The Ark Maxim,
After settling Dr. Gracia into a quiet cabin, Roy went up to the deck to wait for his companions to return.
Not long after,
Bullet, Tesoro, and Savi returned first, carrying several heavy boxes, with Moria himself following behind them, looking ashen-faced.
His pirate ship is now just an empty shell, and the treasure he painstakingly collected has been completely looted.
Stella and Vera returned, bringing with them several large boxes of thick notebooks, bottles and jars of various colors, and some sealed samples of exotic plants and minerals.
Pea, Enel, Charon followed behind, each carrying a number of sophisticated instruments on their shoulders.
Vera carefully observed Roy's expression and offered up all her possessions.
"Captain, this is all the research data and materials I could find."
Vera said respectfully.
Roy glanced at the mountain of documents and materials, then looked finally at the sophisticated instruments.
What are those?
"Those are... the analytical instruments in my lab."
Vera quickly explained,
"Including spectrometers, molecular separators, and toxicology detection devices... I think the doctoral research should be able to use them..."
A hint of surprise flashed in Roy's eyes.
Although Vera is not very strong, she has a talent for research, which seems to be another pleasant surprise.
"Well done."
"Send all of these to the PhD student's lab and see if there's anything they can use."
" Vera, you'll go too. From today onwards, you'll temporarily serve as a trainee crew member, assisting the Doctor."
Vera bowed quickly. "Yes, Captain! I will do my best!"
"But..."
Roy changed the subject,
"Your strength definitely needs improvement. Starting tomorrow, you'll do physical training with Stella every morning, and in the afternoon Stella will guide you in developing your Devil Fruit abilities."
By this time, Tesoro had finished taking inventory of Moria's treasure.
"Boss, the kid's treasure has all been inventoried."
Tesoro pulled out a small treasure chest.
"Especially this..."
Tesoro opened the treasure chest, and a strangely shaped Devil Fruit appeared before Roy's eyes.
"Oh!?"
You have such good stuff?
Moria stood aside, feeling a pang of pain in his heart as he saw his most precious treasure become someone else's spoils of war, but he dared not refute it.
Seeing Moria's obedient demeanor, Roy stopped teasing him and gestured for Pea to take out the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia so they could start comparing them...
" Paramecia Ghost- Hollow-Hollow Fruit?"
"Isn't this the Devil Fruit of that little girl on Moria's ship later on? Judging from the abilities she demonstrated, it should be a pretty good Devil Fruit."
Roy felt a surge of joy; his collection had grown by another fruit. He put the fruit into his treasure chest.
Let the Pea plant put it together with the 'Merge' berry and the 'Weapon' berry.
Only then did he look at Moria.
" Moria, your Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability has great potential, but over-reliance on external aids will only limit your growth."
"Starting tomorrow, you will train with Bullet in physical techniques and Haki."
"But you must cooperate with Dr. Gracia's experiments when needed; this is my most basic requirement for you."
Moria's massive body visibly stiffened, clearly showing his strong resistance to becoming an experimental subject.
But looking at Roy in front of him, he couldn't muster any resistance, and in the end, he just lowered his head in dejection.
"... yes."
A glint flashed in Roy's eyes. Seeing that Moria made no move to resist, he extended his index finger and tapped Moria's lowered head.
"This... this is..."
Moria was stunned for a moment. After absorbing the cultivation method in his mind, the humiliation and anger of being a test subject disappeared instantly.
Instead, there is the joy of gaining access to pathways to increase strength.
"Just some simple cultivation methods!"
After settling all matters, Roy instructed Stella to continue their journey.
And shortly after they left
Inside the Crystal Island mine, the unconscious Doflamingo slowly awoke, first looking around at his surroundings.
Before he could react, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen. Inside the Crystal Island mine, the unconscious Doflamingo slowly awoke, first looking around at his surroundings.
Before he could react, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen.
"Ugh--"
Looking down at the horrific wound on his abdomen, although it had stopped bleeding, the charred, hollow hole was still a shocking sight.
The intense pain instantly brought back all the memories of what had happened before.
"Ro... Yi..."
Doflamingo gritted his teeth as he uttered the name, his eyes bloodshot behind his sunglasses.
Suppressing the excruciating pain, he looked around. The mine was a scene of utter devastation; the bodies of CP Agent lay scattered haphazardly on the ground.
' Giant Axe ' Doc lay nearby, his fate unknown, while Moria and Vera were nowhere to be seen.
" Trebol! Diamante!"
A faint response came from not far away, and Trebol and the others struggled to their feet.
Although they were seriously injured, their injuries were much better than Doflamingo's.
" Doffy! Are you alright?"
Trebol crawled over anxiously, his slimy body trying to stop Doflamingo's bleeding.
"That bastard... that bastard!"
Doflamingo slammed his fist into the ground, his anger causing his wound to reopen and blood to seep out.
" Doffy, calm down! Your injuries are serious!"
Diamante quickly stepped forward and held him down.
" Doffy, what should we do now?" Pica's shrill voice rang out.
Doflamingo took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down, and his rationality as a tyrant gradually overcame his anger.
"Get out of here first. If the CP members die here, the Navy will arrive soon."
With the help of Trebol and Diamante, Doflamingo struggled to his feet.
He glanced one last time at the mine that had brought him such a crushing defeat, etching the shame of the day deep into his heart.
" Roy... I will definitely avenge this," Doflamingo thought to himself, gritting his teeth.
"Back to the North Blue," Doflamingo decided.
"That's our foundation. We'll return to the New World when we're strong enough."
The group helped each other up and left the mine in a disheveled state. Doflamingo glanced back at the distant sea, his sunglasses reflecting a cold light.
The two crushing defeats at Roy's hands had become a thorn in his side.
But what makes a hero a hero is that he can learn from his failures and accumulate strength in the face of humiliation.
"Just you wait, Roy..." Doflamingo muttered to himself, "Next time we meet, I'll make you pay."
The remnants of the Donquixote Family quietly boarded their ship, hidden in the bay, and sailed away from Crystal Island under the cover of night, heading towards the North Blue.
Shortly after they left, several Marine warship indeed arrived at Crystal Island. The commander leading the fleet frowned as he looked at the devastation inside the mine.
"Reporting, sir, we've discovered the body of CP Agent, along with the remains of the Giant Axe ' Doc Pirates are missing."
"Clean up the scene and report the situation to headquarters. The situation in the New World... is becoming increasingly complicated."
After a moment of silence, the naval commander decided to pass the question on to headquarters.
At this point, Ark Maxim had already left Crystal Island and continued sailing towards Whitebeard's territory.
Even if Roy knew about Doflamingo's resentment and vow of revenge, he wouldn't care.
The reason for letting Doflamingo go on multiple occasions was simply to encourage him to stir up more trouble in the world and cause more problems for the Navy.