"Haha, although what you said was very touching, I'm sorry, I still can't agree with you. You should go back. We don't lack people, or rather, we don't lack talented people."
Catherine looked at him for a long time before finally making a decision. She reluctantly refused George's request and walked straight into the control room of the Isel.
"..."
Seeing that Catherine did not agree to his request, George remained silent and continued to kneel before her.
"Heh, no matter how much you kneel down, my resolve will not waver. Everyone, disperse!"
Catherine shook her head at him and continued walking forward, ignoring George and the others.
"Fool..."
Once Catherine had spoken, the crowd that had been surrounding them dispersed and stopped paying attention to George remained kneeling on the ground.
"Why? Why do you keep insisting? With your qualifications, you should be very popular with other pirates. Why are you abandoning your dignity to beg to join this pirate crew?!"
Luo Chen walked up to George, who was kneeling with his head bowed, and asked him a question.
"Hehe, yes, with my qualifications I'm certainly very popular in other people's eyes, but I don't want to do anything about it."
Upon hearing the question from that voice, George couldn't help but speak with a touch of self-deprecation.
"Then why are you so determined to join them? Can you tell me?"
The voice continued to ring out.
"Why? Maybe it's because I want an opportunity to become stronger. I have a strong feeling that if I can join them, my strength will definitely leap forward, and then I won't be as powerless as I am now!!"
"Oh!! So your goal is to become stronger and not be constrained or forced by others, right?!"
"Of course, if I could become as powerful as Lord Luo Chen, then perhaps Captain wouldn't have died. I swore to his corpse that I would never let anyone around me suffer such a tragedy again."
Just then, as George spoke, he noticed the different tone in the voice and couldn't help but look up at the person.
"You... you're Lord Luo Chen, the great pirate with a bounty of 200 million Beli who defeated Captain Lucas?!"
At that moment, George finally realized his identity and exclaimed in surprise.
"Hahaha, interesting! Young man, I approve of your joining! Hahaha, welcome to be one of us!!"
Luo Chen took in his astonished gaze and laughed loudly.
Meanwhile, on Dressrosa Island, Shichibukai Doflamingo lay on a sun lounger with his back to the swimming pool, put down a glass of juice, and picked up the Den Den Mushi receiver.
Dududu...
Dududu...
"Hey, it's me!! Monet, I need to tell you something!!"
He dialed a familiar number and spoke first after the person on the other end answered.
"Oh, it's you, young master. Is there anything you need me to do...?"
Monet, on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, was still copying notes in her notebook with one hand while answering the receiver with the other. When she heard that it was her superior calling, she stopped what she was doing and asked softly.
" Monet, I need you to immediately abandon all matters concerning Punk Hazard and go to Supomachi Island to complete the task I've assigned you. Are you ready to accept this?!"
Doflamingo's voice said this over the Den Den Mushi.
"Yes, I accept. May I ask what the mission entails, young master?"
As his staunch supporter, Monet diligently carried out whatever instructions he gave her, even if it meant dying immediately; she would have obeyed without hesitation.
Just like in the original story, after Doflamingo learned that the factory there had been destroyed by Luffy and his crew, he decided to take the research institute down with them. She carried out the order without complaint, although she was ultimately killed by Caesar by mistake and unable to complete her mission.
"I need you to go there, gain Carlos's trust, and then secretly kill him. Don't worry, I'll have Gladius help you with this, but he won't reveal his relationship with you; he'll only help you secretly. How you do it is up to you!"
Doflamingo said that his underground business was at a bottleneck. The profits of the underworld had been divided up by the other kings. If he wanted to gain more profits, he had to take one of them down. Coincidentally, he chose Carlos from Supomachi Island, which also connected him with Luo Chen and his group who were about to arrive.
"Yes, I understand!"
Click...
After receiving the instructions, Monet hung up the Den Den Mushi and prepared to pack his necessary belongings and head there.
Click...
"Hehehehe... Gladius, I have a task for you..."
Doflamingo hung up the phone and gave a sinister laugh, then looked at Gladius behind him, who was playing cards with several other executives.
Snap...
"Is there anything you need, young master?!"
After hearing his young master's order, he put down the playing cards in his hand, stood up, and asked.
"Hmm, I need you to go to Supomachi and, representing the family, secretly assist Monet in killing Carlos. Can you do that?!"
Although he asked the question, he didn't believe his subordinates were incapable of completing the task.
"Yes, it's nothing. Leave it all to me. I'll handle it perfectly for you, young master!"
Gladius bowed to him and spoke with utmost respect and confidence.
"Hahaha, good, I knew you'd do this well. Now I'll give you a grand finale item for the auction, that way you can get in smoothly."
Seeing his confidence, Doflamingo entrusted the matter to him with complete peace of mind, and then ordered someone to bring a treasure chest and place it on the table.
"This is...?!"
"You'll see once you open it!"
Doflamingo didn't reveal the answer, but instead spoke to him mysteriously.
"Yes!!"
Click...
"Hmm... this is... Devil Fruit. Are you going to entrust me with something so important?"
Gladius carefully opened the treasure box, only to find a pale blue, mango-shaped fruit covered in patterns lying quietly inside. Having already eaten it once, he recognized it as a Devil Fruit, and a rare Paramecia one at that, and asked him in surprise.
"That's right, this is the Paramecia Quick-Quick Fruit. It allows you to create a Speed Domain around yourself, affecting the speed of yourself and inanimate objects. I believe they'll be happy to let you in with this."
Doflamingo smiled and explained the ability to him, then continued.
"Besides, isn't there an auction going on there in two days? Holding this auction during the event will stir up trouble. Then you can seize the opportunity to help Monet get rid of Carlos."
Doflamingo didn't care about this fruit, which was incredibly precious to ordinary people. For him, the best thing to do was to put it up for auction to stir up trouble in Supomachi's territory.