Doflamingo barely spared Rosinante another glance, merely thinking that his younger brother was acting up again. Once he saw that no major fire had broken out, he stopped paying attention to him.
After all these years, Doflamingo had grown accustomed to Rosinante’s antics. At this rate, even if Rosinante were shot in the back one day, suicide could not be ruled out.
“Don’t worry about that. Once the next stage of the plan is complete, I can begin new trade ventures as a king. Whether those people live or die doesn’t matter.
More importantly, is there any news of the Op-Op Fruit?”
“No. There’s been no word of it being sold, and no Op-Op Fruit user has appeared. It should still be in someone’s possession.”
“Put more effort into it. We must find out where that thing is.”
In Doflamingo’s eyes, those who had been killed did not even count as his subordinates. He was more concerned with finding the Op-Op Fruit or establishing connections with the true monsters of the New World.
Dressrosa was the first step in his plan. Meanwhile, after changing his trousers, Rosinante sat down on another sofa.
He had already passed the intelligence concerning Dressrosa on to the Marines.
Rosinante knew that Sengoku was now Fleet Admiral and believed he would surely take measures to save Dressrosa.
Even though Sengoku had yet to give any meaningful response, Rosinante did not mind. After all, reducing contact was the right thing to do to minimize the risk of exposure.
What Rosinante did not know was that, in principle, the Marines could not directly exercise authority over the Shichibukai. To deal with them, the Marines first had to notify the World Government and let it take action.
And after Sengoku reported the matter, he received only a single instruction.
[Acknowledged.]
The Five Elders said absolutely nothing about what to do or how to handle it. That single acknowledgment was already a courtesy to Sengoku.
Several months later, in the year 1531 of the Sea Circle Calendar, the Donquixote Pirates used Doflamingo’s status as a Shichibukai to pass through Mariejois and enter the New World. Doflamingo then set his Dressrosa plan in motion.
At the same time they passed through Mariejois, Nereus received the news on Fishman Island and summoned Nanamo.
“Doflamingo is about to make a move on Dressrosa. Go pay them a visit. Handle it however you feel like.”
“Dad, you really know how to put people to work. Sure, Scarlett and I are good friends, but wasn’t it because you were close to King Riku that I met her in the first place?
Shouldn’t you make a personal appearance at a time like this and save your old friend?”
“Do you think someone like that is worth my personal attention? A former Celestial Dragon and a current Shichibukai—there are some troublesome matters surrounding him. I’ll deal with the more troublesome people.”
Although Nanamo was asking Nereus why he was not going himself, she had already called Hermes over, making her intentions clear.
She was merely looking for something to chat about with her father. Even if Nereus had said he would go himself, Nanamo would have asked why he would not let her go.
“Oh, right, Dad, can I bring a few helpers? That Donquixote Family seems pretty big. It wouldn’t be good if a few of them slipped away.
What do you think about Chloe and Yamato?”
“Suit yourself. As long as you can get them to come along, I won’t stop you even if you bring an entire army.”
Bringing an entire army would certainly be excessive. Nanamo took Nereus’s words as a joke and told Chloe to pack some clothes. However, someone else was very interested in the matter.
“Your Majesty Nereus, let me go.”
“I didn’t expect you to be interested in something like this.”
Seeing Alber volunteer, Nereus was somewhat surprised. After all, Alber had fulfilled his role as an assistant perfectly over the years.
He completed every task assigned to him flawlessly and never asked about matters he had not been assigned. It was quite rare for him to volunteer like this.
“That man… used to be a Celestial Dragon, didn’t he? I don’t have Queen’s patience. Please allow me to…”
It was racial hatred. The surviving Lunarians harbored a deep, unforgettable hatred for the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. At its core, this was an irreconcilable blood feud.
“Go. Remember, economic losses don’t matter, but don’t cause any casualties.”
“I understand.”
Quite a lot of luggage had already been loaded onto Hermes’s back. Since they did not know exactly when Doflamingo would act, Nanamo planned to take everyone over and stay for a few days.
According to the intelligence, Doflamingo was already preparing to make his move, so they would not have to wait long.
Then she saw Alber, dressed entirely in black leather clothing.
“Why have you put that outfit on again?”
Alber’s leather outfit covered him up much like Amphitrite’s old mummy getup. He never dressed like that on Fishman Island, and these days, even Alber showed his real face in the outside world.
He had not worn it when facing the Red Hair Pirates in Elegia, either.
Seeing him cover himself so thoroughly once again made Nanamo suspect he had something else in mind.
“Personal reasons, Your Highness. Please don’t concern yourself with it. However, I do have a personal request. Could you leave that man named Doflamingo… to me?”
Because of his outfit, only Alber’s eyes were visible. Yet his gaze was rather frightening, as though he were plotting something truly horrifying.
Having known Alber from early on, Nanamo knew that he was actually a little perv*rted.
Whenever they captured human traffickers, they would have Alber extract more information from them. As for how he extracted it…
It was not exactly suitable for children. When it came to underlying psychological problems, Alber’s were the most serious.
Especially after obtaining the Kirin Fruit, Alber could always discover what his interrogation subjects feared most.
And that look in Alber’s eyes right now…
Although she did not know exactly what Alber was thinking, Nanamo was certain that someone was going to suffer.
“Suit yourself. His main target should be King Riku. How about you take responsibility for protecting King Riku and the royal palace?”
The intelligence Ginny had casually picked up back then had given Nanamo a general understanding of Doflamingo’s plan. The kingdom could be considered its first step.
“Either way is fine with me.”
Since they were already deciding who would handle which opponents, Nanamo simply divided everyone into groups. She had Yamato and Chloe stay with Scarlett and made sure that one of them would accompany Scarlett at all times.
She herself would stay around the docks. As for Hermes, he would disguise himself as an ordinary cloud floating in the sky, constantly monitoring the island and reporting on the situation.
With these brief arrangements made, Hermes set off once again, carrying them toward Dressrosa…
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