Rip!
On the ship, Senor crushed his empty cigarette pack into a ball and tossed it into the sea.
Just as he was feeling down, a voice suddenly came from beside him.
"Want to try one of mine?"
Senor froze for a moment, then looked down and realized it was the kid he'd brought into the family.
He instinctively took the cigarette Abel offered him, then stared blankly as the boy lit one for himself with the practiced ease of a longtime smoker and started puffing away.
"What's wrong? Don't have a light? Here, take mine. Just remember to give it back later. You can hand out even the most expensive cigarettes, but you must never lend your lighter to anyone."
Abel's gaze was resolute. This was a matter of principle!
"Kids shouldn't imitate adults and smoke."
Flick!
Senor turned his gaze away and, eyes half-lidded, savored the novel flavor.
"What brand is this? I've never seen it before."
"N95. It's a small brand, so it's normal you haven't seen it. The cigarettes are probably discontinued by now, so they'll be hard to find from here on out."
Senor nodded, looking a little regretful. "That's a real shame."
The two leaned against the side of the ship, feeling the sea breeze.
After a while, Senor suddenly spoke. "You've got a real talent for swordsmanship. That Flying Slash of yours is powerful."
"It's all right. I just kept practicing until I could do it. I guess that's what being a genius is like."
Senor: "..."
"Oh, right. Here."
After finishing his cigarette, Abel tossed Senor an unopened pack of N95 Filtered Cigarettes as he was leaving.
Senor fumbled to catch it, looking puzzled. "Huh?"
"Consider it a thank-you for trusting me back then. Take it slow—I don't have many left, either."
Holding the pack of cigarettes, Senor stood there in a daze. He didn't break into a handsome smile until the ship slowly reached shore.
"Interesting kid. He's got guts!"
When they reached the neighboring island, the three stolen smuggling ships were discovered first, but all the cargo aboard had already disappeared.
"Search!"
Doflamingo immediately gave the order, and everyone scattered to search the entire island.
It sounded like a difficult task, but with so much cargo to hide, there were only a few places it could be.
Abel was a little troubled. It would be difficult to get there first and claim the loot now.
So as he headed toward the center of the island, he pulled out a useless reward he'd received not long ago.
[Small Precious Metal Radar]
Equipment Item
Description: Modified by a tomb raider using a strange radar. Unfortunately, his skills were lacking, so its detection range was greatly reduced.
Effect: When activated, it detects common types of precious metals. Detection radius: 100 meters. Detection is weakened by obstacles.
It looked almost exactly like the Dragon Radar from Dragon Ball.
Figuring he might as well try, Abel took it out and decided to test his luck.
That was when he realized the island wasn't uninhabited. Quite a few people lived there.
Every home had its doors firmly shut, and the residents dared only to watch the unexpected visitors through cracks in their windows.
They'd probably suffered plenty of harassment from those pirates before.
Unfortunately, instead of the Marines, the people here had been met by the Donquixote Family, who were even more ruthless and vicious than the pirates who'd come before.
The good news was that Diamante and the others had no interest in bothering ordinary people. There was no profit to be had, and it would only waste their time.
Of course, if Doflamingo was in a bad mood, he wouldn't mind slaughtering an entire island.
Before long, Baby 5 found Abel aboard the Fat Boy.
"Abel, the Young Master and the others found the hidden cargo. It's in the abandoned church up ahead."
"Okay, got it."
Abel sighed. The radar's range really was too short.
"Guess I'll have to take a risk?"
Before he could make up his mind, he had already reached the abandoned church.
Doflamingo and some of the officers were there, directing the others as they hauled away the cargo. The rest had apparently already returned to the ship.
Oh, right. There were also dozens of bodies on the ground. They must have been the people left behind to guard the cargo.
"Doffy, I just finished counting. All the cargo we lost is here. There's also some other miscellaneous stuff, probably left behind by those pirate crews."
"Good. Now that we've confirmed it, get it onto the ship as quickly as possible. I don't know why, but I suddenly have a bad feeling."
Doflamingo suddenly looked out toward the sea.
The water was perfectly calm, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that danger was lurking beneath the surface.
"Abel, stay here and make sure they finish the job. We're heading back first."
Abel nodded. That suited him perfectly!
Because just as he'd entered the abandoned church, the radar—which had been silent until then—had suddenly lit up with several dots.
At first, he thought they were caused by some of the cargo stored there. But after looking closely, he realized that besides the items outside, some of the dots were beneath the cargo at the very back!
If he wasn't mistaken, someone had secretly stashed something there.
As for why they'd done it, he had no idea.
Abel was eager to lift the stone slab and take a look, but with so many people still hauling cargo, all he could do was force himself to stay calm.
But eventually, they'd finish moving everything.
As soon as the last crate was carried away, Abel pried up the stone slab in the corner, revealing the gold, silver, and jewels buried beneath it!
He had no idea whether the things were valuable, or how much they were worth.
If he took them back, he'd have to hand most of them over.
So he gritted his teeth and decided to use all of them to fulfill the order!
Just as he scanned and uploaded them, a series of booming cannon blasts suddenly came from the distant sea!
A few minutes earlier.
"Those damn Marines again! They just won't leave us alone!"
Doflamingo said through gritted teeth.
On the sea not far away, three warships were rapidly advancing in a triangular formation.
And aboard the lead ship was Tsuru, the woman who made Doflamingo grind his teeth in anger!
"Set sail!"
"Half the cargo still hasn't been brought back—"
"I said, set sail!"
Doflamingo was perfectly calm. No amount of cargo was worth more than a person.
But the thought of leaving behind the cargo that hadn't yet been brought aboard, along with all the explosives they'd collected on the previous island, and letting the Marines take it for free, left him fuming with helpless rage!
"Young Master, one of our people hasn't returned yet," Senor suddenly said.
Doflamingo glanced at him and hesitated for a second over whether to abandon Abel, then made his decision.
"Set sail first. Shake off the Marines."
"Buffalo, fly over and bring Abel back."
At the crucial moment, Buffalo didn't let them down. He immediately flew off.
Looks like all those ice creams Abel bought him hadn't gone to waste.
Before you continue