Sugar was regarded by Doflamingo as his most important officer, and he had specifically assigned his top officer, Trebol, to serve as her personal bodyguard.
Because she had eaten the Hobby-Hobby Fruit, her body had stopped growing.
Not only that, but her mind and disposition were no different from a child's, either.
This time, Doflamingo had not dared to leave first, because Sugar was only twelve now-truly twelve.
For one thing, he feared Sugar might inadvertently provoke Lofan; for another, he worried about her minuscule courage.
But he had never imagined this!
Sugar first came happily over to Doflamingo, holding a basket of grapes.
She tugged playfully at his pink feather coat, asking him to lift her up high.
But when she learned she would be talking to Lofan, she blushed a little shyly upon meeting him.
Lofan's air of a refined gentleman put Sugar completely at ease.
She even blushed at the sight of his gentle smile.
Doflamingo had the peculiar feeling that someone was stealing vegetables from his own garden.
But seeing that Sugar did not reject Lofan, and had even abandoned her usual boisterousness,
chatting happily with Lofan as comfortably as ever, Doflamingo felt he really did not need to stay here.
Was he supposed to keep watching someone dig up his vegetable patch with their own hands?
Besides, Lofan clearly intended to keep things hidden this time. He avoided the main subject for ages and merely played with Sugar.
Doflamingo immediately took the hint and reluctantly left the room.
On his way out, he also sent a guard inside as Lofan had requested.
Yet within minutes, Lofan left the room with the guard, saying he had confirmed his idea.
He then told Doflamingo to notify him when Morgans arrived. For now, he needed to leave traces of his presence elsewhere to put people at ease.
After Lofan left, Doflamingo naturally would not let the matter rest.
But no matter how he tried to coax Sugar, he could not get her to reveal what she and Lofan had discussed. The guard also said he did not know.
He remembered the ability Lofan had called Illusion when they first met.
Doflamingo involuntarily thought of something that frightened him even more.
For the first time, Lofan laughed without restraint in midair.
"Do you know what the steel torrent that made every country in another world tremble looked like?"
Steel torrents and vodka, Europe's finest crushed to slag; you and I know nothing of Sino-American hatred, yet Katyusha still rings out across the river.
On an island in the New World.
It was an uninhabited island shrouded in torrential rain and thunder every day.
With no sunlight year-round and far too much rain, it was covered in oddly shaped plants of strange colors.
Inside a spacious cave, fresh excavation marks were clearly visible all around.
Kaido, one of the Four Emperors who dominated the New World, was lying on the ground with his eyes closed, recuperating.
Amid a burst of howling screams, King appeared, covered in bandages and carrying an enormous creature.
The creature resembled a crocodile, but was nearly twenty meters long-an excellent source of food.
King silently began preparing the ingredients. The finest ingredients often needed only the simplest cooking methods.
It had been years since he had last cooked with his own hands.
But life was always a succession of highs and lows. Now, he had merely returned to the starting point.
Both of them already knew that Lofan had used the Beasts Pirates' fame to become an Admiral.
What they had not expected was for Big Mom to completely disregard their friendship and uproot their base.
With the Big Mom Pirates taking the lead, many forces under the Beasts Pirates had either defected or been surrounded and seized.
Kaido had truly become a man alone.
But for him, still alive, this was no crushing blow. As long as Kaido lived, the Beasts Pirates would not fall.
His only worry was that foolish son of his.
In the end, she was a flower nurtured in a greenhouse. When had she ever truly experienced the open attacks and hidden schemes between pirates?
As for Lofan, Kaido felt none of the hatred he bore Big Mom, only the fighting spirit of facing a formidable rival.
The man had defeated him single-handedly. What resentment was there left to spare?
But that did not mean Kaido would not attack Lofan.
He would surely dominate the Grand Line again, and when that day came, he would take Lofan's head with his own hands.
"King, if there's still no news of Yamato, get ready. We're going to Sky Island."
Kaido had traveled to Sky Island many times in search of Poneglyphs.
This time, he would rebuild the Beasts Pirates with Sky Island as his starting point.
Garp had indeed taken responsibility for training Ain, even bringing her along when he returned to Foosha Village.
Luffy was now a ten-year-old boy.
After Red-Haired had lost an arm and given him his hat, and his brother Sabo had died, no one could ever erase his dream of setting sail.
Ace was three years older than Luffy, and the two still lived their ordinary lives of training and playing at the mountain bandits' home.
Ten-year-old Luffy wore his lifelong treasure, his straw hat, on his head and shouted:
"I'm definitely going to be the man who becomes the Pirate King!"
Garp's Fist of Love made him behave, but it had never changed his wish.
Ace had already wised up. He certainly would not mention pirates or setting sail in front of Garp.
He soothed Luffy while quickly leading his little brother away.
Ain, however, did not know what expression to make.
Luffy was an adorable child, but his grandfather was a Marine hero.
A Marine hero had a grandson who wanted to become the Pirate King...
Had he inherited the previous generation's lofty ambitions, or was this simply enough filial devotion to kill a man?
With Ain's arrival, Luffy and Ace were also forced to join old man Garp's training regimen.
In truth, Garp had a little scheme of his own.
Lofan would definitely come to take Ain away. Otherwise, he really would have no one to use.
Then he could stop by the East Blue along the way and meet these two brats who did not know their own limits.
Once they experienced the view from the very summit of the world today, they would naturally understand the splendor of justice!
For once, Garp had thought things through.
To him, the last thing he wanted to see was Ace and Luffy becoming pirates-especially Ace.
Otherwise, what a sorrowful confrontation and inner struggle that would be...
The Grand Line.
She was in the bloom of youth, yet since childhood, she had been sold out, betrayed, and abandoned time and again.
The innocent, pure girl had finally understood that scraping by would be the cross she bore for the rest of her life.
Since everyone had turned their backs on her, she, who had to survive, could likewise only live by betraying others.
Unless she immersed herself in this filth and mire, the girl burdened with the name of "devil" would have no way to live.
Should I keep living?
It was the deadliest question and torment in the depths of her soul.
Her body's instincts drove her to keep seeking survival, yet her soul beguiled the innocent girl, urging her to seek release in death.
But one day, the most moving flower would bloom from this gloom.
People loved the beauty of flowers on a cliff, loved their furious blossoming after endless suffering.
Yes, for human nature was cruel, delighting in suffering and feeding on life.
She looked back down the street.
"Dereshishi! Dereshishi! Dereshishi!"
The laughter faded into the distance until it could no longer be heard.
You lied to me. You said that no one born into this world would ever be alone...
Lofan received a call from Doflamingo. Morgans had already arrived in the Underworld.
He did not hurry to leave, instead continuing to enjoy the tropical island's fruit wine.
"Sir, here's the large grilled seafood platter you ordered!"
As the slender, beautiful tropical woman set down the plate, she deliberately brushed the handsome man's fingers.
Her eyes and brows were like hooks. Every frown and smile made the surrounding customers wish they could rub their eyes right into her body.
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