Illusionary Clone

A few days later, life at the training camp finally came to an end, and Doflamingo was awarded the rank of Rear Admiral at Navy Headquarters.

Naturally, the ceremony was extremely simple. The reason was equally simple: Roger had reportedly gathered all four Poneglyphs. He had departed Waterfront Star Island and headed for Laugh Tale, the Final Island.

Without the guidance of all four Poneglyphs, neither the pirates nor the Navy could track down the Roger Pirates. So now, everyone on the seas was waiting.

It could be said that this was the calm before the storm. If Roger did not reappear, that was one thing. But if he truly appeared again, then he should become the new One Piece.

Under such circumstances, the Navy naturally had no interest in holding some grand promotion ceremony. A perfunctory one was enough.

After the awards came the assignments. Naturally, that was not something that could be completed quickly, so Doflamingo spent his time looking through the files of Navy officers.

"Dragon really is a Navy Vice Admiral now. Hmm, he's suppressing pirates in the New World alongside Akainu and Aokiji? Still, he's remarkably low-profile. In every respect, he seems like an ordinary Navy Vice Admiral."

"Alright, I've decided. I'll become his subordinate!"

A smile appeared on Doflamingo's face as he put a checkmark beneath the name of a stern-looking Navy Vice Admiral.

That Navy Vice Admiral's name was Sakazuki!

That was right. Doflamingo had not chosen Dragon, the future revolutionary. Instead, he had chosen Akainu, the man known for his cruel nature and absolute justice!

The reason was actually very simple. Even without Doflamingo's help, Dragon would defect from the Navy in the future and establish the Revolutionary Army to oppose the World Government.

So even if Doflamingo went to him, at most he would only make Dragon firm up his resolve a little sooner. It would not have any real effect.

Since that was the case, Doflamingo might as well serve under someone else and guide them into opposing the World Government.

And in truth, there were only a few people qualified to carry the Navy's banner against the World Government.

The older generation had spent their entire lives in the Navy and had basically lost any drive for reform. Of the remaining three, once the Slacking Monkey was excluded, only Akainu and Aokiji remained.

Aokiji's justice better matched universally accepted values. However, he was closer to the Dovish Faction by nature and far too gentle in temperament. Even if he disagreed with the World Government's actions, it would be difficult for him to make up his mind to rebel.

Akainu, on the other hand, appeared extreme and ruthless. He would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let a single one escape, and what he did suited the World Government perfectly. But that did not mean he was truly loyal to the World Government. It merely meant that his personality better suited the World Government's needs.

But if Akainu could be ruthless toward pirates and equally ruthless toward the Navy, why could he not be ruthless toward the World Government as well?

When things truly became unbearable, Aokiji might engage in passive resistance or even resign. But Akainu would absolutely lead the entire Navy into a fucking war against the World Government.

So Doflamingo decided that the banner of opposition against the World Government would be handed to Akainu!

"Achoo!" In the New World, Sakazuki, standing on the deck, sneezed. The crimson magma he spat out burned a small hole through the deck, sending up little flames and wisps of smoke.

Sakazuki frowned and stomped out the flames. Then he unleashed a Great Eruption, directly scorching the Pirate ship before him into two halves.

"Strange. Why did I suddenly sneeze?"

Leaving aside Akainu, who was becoming somewhat suspicious, after making his decision, Doflamingo still had to wait some time for his assignment. That time also became the period when the Elite Training Camp trainees said their farewells.

Other than Tokikake, Doflamingo was not familiar with many of the Elite Training Camp trainees. He could not even remember some of their names, but that did not stop those ordinary Elite Training Camp members from coming over to ingratiate themselves with him.

After all, Doflamingo was already a Rear Admiral, while most Elite Training Camp members would never reach that rank in their entire lives. Naturally, they had to cling tightly to such a thick thigh.

One had to know that Navy officers of admiral rank were in no way inferior to the kings of World Government Member States in terms of identity and status. More often than not, it was the World Government Member States that had to curry favor with the Navy, relying on them to protect their nations from pirate attacks.

Doflamingo barely endured two days of socializing before becoming thoroughly fed up. He hid in his room and went directly into Illusion Space to train.

"Finally, I've succeeded!" Doflamingo sat on his bed, looking at the identical clone seated beside him, and let out a long breath.

"This thing you developed doesn't seem very useful, does it?" The clone spoke as it stretched out a hand to pick up a teacup from the table, only for its hand to pass straight through it.

"What is this supposed to be? How is it any different from an ordinary phantom?" The clone rolled its eyes and asked.

"Of course it's different. Haven't you noticed that you can think?" Doflamingo's original body wore a smug expression.

"I see. Though it is essentially just a phantom, it is indeed a phantom with the ability to think." The Illusionary Clone placed a hand on its chin. "It has no use in battle, but it could at least be useful for chatting and passing the time—did you think I was going to say that? What meaning does a skill like this even have?"

Doflamingo's expression turned strange. Being mocked by his own phantom was certainly a fresh experience.

He wondered which aspect of his personality the Illusionary Clone had inherited.

"Although this clone of yours indeed has no combat power, no one can harm you either. Don't you think you'd make excellent material for pretending to be an old man in a ring?"

"Huh? Can that kind of fantasy novel trope work in the Pirate World too?" the Illusionary Clone asked.

"It's fine." Doflamingo waved his hand. "People in the Pirate World are all used to strange things. It really isn't difficult to fool them."

"When the time comes, we'll add some title like 'treasure left behind by an ancient demon god.' I guarantee plenty of pirates will believe it."

As Doflamingo spoke, he took out a ring. With a casual wave, the entire Illusionary Clone was immediately absorbed into the ring.

"The old man in the ring is ready, but who will the lucky audience member be?"

Doflamingo shook his head. This was merely a casual move on his part. He had not even found a suitable pawn yet.

The Illusionary Clone contained a small fragment of his soul, which was why it possessed intelligence and could even cast some light-and-shadow illusions.

With his cheat, that tiny Soul Fragment could be restored quickly. But for an ordinary person, separating their soul a few more times would probably shatter it.