Heading to Dressrosa

Dressrosa.

The Land of Love, Passion, and Toys.

It was the territory of Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Shichibukai known as the Heavenly Yaksha, and a broker in the Dark World who went by the codename Joker. Five years ago, the Great Pirate, whose original bounty had been 340 million Berries, had transformed himself into Dressrosa's new king.

When the news got out, it must have left countless people stunned. Who the hell could have imagined that this man, whom Vice Admiral Tsuru had chased around like a rabbit, would stroll right into Navy Headquarters and walk away with the title of Shichibukai?

Who knew what had gone through the mind of the renowned Vice Admiral Tsuru when she gave up pursuing the Donquixote Family?

In any case,

five years ago,

Joker, who had originally come from the North Blue and wandered the New World without a home like a stray dog, had risen to become one of the New World's great powers. He had not only secured an official position on the side of the law as a Shichibukai, but also made a name for himself as Joker in the Dark World.

Looking at Joker's rise from the North Blue to the New World, one had to admit that he was a man of great resourcefulness and determination.

Compared with Big Mom and Beast, those two Mad Emperors who often seemed to lose their minds, the ambitious Donquixote Doflamingo had far more of an emperor's bearing. Unfortunately, his fighting strength was a little lacking. And the New World was a chaotic place where the strong ruled above all. In a place like that, overwhelming force was the one unshakable truth.

King's Plateau.

This was where Dressrosa's Royal Palace stood.

Beside the open-air pool, a man wearing sunglasses, a pink feather coat, burgundy cropped trousers, and pointed shoes lounged on an ultra-luxurious sofa with a glass of red wine in hand. His face wore a brazen, arrogant grin.

The man, whose grin looked downright wicked and who was clearly no good, was Donquixote Doflamingo.

"Young Master, I say, I say, should we... do nothing about Umit?" asked a man holding a cane marked with a spade, wrapped in a blanket-like cloak, and wearing tiny sunglasses. Half a strand of snot dangled beneath his nose.

This was—

Trebol.

One of the four top officers of the Donquixote Family and leader of the Spade Army, he was a Paramecia-type Dile Dile no Mi user.

"No need to bother with him! That old bastard has an ulterior motive. He wants to drag me in to take the heat for him. He thinks too little of me..." Doflamingo sneered, his sharp gaze peering through his sunglasses toward the blazing, dazzling orb in the sky. "Of course, if he's willing to pay enough, I could help him find out what the recently risen Black Prince is capable of!"

Hearing the Young Master contradict himself, Trebol looked a little confused.

"I say, um, um... Young Master, are we helping him or not?"

"Not for now, Trebol. Just keep an eye on Sugar and the Underground Factory. As for that old bastard Umit... Pica, go watch him. Whatever he does, just keep tabs on him. Contact me by Den Den Mushi if anything happens."

Doflamingo clearly had no intention of explaining himself to Trebol.

There was no need to explain too much to Trebol. It wouldn't do any good anyway. Trebol... well, although he was a top officer in the family, in practice he was just Sugar's personal bodyguard. He might have seemed to have an important role, but when you got down to it, he was only a bodyguard.

His mind wasn't suited to handling anything else.

"Leave it to me, Young Master."

A sharp, high-pitched voice came from the floor beneath them.

Hearing that distinctive voice, the Modern Girls standing around the pool struggled to suppress their laughter. They didn't even dare let their shoulders shake, afraid that it might be taken as mockery of Pica's voice. If they were judged to be laughing at the big man, dying quickly and painlessly would be a luxury.

No one dared mock his voice. Satisfied, Pica left King's Plateau through the ground and headed for Lovers' Avenue to find Umit, who was out shopping with his men.

"Umit, that old bastard!"

Doflamingo narrowed his eyes, though he made it sound as if he didn't care.

But he didn't dare underestimate this mess that had landed on his doorstep.

He was extremely unhappy with Umit's rotten behavior in bringing trouble right to his door. But that shameless old bastard had gone and done it anyway, without even a word of warning, showing up at his house with a great crowd of underlings.

