Looking at the empty hall, Doflamingo let out another sinister laugh.
"Who the hell do they think I am?"
"I am Doflamingo!"
"One day, every single one of you will bow before me! Otherwise, this world has no reason to exist!"
"Fuffuffuffu..."
'''
Three days later.
Under Doflamingo's orders, Trebol and his men moved all the equipment to a designated location—a warehouse within the port of Dressrosa. Once the task was complete, everyone departed.
Half an hour later...
At the King's Plateau, within the royal palace of Dressrosa.
"Trebol, is everything arranged?"
"We've placed over thirty surveillance Den Den Mushi throughout the port. There are no blind spots!"
As soon as he spoke, a multitude of screens flickered to life before them. Each screen displayed a feed from a different surveillance Den Den Mushi, providing total coverage of the entire harbor.
As for the inside of the warehouse, they hadn't installed any. Since the space was completely empty, any device would have been far too conspicuous.
"Good. The moment we confirm which ship they board, have Violet begin the surveillance!" Doflamingo smirked. "Observation Haki... fuffuffuffu... even if they possess it, what does it matter when they are hundreds of kilometers away!"
"I truly want to see what kind of mission you're executing—and why you need so much equipment related to weapons production!"
As the greatest arms dealer in the world of pirates, Doflamingo knew exactly what those items on the manifest were for. That was precisely why he was so interested in this CP0 mission.
The group stared intently at the monitors.
Ten minutes...
Half an hour...
An hour...
Until the sun rose the following morning.
Still, nothing had happened.
"Doffy, did they forget the time?"
"Impossible. Who do you think the CP0 are?"
"But an entire night has passed, and no one has appeared!"
Doflamingo was equally perplexed. Logically, if the CP0 said 10:00 PM, it would be 10:00 PM—not a single second off. Their conception of time was that rigid. Or rather, as the ultimate shield of the Celestial Dragons, they were rigorous in every possible aspect.
But this situation...
Could it be...?
"Trebol, go check the warehouse immediately!"
"Doffy?"
"Don't ask! Just go!"
"Understood!"
Five or six minutes later, Trebol appeared on the monitors. He arrived outside the warehouse and pushed the door open.
"What's going on? Is there a problem with the Den Den Mushi? Why is the image frozen?" Doflamingo frowned.
On the screen, Trebol remained frozen in the act of opening the door and stepping inside. He didn't move an inch; the image was stuck.
However, what Doflamingo didn't realize was that the feed wasn't frozen. Trebol was simply standing there in utter shock, his entire body paralyzed.
Because the warehouse was completely empty. There was nothing left.
'''
East Blue.
The 16th Branch.
Inside a warehouse, various pieces of equipment were piled high. Retes was leading a group of researchers, excitedly conducting an inventory.
"Blueno, thank you for your hard work!" Sean walked up to a weary-looking Blueno and patted him on the shoulder.
In this operation, Blueno was undoubtedly the greatest contributor.
"It was my duty. It was only under the Commodore's guidance that I was able to develop this application of the Door-Door Fruit."
"Blueno, he is a Rear Admiral," Lucci reminded him from the side.
"My apologies, Rear Admiral Sean. I'm just used to the old rank..."
"It's fine, that doesn't matter. You look exhausted; this took a significant toll on you, didn't it?"
"Yes. While I've developed a new way to use the fruit, there was simply too much gear, and many of the machines were massive. The stamina drain was substantial."
"I see. Get some proper rest."
"No, I should return to Mock Town as soon as possible. Disappearing for too long could cause problems," Blueno replied, shaking his head.
He hadn't appeared last night, leaving his subordinates to handle his duties. One night was fine, but any longer would inevitably invite suspicion from those who were paying attention.
"Fair enough. Thank you for your hard work."
Shortly after, Blueno departed using his Door-Door Fruit. It had to be said that space-type abilities were incredibly useful—provided they were developed properly.
In the original story, Blueno had practically wasted such an incredible fruit by only developing it for combat support. Fortunately, after joining the 16th Branch, Sean had provided him with plenty of suggestions, allowing him to truly uncover the fruit's latent potential.
After Blueno left, Sean looked toward Lucci, Kaku, and Jabra.
"So, Doflamingo didn't see through the ruse?"
"He didn't. However, Doflamingo said something quite interesting."
"Oh? What was that?" Sean's interest was piqued.
"He said he would give us everything for free, without any payment, provided we give him one answer."
"What answer?"
"He wants to know your true identity, Rear Admiral Sean."
"I see. And how did you respond?"
"I told him it was none of his concern."
"Good. That's the right approach. Since we are posing as CP0, the more we look down on him and the more commanding our tone, the less he will suspect us."
Sean nodded. He could have guessed Doflamingo would ask that. In fact, even Sean himself wondered about it.
The problem was that after transmigrating, he hadn't received any memories of the original owner of this body. Besides, considering this guy had his own name embroidered on his clothes and was rumored to be an idiot... even if he had those memories, they probably wouldn't be of much use.
Regardless, he would cross that bridge when he came to it. He didn't have the capability or the need to uncover everything right now. Following the set plan, he would climb the ranks step by step and successfully enter the Marine's core leadership before the original story began.
That was currently the most important goal.
"Alright. This mission is SS-class top secret. No leaks to anyone!"
"Understood!"
"One more thing. Get out of those white uniforms and make sure they are destroyed completely."
"Yes, Rear Admiral!"
The three of them nodded and departed immediately.
"Retes, is the inventory finished?"
"The inventory is complete. Nothing is missing; everything is here!"
"Very well. I will arrange for these items to be transported secretly. Organize some personnel to accompany the shipment; I'm sorry to put you through the trouble for a short while."
"Yes, Rear Admiral!"
'''
Meanwhile, in Dressrosa.
Doflamingo was shaking with rage.
Since he couldn't get the answers he wanted and had failed to track them, hadn't he lost out big time? Therefore, asking the Five Elders for money was only reasonable, right?
Doflamingo's Belly didn't just appear out of thin air.
Yet, those five old fogies completely denied any debt, even going as far as to berate him over the Den Den Mushi, claiming he had gone mad for money and was trying to scam them! Then, they simply hung up on him.
Looking at the Den Den Mushi, whose eyes had already closed... Doflamingo's face darkened.
First, it was Sean Campbell. Then the people from CP0. And now those old fossils were doing the same.
Did they really think he was someone they could just manipulate? Don't make me laugh!
"Trebol, has that guy arrived yet?"
"He has!"
"Very well. Get him settled, but make sure the news doesn't leak out!"
"Got it, Doffy!"
With a nod, Trebol departed.
Doflamingo then picked up the Den Den Mushi once more.
"This is Doflamingo."
"What do you want?"
"Fufufufu... I have a business proposition that I believe will interest you greatly."
"Let's hear it."
"Artificial Devil Fruits. All Zoan types. How does that sound? Fufufufu..."
The Den Den Mushi fell silent instantly. It wasn't until ten seconds later that the voice on the other end spoke again.
"Are you certain?"
"Of course. Interested now?"
"I will arrange for someone to contact you. But if I discover that this is a fraud, you know exactly what the consequences will be!"
"Naturally. Then, I shall await your representative..."