"The Ope-Ope No Mi? It's in the North Blue?"
Pancho glanced at Idris before slowly nodding and saying, "It is currently in the North Blue. It has come to my attention recently that it's actually Diez Barrels that has it now. It seems like he somehow managed to get his hands on the fruit, and according to recent news, he is in talks with the Marines to exchange it for quite a huge stack of money."
"A defected Marine is selling a Devil Fruit back to the people he defected from? The same guy who turned on his own escort mission, killed the merchants, looted a private island, and had half the North Blue looking for him for months? Is he actually stupid? " asked Lucien.
"Yes, it is the same Diez Barrels. The Captain of Barrel Pirates. He has the Ope-Ope No Mi in his hands right now," confirmed Pancho.
Lucien knew about Diez Barrels; the man was actually a pretty respected marine officer and was very good at his job, too. But for some reason, on one of the many routine missions he was given, to escort an important merchant to the North Blue Marines' logistics, he actually turned his knife on his own people, killing all the merchants on the ship and even some of his own marine officers, to take all the money and then went on to even attack and loot the rest of that merchant's valuables on a private island.
It blew up so big that Barrels and his men, similar to how Lucien was now escaping and hunted by the marines for several months before he managed to recruit enough people to establish the Barrel Pirates.
"So, where is this Diez Barrels right now?"
"Oh, you can find him on Minion Island. He has set up his base of operations right there now. It's a small island, and he has made himself the king there and controls all the people there right now."
Idris nodded and stood up along with Lucien as they finally got the information they were looking for, and were about to leave when Pancho caught Idris's wrist and said.
"Oh, don't go that quickly now, have a seat. There is something else regarding this that you need to know."
Idris raised an eyebrow as he slowly sat back, nodding towards Pancho to continue.
"You're not the only one I've sold this to. Someone else has been paying me to watch for exactly this kind of fruit. Important client. Very motivated."
"Who is it?"
"Donquixote Pirates"
"Donquixote Doflamingo? The fallen world Noble's son?"
"Yes, that very same maniac also has his eyes on the Ope-Ope No Mi fruit. He has had his eyes on Special devil fruits for a long time and has been paying me regularly to keep an eye and ear out for any news regarding them."
"After I received the news, the first thing I did was call him and tell him about it. You have to say, the man is generous, he paid me handsomely for it. And now he is probably planning to kill Diez and get his hands on it. He probably wouldn't wait much longer to make his move."
Idris rubbed his forehead as he thought about it, as Lucien just closed his eyes and leaned back, thinking about the fight they were going to have in the near future. They had to take care of the Barrel Pirates first and hopefully before Doflamingo got his hands on them, and most likely ward off the Donquixote Pirates too in the process. There was also the matter with the Marines. With them already being hunted, if their luck was downright horrible, they might also face them simultaneously if Diez has already finished negotiating with them.
"Alright, thank you for the information, Pancho, I appreciate it," said Idris as he stood up to leave.
"Well, with this, I do not owe you anymore favours. Be sure to come back in one piece after this," said Pancho as the three walked out. Idris gave a final nod, and both he and Lucien walked out of the shop and into the dark alleyway once again.
As they walked out through the dense, and as they got out of the black market, Lucien just closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and said, "Always the same in these places. Stuffy and packed and everyone pretending they're not there. Anyway, what kind of help did you even do for? He gave quite a lot for a 'simple favour'"
Idris walked for a second before answering. "I killed his son, who was trying to usurp him and take his empire, and made it seem like he died in a scrum with another gang."
Lucien raised an eyebrow. He didn't say anything. There wasn't much to say to that.
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
The ship was where they'd left it, tucked at the far end of a quiet dock that didn't ask questions. Law was sitting on the deck with his back against the mast, a small crate of supplies beside him, reading. He looked up when he heard them come aboard. His expression didn't change.
"You took longer than I expected," he said.
"We got what we needed," said Lucien. He dropped down onto the deck across from him and stretched his legs out. "How were the supplies?"
"Fine. The vendor tried to overcharge for the medical kit. I didn't pay it."
Lucien looked at him. Seven years old, terminal illness, three months of dead ends, and he'd spent the afternoon haggling a vendor back to a fair price. "Good," Lucien said.
Law closed his book and looked between the two of them with the same flat patience he applied to most things. "So, where to next?"
"Minion Island," answered Lucien.
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1 Chapter For Every 50 Power Stones. Please Do Support.