Preparations for Making Trouble

"Doflamingo here. Is that you, Rono?" Doflamingo said, setting down the Den Den Mushi he'd been talking to.

"Dof, I need your help with something." Rono got straight to the point.

"Oh? You need my help? Fufufufu! What could you possibly need my help with? You're in the Grand Line, and I'm in the New World." Doflamingo grinned, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. No one could tell what he was thinking.

"You know about that Flame-Flame Fruit user who showed up recently, right?"

"Of course. I keep tabs on all Logia Devil Fruit users." Doflamingo's lips curled upward. He could probably guess what Rono wanted his help with.

"I want to kill him. Can you help me find his fruit?" Rono knew Doflamingo had a knack for finding Devil Fruits. Apart from Doflamingo himself, eight out of every ten of his subordinates had Devil Fruits—excluding Gerard, the Fighting Fish Fishman, and Orra G. Several Devil Fruits also ended up at auction every year. If Doflamingo didn't have some special way to get his hands on them, then believe it or not, Rono certainly didn't.

"Fufufufu! That's a Logia Devil Fruit you're talking about. What are you willing to offer?" Doflamingo's grin widened. A Devil Fruit? If Gerard and Orra G hadn't refused to eat one, every Baroque Works executive would already have had a Devil Fruit of his own—and none of them would've been weak.

"What do you want?" Before calling, Rono had known he'd have to pay. Doflamingo wasn't Spandam, who was on good terms with him, and he wasn't Baroque Works, which was under his command. Doflamingo was another Shichibukai. Rono had no reason not to offer him something in return.

"Fufufufu! I only want you to fight for me once." Doflamingo lowered his head, hiding the look in his eyes. He lorded it over the Dark World and could do almost anything, under the codename Joker—a king among the cards. But he still fell short of the Yonko. He'd practically given Kaido Artificial Devil Fruits for next to nothing, though that didn't rule out the possibility that he had a backup plan. Kaido was suspicious, of course, but he didn't care. To him, his subordinates were expendable, stepping stones toward his ambition of becoming Pirate King. Rono's abilities had given Doflamingo an idea. If he could tie Rono to his cause, he'd have the confidence to challenge Kaido. Kaido might be impossible to kill—though Luffy would eventually manage it with plot armor—but his subordinates weren't. With Sairona's sniping support, they could take out all three of Kaido's Calamities, and his dream of becoming Pirate King would be all but impossible.

A single favor was just the beginning. Once there was a first time, a second would soon follow.

"I had no idea my help was worth that much." Rono looked at the Den Den Mushi. Gelu had already leaned his face against it.

"Fufufufu! I don't just mean you. Sairona too. I want the Red Devil Pirates to fight for me once." Doflamingo watched as the Den Den Mushi suddenly took on Gelu's appearance and started yelling at him. A vein throbbed on his forehead, but his smile only grew brighter.

"Gulugulugulu!" Gelu was indignant. He was a member of the Red Devil Pirates too!

"I know, I know. Fine, I accept." Rono soothed the Little Treant and agreed to Doflamingo's terms.

"Then let's set off, Sairona." Rono picked up the luggage from the bed and called to Sairona.

"Help me carry some things." Sairona's face remained expressionless.

"No problem. Where are they?" Rono flexed his biceps, showing off his muscles.

Ten minutes later, Rono hauled a crate of bullets weighing more than two hundred pounds, along with a gun-maintenance kit, to a dark red two-masted ship. Through the clear water, he could see two turbines, one on either side. The hull was triangular, and its sharp ram could easily split through the planks of other ships. It had only one main cannon, and the whole ship had been custom-built for the Red Devil Pirates. The cannon was in an unusual spot, beneath the ram at the bow. Normally it was tucked inside the hull, only extending out when fired. The ship had just four rooms: two bedrooms above, and a bathroom and dining room below. Simple and practical, it was made entirely from a lightweight, exceptionally hard alloy. Everything had been designed for one thing: speed.

Rono stowed the luggage and ammunition crate. Gelu climbed down from his shoulder, rushed into the bedroom, and flopped onto the big, soft bed, rolling around on it.

Sairona patted the new ship. "It suits our crew."

"Of course. The Research Department isn't spending tens of millions of Beli every year for nothing." Rono sounded pleased with himself. He'd been the one to suggest the design.

"What powers it?" Sairona asked curiously.

"No idea. The hold's full of those barrels, so there's enough to keep us sailing either way." Rono didn't care. He wasn't a shipwright; all he had to do was steer.

Rono went to the Ship Wheel and spotted a lever beside it. His eyes lit up, and he yanked it all the way down.

"Vrrrr—" The two turbines started up, and the ship slammed into the wooden dock with a crash.

"Rono, I'm going to kill you," Sairona said calmly.

"Waaah!" Little Treant Gelu was clearly terrified and burst into tears.

At the sound of Gelu crying, Rono quickly pulled the lever back up. He apologized to the Marines at the dock, then hurried into the cabin...

Ten minutes later, the Red Devil Pirates raised their flag and set sail. It showed a grinning red devil, with White Bone Armor covering the left half of its face and interlocking muscle tissue across the right. Little Gelu was still sniffling. Rono held him in his hand as Gelu looked up at him, trying his hardest to hold back his tears.

"Real men don't go around crying," Rono chided him. Gelu immediately held his tears in and stopped them from falling. Sairona was at the helm. With an Eternal Pose, he could handle steering as long as they didn't run into a disaster at sea.

"Rono, are you really going to start training Gelu this early?" Sairona let go of the Ship Wheel and took a sip of wine from the table.

"Yeah. He's not that little anymore. It's time to start training him." Rono looked at Gelu, who had stopped crying, and patted his head in praise.

"Gulugulu." Little Gelu agreed with Rono. Sairona shrugged. The one being trained didn't mind, so he didn't need to worry on Gelu's behalf. In a fight, he'd just have to blow the heads off anyone who posed a threat to him.

Even though his daily training no longer earned him any Enhancement Points, Rono kept at it. It had become a habit. Little Treant Gelu followed along, trying to copy him. When he got tired, he took a drink of water and rested.