Doflamingo, his fingers twitching, let out a deep, sinister chuckle, radiating ill intent from within. He even neglected the rare family banquet, instructing Smoothie to lead the others in continuing the search for suitable locations for the fighting tournaments.
He himself hastily set off for the Sabaody Archipelago, intending to personally acquire the Mythical Zoan Tanuki Fruit. He simply couldn't suppress the countless frantic thoughts surging within him.
As he sped along, Doflamingo made a call on his Den Den Mushi.
Pere pere pere~
Click.
"This is Spandine, who's calling?"
Loud chatter could be heard from the other end of the Den Den Mushi, along with the clinking of glasses. Clearly, Spandine was already living a decadent life, even before evening.
"It's Joker." Doflamingo laughed with exceptional delight. "Fufufufu~ My friend, my friend! I truly apologize for the interruption, hahahaha... But I have a piece of information I need right now, immediately, at once! I hope I'm not taking up too much of your time."
Spandine lowered his voice, fully embracing his dual identity. "Please, ask away."
"Has Dr. Vegapunk developed a special scientific technique that allows Animal-type Devil Fruits to be fed to inanimate objects, thereby transforming those inanimate objects into living-like substances!? Fufufufu~ Answer quickly, my friend," Doflamingo said, uncharacteristically impatient, abandoning his strong control over others and himself, urging him on.
Spandine slapped his forehead, clearing his muddled mind, and carefully replied, "The Scientific Unit is currently under Cipher Pol No. 5's jurisdiction, not our No. 9."
"Find out, my friend! Within ten minutes, I need precise information~" Doflamingo reined in his excitement, returning to his usual composure. "You'll do it, won't you?"
Spandine let out a barely perceptible sigh and said, "Please wait." After a long period of "rustling" sounds from the other end of the Den Den Mushi, about five or six minutes later, he responded, "I found it, Joker, it's true! However, this scientific technique has been put on hold by the higher echelons of the government. They believe it won't significantly boost the power of the government and the Marines, so they're forcing Dr. Vegapunk to develop warships that can cross the Calm Belt."
"Good! Good!" Doflamingo was extremely pleased. "Fufufufu~ You'll receive an extra reward, my friend!"
Spandine hesitated for a moment, then shamelessly said, "Recently, I've spent a lot of money to smooth things over..."
"Three hundred million Berries, no, five hundred million Berries," Doflamingo offered generously. Then, changing the subject, he said, "But I need you to transfer, transfer to CP5."
"Uh..." Spandine was stunned.
Doflamingo added, "I know it's difficult, but I'll cooperate with you." He paused, then pondered, "That secret team of archaeologists searching for the Poneglyphs, you're still watching them, right? Hoping to uncover their source to capture them all in one fell swoop."
"Yes, yes, you know about the situation?" Spandine said fawningly. "Hehe, if I can deal with them, that achievement will be enough for me to transfer to CP5 as an officer."
"West Blue, Ohara," Doflamingo deliberated, then added, "Next year, wait until next year to make your move. Don't rush."
Spandine suppressed his excitement. "Yes, I understand."
Click.
The Den Den Mushi was hung up.
"Fufufufu~"
Doflamingo burst into laughter, unusually delighted.
The sudden mention of the Tanuki Fruit immediately made him think not of its ability to transform into a tanuki, to draw patterns on leaves and bring them to life, or even to transform drawings of people into beings with near-real power. Instead, he thought of Dr. Vegapunk's special scientific technique of feeding Animal-type Devil Fruits to inanimate objects, thereby transforming them into living-like substances.
This sparked an idea in him: What would happen if his strings "ate" a Devil Fruit?
Devil Fruits possess uniqueness and repulsion. Unless one has an anomalous body like Blackbeard's, each person only gets one chance to eat a Devil Fruit in their lifetime.
But with Dr. Vegapunk's scientific technique, what if his secreted strings "ate" a Devil Fruit, and then he manipulated them with those strings? As long as he didn't retract the secreted strings that had "eaten" the Devil Fruit back into his body, it likely wouldn't result in the "Devil Fruits fighting, body exploding" outcome. Wouldn't that be, in a sense, a disguised way of having multiple Devil Fruit abilities?
"It's a shame that Devil Fruits fed to inanimate objects are limited to Animal-type ones," Doflamingo licked the corner of his lips, muttering to himself, "Science, truly interesting, fufufufu~"
Three days later.
Sabaody Archipelago.
With the Tanuki Fruit finally in his hands, Doflamingo felt at ease.
Only then did Doflamingo notice the chaotic environment of the Sabaody Archipelago and asked, "Why is the island so messy?"
"Behehehehe~ I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Trebol interjected. "Doffy, you forgot, this is the annual gathering of the pirate Supernovas! You should have been one of them, but we left too quickly!"
Doflamingo raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Who's here? Hmm... 'Hero of the West Blue'? Crocodile? Mihawk?"
"That's right! It's them, G!" Lao G said. "Due to Crocodile's antics, the Marines are currently pursuing them."
Doflamingo's eyes swirled as he realized something. "Interesting! Crocodile isn't a hot-headed idiot who acts without purpose, especially not when causing trouble near Marine Headquarters, fufufufu~ Is he a peacock displaying his feathers?"
—————————————End of Volume 1 [Sea Scourge]————————————————
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