A Grand Gift, the Pirate Empress Appears

Ten days later, Spider Miles, the port city where Doflamingo had made his fortune.

"Quite a few people here. It's not completely abandoned, but there's barely any guard."

Outside the Donquixote Family's castle, Van pulled down his coat hood, held his left palm facing the ground, and activated the Op-Op Fruit's power.

ROOM!

The space rapidly expanded, enveloping the front section of the castle. Then the buildings began to tremble faintly.

Because of the Silence ability, no sound carried outside, though the people within were unaffected.

"What's going on?"

"Enemy invasion?"

Startled shouts shattered the silence as more than a dozen lackeys rushed out through the gates, aiming their guns at Van.

"Can you help me contact Doflamingo? Tell him I'm paying him a visit and bringing him a grand gift."

Van remained where he was, but the buildings shook ever more violently, cracks spreading across many surfaces.

"You think I'm an idiot? You caused all this, didn't you?"

"You dare destroy the Donquixote Family's headquarters? You must be tired of living!"

Before he could finish speaking, the squad leader pulled the trigger, intending to kill Van outright.

Yet before the bullet could leave the chamber, the barrel suddenly snapped in two.

"Looks like you have no intention of cooperating."

Van's expression darkened as the power of space erupted.

The next second, every lackey, along with his gun, was sliced cleanly in half.

"Y-You... what kind of monster are you? The Family's officers won't let you get away with this!"

"Lord Doflamingo is the ruler of the North Blue! Stop now while you still can, or you'll die without a grave!"

"Spare us! There's nothing important here! We're only outer members, just trying to earn a living..."

Terrified, some shrieked threats while others wept and begged for mercy.

But Van ignored them and simply kept walking forward.

Crack, crack...

The entire structure tore apart. Wooden beams, stone bricks, and metal components shot through the air like cruise missiles, smashing precisely into the remaining lackeys inside the castle.

Their screams rose and fell, until they were all swallowed by raging flames, leaving not the slightest trace of life.

When the last building collapsed, Van emerged from the other side of the castle with a specialized Den Den Mushi bearing the Donquixote Family emblem in his hand.

"Pururururu..."

"This is Señor. What is it?"

A calm, steady voice came from the Den Den Mushi. Van paused for a moment before quickly recalling the name.

Señor Pink, an officer of the Donquixote Family and a Paramecia-type Swim-Swim Fruit user.

"Tell Doflamingo that I've sent him a grand gift. From now on, he won't have to worry about the Marines coming to Spider Miles Port to cause trouble."

"I imagine he won't like it, so there are more gifts on the way. Tell him to wait patiently."

With that, Van tossed the Den Den Mushi behind him, pulled his hood back up, and headed toward the docks.

On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Señor was completely baffled and had no idea what had happened.

Fortunately, he did not need to think too much about it. He only had to report the situation directly to Doflamingo.

The Donquixote Family not only possessed immense power of its own, but also had many partners. Its eyes and ears could be said to cover the entire North Blue.

After investigating, they not only confirmed that Van was the culprit, but also inferred several other possible targets based on the routes of merchant ships.

Unfortunately, they had been too far away while avoiding Vice Admiral Tsuru's pursuit. By the time they rushed over, it would already be too late, so they could only tell those locations to strengthen their defenses.

As for arranging evacuations, Doflamingo could not afford that embarrassment, and his partners might not have agreed anyway.

Another week passed. Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

"That fellow Van has shown himself again. This time it's the White Land Kingdom. Doflamingo probably can't sit still anymore."

In his office, Sengoku spoke of the latest situation in the North Blue while pushing an intelligence report toward Tsuru.

"The White Land Kingdom is different from Spider Miles Port. Someone must have pressured the nearby Marine branches, right?"

Tsuru had been urgently recalled because nobles from several member kingdoms, acting at Doflamingo's instruction, had jointly donated a special annual tribute to the World Government.

Afterward, the World Government issued an order forbidding the Marines from entering those countries to conduct operations without permission.

Now the Marines' hands were tied. The only targets they could deal with were the Donquixote Family itself, as well as secret bases outside member kingdoms or those that had yet to be discovered.

That meant the intelligence Rosinante had risked everything to bring back had become worthless paper. Apart from costing Doflamingo a large sum of money, it had served no other purpose.

That was why she was in a poor mood. She could not even be bothered to look at the report Sengoku had pushed over.

"That's for certain, but the Marines can't be blamed. They were the ones who refused to let the Marines enter and deploy. If something happens, they can only blame their own bad luck."

"What's giving me a headache now is Rosinante sulking at me. He says he wants to transfer to the North Blue."

Sengoku wore a bitter expression as he continued, "I think it's too dangerous, so I didn't agree."

"He's been out there for so many years, yet his strength has barely improved." Tsuru spoke bluntly. "The fact that things ended like this proves that sending him undercover was a mistake from the start."

"What's done is done. Regret won't change anything. I plan to let him rest for a while, then send him to the elite training camp to temper himself again."

Sengoku said helplessly, "We'll have to wait for Zephyr to return before deciding that. I don't even know whether he'll agree."

"This year's elite training camp internship has already begun, hasn't it?" Tsuru asked. "Where was it assigned?"

"The North Blue! The training ship arrived there a few days ago. Before you returned, I had already asked Zephyr to look into Van's whereabouts while he was there."

Sengoku paused before explaining, "I carefully reviewed the investigation reports. Van's strength far exceeds expectations. The Marines at the branches probably can't handle him."

"Zephyr has only been willing to train recruits these past few years. Why would he suddenly involve himself in something like this?" Tsuru asked, puzzled.

"I promised him that if they capture Van, this year's top recruit will receive an additional promotion."

"Recruit internships are meant to focus on capturing pirates anyway. Adding a special target at the last minute can be considered an extra incentive."

"As for whether they can claim it, that depends on their luck."

At that point, Sengoku picked up another file from his desk, opened it, and pushed it in front of Tsuru.

"I called you here because there's something even more important."

Tsuru gave it a casual glance, and her face immediately showed surprise. "The Land of Women?"

"That's right! Boa Hancock, the new Pirate Empress of the Amazon Lily Kingdom and new captain of the Kuja Pirates, has made her first appearance in the outside world at the age of eighteen."

"Her display of strength has caused a sensation. The news will soon spread throughout the world, and those above intend to invite her to become one of the Shichibukai."

"Considering the Land of Women's unique location, the Marines will handle the contact mission. I intend to send you."

After hearing Sengoku out, Tsuru considered it briefly before agreeing. "Then I'll go to the North Blue after some time."

"Good! During this time, I'll assign more intelligence personnel to investigate the Donquixote Family's secret bases, making your later operation easier."

Sengoku breathed a sigh of relief. After seeing Tsuru out of his office, he returned home as well, intending to have a proper talk with Rosinante and resolve the rift between father and son.