That move had left Doflamingo with no good options. He could either openly turn against Umit and fight him, or hold his nose and accept the mess.

The first option was naturally out of the question.

For one thing, Umit had brought ten Great Pirates with bounties over 100 million, not to mention Umit himself. Doflamingo wasn't at all certain he could take them on. And even if he did, it would only benefit someone else. There was nothing in it for him.

After weighing his options, the man who knew how to bide his time decided to hold his nose and accept the situation.

But

Joker wouldn't swallow his anger for just anyone the way he did for Beast, grinding his teeth and swallowing them along with it.

"Bulu bulu."

A Modern Girl brought over the ringing Den Den Mushi.

"Doffy!"

As soon as Doflamingo picked up the receiver, a steady yet affectionate male voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

"Vergo, did you find anything?"

"I did. The Navy... no, the World Government provided the information. Doffy, the Ekmondo Kingdom's ties to the World Government are even stronger than we expected. As soon as I started looking into it, the Sokachio Family over on the Red Line Continent sent over Sokachio Aleus's file."

"Sokachio, huh? Interesting. I didn't know they had that much influence in the World Government. But that makes the partnership even more worthwhile... Vergo, are things all right on your end? Since you alerted the World Government, has anything changed with the Navy's top brass?"

"It's fine. As the Base Commander of the New World G5 Branch, keeping up with the New World's intelligence is part of my job. Headquarters recently sent me a commendation for my dedication, in fact. As for the Navy's top brass... nothing's changed so far. The Three Admirals are each carrying out their duties, Vice Admiral Garp is still in East Blue, and Vice Admiral Tsuru hasn't left Headquarters in almost a year..."

Vergo gave a detailed report on the latest developments in the Navy.

About half an hour passed.

Only then did their long-distance conversation come to an end.

Doflamingo hung up the receiver and let the smile fade from his face. He looked at the Den Den Mushi number written in his notebook and carefully reconsidered his plans once more. Since Umit had shown him no respect,

he wasn't going to show Umit any, either. So he planned to contact Sokachio Aleus.

It didn't necessarily mean he would actually join forces with the young Black Prince. After all, whether they could take down that crafty old bastard Umit was still up in the air! But that didn't stop him from selling Umit's information. And if the Black Prince really did take Umit down,

it wouldn't hurt to have made contact beforehand.

So,

his finger returned to the buttons on the back of the Den Den Mushi.

At sea.

A battleship flying the Golden Coffee Tree Flag cut through the waves, speeding toward the horizon.

Inside the ship, in the hall.

Aleus was examining the prisoner Dick had captured earlier—Strangling Ghost, Farug. The lucky fellow had been locked up ever since Dick brought him aboard, and no one had gotten around to dealing with him. This time, when they set out for Dressrosa, Dick had reminded Aleus about him, so they had brought him along to question at sea.

"A pirate with a bounty of 114 million Berries... You came to the New World from South Blue?"

"Yes. I came from a small, war-torn country in South Blue. I was a child soldier when I was little. Later, the force I belonged to was defeated, and the child soldiers were disbanded. I wandered alone for a few months. When I was about to starve to death, I met my teacher. He taught me the Sallier Strangling Technique, and I promised him I would spread its name throughout the world.

"So I don't want to die! His Highness Aleus, please give me a chance to live. I'll do anything you ask, anything at all, as long as I can stay alive!"

Farug dropped to his knees without hesitation, pressing his forehead to the soft wool carpet as he pledged his loyalty to Aleus.

"...Well, whatever. Dick, the guy you brought back is yours to deal with. He's your subordinate now." Having heard a story that wasn't particularly interesting, Aleus lost all interest in the man who liked to wear nothing but swim trunks and handed him off to Dick.

"Huh? Your Highness, you're joking, right? Shouldn't such a troublesome task go to Dillon or Eschbach?"

Dick, who had been playing cards with Dillon and Eschbach, immediately complained when he was saddled with a troublesome new recruit. He was flighty by nature and had no patience for tedious chores. Training a rookie was even more of a headache.

"You captured him, so he's your responsibility. Besides, if you think it's too much trouble, wouldn't it be perfect to train someone who can work for you?" Aleus explained.

