Seizing the blueprint was inevitable. The only problem was that those two were currently far too weak; there was no way they could defeat Ivankov in a fight.
Which meant their only option was simple: find allies.
And by doing so, they would inevitably leak the news that they possessed the blueprint. Once that happened, a massive war between all factions would erupt.
Even if they chose not to seek help and simply tried to take it by force, it would still cause a commotion and expose them in the end.
As long as they desired the blueprint deep down, everything would unfold exactly as Vladimir predicted...
"More importantly... what is happening over at Whitebeard's side?"
Vladimir turned his gaze toward the west.
Outside District 1, the Whitebeard Pirates were completely surrounded by over a dozen other pirate crews.
Leading them were five men who had occupied Box 4 during the auction.
All five were advanced in years; the youngest appeared to be over fifty, while the eldest was nearly seventy.
At this moment, Whitebeard laughed in pure fury. "Gurararara! You brats with snot running down your noses... how dare you still show your faces before me?"
"Whitebeard!"
The eldest of the five sneered. "Hmph. Back in the day, you were too cowardly to even face Roger head-on. Yet now you've somehow become one of the Four Emperors—and the most powerful of them all. Truly disappointing."
Enraged, Diamond Jozu, the 3rd division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, roared: "Who are you people?! What do you want?!"
"We are nothing but a bunch of old relics. We were hired for this job—to stop you Whitebeard Pirates right here."
Spoke the only woman among the five. She was none other than Old Lady Okiyo, also known as the Ghost Granny!
"Young men... if you just stay put and behave yourselves, we won't do anything. After all, we're old now. We can't run wild and act recklessly like we used to."
She spoke with absolute calm.
"Gurararara... How utterly boring." Whitebeard laughed loudly. "Is the blueprint of Pluton your goal too? What use does that thing have anyway?"
"You don't need to know," replied a thin old man wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, his voice weak and raspy.
"Whitebeard, if it were up to us, we wouldn't want to fight you. We're all getting on in years, and our era ended long ago. But for now... please, just stay right where you are."
Whitebeard narrowed his eyes.
He was less concerned about the dozen pirate crews surrounding him than about the identity of the faction powerful enough to hire these five elders.
One must remember: back in Roger's era, these five were all infamous and legendary pirates who shook the world.
Even the woman among them, Ghost Granny, once held a bounty of 1.3 billion Berries!
Of course, that was over a decade ago. If they still possessed even a third of their former strength today, it would be impressive enough.
"Gurararara... You old relics... you think you alone can stop me?"
Whitebeard laughed heartily, then stood up abruptly and threw a punch with his right fist.
"Gura Gura no Mi: Earthquake!"
BOOM!!
Space itself seemed to shatter. Countless fine cracks spread outward like a spiderweb.
In an instant, the land for a thousand meters around crumbled, shattered into countless fragments by the sheer force of the vibration.
The Whitebeard Pirates had been ambushed, and a full-scale battle had broken out.
This development caught everyone by surprise. The other factions on the island received the news, were shocked at first, then simply stood back and watched coldly.
Now, fueled by rage, Whitebeard had unleashed a full-force punch, triggering a massive earthquake.
BOOM!
The ground within a kilometer radius instantly split open. A violent shockwave surged straight toward the dozen pirate crews besieging them.
"Strike!"
The old man in the straw hat commanded in a low voice.
At his word, the five elders moved in unison.
They had no intention of fighting Whitebeard to the death. Their primary goal was simply to stall him and entangle him for as long as possible.
Meanwhile, back inside District 1, Vladimir withdrew his gaze.
"Someone is actually making trouble for Whitebeard... I wonder what their motive is?"
He pondered briefly. For now, he could only assume it was either due to personal grudges, or an attempt to delay Whitebeard so that he couldn't get his hands on the blueprint.
"Let them fight. The more chaos, the better."
Vladimir chuckled softly, then looked down at Ivankov and the other two.
The bait had been cast. Whether it could stir up big waves in this pond of chaos depended entirely on Crocodile's performance now.
With that thought, Vladimir turned and left.
He did not return directly to the auction venue. Instead, he headed toward Doflamingo's location.
The Marine Vice Admiral's unit there had been completely wiped out. Seven to eight hundred soldiers lay dead—including a Rear Admiral. It was effectively an annihilation.
Their deaths were eerie and strange. Their bodies showed no severe external injuries, yet their souls had all been devoured. What lay on the ground were nothing but empty shells.
ROAR!!
Doflamingo was crouched low on all fours, letting out ferocious Hollow-like screams.
There was a massive hole in his chest—far larger than it had been before. Moreover, the spiritual pressure radiating from his body had grown even denser and more terrifying.
As if sensing something, Doflamingo spun around sharply. His eyes burned with madness and rage, locking onto the figure approaching from afar.
ROAR!
He roared again. Dark red spiritual pressure gathered before his mouth, condensed into a beam, and shot out violently.
Cero!
Faced with this attack, Vladimir didn't even bother to dodge. He let it come straight at him.
However, the moment that thick, blazing beam touched Vladimir's chest, it vanished instantly—as if it had never existed at all, or had simply been erased from reality.
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