feel uneasy.
When stared at by those vertical pupils, it felt like falling into a snake pit.
An illusion of cold, sticky sensations vaguely appeared around their bodies.
A serious expression also appeared on Doflamingo's face. He looked at Orochimaru through his sunglasses without speaking first.
Seeing the other's attitude, Orochimaru wasn't in a hurry either. Instead, under the gaze of the three, he took out a set of keys from his pocket and, surprisingly, casually unlocked the cell door.
"Don't worry, no one will come here for a while. We have plenty of time."
"Ah... I haven't introduced myself yet... How rude of me."
"You can call me 'Orochimaru'."
After hearing this, Doflamingo finally spoke.
"So, who do you represent here? The World Government? Kaido? Or the 'Revolutionary Army'?"
He didn't mention Big Mom's name because he knew that if Big Mom wanted to see him, she would have sent her children to fetch him, not have a destined-to-be-abandoned 'husband' come alone.
"I represent no one, only myself."
"During this time, I've also looked into your information, Doflamingo... JOKER, broker of the underworld. How about it, interested in a transaction?"
As he spoke, Orochimaru directly took a few keys from the keyring and held them up in front of him.
"...Go on."
The familiar smile reappeared on Doflamingo's face.
He could sense that the person before him was similar to himself… they were both people who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
"I need you to take me away. And the reward for the transaction, I think you understand clearly as well."
"What? Are you afraid of being killed by that Big Mom?"
Doflamingo's eyebrow twitched, then, uncharacteristically, he explained further.
"If that's the case, you don't really need to cooperate with me."
"From what I know, after Big Mom gets pregnant, as long as you don't do anything out of line, she usually won't kill you easily. At most, she'll exile you from Totto Land… shouldn't that suit your purpose?"
Although his words sounded like they were for Orochimaru's good, in reality, Doflamingo was testing whether this mysterious Orochimaru had any deeper motives.
But upon hearing this, Orochimaru just shook his head, showing no intention to explain further.
"I will only come here once. Make your decision."
Orochimaru's attitude was decisive. If they couldn't cooperate, then after tonight, they would never meet again.
Although this would reveal his impatience, Orochimaru had no other choices at the moment.
Big Mom was already preparing to restart the wedding.
The reason Orochimaru was so eager to leave wasn't fear of marrying Big Mom… to be honest, he didn't care much about marrying someone of the opposite sex, even if the partner was a giant-like obese woman.
What truly made him feel a sense of crisis was that this body... had no reproductive ability!