Patience and Retreat as Storms Gather

"Boss, are we just going to let him go like that?"

Roman shook his head at the indignant Borgin.

"There's no way around it, that's the trouble with the 'system'."

Doflamingo left, taking Baby-5 and Buffalo with him.

As for Monet and Vergo? If he dares to utter even half a word about them in front of Den Den Mushi on the other end of Roman's Akainu, Roman will immediately have a legitimate reason to fight him!

"He is, after all, a 'Shichibukai' recognized by the government. Even I wouldn't be able to take him down on the spot without a legitimate reason."

Of course, this is only the surface reason. Although Roman is confident of defeating Doflamingo, he considers that Dressrosa involves Sabo, the Mera Mera no Mi, the Straw Hat Grand Fleet... so he'll leave Doflamingo for Luffy to deal with. However:

It must be said that Doflamingo is indeed a ruthless and powerful figure; he could even endure Roman pointing his finger at him and insulting him. With veins bulging on his forehead, he could still calmly explain to Akainu that it was all a 'misunderstanding,' and that he was only there because two of his family's executives had gone missing...

After Fleet Admiral for two years, Akainu, whose temper had been tempered to the point of "a gentleman uses words but not fists," wanted to maintain balance and told Roman to return the person he had "captured by mistake," which led to the scene before us.

If it were Akainu from two years ago, and someone were to confront a Marine in person, he probably would have slapped a Hell Hound across Doflamingo's face through Den Den Mushi!

It can only be said that the greater the power, the more one has to consider. The current Akainu is the Fleet Admiral, no longer the Marine Admiral, and has long passed the era of throwing lava in someone's face when angry.

"Don't worry, this guy won't be able to keep up for long. But—"

Roman glanced back at Smoker, who was covered in bandages, and nodded to him.

"I'm afraid I'll have to make you suffer, Vice Admiral Smoker."

"If you're not as skilled as others, it's normal to get beaten up."

Leaning against a broken wall, Smoker, a cigar dangling from his lips, seemed quite nonchalant. "If it weren't for you, I might be dead here today. —The Shichibukai... humph..."

Seeing Smoker's defiant attitude, Roman didn't bother comforting him. He began directing the navy to evacuate the area, after which personnel from the 'Science Unit' would take over.

Actually:

Is Smoker weak?

Of course he's not weak! He 'Logia Devil Fruit user, and proficient in Two-Color Haki. He already belongs to the top 0.0001% of combat power in this world; he just had bad luck running into Law, Vergo, and Doflamingo.

Similarly, Doflamingo is definitely not weak! He makes the most of a Thread-Thread Fruit, and his Three Types of Haki are at a high level (though not top-tier). His subordinates are also not weak, and coupled with his status as a 'Celestial Dragons,' these are the reasons for his arrogance.

However, being forced back by Roman with a single move, and facing Roman's Den Den Akainu (a type of Den Den Mushi) that directly connected to Roman, along with the disdain shown towards his various identities, Doflamingo wisely refrained from further action and instead invoked the prestige of being a 'Shichibukai' (one of the Shichibukai).

Because his intelligence clearly indicated that the rumored 'White Dove' was most skilled in creating Super Creation and various other amazing and diverse abilities. Perhaps he was not as good as veteran candidate Admiral in direct combat, but his versatility made him the number one in the Navy!

What Doflamingo fears most is an all-around fighter like Roman: he can use "Sky Walk Path" to escape from powerful individual enemies; he can use his parasite strings to create chaos when facing a large number of enemies; he can heal his own wounds; and he has the Stand ability "Shadow Knight" to interfere with others.

It can be described as capable of both attacking and tanking, healing and escaping.

But these are also Roman's 'strengths'! If a real fight breaks out, and he loses, he might not even be able to escape. —Although Doflamingo doesn't think he'll lose, the Den Den Mushi is still connected! If it attracts Admiral ...

Forget it, forget it. Taking a step back will open up a whole new world, and a moment of patience will bring peace.

Click, click!

