"Wait! Wait! The Ope-Ope no Mi?" Corazon clutched his head. The story had so many twists and turns; why did it suddenly seem like Law was about to die again?
Doflamingo also clutched his head in a similar fashion. If the Ope-Ope no Mi could buy him Nero's protection, he would be willing, but where was the Ope-Ope no Mi?
Oh! Right, Corazon just said Law ate it!
What about Law? The Marine protected him!
Even if he wasn't with the Marine, if a fruit turned into a child, could Nero accept that?
Doflamingo turned his head.
Nero, standing nearby, was pointing at Pica's head: "Wearing a mask in front of the Emperor, how rude! Hmm, take off your head for me!"
"Ah?" Pica was bewildered, subconsciously looking at Doflamingo.
And that high-pitched voice made Nero burst out laughing: "Mwah ha ha ha! Don't worry, I'm just joking! But your… your voice! It's completely different from your physique! Mwah ha ha!"
"That won't do, will it~"
Her capricious and unruly personality was fully displayed in less than a minute. Doflamingo felt that even if he handed Law over, there would still be problems.
His forehead was covered in fine cold sweat. Doflamingo asked, "Uh, Lord Nero, weren't you looking for the Silence-Silence Fruit?"
"Nani? What is the Silence-Silence Fruit? I want it? Tell me more in detail?" Nero frowned, sensing that things were not simple.
He said the wrong thing!
Doflamingo immediately realized the problem. Was the person who wanted the Silence-Silence Fruit not Nero?
But that man, Nicuss's Admiral Loerke, personally took action. So it seemed that the one who wanted the Silence-Silence Fruit must be someone high-ranking in Nicuss!
No, it might even be a group of people! But Nero was completely unaware. Was this matter being kept from her?
Rebellion? A surprise? Or something else?
Doflamingo didn't know, but he understood that he and the Donquixote Family had been drawn into this whirlpool.
Every word he said next would determine the family's future.
Imperial power or nobility?
"Rosinante is my younger brother, and he is also…"
Doflamingo pointed at Corazon, carefully choosing his words, and spoke slowly.
"Wait! Wait! Wait!!!"
Suddenly, a rough roar came, and a figure, stumbling and crawling like an out-of-control wild boar, rushed over here.
"Yue? Loerke? Why is this guy here too?" Nero's heart skipped a beat when she saw the newcomer.
"Yo… Yo! Your Majesty! What a coincidence to meet you in this place, isn't it?"
Dust flew, and a sweating Loerke finally stopped in front of Nero.
"Hmm… Hmm! It… it certainly is! Meeting here is indeed the most coincidental coincidence." Nero's reply was also a bit stuttering.
This guy, Your Majesty, isn't here to snatch the Silence-Silence Fruit, is he?
This guy, Loerke, isn't here to snatch the Ope-Ope no Mi, is he?
The two looked at each other, but neither noticed the other's panic.
"Mwah ha ha ha…"
"Ga ha ha ha…"
'Sorry, I will not give up this fruit no matter what!' x2
While laughing, both simultaneously made a secret resolution.
"Hmm, Lord Loerke, are you done with your business? If you are, hurry back! Kleine has just been rescued and needs more care from you, her father."
Nero launched the first attack, hitting Loerke's weak spot right away.
"Gu yie~" Loerke clutched his heart, his body as if struck by an arrow.
Indeed, as Nero said, he should be with his daughter right now!
But what I'm doing now is also for Kleine!
To protect her future! Let the tyranny of the idiotic Majesty end with our generation!
"No… no problem! Your Majesty, with you personally handling it, I am very relieved!"
For an honest man, the insincerity in his words seemed to overflow.
Nero naturally noticed his unusual behavior, frowned, stroked her chin, and scrutinized Loerke with a suspicious gaze.
"Hmm, a suspicious smell~"
"Wh… what's suspicious? Ga ha… Ga ha ha ha!" Loerke scratched his head and laughed loudly, completely avoiding eye contact with Nero.
"Everything about you is suspicious! You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"
Nero squinted and took a few more steps towards Loerke: "Hmm, look me in the eyes!"
Loerke turned his head and reluctantly looked into Nero's eyes, his flickering gaze perfectly embodying the saying 'protesting too much'.
"Oh, come on! Your Majesty, what are you saying? I don't understand at all!"
"Even your voice has become flat! Confess honestly!"
Nero grabbed Loerke's collar. It seemed he wasn't the only culprit in this situation.
"I told you there's nothing! But why are you, Your Majesty, here?"
Loerke broke free from Nero's grasp, trying to change the subject.
"Hmm!"
Nero flinched, remembering that her own intentions were not pure either.
The Ope-Ope no Mi was clearly Nicuss's income. The matter of her, the Emperor, running ahead to intercept it for pocket money, could not be exposed no matter what.
"Hmm… hmm?" Loerke looked at Nero's reaction and also sensed something was off: "This look? Your Majesty, are you planning to do something behind our backs again?"
"Nani? You… how can you accuse me of such baseless slander? I… I'm not planning to do anything at all! Shoo~ Shoo~ ♪"
Now it was Nero who dared not look Loerke in the eyes. She turned her head, guiltily whistled twice, and even went off-key.
"This look… so suspicious!"
Roles reversed, now it was Loerke's turn to look at Nero with suspicion.
"I… I am not suspicious at all!"
"Your Majesty! How many years have we known each other? Since childhood, whenever you lie, you act exactly like this. Confess honestly! Otherwise, I'll contact Lord Holio!"
Loerke narrowed his eyes, making a move to take out a den den mushi.
"No!" Nero stretched out her arm like El-kun: "Aren't you also hiding something from me?"
"…" The movement of taking out the den den mushi paused. Loerke's expression flickered between cloudy and clear.
"Hmm, then let's make a deal! I won't pursue it, and you won't either. After that, it's every man for himself, how about it?"
Nero proposed a compromise, and Loerke frowned in thought, finally agreeing.
"Your Majesty, it seems our goals are the same! Then let's compete fairly. I'll count to three, and we'll both make our move! No backing out afterward!"
"Hmm, of course! But is it okay?" Nero showed a smug smile.
"What's not okay?"
"I'm so much stronger than you! By all accounts, my chances of winning the competition are much higher, aren't they?"
Loerke grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth, his smile confident.
"Idiot! Who do you think taught you your swordsmanship? Every teacher holds back a trump card technique for times like this!"
"Hmm! Stubborn old duck!!"
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