A group of people are facing off in the Royal Palace of Alabasta.
"Doflamingo's men dare to come here? You really aren't afraid of death?" Jin pointed his sniper rifle at the Exploding Hedgehog Head in front of him, his tone casual. After all, things are different now. Let alone one of Doflamingo's subordinates, even if Doflamingo himself were present, he wouldn't pose much of a threat to them.
"Where would be the best place to sever your body?" The Kenkon gestured with his longsword, his face full of ill intent.
"Young Master sent me to contact your captain, not to waste your time. Or are you worried that I might harm your captain?" Gladius's voice came from behind the mask.
"Hmph, sharp-tongued. I'd admire you if you dared to say such boastful things to the captain's face," Xia retorted sarcastically.
Her words were not without basis. True strong people have an aura that makes ordinary people lose their composure and even become unable to speak properly in front of them.
In this world, people who dare to disregard everything, like the Straw Hat, are few and far between.
"The captain has spoken, let him come over." A voice came from behind Gladius, making his blood almost freeze and his body stiffen. His combat strength was not weak, and he did not even notice when the speaker touched him from behind.
"What? Crocodile, even you have submitted to Nightmare Roy?" Gladius turned around and asked in an extremely incredulous tone.
The news of Crocodile the Sand's capture was no secret, but most people thought Roy's efforts were futile. After all, every top fighter on the high seas has their own pride, let alone an unruly individual like Crocodile the Sand who dared to challenge Whitebeard.
However, this explains why he couldn't sense it before; after all, Crocodile the Sand was on the same level as his young master.
Crocodile's expression was somewhat complicated. If Roy had previously made him tremble with his absolute fighting power, then the mentality and tactics he displayed afterward caused him to suffer a crushing defeat in the area where he was most confident.
After all, he was used as a tool by the World Government to kill someone else, while Roy managed to get back at the Five Elders.
Furthermore, the fate of CP0 served as a wake-up call for him. Even killing machines that only knew how to complete missions were controlled by Roy. If he continued to resist, he might not even be able to retain his last bit of freedom.
"Submitting to him is nothing to be ashamed of," Crocodile said casually without elaborating further.
However, this only made Gladius more frightened. With Crocodile the Sand joining the Phantom Sword Grand Fleet, it was essentially a powerful force with the strength of two Shichibukai.
The most luxurious guest room in the Royal Palace.
"What, Doflamingo himself doesn't dare to show up, so he sends you here to die? Is it because the memory I left on him last time was too deep?" Roy said without any mercy, after all, Doflamingo had really brought him a crisis of destruction that time.
If an ordinary person dared to speak like that, Gladius would have already rushed forward to fight without hesitation. But facing Roy's deep gaze, he didn't even have the slightest courage to make a move. It was an oppression from his bloodline and soul, so he could only comfort himself and tell himself that completing the task assigned by his young master was the priority.
"Lord Roy, this is a Den Den Mushi that the young master asked me to give to you." Gladius placed the Den Den Mushi in front of Roy and then turned and left the room.
Seeing this familiar scene, Roy twitched his lips speechlessly. "These guys really like to pull this kind of stunt."
After dialing the Den Den Mushi, it wasn't long before the Den Den Mushi displayed Doflamingo's signature smile.
"F-F-F-F-, Phantom Sword Roy, no, I should call you Nightmare Roy now. Although I knew you would eventually reach this point, the speed at which you've grown has truly exceeded my expectations."
Although the news of the naval expedition's disastrous defeat was not published in the newspapers, it was no secret to someone as well-connected as Doflamingo.
That's why he's even more wary of Roy. Otherwise, the title of Shichibukai wouldn't be worth his attention. After all, there aren't many other Shichibukai who he can even look at seriously.
"Hehe, there's no need for these meaningless words. Someone like you, who came all the way to me, couldn't have just been expressing your amazement, could you?"
"F-F-F-F-You really have a short temper. Well then, I'll get straight to the point. The purpose of my meeting with you this time is actually to form an alliance."
The room fell into an eerie silence. After a long while, Roy laughed and said, "I'm really surprised. I didn't expect you to come up with such a dangerous idea. If I remember correctly, we're still in a hostile relationship."
"Someone like you must know why I took action. There is no irreconcilable hatred between us. Only children would chase after right and wrong. Among pirates, only interests are eternal."
"That makes some sense, but who knows if you'll hold a grudge? After all, I made you lose face last time."
"A true strongman doesn't fall to the bottom because of a single defeat. My power is built on the corpses of countless losers, not on these empty reputations. Besides, how do you know that I didn't actively push for all of this? For me, influencing the content of the newspaper is not difficult, because I am..."
"Celestial Dragons, right?" Roy said expressionlessly, plunging the room into an eerie silence once more. Even the expression on the Den Den Mushi showed a hint of blankness.
Doflamingo was completely bewildered at this moment, even though he had originally planned to drop this bombshell to gain the upper hand in the ensuing conversation.
However, Roy's calm delivery of the words left him completely speechless.
Moreover, this secret is known to very few people even within the World Government. Could it be that it was revealed by the Five Elders? For a moment, Doflamingo felt a little uncomfortable.
"You're Celestial Dragons? You've really kept that a secret." Crocodile couldn't help but exclaim, while also being shocked by Roy's source of information. Such a top-secret event was probably known to very few people in the world, and considering Roy's thorough knowledge of him, Roy became even more mysterious in Crocodile's mind.
"Hmm? If I'm not mistaken, that voice belongs to Crocodile the Sand. I heard you've become Roy's prisoner. Have you already submitted?" Doflamingo said, half with emotion and half with probing.
"Hmph, this has nothing to do with you," the Crocodile the Sand said arrogantly.
Doflamingo's heart sank. Since Crocodile the Sand hadn't refuted it, the outcome seemed obvious.
While it's unclear why someone like Crocodile the Sand would willingly submit to someone else, the crucial issue now is that Roy's side's strength must be reassessed.
After all, alliances can only be formed when the two sides are of similar strength. If the strength and status are not equal, the alliance will undoubtedly become a lamb to the slaughter.