It had to be said—Barrels was an absolute fool. How this man had managed to secure a Rear Admiral position at Marine Headquarters remained a mystery.
Finn suspected he'd accomplished some significant feat through sheer luck, then been promoted through seniority. But because he was incompetent, he couldn't forge proper connections, and no one dared utilize him. Eventually, he'd been marginalized into obscurity. Then, for some inexplicable reason, he'd defected from the Marines.
This idiot was actually carrying around an Ope Ope no Mi worth 5 billion berries, and before completing his transaction with Doflamingo, he'd gotten drunk—as if celebrating becoming a wealthy man ahead of time.
Didn't normal people start celebrating after transactions were completed?
One should treat things seriously before completion!
But this man simply didn't follow conventional logic.
The result was entirely predictable. Although Rosinante's combat abilities weren't particularly impressive, he was professionally trained in intelligence work and served as a skilled undercover operative. As long as he didn't make careless mistakes or sabotage himself, he remained quite formidable.
Using the Nagi Nagi no Mi's silence abilities through a series of clever maneuvers, he successfully stole the Ope Ope no Mi from a group of drunkards.
Of course, he was eventually discovered while escaping, but he wasn't seriously injured. He fled in apparent panic and reunited with Trafalgar Law.
When Rosinante and Law reached the port area, Law spotted Doflamingo's ship, the Flamingo, docked at the harbor.
His biological brother, Heavenly Yaksha Donquixote Doflamingo, was slowly descending from the vessel.
At this moment, Doflamingo had adjusted his mentality. Losing the Gold-Gold Fruit was nothing more than losing an opportunity to generate substantial wealth. Such opportunities would arise again in the future.
Now he was about to obtain the Ope Ope no Mi. This was the most important matter—something worth celebrating!
So what was there to be unhappy about?
Therefore, Doflamingo's expression as he disembarked remained quite pleased.
But he was a cautious man. He stood on the dock briefly, waiting for the officers behind him to catch up. Then he said gravely, "Trebol, take your men and seal off the port. No ship leaves this island until I return. Anyone who dares escape will be killed. Search every vessel!"
Things had reached this point—he absolutely couldn't allow any accidents.
Trebol responded quickly after hearing this. "Don't worry, Young Master. I won't let anyone escape from here."
"Good." Doflamingo nodded.
For today's transaction, he'd deliberately avoided his usual flamboyant attire. Although he still wore his pink flamingo feather coat, he'd donned a complete black suit underneath.
One had to admit—Doflamingo, wearing a suit, tie, and leather shoes, looked exceptionally handsome and refined at this moment.
As the biggest pirate boss in the North Blue and a major underworld figure, Doflamingo commanded considerable status on Minion Island. When he declared no ship would leave until his return, no one dared challenge him.
The Donquixote Family officers followed Doflamingo, quickly walking into the port toward the agreed meeting location with Barrels.
Trafalgar Law hid in a corner. He even spotted his two good friends, Baby-5 and Buffalo, following in the crowd.
That's right—at this stage, Trafalgar Law was still close friends with those two.
"Mr. Corazon, what should we do?" Law turned and looked at Rosinante, whose expression had grown extremely grim.
Rosinante looked toward the port, then at Doflamingo's departing figure, but ultimately decided against rushing to the docks. He said gravely, "Let's go hide somewhere in the wilderness and wait for an opportunity."
After speaking, he withdrew the Ope Ope no Mi he'd just stolen, looked at Law, and said, "I originally wanted to find a capable doctor, have them consume this Devil Fruit, then treat your illness. But now, I may not be able to take this fruit away safely. Law, you said your dream was to become a surgeon, right?"
Trafalgar Law's parents had both been doctors. Growing up in that environment had instilled a natural desire to become a physician himself. Hearing Rosinante's question, Law nodded. "Yes, Mr. Corazon."
"Then it's up to you to consume the Ope Ope no Mi, Law, and then pursue your dream of becoming a doctor." Rosinante reached out and ruffled Law's hair affectionately.
Hearing this, Law's expression showed profound surprise. His mouth opened slightly. Before he could say anything, Rosinante pushed the Ope Ope no Mi into his mouth. Law instinctively consumed it directly.
Looking at the confused Law, Rosinante smiled and nodded. "Good. Now no one can kill you anymore. Let's go!"
Now, even if Doflamingo captured them, Trafalgar Law wouldn't die. Rosinante was certain of this. His brother would definitely find a way to train Law, then have Law perform the immortality surgery on him.
"But... Doflamingo has already blocked the port. Where will we escape to? Will hiding on the island actually help?" Trafalgar Law asked hesitantly.
"It will help. If we can't find an opportunity to escape, we'll simply hide on the island. The Marine fleet will arrive within three to five days at most. Once the Marines arrive, we'll surrender to them. Don't worry—there won't be any problems," Rosinante said with a smile, his tone quite relaxed.
That's right. Now that Rosinante had obtained the Gold-Gold Fruit, and because of some changes in circumstances and his own personality, and because he wasn't injured, he no longer harbored thoughts of seeking death to protect Law as in the original timeline.
