The Day of the Deal / A Marine Admiral Sets Out

"Master, you mean..."

"Have him make them."

"Understood!"

Samael's eyes lit up. He pressed his conjured hands together and addressed the sky with reverence. "Praise my master!"

After his ceremonial praise, he turned his attention back to Caesar.

Caesar was horrified by his smile, his little heart pounding nonstop.

"Wh-who exactly is your master?"

He couldn't see him, yet he could hear his voice. Mysterious and unfathomable, he seemed to be everywhere!

The more Caesar thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

Chapter 63: The Day of the Deal

Dimon kept a close eye on Samael and the others.

Seeing Caesar in Dressrosa had been a surprise. Compared to Vegapunk, the man's technology was far inferior.

In the original story, Caesar had worked with Doflamingo to create the so-called "SMILE Fruits."

These Artificial Zoan Devil Fruits were defective. Even once the technology was perfected and mass production became possible, someone who ate a SMILE Fruit had only a ten percent chance of gaining an ability.

The remaining ninety percent permanently lost the ability to express sadness, anger, and other emotions on their faces. No matter how they felt inside, they could only keep smiling, while still suffering the side effects of being vulnerable to seawater and seastone.

In short, these fruits were practically trash-making machines.

Of course, that was true for others.

In Dimon's view, these SMILE Fruits still had their merits. Their greatest advantage was that they could be mass-produced.

With Animation, he could easily assemble an army of ability users.

Of course, these ability users might be weak and couldn't compare to genuine devils like Big Eye.

Still, there was no harm in trying. He wouldn't have to pay for the research anyway.

Meanwhile.

Samael undid the cage of flames. Once free, Caesar instinctively wanted to run, but his scientific mind told him there was no chance of getting away.

Even leaving aside Samael standing right in front of him, there was an unknown "master" watching him.

"Shurororo..." Caesar gave an awkward smile. "Um, Lord Samael, what does the 'master' want me to do?"

"Didn't you hear my master? He wants you to make Artificial Devil Fruits. Can you do it or not, kid?"

Does he think I can just make them because he says so? Am I supposed to whip them up out of thin air?

Caesar opened his mouth, then couldn't help looking at Doflamingo.

Doflamingo narrowed his eyes slightly. He was beginning to understand the situation.

The Seven Deadly Sins seemed to care a great deal about Devil Fruits. They had extorted Big Mom for Devil Fruits, and now they had set their sights on Caesar for the same reason.

"Mr. Samael, as for the Artificial Devil Fruits, we need to build a factory from scratch." He spread his hands and smiled. "That will take some time. Caesar and I have an arrangement, so how about I take charge of this?"

"Oh? How long will it take?" Samael disliked troublesome matters, and Doflamingo was growing more agreeable in his eyes.

"Building the factory will take a year."

"A year? You actually expect me to wait that long? You're all trash!"

I'm trash. I'm terribly sorry.

Caesar grumbled to himself. A year was just the time it would take to build the factory. He also needed a laboratory to carry out further research.

Before the technology was truly perfected, it would probably take another two or three years.

Of course, he would never dare say that aloud. He would stall for as long as he could.

"Fufufu... there's no need to be so impatient, Mr. Samael. Artificial Devil Fruits do take time, after all. But if you want real Devil Fruits, I have ways of getting those too."

Doflamingo gestured invitingly. "We can discuss it at our leisure. Please."

The mention of real Devil Fruits instantly piqued Samael's interest.

This was outside the plan. If he could get some from Doflamingo, his master would surely praise him.

"Jejeje, you're pretty good! I, Samael, the great god of flames, approve of you as my number one lackey!"

"..."

The corner of Doflamingo's mouth twitched. Did this bastard even know who stood behind him?

Forget it. They were a gang of madmen who dared to extort an Emperor of the Sea, after all. There was no need to take him so seriously.

More than the erratic "Wrath" before him, he was concerned about the mysterious "master," whose whereabouts were unknown.

The master withdrew his gaze, no longer watching what was happening with Samael.

It was a good thing that Doflamingo was willing to sell Devil Fruits.

As a broker in the Underworld, the man did business with all the major powers and often managed to get his hands on Devil Fruits.

"Business is business. Doflamingo can indeed get fruits, but I'll have to pay for them."

Dimon was a man of principle.

Different situations called for different methods.

Extorting Big Mom was one thing; buying fruits from Doflamingo was another.

"Looks like I'll need to set aside more money, just in case."

