Doflamingo's plans

Doflamingo, that madman, had not been keeping quiet lately.

He kept sending his officers out to crush smaller dark factions, absorbing and reorganizing them.

Through this, he had already taken control of a considerable amount of territory.

The Joker's flags now flew across forty-two islands, and his actions had put quite a few Underworld rulers on their guard.

Now, someone had finally taken the lead in inviting these rulers of the dark territories to sit down for a proper discussion.

The meeting was being held on Joy Island, organized by Stussy, known as the Queen of the Pleasure District.

Stussy looked like a beautiful woman in her twenties, but her actual age might have put her in their grandmothers' generation.

Her true identity was an intelligence agent of CP0 who had infiltrated the Underworld to gather information.

With help from government resources, she had become one of its emperors.

Originally, the only person who knew her identity was Big News Morgans, and the two often cooperated in various areas.

But now, Doflamingo had also learned this queen's true identity from Lofan, and he took his seat with an ill-intentioned smile.

The other members present were:

Du Feld, the King of Loan Sharks, who controlled the circulation of money in the Dark World.

Shipping King Umit, whose maritime transport business spanned the entire world.

Giberson, the King of Warehousing, who controlled the supply of goods banned by various nations and governments.

Grand Undertaker Peclo, who managed the Dark World's assassination business.

The six sat around a round table, but no one wanted to speak first. They all knew this gathering was aimed at Doflamingo.

Yet not only was he the strongest of the six, but his government-sanctioned status also afforded the others considerable protection.

If they stuck their necks out and earned his resentment, doing business would become difficult.

But his brazen, large-scale expansion was making them uneasy.

Stussy in particular knew about Doflamingo's identity as a Celestial Dragon.

More than anyone, she wanted to find out what he was planning. Otherwise, she would have no satisfactory report to give, and her life might even be at risk.

Stussy's large, limpid blue eyes shifted, and she suddenly asked with a seductive smile:

"Peclo, I heard your assassin house on Lasik Island was destroyed. What exactly happened?"

Lasik Island was considered one of the safe havens for people involved in the Dark World.

It had a small platform for conducting trades and selling goods.

Doflamingo had indeed been responsible for what happened to the assassin house, but he had not deliberately targeted it.

It was just that, in carrying out his operations, he had caused the other four present to suffer some losses, neither great nor small.

Peclo's wide, grinning mouth did not move. Instead, he turned the enormous scythe in his hand without saying a word.

He knew the others had little affection for him, but he was no fool.

You're the one who arranged this, Stussy. You're the one losing patience. At most, we're temporarily on the same side. If you want someone to take the lead, do it yourself.

Seeing that Peclo had not taken the bait, Du Feld scoffed and puffed out a cloud of smoke.

"Stussy, if you have something to say, just say it. None of us have time to spare."

Stussy swept a sharp glance over his fat face and large ears, silently cursing:

If you're really in such a hurry, why don't you take the lead?

She smiled sweetly and turned toward Doflamingo, who had his legs propped on the table, asking softly:

"Joker, the main thing is that we're all uneasy about these sudden, sweeping moves of yours.

"You're not planning to replace us all, are you? Surely not?"

Stussy could separate Doflamingo from the rest of this group.

Since they were going to drop all pretense, she at least had to make the others clearly choose a side, rather than leaving her to take all the blame.

"Stussy, do I need your approval for what I do?"

Doflamingo lowered his pink sunglasses and fixed a sharp stare on the government spy opposite him.

It was not yet time to expose her identity. Otherwise, he would have sent Stussy to meet her grandson today.

The businesses of everyone present were not something he could take over simply by killing them all. He needed to eat away at them bit by bit.

He had to seize their resources and actual territory, or there could be no talk of unifying the Dark World.

"Hehe, of course not. Who doesn't know that Lord Doflamingo is a Shichibukai recognized by the World Government? You're different from outlaws like us."

Stussy continued drawing a line between their positions.

She wanted the others to understand that, even if Doflamingo offered the Dark World protection,

his status still came with official guarantees. He was worlds apart from them, while one wrong step could doom them beyond recovery.

She nudged Morgans with her toe, trying to get her partner to help.

But Morgans merely drank his red wine, looking as though none of this concerned him.

"Fufufu! Stussy, is your brain getting worse as you get older?"

Stussy hated nothing more than people bringing up her age. She instantly pointed at Doflamingo in fury.

"What did you-!"

Thud!

Doflamingo slid his index finger downward, and Stussy's head slammed hard into the tabletop, beyond her control.

Blood from her nose stained her fair face.

"Whether you're a pirate or doing dirty work in the Dark World, there's only one thing that matters in this world."

Doflamingo jumped onto the table and crouched in front of Stussy's head, slowly pulling her up again.

The blood and tears gave the beautiful woman a different sort of allure.

"Strength!"

As his words fell, Stussy slammed hard into the tabletop again.

Cracks had already appeared in the round table, polished from a thick slab of stone.

"What strength do you have to question what I do or don't do?"

Doflamingo laughed wildly. The others said nothing, merely watching the farce with expressionless faces.

"Stussy, what are you planning? I specifically told my subordinates to know their limits. Is your head filled with nothing but water?"

The others seemed to notice something, and their brows furrowed slightly.

Doflamingo's sudden expansion had indeed made them somewhat nervous.

It had affected some of their businesses, neither major nor minor, and they could not figure out what he was planning.

But ultimately, it was nowhere near causing them serious harm.

Such minor friction would not normally have warranted gathering everyone present.

Stussy's invitation had led the others to believe she had learned what Doflamingo was planning.

Instead, she had merely been using them as weapons. What a woman, too clever for her own good.

"I'll give you a chance this time. Next time, you can pay for this lesson with your life."

Doflamingo put his hands in his pockets and swaggered away.

He had achieved today's objective: concealing his plan to unify the Dark World.

He needed an enemy out in the open, as well as companions to draw fire.

He had intended to use Stussy from the start. To think she had stepped forward on her own-he really had to thank her.

The other Underworld rulers left one after another without a word. Only Morgans stayed until the end.

"Stussy, you're far too impatient. We're partners, yet you actually tried to drag me into this?"

The two had always cooperated in secret. If that relationship were brought into the open this time,

and Stussy's identity was exposed later, he would be firmly bound to the World Government's banner.

Stussy took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the dirty blood from her face.

"Kaido's whereabouts are unknown. We all know Doflamingo has the deepest ties to him.

"I originally thought Doflamingo had helped him. It seems that this time, he's merely looking for a way to make up for his losses."

Stussy was not as foolish as the others imagined. She had plans of her own.

Doflamingo was occupying territory everywhere and gathering unusual races. He was already planning to cooperate with Big Mom.

But Stussy feared this was a smokescreen, so she had deliberately arranged this situation and taken a loss to test him.

She, too, had difficulties that left her no choice.

Seeing Doflamingo's uncharacteristic fury, she was now certain.

The losses on Kaido's side truly were beyond recovery. Otherwise, how could this Joker have dropped all pretense over a single remark?