"Uh... I guess that makes sense."

Dick was swayed by the idea.

If he could train an assistant to handle his busywork, wouldn't he never have to worry about the troublesome tasks His Highness assigned him again? Besides, he had saved Farug in the first place because he'd taken a liking to the fellow...

"Farug, you're working for me from now on."

Farug lifted his head and stared blankly at Dick standing before him. For a moment, he had no idea what to do.

"Um, what kind of token of loyalty do you need from me?" Farug asked cautiously.

"A token of loyalty? What's that supposed to be?"

Dick's eyes widened.

As the least studious of Aleus's four attendants, he was only worth praising for his strength. His academic record, on the other hand, was a complete disaster.

"Dick, it's your turn to play."

Dillon interrupted Dick before he could embarrass himself any further.

He glanced at Farug. Under Dillon's blade-sharp stare, Farug shuddered. Then Dillon spoke. "We aren't pirates, and His Highness doesn't need heads to decorate his sofa. Just give him your honest loyalty... that's enough.

"Loyalty is the only thing of value you have. If you lose even that... I don't want to see what happens."

His cold words clung to Farug like a sheet of ice.

Wearing nothing but a pair of swim trunks, Farug felt so cold his bones nearly froze.

"Bulu bulu!!"

Just then, the Den Den Mushi rang.

"Your Highness, it's Lord Worlek." Fran came over holding the Den Den Mushi.

"Grandpa?"

Aleus picked up the receiver.

Before he could even say hello, the Den Den Mushi boomed with a voice loud enough to shake the room.

"Hey, Ale! It's Grandpa!"

"...Grandpa, save that kind of greeting for Sal and Adela! I'm twenty years old, not a kid anymore!" Aleus once again made a helpless protest, though he knew full well it would do no good. Next time would undoubtedly be the same.

"Hahahaha!!!"

The hearty laughter was so loud that Aleus instinctively stuck his little finger in his ear and gave it a scratch.

"Ale, when are you bringing Sal and Adela to the Red Line Continent for a visit? I haven't held Adela in two years. She's already four! If I weren't swamped with all the World Government's nonsense, I'd have quit ages ago. I'd much rather go home and hold my granddaughter..."

His endless stream of complaints poured forth, mixed with deep regret that he couldn't watch his little granddaughter grow up with his own eyes.

"...All right, enough small talk. Ale, I have something serious to tell you."

"Something serious? What?"

Aleus had been nodding off, but he wiped his face with the cold towel Fran handed him and roused himself to ask.

"Someone in the Navy is looking into you."

"...How is that serious?" Aleus was speechless. It's not unusual for the Navy to look into someone's background, is it?

"It's Vergo, the Base Commander of the New World G5 Branch, the one they call Demon Bamboo. You once said he wasn't a good man, so I kept an eye on him. I found out that investigating you was Vergo's personal decision. The Navy Headquarters had only started collecting routine information on you, so I went ahead and sent your file straight to Vergo. Figured I'd scare him a little."

"..."

Scare him?

Aleus felt a headache coming on.

Ever since his grandfather had stepped down, he'd been letting himself go and doing all sorts of shocking things. Like marrying a new wife younger than Aleus.

"But Vergo... Is that guy Joker looking into me?"

"Grandpa, you didn't spill everything about me, did you?"

"I sent him your photo, your Den Den Mushi number, and your height and weight from two years ago. Come to think of it, have you grown any taller lately? You look taller in that photo Bertha sent me. Ah, no, I'm getting off track. What was I saying? Oh, right. If you're going to Dressrosa, you'd better not pick a fight with Doflamingo. He used to be a Celestial Dragon."

At the end, the old man lowered his booming voice so much that Aleus had to strain his ears to hear.

"Anyway, that's all. Be careful, okay? Oh, do you want to speak to your grandmother...?"

"Click!"

Aleus hung up the receiver at lightning speed.

He wasn't ready to face the terrifying fact that his 'grandmother' was two years younger than him.

"Bulu bulu!"

The Den Den Mushi rang again less than two seconds after he hung up.