The story splits into two threads.
Just as Creed and his forces prepared to destroy Kaido's pirates and claim their territory as a base…
Inside the grand palace of Dressrosa, a long banquet table was laid with delicacies. The hall glittered with luxury.
At the head of the table sat a tall man with blond hair, clad in a pink feathered coat, sunglasses masking his eyes—but the violence in them seeped through. Anyone who saw him would cry out:
"The Shichibukai!"
Indeed—Donquixote Doflamingo.
Today was the annual family gathering of the Donquixote Family. All the top officers were present.
Doflamingo laughed. "Everything is under control. We rule the underworld. Anyone who defies us is already dead."
Reports followed one after another:
"The black markets, all trade flows through me. Drugs, human trafficking—profits have doubled. Revolutionary uprisings fuel weapons sales, the factories are running full tilt."
"A new batch of slaves—high quality, top in beauty and strength."
"In the kingdom, remnants of Riku's faction tried resisting. Sugar turned them into toys and threw them into the house of play."
"Fufufu!" Doflamingo's trademark laugh echoed as his cadres spoke. His family was thriving, swelling with power. Someday, they would rival the Yonko.
The underworld already danced to his strings.
Then—
"Young Master, Vergo has returned."
Doflamingo's smile widened. Years ago, he had placed Vergo as a Marine mole. Now a colonel, soon to climb higher.
"Fufufu, long time no see. Last time was on Swallow Island, when we executed that traitor Corazon. If not for you intercepting his intel to the Navy, reclaiming Dressrosa would've been far harder. Bring him in!"
A middle-aged man with a bowl-cut entered.
"Vergo!" the others cheered. After years of silence, his return thrilled them. They had all grown up together, building the family from nothing.
Expressionless as ever, Vergo said, "Young Master, I did not fail you. I've been promoted to Vice Admiral." A rare smile flickered.
"Fufufu! You never disappoint," Doflamingo laughed.
But then Vergo's face turned grave. "Young Master, I've returned with an urgent matter."
Doflamingo's brows rose. If even Vergo looked this serious… "What is it?"
"Have you heard of Monkey D. Creed?"
"Monkey D. Creed? The one who defeated Crocodile? That surname… only two are renowned: Monkey D. Dragon, leader of the Revolutionaries, and Marine Hero Garp. But lately, another has emerged—Garp's grandson, Monkey D. Creed."
Of course Doflamingo knew the name. Creed's defeat of Crocodile had rocked the seas. Even in the New World, whispers spread. Doflamingo himself had once tried to ally with Crocodile, only to be spurned. Whoever toppled him deserved attention.
But why did Vergo bring him up now?
"What happened?" Doflamingo pressed.
"I suspect… he is the wielder of the Ope Ope no Mi."
The words made Doflamingo's pupils shrink.
CRACK!
The armrest of his chair shattered in his grip.
The Ope Ope no Mi—the fruit that haunted his dreams. His eternal plan for immortality, stolen from him by that traitor Corazon and given to Law.
He had hunted it for years, with nothing to show. The rage of that betrayal still burned.
"Impossible… wasn't Law the one who ate it?" the cadres muttered.
But they knew Vergo well. He would never return at such risk, nor speak without proof.
Doflamingo's laugh this time was dark and cold.
(End of Chapter)
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