On the surface, Doflamingo was a subordinate of the World Government, one of the Shichibukai, but he had another identity: Joker of the underworld, whose influence reached across the globe.
The so-called underworld was, simply put, the criminal underbelly, dealing in everything the World Government prohibited, such as weapons, ammunition, and Artificial Devil Fruits. Both criminals and legitimate businesses depended on the Dark World, which gave some idea of just how vast this underworld was. And Joker was something of a kingpin within it.
So, for the Donquixote Family, investigating someone's background was almost ridiculously easy.
Before long, a file on Miland, the boy in strange armor who had wiped out the Fierce Wolf Pirates, was placed on Doflamingo's desk.
Doflamingo picked up the file and read it. It began with Miland leaving the merchant convoy that had rescued him during a storm, then covered his arrival at a strange bar, where the owner had given him a miraculous suit of armor. It also detailed what had happened inside the bar afterward-there had been other witnesses that day, after all. Then came Miland setting out to sea, arriving at the bar where the Fierce Wolf Pirates were gathered, and wiping them out...
The last place he had appeared was that bar in the Sabaody Archipelago. Apparently, he had settled there.
Doflamingo stared at the file in silence. His orange sunglasses concealed his eyes, leaving no one able to tell what he was thinking.
Now there was a bar owner in the picture, too. The owner's background had also been investigated. Supposedly, he could grant wishes as long as the customer paid the price, and that brat had been his first customer.
Doflamingo did not believe that nonsense about granting wishes. Did he think he was a god? Ridiculous! Just thinking of the word "god" soured Doflamingo's mood even further.
Still, judging by how the owner had casually given that brat a suit of armor that let him effortlessly wipe out the Gray Wolf Pirates, the man was probably a tough customer himself! Could Pica handle him alone...?
Although Doflamingo usually acted with brazen arrogance, he was not blindly conceited. A blindly conceited fool could never have reached his position. He thought the owner was probably stronger than Pica, but the information available was not enough to judge by how much.
Given the situation, sending Pica alone would certainly not be enough to take down those two. Yet Pica was already the strongest among them aside from Doflamingo himself and Vergo. Vergo was still undercover in the Marines and could not make any rash moves. Would he have to go himself?
For a moment, Doflamingo hesitated. He had a bad feeling, like the one he used to get before becoming a Shichibukai whenever he spotted that hateful old woman Tsuru nearby.
In the end, however, Doflamingo decided that he had to go himself, if only to preserve his standing as Joker and a Shichibukai. If he failed to show up this time, who in the Dark World would still show him respect? He would become a laughingstock among pirates, too, and the position he had painstakingly built over so many years would be a title in name only. Doflamingo would never allow himself to fall that low.
And so, Doflamingo set off for the Sabaody Archipelago with Pica and Diamante.
At the Wish-Granting Bar in the Sabaody Archipelago, word of its wonders had spread among a small circle thanks to Miland's example. The leaders of the archipelago's various criminal groups had all paid the bar a visit, but upon hearing the price of the Cloth, every one of them declared that they had not brought enough money and would definitely return next time.
It really was far too expensive. Even those big shots felt the sting.
As for using violence to threaten the owner, they were not tired of living yet...
They all knew a little about how ruthless the owner of the Wish-Granting Bar was, but only that he had easily dealt with several pirates whose bounties exceeded a hundred million. As for his overwhelming Kizaru with his sheer presence, only those involved knew about that. The pirates who had witnessed the whole affair had sailed away as soon as they escaped the bar, not even daring to remain in the Sabaody Archipelago. From then on, the Wish-Granting Bar and its owner had become taboo to them.
So it was no wonder Doflamingo still dared to come looking for Su Yu. Light a candle for him...
Still, setting aside the fact that its owner was ruthless, the Wish-Granting Bar was a fine place to relax over a drink. The air was not foul like it was in other taverns, and no one dared to start a fight there, guaranteeing the customers' safety. On top of that, it served distinctive, potent liquor. Although it was expensive at a hundred thousand Beli a glass, indulging in a few drinks now and then was a pleasant treat.
Aside from the owner, Su Yu, Miland was the bar's only staff member. But it was a small bar, so there was not much to do. One server was enough.
Miland had made something of a name for himself by now. After all, so many people had watched him thrash the Fierce Wolf Pirates. He was now known as Armor Boy Miland...
Su Yu hardly knew where to begin with that nickname. He would have been better off without one...
Now that the bar had an employee, however, Su Yu's lazy streak came out in full force. He handed everything over to Miland and curled up comfortably on the sofa with some unidentified book, taking an occasional sip of liquor. It was the very picture of bliss.
Miland did not complain in the slightest. After all, this was the price he had agreed to pay for the power to avenge himself. Besides, he found his life fulfilling now. Though he and the owner exchanged only a few words each day, there was a cozy sense of home that filled Miland with warmth.
That day, Su Yu was curled up on the sofa as usual, but instead of reading, he was counting the Wish Power he had earned over the past few days.
In appearance, Wish Power took the form of little balls that emitted a soft glow. They varied in size according to the strength or level of existence of the person who produced them. An ordinary person's Wish Power was roughly the size of a ping-pong ball. The largest "ball" Su Yu had collected so far was Sengoku's contribution, which was already the size of a grown man's fist.
Ordinary people could not see Wish Power, however. Only those whose level of existence had reached a certain threshold could sense it.
Su Yu counted the balls he had collected. There were twelve now, but that was still far from enough.
In fact, there was a limit to how much Wish Power could be collected from each world. Collecting it was essentially the same as plundering that world's nourishment, only through a gentler, more gradual method. Once Su Yu reached that limit, it would be time for him to leave the One Piece World.
At that very moment, several uninvited guests arrived in the Sabaody Archipelago...
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