Unfounded Speculation

Abel barely had to wait before Luo was quickly caught and brought back.

Doflamingo had given the order long ago: if Abel and Luo tried to escape, they were to be captured immediately.

So even though Corazon deliberately acted as if nothing had happened and didn't send anyone after Luo, Luo still couldn't get away.

Luo was locked up. Abel wanted to go and give him a few words of advice, but someone stopped him before he could get inside.

Although he had joined the Donquixote Family, his standing was still too low. As nothing more than a Trainee Member, he naturally couldn't make anyone disobey Doflamingo's orders.

Even bringing Baby-5 along didn't help.

With no other choice, he had to give up.

As long as Luo didn't say anything incriminating when the time came, everything would be fine.

A day later, Doflamingo and his crew returned after swiftly eliminating the traitors.

They seemed to have made quite a haul, bringing back box after box of money along with all kinds of gold, silver, and jewels.

But none of them looked too pleased. They were a little worse for wear.

It turned out they had returned so quickly because the Marines, led by Tsuru, had been pursuing them.

To shake off those bothersome Marines, Doflamingo had no choice but to stay behind alone. He charged aboard the Marine warship and fought Tsuru before finally making a hasty escape through the air with the power of the String-String Fruit.

"That old hag just won't quit!"

Bang!

Back at the base, Mingo felt thoroughly vexed and slammed his fist down hard on the table.

"It's strange. We only decided at the last minute to go to Rakeish and deal with the traitors, but the Marines showed up there as if they'd known in advance. Could it be—"

"Segva, Jora!"

"It was nothing but a coincidence. I don't want to hear any more unfounded speculation."

"Sorry, Young Master."

Doflamingo flew into a rare rage and reprimanded Jora.

He would rather believe it was a coincidence or that the Marines had tracked their movements than suspect anyone present.

Once seeds of suspicion were planted between them, the so-called family would eventually fall apart.

Unless they had solid evidence proving that someone had sold them out and betrayed the family.

If they did, he would kill that person with his own hands!

Just then, two subordinates brought Luo in.

"Young Master, this kid suddenly tried to escape for some reason. As you ordered, we caught him and brought him back as soon as we found him."

"Let go of me!"

Luo struggled with all his might, but it was futile.

When he saw Corazon sitting at the table, perfectly fine and drinking tea, he was stunned. His heart quickly sank.

He hadn't expected Corazon to still be alive.

It was all over now.

That guy had surely told Doflamingo everything.

But then something happened that Luo hadn't expected.

Doflamingo suddenly laughed. "Fufufufufu! Corazon, looks like you gave them quite a hard time."

Corazon simply sipped his tea, calmly taking that as a compliment.

"Fine, let him go. And you few hiding outside, come in too."

Luo looked baffled. Could Corazon really have said nothing? But why? Was he deliberately covering for me? No, that couldn't be it! He must have some kind of scheme. And I wasn't the only one who saw that day...

At that moment, Baby-5, Buffalo, and Abel, who had been leaning against the window outside to watch, entered the room.

Buffalo even gave Luo a malicious little grin.

Oh no!

Luo thought Doflamingo and the others had only just returned, so the stupid fatso hadn't had a chance to snitch yet. Now there was no way they would let him off.

But to his surprise, Buffalo only grinned and did nothing.

Then Abel gave him a reassuring look.

Luo still had no idea what had happened, but it seemed he'd made it through this ordeal?

He felt a little more at ease.

Abel, meanwhile, was mainly focused on everyone in the room.

He compared their appearances and outfits with the names he remembered, and realized that aside from Vergo, who should already have been sent to infiltrate the Marines, the Donquixote Family was now nearly "complete." It was only missing two or three people.

Sugar, the petite adult-looking girl, for example, was still nowhere to be found.

Violet wouldn't be forced to join until after Doflamingo seized the throne of Dressrosa.

Dellinger, wearing his horned hat, was still a baby. He was sitting beside Jora, who was looking after him.

Just then, Doflamingo spoke.

"Luo, Abel, from this moment on, you're both full members of the Donquixote Family."

Everyone was astonished!

It hadn't even been a week since the two of them had become Trainee Members.

Doflamingo had tolerated Corazon's behavior all this time partly because Corazon was his younger brother, but also because he considered Corazon's torment a test. Only those who endured it could become full members.

Baby-5 and Buffalo had both gone through the same thing.

But the test was only halfway over, and Luo had already tried to escape.

That was why Doflamingo's announcement came as such a surprise!

Still, no one dared question his decision this time.

They had already seen that Young Master Dof was determined to take the two kids in. He had probably done this now because he didn't want Corazon to actually drive them away.

Now it was Corazon's turn to feel speechless.

His perfect excuse was gone.

With Abel and Luo now full members of the family, he couldn't keep treating them as he had before. At least, he couldn't go so far anymore.

Forget it. They're just two poor kids who don't have long to live. If they stay, at least the few years they have left can be a little more peaceful.

Corazon thought it over and finally decided to give up and stop making things difficult for Luo.

"Starting tomorrow, I'll have someone arrange a comprehensive course of training for you. Whether you can seize this opportunity and change your fates will depend on your hard work and luck."

Doflamingo hadn't made this decision on a whim.

He was simply getting tired of this game of cat and mouse with the Marines.

He no longer wanted to keep hiding from place to place. He wanted to appear openly before the world.

So he had to speed up his efforts to recruit allies in the North Sea and secretly build up his strength.

Besides, Abel and Luo were in a very special situation. If he wasted what little time they had left on trivial matters, what would have been the point of taking them in?

As a "businessman," Doflamingo naturally didn't want to take a loss.