Doflamingo's Palace rang with voices and laughter. Ever since he had fled the Summit War, he had sensed trouble coming. Some of his family members were dead, others wounded, and after he had coldly abandoned them to escape alone, even those who remained, including Monet, had lost all faith in him.
Doflamingo knew Ye Chen would never let him go. He urgently needed powerful allies, so the moment he returned to Dressrosa, he contacted Kaido of the Beasts.
Doflamingo lied that the Devil Fruits from the SMILE factory would soon be ready for trade and insisted they could not let Ye Chen destroy the factory now. Kaido knew all about the Summit War and had no interest in Doflamingo's personal feud with Ye Chen. But he would not tolerate any problem with the Devil Fruits, so he sent Jack the Drought.
Doflamingo also drew on his unrivaled position in the Underworld to summon plenty of other help. As the Underworld's emperor, he commanded a formidable network of contacts and intelligence.
The Palace hall was packed with guests: Bray and Pudding, sons of the Gambling King Busen; Cold Rose Eugenie, cousin of Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District; Bernard, captain of the armed bodyguards serving Victor, the Arms King of the North Blue; Walong, the gambling fiend of the West Blue; and Poison Spider Jenny, a fallen Marine Vice Admiral. Masters had gathered from far and wide, all coming to Dressrosa for Doflamingo's sake.
"Bad news, Young Master! Someone's causing trouble at the Harbor!"
Doflamingo was drinking with his powerful guests when a guard rushed in, flustered. His face was pale, cold sweat streamed down his forehead, and his eyes were full of fear, as though he had seen something terrifying.
"Who?"
Doflamingo glanced at the masters he had invited