"A…a pink Azure Dragon?" Marco's expression became quite something, but then, immense joy and excitement immediately washed away that subtle strangeness!
"Who cares what color it is!" Jozu slapped his thigh with a loud thud, shouting excitedly, "As long as the ability is real! To possess the same recovery power as Kaido! Then for us, it's an incredible stroke of luck!"
"Exactly!" Marco quickly calmed down, his eyes gleaming. "If the news is true, then we don't need to wait for Doflamingo, nor do we need to fight Kaido to the death! The target is right in front of us!"
Everyone's gazes once again focused on Whitebeard, filled with unprecedented hope and urgency.
If this was true, then they were truly blessed by fortune!
Whitebeard looked at his excited sons, pondered for a moment, then burst into laughter:
"Gurararara… A pink dragon? That's somewhat interesting. Good! In that case, let's go see."
Just then,
Doflamingo, in his tall figure wearing a pink feather coat and sunglasses, walked over with several family executives, a habitually cynical, fake smile on his face.
As he approached the crowd, before he could even utter his prepared lines, Ace's excited voice and the captains' heated discussions clearly drifted into his ears—
"Pink Azure Dragon," "Vegapunk," "replica," "identical ability," "right here?"… These words combined like a heavy hammer, striking hard at Doflamingo's nerves!
The smile on his face instantly froze, and his steps subconsciously halted. His eyes behind the sunglasses widened in disbelief, and that iconic curve at the corner of his mouth completely vanished, replaced by extreme shock and bewilderment.
"Ha…???" Doflamingo uttered an extremely short and distorted sound, his brain seemingly crashing, completely unable to process the information he heard.
What's going on?!
A Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon… there's a second one?!
And it's in my Dressrosa?!
What kind of joke is this?!
A feeling of utter absurdity surged into his heart. He had controlled Dressrosa and its underground dealings for many years, believing he knew all the secrets of this island like the back of his hand, especially treasures of the Devil Fruit caliber. It was absolutely impossible for such a thing to escape his notice!
Such an outrageous thing… How could I not know about it?!
Immediately following, an extremely intense emotion, a mix of jealousy and vexation, surged up, almost making him vomit blood.
If this is true… if I had known Dressrosa was hiding a treasure of this level earlier…
Doflamingo roared internally, Why would it be the Whitebeard Pirates' turn to find it?! I would have sent people to dig three feet deep to find it and have my most capable executive eat it!
At this moment, the Whitebeard Pirates on deck also noticed the uninvited Doflamingo, and the utterly undisguisable, dumbfounded expression on his face, as if he had seen a ghost.
Marco adjusted his glasses, a knowing smile playing on his lips: "…It seems our 'Underground Emperor' is completely unaware that such a treasure is hidden in his territory."
Jozu crossed his thick arms, letting out a deep laugh: "Looking at him, he doesn't seem to be faking it. He's genuinely shocked."
Everyone merely glanced at Doflamingo, who was frozen in place with a constantly changing expression, then ignored him, as if he were just an irrelevant backdrop, letting him stand there to digest this explosive news that was enough to overturn his perception.
After the excitement, Diamond Jozu was the first to calm down. He rubbed his smooth head with his large hand, looked at Ace, and asked the crucial question on everyone's minds:
"Ace, is this news… reliable? A replicated Devil Fruit made by Vegapunk? A pink Azure Dragon? It sounds too incredible! How did you know? Are you sure it's real?"
Ace subconsciously raised a hand to scratch his black hair when asked, but his face held an undeniable firmness: "Don't worry! This matter is absolutely true! The source… is absolutely reliable!"
Seeing his demeanor, everyone's hearts immediately became as clear as a mirror.
Who else could it be that Ace trusted so unreservedly and could provide such unbelievable yet crucial information, other than his mysterious brother, Ron, who had just used Pluton to sink a Buster Call?
Upon hearing this, Whitebeard let out a low sigh of unknown meaning, a complex emotion appearing on his rugged face: "Gurararara… Is it that little fellow Ron again? Truly… I owe him another immense favor."
His tone carried a hint of helplessness, but more so, deep gratitude. This debt seemed to be growing heavier and heavier.
Marco, seeing this, adjusted his glasses and spoke to comfort him: "Pops, don't worry too much. The most important thing now is your health. Once you recover your strength, and even surpass your former self, what favor on this vast sea can you not repay?"
"Exactly!" Jozu also emphatically agreed, "By then, our entire Whitebeard Pirates will be Mr. Ron's strongest backing!"
Whitebeard, however, slowly shook his head at his sons' words, his gaze deepening:
"Children, you don't understand… In this world, the hardest thing to repay is precisely 'favors.' Especially favors given in times of desperate need."
Ace suddenly stood up straight, flames burning in his eyes, and he said firmly: "Pops! Why think so much now! Nothing is more important than your health!
As for debts of gratitude, I'll repay them later! I'll even use my life to repay them! As long as you can get better!"
Looking at Ace's incredibly serious and urgent expression, the emotion on Whitebeard's face gradually softened, finally transforming into a kind and comforting smile.
He no longer dwelled on the issue, his large hand gently waving, as if temporarily sweeping away his heavy thoughts.
"Gurararara… You're right, the most important thing now is to find that Devil Fruit." His gaze sharpened again, "The rest, let's leave it for the future!"
At this moment,
Marco turned to Doflamingo, who was still in a state of shock and daze, adjusted his glasses, and spoke in a calm but undeniably pressing tone:
"Joker, stop pretending. Are you truly completely unaware of this? Then where exactly is this Devil Fruit in Dressrosa? Or rather, in whose hands was it once?"
....
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