In his memory, he had once seen the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia—a tome that recorded the abilities and characteristics of various Devil Fruits, a treasure countless people dreamed of possessing.
He never, in his wildest, most ambitious dreams, could have imagined that something called a "Devil Fruit Blood Encyclopedia" would one day appear before him.
The original encyclopedia told you what a power was.
This… this blasphemous, beautiful cabinet let you take it.
The concept was so completely beyond his comprehension that for a moment, his famously sharp mind simply short-circuited.
The executives of his Family, standing behind him, were equally shattered by the sight.
They had assumed this would be an ordinary, if tense, demonstration of Ron's technology.
What unfolded before their eyes was nothing short of a paradigm-shifting revelation.
As their eyes scanned the neatly arranged, glowing vials, a cascade of pure, unadulterated terror washed over them.
"Th-That's…" Diamante, the boisterous head of the Fighting Arena, stammered, his voice cracking as he pointed a trembling finger.
"Whitebeard's... the Tremor-Tremor Fruit?!"
The look in their eyes was one of sheer, primal fear, as if they were witnessing a god being dissected and put on display.
Whitebeard's reputation was a legend that walked the seas, and his Tremor Fruit possessed the literal power to destroy the world.
If this blood was real… what did that even imply?
"Hiss…!" Pica's high-pitched voice was a sharp, terrified squeak.
"And Kaido's blood! Does that mean… you can gain Kaido's power?!"
The thought of it was staggering.
The power of the "Strongest Creature," a being famed for his absolute indestructibility, contained in a single vial.
"Wait! Look over there! That's… Navy Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha's blood!" Trebol's voice was slick with a mixture of mucus and disbelief.
The shock deepened.
This wasn't just a rival pirate.
This was the supreme commander of the entire World Government's military, a thorn in the side of every pirate alive.
How in the seven hells did these people get their hands on Sengoku's blood?!
"Aokiji… Kizaru…" Bellamy whispered, his voice trembling so hard he could barely speak.
He pointed a shaky finger at two vials that glowed with a cold, blue light and a blinding, yellow radiance.
His scalp crawled with a dread so profound it felt like insects were burrowing into his skull.
"What… what have they done…?" Two Navy Admirals… their power, their very blood, was sitting in a box.
The expressions of everyone present were a mask of unconcealable shock.
Their gazes reflected a dizzying mix of disbelief, confusion, and a deep-seated fear, as though they had just seen something that broke the fundamental laws of their world.
After all, obtaining the blood of such monstrously powerful individuals was next to impossible.
In the brutal world of pirates, there was really only one way: you fought your target until they were beaten, broken, and bleeding.
Of course, there was the other, laughably absurd possibility: that the target willingly donated their own blood.
But how likely was that? You'd have a better chance of seeing the sun rise in the west.
In a world where strength was everything and betrayal was a currency, who would ever offer up the key to their own power?
So… as everyone's gaze refocused on Ron and the silent, stoic Whitebeard commanders beside him, an inexplicable sense of dread welled up in their hearts.
'Could it be…?' a thought, too terrifying to speak aloud, echoed in their minds.
'Did they really… fight all of them?'
"Hiss...!" Someone couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath of cold air.
The more they considered it, the more the terrifying implications became horrifyingly clear.
It wasn't just that they had fought these legends—they had fought them, made them bleed, and won.
What terrifying, monstrous strength did that require?
The Donquixote Family felt a crushing sense of inadequacy.
They had been preparing for a bitter, drawn-out struggle against a half-crippled Golden Lion.
And these people… they were casually displaying trophies taken from the gods of their era.
Kaido, the strongest creature alive; Sengoku, the wise and powerful Fleet Admiral; Aokiji and Kizaru, the Logia Admirals whose power could reshape islands.
Against any one of them, the Donquixote Family wouldn't just lose; they would be annihilated in an instant.
In stark contrast to their terror, the Golden Lion's reaction was one of pure, malicious glee.
"Jiahahaha! You actually beat up that old geezer Sengoku, too?" Shiki's eyes were fixed on the vial bearing his old nemesis's name, his expression brimming with unconcealable excitement.
"To make that stubborn old goat cough up blood… Ron, I'm really starting to like you brats more and more! Jihahahaha!"
"It was all the Captain's doing," Ron replied with a modest shrug.
"We were just along for the ride." He then slowly turned his gaze back to Doflamingo, his smile placid.
"Joker, take a look. If any of these samples catch your eye, just say the word."
Doflamingo frowned, remaining silent as his thoughts raced.
He stared at the alluring cabinet, this impossible library of power, and he couldn't figure out Ron's angle.
To be shown such a treasure, to be offered a pick so generously… his every instinct screamed that it was a trap.
He knew that in this world, there was no such thing as kindness without reason.
Ron was no philanthropist.
For him to act so magnanimous now… there had to be a hidden hook, a pitfall waiting for him to step into.
Could this all be a grand deception? he wondered. An elaborate bluff to intimidate me?
And yet… the temptation was agonizing.
The blood samples before him… the power of a Logia like Kizaru's Light-Light Fruit, or Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit… the thought alone made his heart race.
With powers like those, his Family's strength would skyrocket.
His position in the underworld would become untouchable.
And then there was Kaido's blood… the essence of the world's strongest creature.
The strategic and military applications were limitless.
A flicker of fervent, greedy light flashed behind Doflamingo's sunglasses.
Such a temptation was impossible for any man who craved power to resist.
Suddenly, Ron interjected, his tone casual, as if he'd just remembered a minor detail.
"Sorry, everyone. I forgot to put Shiki's blood up there." He gestured towards Shiki.
"But just so we're all clear, his blood is part of the deal." He then let his gaze sweep over the crowd before landing back on Doflamingo, a knowing smirk on his face.
"Oh, and by the way, the Float-Float Fruit blood I have in my hands… it's now the only sample in existence."
Upon hearing this, Shiki's eyes widened in shock.
A profound chill ran down his spine.
He felt like a prize pig that had just been paraded around the market before being informed that he had already been sold, butchered, and packaged.
He had been so thoroughly and completely outmaneuvered from the very beginning.
"..."
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the words were stuck in his throat, choked by the stunning realization of his own predicament.
Wait, his mind screamed in silent, humiliated fury.
I've been sold out, Just like that?!