Sabaody Archipelago.
Overlooking the bustling, grand casino, Doflamingo swirled the stemmed glass in his hand, at times silently detached, at others revealing a sinister grin. His erratic emotions imbued him with an elusive, awe-inspiring wickedness.
Hence, Trebol, who had arrived long ago, cautiously stayed his distance, not daring to approach and act foolishly as usual.
"You've worked hard, Trebol," Doflamingo suddenly turned, saying.
Trebol shivered, forcing a grimace. "Behehehe~ Not hard at all, Doffy! It's what we should do."
Doflamingo nodded, thoughtfully, without saying anything further.
"Behehehe~ Nyeh, nyeh, Doffy, this is the ledger for the casino and auction house," Trebol presented a thick stack of documents, rambling, "The casino has been open for four months, and it made a profit in the very first month! After that, each month earned two or three times more than the last; it's incredibly popular! We're almost done with capital recovery, and everything after that is pure profit! As for the auction house..."
Doflamingo interrupted Trebol, "For the auction house, I told you to find someone to manage it. Who did you find?"
"Disco, a... a very shrewd and resourceful guy, good at bragging," Trebol said. "Behehehe. Everyone likes him."
Doflamingo remained silent, glancing sideways at Trebol.
Under Doflamingo's increasing dominance, sweat beaded on Trebol's forehead as he explained, "He's doing well. Initially, he fed Devil Fruits to slaves for entertainment, then had his subordinates pretend to be nobles to drive up the price of the Devil Fruit-eaters, then gradually auctioned off the slaves and Devil Fruits separately..." Sensing Doflamingo's impatience, he concisely said, "Now even the most ordinary Devil Fruit can sell for one hundred million Berries, behehehe~~"
"The auction house wasn't built just to make money. If it were purely for making money, Trebol? Do you know how much money I make every day from the massive network of interests surrounding the Swordsman and Fighting Tournaments?" Doflamingo put down his stemmed glass, saying casually, "That's an astronomical figure! And my new business venture with the World Government is enough to make me a super-rich individual, controlling ten percent of the world's Berry circulation within three years."
Trebol finally understood, eagerly saying, "The Devil Fruit acquisition is just about to begin; currently, no highly valuable Devil Fruits have appeared, nor have any high-quality slaves... Behehehe~~ You can't blame me for this, Doffy, you can't blame me." He suddenly turned his head, exclaiming, "Controlling ten percent of the world's Berries within three years?! What kind of business is that?!"
"It's similar to predicting the Swordsman and Fighter rankings. Oh, it's been named 'Martial Arts Festival Grand Lotto,' like a double-color ball game," Doflamingo leaned back on the sofa, crossing his legs. "I provide the plan, and the World Government is responsible for funding, printing, selling, commercial protection, and so on. In terms of actual profit, we're almost at a fifty-fifty split."
Trebol spluttered mucus from his seven orifices. "Behehehehe~ You're amazing, Doffy! You're incredible! I can almost see mountains of gold and seas of silver!"
"Money, it's meaningless. No matter how much, it's just numbers!" Doflamingo said with little interest, smiling. "Fufufufu~ Trebol. Without Lao G and Pica's help, can you guarantee the businesses on Sabaody Archipelago? Hmm? I know it's tough, especially since besides the casino and auction house, I also acquired quite a few businesses from those underworld magnates on Sabaody Archipelago."
"I can! Doffy! I can! Behehehe~" Trebol said confidently.
Doflamingo twitched his fingers. "It's decided then. I'll temporarily hand over the Swordsman and Fighting Tournament business to Diamante as well. The family will be leaving the New World after a while."
"Eh?" Trebol froze. "Leaving the New World? Why?"
"I've set my sights on a certain country, Fufufufu~" Doflamingo chuckled.
Before Trebol could ask further questions.
"Celestial Dragon coming!!!"
Splash!
"..."
The commotion downstairs suddenly erupted.
At the casino's entrance, a Celestial Dragon, dressed in a typical Celestial Dragon outfit, a space suit with a transparent glass helmet, entered surrounded by attendants, his attitude arrogant and overbearing.
"Fufufufu~ Look, look at that idiotic expression. Why was I ever deluded enough to want to associate with them?" Doflamingo laughed self-deprecatingly, then inexplicably grew so uncontrollably happy that he burst into roaring laughter, "Hahahahaha..."
"Don't!"
"Branton-sei!"
"..."
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
Disregarding the obstruction of the surrounding CP agents and guards, the Celestial Dragon fired a gun at Doflamingo. Doflamingo's laughter was too grating, and his standing figure, the only one not kneeling in the room, was too glaring.
Doflamingo casually extended his hand, his five fingers secreting threads that instantly wove a small spider web in his palm. The bullet struck the strange web.
Clang~
The sound of metal clashing.
"Is this... an attack on a World Noble...?"
"What do we do?!"
"He's... the Warlord of the Sea, 'Sea Scourge'! But no matter what, this act could provoke a Marine Admiral's intervention!"
"..."
The casino fell into a panic, everyone's faces turning pale and trembling.
"Bastard! You dare to disrespect me! You even dare to..." Branton felt offended, howling hysterically.
Doflamingo exhaled. "How rude." He paused slightly, then said, "Branton-sei... if you're here for fun, welcome! If you're here to cause trouble, you'd best listen to what your 'nannies' have to say."
"Branton-sei, he's the Warlord of the Sea, Doflamingo! Donquixote Doflamingo! Donquixote!"
One of Branton's subordinates had already quickly explained and reminded him.
Branton's ugly face changed several times. "It's you?!"
"Fufufufu~ It's me," Doflamingo narrowed his eyes, proactively giving Rosward a way out, and instructed, "Please escort Branton-sei to a private room. Today's expenses are entirely on me."
Branton looked suspicious and uncertain.
Doflamingo was actually completely uninterested in Branton, but rather in the slave he was riding. "Interesting, fufufufu~"
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