First Meeting with Mingo

Four days later, the smuggling ship, along with the two pirate ships it had captured, finally reached the port town of Spadamalus.

It was also one of the Donquixote Family's current bases in the North Sea.

"Great, we're finally back."

"Thank goodness Mr. Pique was in charge of this trip. Otherwise, those bastards would've gotten the better of us."

"Yeah, we're really lucky to work under Mr. Pique."

"By the way, Mr. Pique, what should we do with those two brats? Are we really taking them to see Captain Dof?"

As they disembarked, one of the crew asked Senor a strange question.

Then two brats were tossed off the ship.

And they were none other than Abel and Luo, who had hidden in a barrel and stowed away aboard the ship!

Maybe they had used up all their luck getting aboard, because by the third day, they had eaten all the food and drunk all the water they'd brought with them. They were starving.

So they decided to climb out of the barrel and take their chances. After all, they had no idea where the ship was ultimately headed or how many more days it would take to get there.

To avoid becoming the first transmigrator to starve to death, Abel had no choice but to take a gamble.

And he lost.

They had snuck into the kitchen and were stuffing their faces when a crewman who'd gotten up to grab a midnight snack caught them red-handed.

Since Abel had come here specifically to seek out the Donquixote Family, he barely resisted at all. He and Luo were captured without a fuss.

Then they were brought before the officer Senor Pink.

And thank goodness it was Senor Pink they'd run into!

He was a tough-as-nails man who didn't quite fit the Donquixote Family's way of doing things.

While everyone else was busy with pillaging and slaughter, he was helping old ladies cross the street.

He was loyal and devoted, and, exceptionally, had a great deal of sympathy for the weak.

It was utterly unbelievable!

Anyone who didn't know better would've thought he was the Navy's model of morality.

Abel just couldn't understand how Doflamingo had recruited someone like Senor Pink. They seemed like complete opposites!

So when Senor questioned him, Abel knew how to make use of his current "advantage of youth." He told a selective version of his and Luo's story and made it clear how badly they wanted to join the Donquixote Family.

Two children who had escaped the White Town wanted to join the family and avenge the dead with what little time they had left.

What a deeply moving story!

Abel couldn't say whether anyone else would have believed it, but Senor, who knew the truth, did. The Lead Sickness on Abel and Luo was impossible to fake.

Another officer might have gotten rid of the two brats simply to avoid the trouble.

But Senor would never do that!

So he decided to take them to see Young Master Dof and let him decide whether they could stay.

For one thing, Senor didn't have the authority to bring anyone into the family itself—not counting cannon fodder in the outer ranks. For another, Doflamingo was recruiting at the moment. In fact, he'd taken in over a hundred children in recent months, hoping to find and train those with potential.

Abel and Luo showing up now couldn't have been better timed.

"Get all our spoils ready. I'm taking them to see Captain Dof."

Senor lit a cigarette, thinking that a real man always kept his word!

The crewman behind him grew a little helpless when he realized Mr. Pique really intended to go through with it. He knew Mr. Pique's old habit of feeling sorry for the weak had kicked in again.

But they couldn't complain. They were all alive today because of that "old habit" of Mr. Pique's.

Otherwise, they'd have been thrown into the sea to feed the Sea Kings long ago for messing up a job.

"Hey, you two. When you meet Captain Dof, make sure you're respectful and polite. If you get Mr. Pique in trouble, I'll be the first to throw you overboard!"

Abel and Luo were unfazed by the crewman's threat.

Abel had seen another side of things. Senor was clearly respected and admired by his men, and that was undoubtedly because of his extraordinary charisma.

Luo, on the other hand, had simply given up!

I'm not afraid of dying. Why would I be scared of a nobody like you threatening me?

At the center of Spadamalus's waste disposal facility stood a cluster of buildings flying a pirate flag.

The flag bore a smiling face with its mouth wide open, teeth bared, and a diagonal line dividing it in two.

It was the Donquixote Family's flag, one that almost everyone in the North Sea recognized by now.

Senor walked ahead, carrying two large black suitcases, with Abel and Luo following behind.

Hostile eyes watched them from every direction.

But because Senor was an officer, no one dared approach them.

Only after they reached the second floor and stopped outside a certain room did he set down one of the cases and knock.

"Come in."

Senor picked up the case again and pushed the door open.

"Captain, I'm back."

"Ah, Senor. Looks like the operation went smoothly—you're back in no time. Hm? Why are there two brats with you? Don't tell me they're your illegitimate kids from some port of call, fufufufu~"

"Don't mind me. I'm just joking."

Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating a man seated in the center of the room.

He had striking blond hair that stuck up like flames. A pair of fashionable sunglasses covered his face, and he wore a well-tailored black suit beneath an outrageously flamboyant pink feathered coat.

He was the one who had just spoken.

His signature outfit and the words he'd just said made his identity obvious!

He was Donquixote Doflamingo, a Celestial Dragon by birth and the man who had founded the Donquixote Family.

Two other imposing figures stood behind Doflamingo.

The one on the left was a disheveled man with a blanket-like cloak, tiny sunglasses, a dangling string of snot, and a scruffy mustache above his lip.

The man on the right wore a fur-trimmed hat and a red cape, along with pale purple tinted glasses. His style was both "fashionable" and reminiscent of someone from a tribal village.

Judging by their appearances alone, they were probably two of the four highest-ranking officers—Trebol and Diamante.

As for the other officers, Abel hadn't seen them yet and had no idea who had joined the Donquixote Family so far.