A Small Trial

"Something went wrong with the mission."

Facing Doflamingo, Senor made no attempt to shirk responsibility. Instead, he took all the blame upon himself.

When Doflamingo heard that someone had dared to target his smuggling ship, his eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, turned frighteningly savage!

It was as if his elegant nobleman's air had only ever been a facade.

This man was utterly ruthless!

But after Senor finished explaining, Doflamingo showed no intention of blaming him.

After all, Senor had handled things remarkably well under the circumstances.

He had not only protected the ship and its cargo, but wiped out the Giant Bear and Hundred Swords Pirate Groups. More importantly, he had preserved the Donquixote Family's reputation and authority!

Once word of this spread, it would surely be a powerful warning to those who were getting restless and thinking of opposing them.

As for the weapons they had lost...

Doflamingo glanced up at Senor, whose expression remained impassive.

Forget it. This isn't the first time he's stepped in to protect his subordinates.

Normally, he would have punished someone harshly, both to make sure rewards and punishments were handed out fairly and to maintain his rule.

But when it came to Senor, he was willing to let it go.

After all, the "Family Members" he had recruited were his people. Even if they were nothing like pirates, he still had to accept them.

"I know what happened. Add the two captured pirate ships to the smuggling fleet. Find somewhere to lock up Black Bear Miles for now, and once we find a buyer, sell him off. A Zoan Devil Fruit user is worth a fair amount. Turning him over to the Marines for his bounty would be a waste. And let's leave it at that."

After some thought, Doflamingo made his decision.

Senor had no objections.

But Luo felt as if he were being ignored. Before Senor could speak, he suddenly asked, "Are you the captain of these people? The boss of the Donquixote Family?"

Luo stared straight at Doflamingo without the slightest fear.

He had long since forgotten the crewman's reminders to be polite and show respect.

Stranger still, Abel didn't seem to have any intention of stopping him.

"What an impolite brat."

"Let it go."

Diamante seemed displeased by Luo's tone and was about to teach him a lesson, but Doflamingo stopped him.

"That's right. I am. What do you want?"

Under Doflamingo's curious gaze, Luo continued, "I want to join you. I want to become a pirate."

"I want to destroy everything I see."

"Whether it's towns, houses, or people, I want to destroy the whole world."

An air of deathly despair seemed to rush toward them. Even Doflamingo was stunned for a moment, and instinctively recalled the wretched memories from years ago that he never wanted to revisit.

In the boy's eyes, he seemed to see his younger self.

The reason Abel hadn't stopped Luo earlier was that he didn't want to disrupt his performance.

Their experiences were similar, but Abel had thirty more years of life behind him. He had the sound mind of an adult, as well as a cheat. So that terrible experience hadn't completely broken him. Instead, it had magnified his ambition beyond measure.

If Abel had said the same words, they never would have had such a powerful effect.

By the time Doflamingo finally came to his senses, he realized he had lost his composure. With some confusion, he turned to Senor, who had brought the boys here.

Senor gave him a simple answer. "Those two are survivors who escaped from White Town, Freyvans. They probably have only two or three years left to live."

Doflamingo understood at once. No wonder a boy so young could say something so terrifying.

Normally, he wouldn't have wanted to waste his time on two short-lived kids.

But after hearing what Luo had said...

He suddenly wanted to give them a chance and see what they could accomplish!

Even if they disappointed him in the end, he wouldn't lose much.

So he smiled. "Joining my Pirate Group won't be easy. First, show me what you two can do."

"Trebol, Diamante, these two brats are in your hands."

"No problem. Leave it to us. Bwahahaha!"

Trebol spoke up first, a strange smile on his face.

After Trebol and Diamante took the two boys outside, Senor told Doflamingo everything he knew in response to his curious questions, including how he had found the boys and the stories Abel had told him.

Doflamingo nodded slowly. The boys' identities were probably genuine, but they would need to be investigated thoroughly just in case.

The test would take place outside, in the rubbish dump.

Clang.

"Pick up the knives and attack me."

Without a word, Diamante tossed two short blades onto the ground.

Abel picked one up and realized it was just the right length for him and Luo. They couldn't even use an ill-fitting weapon as an excuse.

Under normal circumstances, even if he and Luo joined forces and multiplied their strength a hundredfold, they still wouldn't stand a chance against Diamante.

So the test was simply meant to let them show off everything they were good at, and reveal whether they had enough potential.

They couldn't just rush in blindly, then.

"Luo, in a moment—"

Abel was just about to discuss a plan with Luo when he saw him charging forward, teeth clenched, short blade in hand.

Damn it!

So much for being careful and calculating!

So much for being a tactical genius!

Luo, did you know you were this reckless in a fight as a kid?

Damn!

Plan B was out. Switching to Plan A!

Don't ask what Plan A was. Plan A was to go for it!

Abel had no choice but to grip his short blade and charge in as well.

Clang! Clang!

With two sharp clinks, Diamante simply angled his blade downward to block them. That was all it took. His sword didn't even tremble.

The gap between them was enormous!

Luo and Abel attacked with all their strength, fighting with everything they had, but they couldn't make the slightest difference.

Diamante even wore a mocking grin, and yawned twice for good measure.

Brats this weak didn't deserve to join them!

What was Doffy even thinking?

Just then, Doflamingo called down from where he was leaning on the second-floor railing and watching. "Don't kill them, Diamante. This is just a small trial before they become trainee members of the Family."

"Understood, Doffy."

Diamante answered casually. He didn't understand what Doffy saw in the two brats, but he would carry out Doffy's orders to the letter.