The Marine had precisely targeted his business more than once, and no matter where he hid, the Marine would relentlessly pursue him.
Doflamingo had long suspected there was a Marine mole within the Donquixote Family.
Rationally speaking, Rosinante had been away from him for a long time, and ever since he returned to the family, the Marine had relentlessly clung to the Donquixote Family. His younger brother was clearly the prime suspect.
But emotionally, Doflamingo was actually very unwilling to believe that the only relative he had left in this world, his own younger brother, would betray his older brother for the sake of the Marine.
This arrangement concerning the Ope-Ope no Mi was also a test by Doflamingo.
Whether it was Rosinante or not would be revealed this time.
"If things truly come to that... Rosie, don't blame me for being ruthless..."
Doflamingo sighed inwardly, turned, left the room, and began arranging the matters for heading to Minion Island.
After confirming that Doflamingo's footsteps had completely vanished down the corridor, Rosinante quickly locked the door and retrieved the encrypted transponder snail from its hiding place.
He activated the ability of the Calm-Calm Fruit, ensuring that no sound would travel beyond a certain distance from him, before dialing the number.
"Great Senbei, this is Millet!"
Once the call connected, Rosinante did not hesitate and immediately cut to the chase:
"Doflamingo has found the exact location of the Ope-Ope no Mi!"
"What?!"
Sengoku's familiar voice came from the other end of the transponder snail, his tone filled with shock:
"Is the information reliable?"
He had not expected that assigning Rosinante to deal with the Donquixote Family would yield such a huge, unexpected benefit.
Rosinante's tone was calm, betraying no emotion:
"He received the message in front of me; the accuracy can basically be confirmed."
"The transaction time is set for one week from now, on Minion Island."
Sengoku was momentarily stunned by the sudden news. He raised a hand to rub his brow, quickly regaining the composure expected of a brilliant strategist:
"I understand. Your safety is the priority now. You must maintain silence."
"You don't need to worry about the Ope-Ope no Mi; I will arrange for others to handle it."
"Understood!"
Having concluded the brief intelligence exchange, the two immediately hung up the phone.
Sengoku sat at his desk, thought for a moment, and picked up the transponder snail used to contact Tsuru.
Tsuru had recently been leading a group of female Marines in training, and they happened to be in the North Blue.
To deal solely with the Donquixote Family, Tsuru's involvement was sufficient.
Just as he was thinking this, a messenger suddenly burst in:
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! This is bad! The BIG MOM Pirates are making a move!"
Sengoku's hand, which he had just extended, froze in mid-air.
Although the New World did not yet have the Four Emperors, the Marine was highly vigilant against super-powers like Whitebeard, Kaido, and Charlotte Linlin, who controlled their own territories.
Just like a meeting between the Red Hair Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates in the original work, it would immediately cause the Marine to react defensively.
Taking the intelligence report, the pupils beneath Sengoku's round-framed glasses instantly contracted to a pinprick.
The report clearly showed that the BIG MOM Pirates' main ship, the Queen Mama Chanter, had departed from Cake Island, sailed all the way toward the Calm Belt, and finally disappeared inside the Calm Belt.
Sengoku subconsciously glanced up at the map hanging on the wall, already forming a plan in his mind.
Judging by the route taken by the BIG MOM Pirates, it was not difficult to guess that they were heading toward the North Blue.
At this specific point in time, Sengoku did not believe this was a coincidence.
He raised his hand once more to rub his brow and muttered softly:
"Damn it! Why now of all times!"
If it were only the Donquixote Family, Vice Admiral Tsuru could naturally handle them easily.
But facing Charlotte Linlin, she was clearly outmatched.
Who were the people capable of dealing with the BIG MOM Pirates?
Besides himself, there were only Garp, Kuzan, and Borsalino.
There was no need to mention Sengoku himself; the Fleet Admiral could not easily leave Headquarters.
Ever since the Mary Geoise riot ended, Borsalino had been searching the seas for traces of the Sun Pirates, and a long time had passed since then.
Originally, Sengoku planned to promote Borsalino to Admiral once he successfully captured Fisher Tiger.
But this slacker was in no rush, and there had been no progress whatsoever until now.
However, Fishmen certainly had too great an advantage on the sea, potentially diving into the water at any moment, so it couldn't be said that Borsalino was completely slacking off.
The Mary Geoise riot was a major concern for the World Government; with Christopher's information hidden and the Revolutionary Army eliminated, Fish-Man Tiger was the number one wanted criminal.
Therefore, unless the situation was extremely urgent, it was truly inconvenient for Sengoku to call Borsalino back.
As for Kuzan?
Ever since Sakazuki's betrayal, Kuzan had been extremely busy, racing across the seas on his bicycle every day, practically pedaling the wheels until they smoked.
Currently, the Marine couldn't even spare an Admiral to guard Red Port; if Kuzan were also sent to the North Blue, the pirates in the Grand Line would be completely unchecked.
Therefore—
"Garp! Where did you old bastard run off to this time?!"
A thunderous roar erupted from the Fleet Admiral's office, and the entire room seemed to jump.
After a long while, Garp, picking his nose and looking groggy, appeared in Sengoku's Fleet Admiral's office:
"What is it now, Sengoku!"
"Spit it out quickly! I still need to go back to the East Blue to see my grandson!"
Seeing the other party's shameless attitude, Sengoku was furious.
He slammed the desk hard and threw a stack of documents onto Garp.
"I don't have time for your nonsense this time! You need to get yourself to the North Blue immediately! I will have Tsuru coordinate with you!"
"You must ensure that the Ope-Ope no Mi does not fall into anyone else's hands!"
Garp subconsciously caught the thrown documents, felt dizzy after a quick scan, but still extracted the crucial information—the Ope-Ope no Mi had appeared!
His expression gradually turned serious, then abruptly reverted to his usual carefree demeanor, and he chuckled:
"Oh, so it's about this. That old woman Linlin is going crazy again."
"If that's the case, then I suppose I'll go."
Facing a top-tier powerhouse, Garp seemed intrigued.
Seeing this, Sengoku breathed a sigh of relief.
He was afraid that this rogue would cause trouble for him regarding this matter.
Only after Garp left and headed towards his dog-head battleship did Sengoku dial the phone to the Room of Authority and report the news about the Ope-Ope no Mi in full detail.
The Gorosei's reaction was unsurprising; they immediately ordered the Marine, demanding that they obtain the Ope-Ope no Mi no matter what.
In reality, this was just them subconsciously raising the requirement.
For the Gorosei, whether they acquired the Ope-Ope no Mi was secondary; preventing others from acquiring it was paramount.
Just as the major powers across the seas were stirring due to the news of the Ope-Ope no Mi, the NEO Marines base in the New World was receiving a strange visitor.
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