"Yes, young master."
Diamante bowed slightly in the shadows, then withdrew without a sound, as though he had never appeared.
Silence settled over the palace once more.
Only Doflamingo remained, looking down through the window, his wild grin revealing absolute confidence that everything was under his control.
To him, both the pirate called "Blood Axe" and that Ancient Zoan fruit were merely tiny pawns in his vast underground business empire, easily crushed on a whim.
Time flew, and half a month passed in a flash amid the winds and waves of the Grand Line.
Over that half month, the Fearless, led by Lorne, was like a deep-sea behemoth freed from its shackles, stirring up towering waves in the first half of the Grand Line.
It bypassed standard patrol routes and did not follow ordinary warships' battle plans.
It followed only one rule of navigation: wherever there were pirates, that was where its bow pointed.
"Reporting, Ensign! The Sharp Fangs Pirates have been sighted at three o'clock! Their captain, 'Man-Eating Shark' Finley, has a bounty of thirty-eight million Beli!"
"Approved. Pull alongside."
"Reporting, Ensign! We've encountered the Black Sails Fleet directly ahead! Three ships, with combined bounties exceeding sixty million!"
"Ram them."
"Reporting, Ensign! We've entered waters where the Ghost Reef Pirates operate! Their captain, 'Ghost Hand' Rog, ate the Paramecia-type Adhesive Fruit and has a bounty of forty-five million Beli!"
"Leave him and his ship stuck to the bottom of the sea."
In half a month, the Fearless encountered more than fifteen pirate crews infamous throughout the first half of the Grand Line.
Every time, his adjutant Ethan wanted to follow standard combat procedure and first suppress the enemy with long-range cannon fire.
But every time, Lorne rejected his suggestion in the simplest, most direct way.
Lorne refused to