On the contrary, he still had options. He simply needed to avoid capture by Doflamingo, hide on the island temporarily, and wait for Marine warships to arrive. Then he could surrender.
The intelligence Rosinante had received came from Admiral Sengoku, so he'd concluded it would take three to five days for Marines to arrive. Therefore, he didn't linger at the port. He quickly took Trafalgar Law into the wilderness, where heavy snow covered their tracks.
If he'd known that Finn's warship was about to arrive at Minion Island, he probably would have waited at the port. Once Finn disembarked, he could have gone directly to his good brother for protection.
Not long afterward, a standard Marine Headquarters warship appeared on the horizon.
Trebol, who was blockading the port, felt confused seeing the warship suddenly appear. Was it really this fast?
But if you'd asked him to attack the warship directly, he wouldn't dare act rashly. He could only watch as the warship slowly sailed into port. During this time, he also quickly contacted his Young Master via Den Den Mushi.
But the Young Master didn't answer. At this moment, he was staring with furious eyes at Barrels and other drunkards kneeling before him.
"Say that to me again?" Doflamingo said, his gaze fierce.
"Lost. Lost. Someone just stole it. I really didn't mean for this to happen. That person was so cunning..." Barrels said nervously.
Doflamingo, holding a short-barreled pistol, attempted to force a smile. "What did this person look like?"
"I didn't see clearly..." Barrels said.
"The voice?" Doflamingo asked, his expression darkening further.
"I didn't hear it," Barrels said again.
"Which direction did they escape?" Doflamingo asked once more.
"I don't know..." Barrels said, trembling.
As soon as he finished speaking, Doflamingo raised his hand and shot him in the head, roaring, "Waste! Idiot! What use are you to me!?"
Then he raised his hand and fired several more shots, killing everyone in the room. Even finding it difficult to calm his fury, he shot Barrels twice more.
Among those shot was a young man named Diez Drake—Barrels' own son.
Although they were biological father and son, Drake had been abused by Barrels since childhood, so he felt no affection for the man. Conversely, Barrels had once been a Marine. Therefore, Drake had grown up in Marineford as a child and held natural fondness for the Marines. Having been deprived of paternal love, he'd received considerable care from Marines at Headquarters.
But unfortunately, his father had experienced mental problems and suddenly defected from the Marines. Drake had been forced to leave with Barrels.
In the original timeline, Drake would return to the Marines after this incident, determined to become an excellent Marine officer. Later, he'd join the Intelligence Department's spy force and infiltrate Kaido's Beasts Pirates.
He would also erase his surname, Diez, which was a disgrace to the Marines, changing it to X Drake.
But now, he was shot directly by the enraged Doflamingo, struck square in the chest.
But he wouldn't die. Because Doflamingo didn't know Drake was actually an Ancient Zoan user who possessed the rare Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Allosaurus.
That's right—although he looked young, Drake was actually nineteen this year. He'd been a Devil Fruit user for years. In the original timeline, when he'd escaped from the Birdcage alone, Barrels' subordinates had cursed him, saying he was obviously the strongest fighter yet fled like a coward. This indirectly demonstrated Drake had already been a Devil Fruit user before joining the Marines.
But Drake was clearly intelligent as well. After being shot, he collapsed to the ground and played dead. He didn't resist at all, as if lacking any ability to do so.
Doflamingo obviously didn't think much about it. After firing several more shots at Barrels, he raised his hand toward the sky. Numerous strings spread from his palm.
At least he'd obtained some useful information from that worthless Barrels—the Ope Ope no Mi had just been stolen, and when he'd arrived, he'd already ordered the port sealed.
So it was impossible the thief had left Minion Island.
Now seal the entire island and dig through every inch to find that damn thief!
After completing this, Doflamingo turned and led his officers from the shabby courtyard. His anger seemed to have subsided somewhat. While withdrawing his squeaking Den Den Mushi, he ordered, "Go find all suspicious individuals!"
After finishing, Doflamingo picked up the Den Den Mushi. "What is it?"
"Young Master, a Marine warship has arrived! It's Finn, and Vergo is aboard!" Trebol said quickly.
What the hell was happening?
He'd just deployed the Birdcage and the Marines had arrived?
I was supposed to be in a good mood today...
At the same time, at the port, Finn was reaching out to touch the thin strings of the Birdcage he'd watched slowly descend around the harbor moments ago.
It was remarkable that Doflamingo's technique genuinely touched upon rule-based power.
The Birdcage truly isolated everything. Even Den Den Mushi signal waves couldn't penetrate it. Genuinely frightening.
Thinking carefully, Doflamingo was indeed exceptional at developing his abilities. The only pity was that his upper limit was constrained by the String-String Fruit's inherent power. If he'd possessed a more formidable Devil Fruit, he probably could have reached extraordinary heights.
Thinking this, Finn glanced at the terrified Trebol nearby. It seemed this mentally deficient man had been the one who'd given the fruit to young Doflamingo?
Doflamingo had been handicapped for his entire life by this choice. It was only because Doflamingo had a tolerant temperament. If it had been Finn, this Trebol would have been sent to the ocean floor long ago.
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