Blood Family Rules

When Abel woke up again, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

Since arriving in this world, he couldn't remember how many times he had been injured and passed out.

But fortunately, he had stubbornly pulled through every single time.

And with each time he walked back from the brink of death, his desire to become stronger and his ambition to possess everything grew even more intense!

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

His arms, having been broken by Diamante's kick, were now tightly secured with splints, seemingly having been reset.

He wasn't worried about any lingering effects from this, after all, the legendary God Usopp had shattered his skull countless times, yet he still bounced back as the King of Snipers!

Of course, that was just a joke.

"Ah, the guy who angered Master Diamante is awake, hurry and inform the Young Master!"

Seeing Abel wake up, a cute little loli in the room, startled, quickly ran out, giving Abel no chance to speak.

This also gave Abel a headache, as he still didn't understand the situation.

But it seemed he had successfully stayed.

A moment later, footsteps sounded. Doflamingo, still wearing his signature pink feather coat, walked in with his flamingo-like gait. A single glance gave off an extremely arrogant impression.

"Fufufufufu~ You're finally awake."

"."

Abel remained silent, mainly because he didn't know what to say or how to address the other person. So, he decided to play the strong, silent type.

And honestly, without "Reckless Luo" taking the brunt of it, facing Doflamingo one-on-one, he felt immense pressure.

After all, he had joined with the intention of replacing Doflamingo from the very beginning.

Doflamingo didn't seem to mind Abel's silence. He directly straddled the windowsill and said, "Abel, Gustavus Abel. I've already heard your story from Luo."

"Although, due to Lead Sickness, both of you only have a few years left to live. However, I, the great Donquixote Doflamingo, am still willing to give you a chance."

"Because this world is never short of miracles, nor are there any incurable diseases."

"Have you heard of Devil Fruits? They are the epitome of miracles, capable of making the weak strong, and allowing people to become rich overnight. Of course, there are also Devil Fruits that can heal and save lives."

"And our Donquixote Family primarily deals in underground black market transactions. Many Devil Fruits have passed through our hands, and perhaps one of them could cure your illness."

Even though he knew Doflamingo was just making empty promises, it couldn't be denied that his words were incredibly tempting.

Luo in the original story was probably completely fooled this way at the beginning.

And this wasn't even deceit, because everything Doflamingo said was true, and such Devil Fruits did exist.

It was just uncertain whether this guy had already set his sights on the Ope Ope Fruit's abilities.

But unfortunately, Abel didn't care about any of this that Doflamingo was saying. What he wanted was completely different from Luo's from the very beginning!

"So, what do I need to pay?"

Abel, calm on the inside, deliberately showed a hint of longing and doubt in his eyes.

Doflamingo burst into laughter, "Fufufufufufu~ You don't need to pay anything, because from now on, you are our Family Member. Family Members naturally help each other and never betray! Don't you agree?"

The two stared at each other for a moment, and then Abel nodded seriously.

The greatest asset he gained from his thirty years in his previous life was probably his exquisite acting skills, able to speak appropriately to anyone.

Doflamingo was finally satisfied. He hadn't noticed anything amiss with Abel, and certainly couldn't imagine that this brat would start coveting everything he owned from this very moment.

However, even if he had known, with his arrogant personality, he would probably have believed he could control Abel and prevent Abel from turning against him.

"Very good. Once your injuries heal, you'll need to learn many things. Be mentally prepared in advance."

"Baby-5, you stay here and tell him some of the rules."

"The one who angered a Family cadre as a Trainee Member is you, the first. So, don't let anyone catch you slipping, or you'll really die, fufufufufufu~"

Doflamingo left laughing, leaving only 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 accepted you, we are Family Members from now on. You can tell me if you have any needs."

"Gustavus Abel, you can call me Abel. Don't worry, I won't be polite. I'll have to trouble you with many things in the future."

This sentence was actually a test, as he wasn't sure if Baby-5 had already developed the personality from the original story at this stage – the one who craved to be needed and couldn't refuse anyone who needed her.

"That's great, someone needs me again~ Abel, you're a good person."

The little loli suddenly became shy, and even the way she looked at Abel changed, sparklingly~

Seeing this, Abel immediately understood.

So, even at this time, she already had the tendency towards that personality.

Although he inexplicably received a "good person" card, fortunately, the other party hadn't learned to smoke or refer to herself as "this old lady" yet.

Otherwise, the thought of such a cute little loli suddenly holding a cigarette and shouting "How could this old lady..." was truly chilling.

"So, what are the rules Doflamingo told you to tell me?" Abel hadn't forgotten the main business.

"Abel, in the Family, Trainee Members cannot directly address the Young Master by his full name. You can call him Young Master or Young Master Dof, like I do, or address him as Captain Dof like the other crew members."

The little loli's face came very close, earnestly correcting Abel's form of address.

Baby-5's breath tickled his face.

Abel leaned back, avoiding the somewhat intimate gesture. After all, across two lifetimes, he was already an old man, and he didn't dare entertain any particularly illicit thoughts.

However, asking him to address Doflamingo as "Young Master" or anything similar was still something he couldn't quite bring himself to do.

So, "Young Master" was out. Calling him "Captain" wouldn't hurt, though.

Compared to that, he really wasn't as formidable as Blackbeard, who served as Whitebeard's cheap son for so many years just for a Devil Fruit.

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

"Mm, actually, the family only has one rule—the Blood Family Rules. It means no matter what treatment you receive or what situation you encounter, you cannot defy the authority of the cadres. If anyone disobeys, then this family cannot be established."