After thinking it over, Dimon decided to send someone to Sky Island when he had the time.

Catching pirates for their bounties was still too slow a way to make money. He might as well go to Sky Island and seize some gold.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't robbery. That gold belonged to no one, so whoever picked it up could keep it.

If Enel could pick it up, why couldn't he?

"I'd better train my Haki first. Big Mom's people won't arrive for another two days."

Dimon cleared his mind, sat cross-legged in the living room, and continued training his Haki.

Time flew, and two days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the waters off Dressrosa's southern coast, a large sailing ship flying the Big Mom Pirates' flag slowly approached the harbor.

The fishermen working near the pier spotted the flag in the distance. It took only a second for their expressions to change from joy at their plentiful catch to terror.

"Th-that's an Emperor's pirate flag!"

No one knew who shouted it, but the next instant, everyone near the harbor began fleeing in a frenzy.

The fearsome reputation of the Four Emperors was known to everyone in the New World.

On the ship's deck.

Charlotte Perospero lowered his telescope and spoke to the people behind him without turning around.

"I don't see any of the Seven Deadly Sins. Smoothie, which way is the Vivre Card pointing?"

"Something's unusual. See for yourself."

The woman, who stood a full 4.6 meters tall, opened her palm. The fragment of Vivre Card resting there was twitching slightly.

The direction it pointed in...

"The sky!?"

Perospero looked up in astonishment. Above the blue sky, white clouds stretched out, and behind them seemed to lie a city in the sky.

"Why are they in the sky? Did the Seven Deadly Sins send Lola and the others to Sky Island?"

Perospero frowned.

The existence of Sky Islands might have seemed like a fantasy to ordinary people, but as members of an Emperor's crew, they were long accustomed to them.

The problem was, there was no Sky Island anywhere near Dressrosa!

Charlotte Smoothie tilted her head back and stared impassively at the clouds. She extended her Observation Haki and, after a moment, spoke coolly.

"They really are up there. I can sense a very faint presence."

"Whether they're in the sky or the sea, we're here now. Let's make our move."

Just then, a tall man with short, amaranth-red hair jumped down from the mast.

"Wait, Katakuri. We need to make sure Lola and Cracker are safe first."

Perospero stopped him and immediately took out a Den Den Mushi. But as he was about to contact the Seven Deadly Sins, he suddenly realized they didn't have their number.

All their previous contacts had been initiated by the other side.

While he was standing there in a daze, the Den Den Mushi in his hand suddenly rang.

Purupurupuru~ purupurupuru~

The group exchanged glances, their expressions growing more serious.

"Are we being watched?"

Charlotte Smoothie spoke coldly and extended her Observation Haki to its limit. Every sign of life within an eight-kilometer radius of her fell within her perception.

After a moment, she shook her head slightly.

"It might not be the Seven Deadly Sins. It could be a coincidence." Charlotte Perospero picked up the receiver.

The Den Den Mushi opened its eyes and mimicked the tone of the person on the other end of the Thought Waves.

"Jejeje, it's me watching you! Got a problem with that?"

"You...!"

Charlotte Perospero's face turned ashen, and the faint hope in his heart vanished completely.

They could keep an eye on him and the others at all times, yet he and the others had no idea where they were.

How did they do it?

Observation Haki specialized for range?!

Smoothie's Observation Haki already had a relatively large range, reaching a full eight-kilometer radius.

But clearly, they had lost this contest of Observation Haki!

Chapter 64: A Marine Admiral Sets Out

"We're near Dressrosa now. Where are you?"

After a brief silence, Perospero snorted.

"Don't try anything. Much as I hate to admit it, the Seven Deadly Sins are a powerful force too. If you pull any unnecessary tricks, you'll only embarrass yourselves."

"Jejeje, let me see. Oh, oh, Charlotte Smoothie, Charlotte Katakuri... Huh? Why didn't the last of the Sweet Commanders come? What was the last one's name again...?"

"Charlotte Snack. He's stationed on Whole Cake Island and isn't taking part in this operation."

It was Smoothie who spoke. She urged him on in a cold voice. "Enough pointless talk. Let's get on with the exchange."

"Hmph, are you telling me what to do?"

The Den Den Mushi curled its lip, its contempt plain to see. "The meeting place is Green Bit, the outlying island to the north. I'll be waiting for you on the coast!"

With that, the Den Den Mushi closed its eyes and withdrew into its shell.

Smoothie was furious. The bastard was far too arrogant. Once the exchange was over, she had to teach him a proper lesson.