However, the bulging veins on his forehead were:

Taking a step back only makes you angrier, and enduring it only makes you feel like you've lost out!

"Young Master, it's all our fault."

"What if we had captured Caesar first..."

"No,"

Even though he had just suffered a setback at Roman's hands, Doflamingo calmly shook his head when Baby-5 and Buffalo took the initiative to apologize.

"I sent you here."

"If anyone's to blame, it's me."

Although Doflamingo is arrogant, cruel, cold-blooded, and ruthless, willing to do anything to achieve his goals, he is actually quite good to his 'family'. Otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed here alone the moment he saw Caesar's 'live broadcast'.

"Fufufufu, since Law and the Straw Hat want to play, I'll play with them!"

One day later:

"Is Caesar, who bullied Tea Beard and those brats, one of your men?"

Having just returned to the Sunny Merry using his Swap Ability, Roman heard Luffy's angry voice in his ears.

"I'll give Caesar back to you, but if you cause this kind of trouble again, I'll beat you to a pulp too!"

Ah, this...

"Fufufu, Straw Hat Luffy."

Faced with Luffy's serious 'threat,' Doflamingo on the other end of the Den Den Mushi wasn't annoyed. After all, Luffy was the kind of guy who dared to storm Marine Headquarters to rescue people; what wouldn't he dare to do? However:

"I've been wanting to meet you for a long time. I have something that will definitely make you drool—"

"Hey, hey, hey? What kind of delicious meat is this...?"

Snap!

When Law, unable to bear it any longer, Luffy Luffy's eyes open, they turned into the shape of 'flesh,' and Usopp grabbed him and shook him for a while.

"Luffy, wake up!! This is that guy's scheme!"

·······

"Now that you have fulfilled your promise, we will leave Caesar there tomorrow at 3 p. m. on the beach northeast of Green Bit, an isolated island north of Dressrosa."

In just one day, Big News such as "Doflamingo withdraws from the Shichibukai", "Straw Hat Luffy forms an alliance with Law", and "Kid, Apoo, and Hawkins form an alliance" caused a huge stir in the New World!

Everyone had a premonition that New World storm was about to sweep across the globe! And at the center of this event:

"Won't the enemy definitely amass a large force and wait for us at the handover point?"

In response to Franky's question, Luo nodded.

"Caesar was just a 'bait' all along. Our real target is the SMILE factory. Once we destroy this place, we can truly bring the Doflamingo Pirates and the Beasts Pirates into battle! Then we can reap the benefits."

"Trafalgar, have you ever been to that place called 'Dressela'?"

"It's Dressrosa... That place has been Doflamingo's territory for ten years, how could I possibly have been there?"

"Hehehe, let's discuss it when we get there. I can smell the adventure!"

Faced with Luffy's sudden erratic Luffy, Law tried his best to dissuade him.

"Don't talk nonsense, how could you possibly do it without a plan..."

"Sanji, what's for breakfast?"

"Sandwich,"

"I want a marshmallow sandwich~~"

"I just want Black Tea."

"I hate bread..."

The words had barely left his mouth when Luo was startled!

Why am I so calmly discussing breakfast options with the Straw Hat crew?

"Don't panic,"

Roman, who had left behind a 'White Knight' at the helm, came over. Since Luo already knew his true identity, there was no need to hide anything.

"Plans can't keep up with changes, but some intelligence still needs to be shared."

"Roman, you've come?"

"Come and have breakfast!"

As Roman walked past him, tilting his head towards the restaurant, Luo sighed and had no choice but to follow.

Hopefully, this double-dealing strategist of the Straw Hat crew will prove reliable...

"The strength of the Donquixote Family?"

"That's right,"

In the dining room of the Sunny Merry, a group of people sat eating breakfast. As Roman spoke, everyone except Luffy, who was still engrossed in eating, stopped eating and listened attentively to what Roman had to say.

Just a day earlier, when Law was pitching his plan to 'dethrone the Four Emperors' to Luffy's response was:

As long as the first one isn't Shanks, it's fine, because:

'I will defeat Four Emperors!'

