Blood Family Rules

When Abel woke again, it was already the following afternoon.

Since coming to this world, he had lost count of how many times he had been injured and passed out.

But luckily, he had stubbornly pulled through every time.

And with every return from the brink of death, his desire to grow stronger and his ambition to possess everything only grew more intense!

With his head wrapped in bandages, Abel struggled to sit up.

Both his arms had been kicked and broken by Diamante, so they were now tightly bound in splints. It seemed they had already been set.

He wasn't worried about any lasting effects. After all, the legendary God Usopp had fractured his skull countless times, yet still ended up bouncing around as Sogeking!

Of course, that was just a joke.

"Ah, the guy who angered Lord Diamante is awake! Hurry and notify the Young Master!"

When Abel woke, an excitable, adorable little girl in the room immediately ran out, not giving him a chance to say a word.

That gave Abel a bit of a headache, since he still didn't know what was going on.

But it seemed he had managed to stay.

It wasn't long before footsteps sounded. This time, Doflamingo was still wearing his signature pink feather coat as he strode in with a flamingo's gait. One look at him was enough to make anyone feel that he was overwhelmingly arrogant.

"Fuffuffuffuffu~ You're finally awake."

"..."

Abel fell silent, mainly because he didn't know what to say or how to address the other man. He decided to act taciturn.

And honestly, without "Reckless Luo" taking the lead, facing Doflamingo one-on-one put him under a lot of pressure.

After all, he had joined this place from the very beginning with the intention of replacing him.

Doflamingo didn't mind Abel's silence. He swung a leg over the windowsill and said, "Abel, Gustavus Abel. I've already heard your story from Luo."

"Although you and he only have a few years left because of Lead Sickness, I, the great Donquixote Doflamingo, am willing to give you a chance."

"Because this world is never short of miracles, and no illness is incurable."

"Have you heard of Devil Fruits? They're the very embodiment of miracles. They can make the weak strong and make a person rich overnight. Of course, there are also Devil Fruits that can cure illnesses."

"Our Donquixote Family primarily deals in the underground black market. We've sold plenty of Devil Fruits, and one of them might be able to cure your illness."

Even though Abel knew full well that Doflamingo was just dangling a carrot in front of him, there was no denying how tempting his words were.

This was probably how Luo had been lured in at the beginning of the original story.

And it couldn't really be called a lie, because everything Doflamingo said was true, and Devil Fruits like that really did exist.

The only question was whether this guy had already set his sights on the Op-Op Fruit.

But unfortunately, Abel didn't care at all about the things Doflamingo was offering. What he wanted had been completely different from Luo's from the very start!

"So what do I have to give in return?"

Abel's heart was perfectly calm, but he deliberately let a hint of longing and suspicion show in his eyes.

Doflamingo immediately burst into laughter. "Fuffuffuffuffu~ You don't have to give anything, because from this moment on, you're one of our family. Family members should help one another and never betray each other! Don't you agree?"

The two stared at each other. After a moment, Abel nodded solemnly.

The greatest thing the thirty years of his previous life had given him was probably his superb acting ability: speaking one way to people and another to ghosts.

Doflamingo was finally satisfied. He clearly hadn't noticed anything strange about Abel, and couldn't imagine that this kid in front of him was already coveting everything he owned.

But even if he had known, with his arrogant nature, he probably would have thought he could keep Abel under control and never give him a chance to turn on him.

"Good. Once you've recovered, there'll be a lot for you to learn, so prepare yourself."

"Baby-5, stay here and explain some of the rules to him."

"You're the first trainee member to anger a family officer. So don't let anyone get a hold of anything they can use against you, or you really will die. Fuffuffuffuffu~"

Doflamingo left with a hearty laugh, leaving Baby-5 and Abel staring at each other.

"My name is Baby-5. I'm the Young Master's maid. Since the Young Master has taken you in, we're family now. You can tell me if you need anything."

"Gustavus Abel. You can call me Abel. Don't worry, I won't hold back. I'll have plenty of things to trouble you with from now on."

That was actually a test, because he wasn't sure whether Baby-5 had already developed the personality she had in the original story: desperately wanting to be needed, and unable to refuse anyone who needed her.

"Great, someone needs me again~ Abel, you're a good person."

The little girl suddenly blushed. Even the look she gave Abel changed, her eyes sparkling~

Abel understood at once.

So she was already showing signs of that personality at this point.

Although he'd inexplicably been given a "good person" card, at least she hadn't learned to smoke or call herself "this old lady" yet.

Just imagining such an adorable little girl suddenly puffing on a cigarette and shouting about what "this old lady" would do was enough to send a chill down his spine.

"So, what exactly are the rules Doflamingo wanted you to tell me?" Abel hadn't forgotten what mattered.

"Abel, trainee members in the family aren't allowed to address the Young Master by his full name. You can call him Young Master, like I do, or Young Master Dof. Otherwise, you can call him Captain Dof, like the other crew members."

The little girl leaned in very close, earnestly correcting the way Abel addressed the Young Master.

Baby-5's breath brushed against his face, tickling him.

Abel leaned back to avoid the somewhat intimate gesture. After all, counting both his lives, he was already an old man, and he didn't dare entertain any thoughts that might land him in prison.

But he really couldn't bring himself to call Doflamingo "Young Master" or anything like that.

So he'd pass on "Young Master." Calling him "Captain" didn't cost him anything.

By comparison, he really wasn't as impressive as Blackbeard, who'd spent all those years being Whitebeard's adopted son just to get his hands on a single Devil Fruit.

"Okay, I understand. Can you tell me now?"

"Mm, actually, there's only one rule in the family—the Blood Family Rules. It means that no matter how you're treated or what situation you find yourself in, you must never defy the authority of an officer. If someone refuses to obey, then this family can't exist."