Dressrosa Marine base,
Late at night,
In the dim room, the blue light of the screen illuminated Smoker's tightly furrowed brows.
He had three cigars in his mouth, and amidst the swirling smoke, he was clicking the phone screen, while Tashigi beside him was staring intently at the screen, the word "Victory" reflecting in large letters on her glasses.
"Vice Admiral Smoker! Another round of duo queue?" Tashigi pushed up her glasses, her tone unusually relaxed.
Before Smoker could answer, the office door was suddenly thrown open!
"Rep- Report!" A young Marine soldier rushed in, breathless, a telescope clutched in his hand. "New Navy warships spotted! Heading at full speed towards Punk Hazard!"
Smoker's fingers stopped instantly; clearly, he had been waiting for this news for a long time. Because of the New Navy's involvement, the Marines were not popular in Dressrosa.
Although the New Navy was welcomed by the royal family, they were not expelled.
Tashigi's glasses fell to the ground with a clatter, her suddenly widened pupils reflected in the lenses.
"Are you sure it's a New Navy ship?" Smoker's voice was terrifyingly low, and white smoke uncontrollably surged out of his pores.
"Absolutely certain!" The Marine soldier swallowed. "The ship's features are too distinctive—black and gold hull, a dragon figurehead..."
Smoker suddenly stood up, knocking his chair flying to crash against the wall.
His pupils contracted to pinpricks. "Those crazy New Navy guys wouldn't go to that godforsaken place for no reason..." The cigar in his mouth snapped in two. "Unless they found a clue about Doflamingo!"
Tashigi had already picked up her glasses, also quite agitated. "Punk Hazard, we did overlook that place before..."
"Depart immediately!" Smoker grabbed his cloak of Justice, white smoke forming a beast-like shape behind him. "Notify the entire ship, maintain a hidden distance and follow them!"
A piercing alarm blared throughout the ship.
The Marine soldiers scrambled into position, Tashigi shouting as she buckled her belt, "All hands to battle stations! Check ammunition!"
Smoker stood at the bow, his newly lit cigar flickering in the night, as the technical crew locked onto the distant, faintly visible black and gold warship.
"Those New Navy guys..." His voice, mixed with smoke, drifted in the salty sea breeze. "What exactly did they find in Punk Hazard... I hope it's information about Doflamingo, otherwise, we don't have much time left."
Dressrosa Port, in the shadows.
Ron's fingertip gently stroked the phone screen, gazing at the gradually shrinking stern lights of the warship on the sea. Rebecca, beside him, nervously twisted the hem of her skirt, the gold-embroidered princess dress shimmering faintly in the Moonlight.
"Ron-sama..." She suddenly clutched his cloak, her voice extremely low. "It's too risky to start the broadcast now."
The girl's eyelashes cast an uneasy shadow on her cheek. "If... if Doflamingo isn't on the island, Shenyu Culture Media's reputation will..."
Ron suddenly chuckled, tapping the girl's smooth forehead with his finger. "Look over there." He pointed towards the faint firelight in the direction of Punk Hazard. "Do you know why that old guy Zephyr suddenly deployed all the New Navy elites?"
Rebecca followed his gaze and suddenly gasped—in the sky above Punk Hazard Island, faint, transparent threads were shimmering in the Moonlight.
"That's...!"
"The Prototype of the Birdcage." Ron's live broadcast Den Den Mushi suddenly glowed red, reflecting his confident smile. "Doflamingo's 'lifeline' is all on that island." He deliberately emphasized the last three words.
Rebecca's ears instantly turned red, and her legs under the princess dress armor unconsciously pressed together. "You, you mean the SMILE factory's...?"
"Shh—" Ron suddenly silenced her; Ain's video call had come through. "It's Ain."
In the video call, Ain's light blue hair was covered in ice crystals. Behind her, New Navy soldiers were setting up Sea Stone artillery in the snowstorm.
The video signal was a bit intermittent, but the sound of machinery in the background could still be heard.
"Ron, we found the 'Candy House'." Ain's breathing was rapid, clearly excited.
She deliberately used code. "Coordinate E3 area, twenty meters underground." The camera suddenly swept over a few broken pink feathers on the snowy ground. "According to our observations... there are at least thirty-seven 'Dolls' active inside."
Rebecca's hand clenched Ron's cloak. She recognized those feathers—they were identical to the ones on Doflamingo's cloak during the arena period.
During the call, Ain straightened her military cap and sneered, "Teacher Zephyr said... he wants the whole world to see the true face of the Shichibukai!"
"Alright."
Then the video call ended. Ron motioned to Rebecca, "Go change into your'Swordsman Set'. Remember to wear the pearl necklace the audience rewarded you with last time; you're the main character tonight."
"...."
When Rebecca returned after changing, she started the live broadcast. Within minutes, tens of thousands of people had flooded into the live stream!
And the bullet comments were already so dense that the screen was obscured.
Her new swordsman outfit was cut more daringly, the pearl necklace resting between her collarbones, rising and falling with her breath. Ron gave a slight nod and threw her a backup phone. "Remember to host this broadcast well; it concerns all of Dressrosa."
The girl took a deep breath, pointing the camera at her flushed cheeks. "Hello everyone, I'm the little swordsman Rebecca..."
"Today, I am fortunate to be jointly launching this live broadcast with the New Navy."
Rebecca's fingertips lightly brushed the phone screen. The moment the camera switched, a panoramic view of the desolate island filled the frame.
Withered shrubs were scattered sparsely across the grayish-brown rocky ground, and the black uniforms of the New Navy in the distance were particularly conspicuous against the vast landscape.
"Dear fans..." Her voice wasn't as sweet as usual, carrying a slight tremor. "I'm sorry I didn't prepare the'Sword Princess Dance' today..."
The bullet comments immediately exploded:
[User "Die-hard Knight"]: Where's my Ace of Spades?? (crying emoji)
[Dance Zone Rank 1]: You promised the'Shaking the Sun' performance outfit! (Reward withdrawal x5)
[Arena Old Fan]: Refund! We want to see sword technique tutorials!
Rebecca took a deep breath, her fingers under the swordsman skirt armor quietly clenching.
The camera suddenly turned to her reddened eyes. "Three years ago, it was this man—" The screen cut to a photo, the bloody ground manipulated by Doflamingo spread out. "—who turned half of Dressrosa's citizens into ignorant toys!"
The sea wind suddenly became sharp, blowing her hair around her temples. For a moment, the camera caught a drop of blood oozing from the girl's bitten lower lip.
...
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