Since Luffy has said so, they can no longer go on carefree adventures like before. —No one but Luffy is capable of that anymore. If the first half was about everyone recklessly adventuring with ideals in their hearts, then the second half...

It's about everyone working together to put Luffy on the throne!

This highlights the importance of intelligence.

"First, there is Captain Donquixote Doflamingo, nicknamed 'Heavenly Yaksha,' Shichibukai and King of Dressrosa. His original bounty was 340 million Beli. As a middleman in the Underworld, his code name is 'Joker,' and Devil Fruit user."

"Of course, that bounty certainly doesn't represent his strength. I estimate it must be at least eight or nine hundred million."

"He can wield Three Types of Haki with ease. I just fought him once, and our Armament Haki was evenly matched. Thread-Thread Fruit perfectly, creating various string puppets, Parasite String, stitching threads, and even using the strings to connect with clouds for flight..."

?!

"And most importantly, his Devil Fruit has reached the 'Awakening' level. Once Paramecia Fruit is 'Awakening,' it can affect things outside of the user. In other words, Doflamingo could even turn houses and the ground into 'strings' to fight!"

Although in the original story, Doflamingo only activated his "Awakening" after being thoroughly defeated by Gear Fourth Gear Luffy, what if he doesn't follow the script? If he activated his Awakening right at the start of the battle, the Straw Hat crew would be reduced by more than half in an instant.

?!!

"Such detailed intelligence is practically like..."

It felt like I had witnessed the enemy fighting with all their might!

Law looked at Roman in disbelief. Although the ability users in this world didn't Devil Fruit Awakening secret as Doflamingo's awakening of Doflamingo Devil Fruit was unknown to Law, who was always Awakening eye on the Donquixote Family!

Is it too late for us to withdraw from the alliance now?

Usopp and Chopper were already hugging each other tightly! I knew Roman wouldn't utter a single word of comfort; any enemy he willingly revealed information about was abnormally strong!

"Next up are his four suits: Hearts Vergo, Diamonds Diamante, Spades Pica, and Clubs Trebol."

"These four individuals all possess the strength of Vice Admiral, and their Two-Color Haki is undeniable. Among them, 'Heart' Vergo's Armament Haki is the strongest, making him the second strongest member of his clan; 'Spade' Pica's abilities are the most powerful, making him a trump card in large-scale operations..."

Seeing Usopp and Chopper already trembling with fear, Roman thought for a moment and decided to reveal some 'good news' first.

"'Hearts' Vergo has been defeated,"

"Yay!" X2

"I was the one who defeated him, and I gave it my all—even without using my Devil Fruit ability..."

"Farewell!" X2

What's the point of using you as a benchmark? If you were to attack us, wouldn't it be an instant kill?

"Interesting,"

Upon hearing Roman's description, Zoro's blood boiled again.

"That birdman is mine,"

Luffy, still stuffing food into his mouth, didn't even look up.

"None of you are allowed to take it from me!"

The so-called birdman is none other than Doflamingo, who is affectionately known as the 'Doflamingo'.

"It was originally yours,"

Roman rolled his eyes at Luffy, annoyed. Who else in the Straw Hat crew besides himself and Luffy could fight Doflamingo?

Zoro isn't lacking in strength, but rather in mobility, making him vulnerable to being kited. His Flying Slash are fine for easily defeating weaker opponents, but killing skilled enemies is unrealistic. Sanji, on the other hand, has sufficient mobility, but... he might get kicked and break his bones again, right?

"Um?"

Sanji was carrying food out of the kitchen, looked around in confusion.

I feel like someone is talking badly about me!

"That's your misconception—the sandwich is delicious."

"Right, my cooking skills~~"

Roman stroked his chin and thought for a moment, instantly diverting Sanji's attention.

Well, unlike himself, Luffy, and Zoro who train every day, Sanji spends most of his time cooking for everyone, so it's normal that his strength growth is affected.

Once we get the Vinsmoke family's battle suit, we'll have Franky try enhancing it with Wapol Metal...