“You… you’re saying Doflamingo was killed?”
Inside the Royal Palace, Rosinante let out a long sigh of relief when he heard the news.
Although he was Doflamingo’s biological younger brother, sharing the same bloodline and the same experiences, their personalities were completely different.
Doflamingo’s behavioral habits had not developed only after leaving the Holy Land. Even back in Mariejois, he had already behaved much like the other Celestial Dragons.
Compared to Rosinante, it would hardly be an exaggeration to call Doflamingo a born villain.
And now, King Riku believed Rosinante as well.
It was not because King Riku had some means of verifying Rosinante’s identity, but because Viola’s Glare-Glare Fruit could also see the thoughts in a target’s heart.
She could clearly see that Rosinante harbored no malice and genuinely wanted to help Dressrosa. It was just that his own strength seemed somewhat lacking, and he had nearly gotten himself killed in the process.
“Not yet. But later, who knows. Still, this isn’t over. There’s another guy in the Donquixote Pirates who’s contacting the others.
To prevent them from coming back for revenge afterward, it’d be better to wipe them all out in one go.
Speaking of which, my dear King Riku, what do you think about remodeling this place into an open-air style?”
Nanamo did not pay much attention to Rosinante. Instead, she pointed at the Royal Palace wall that Doflamingo had sliced open and offered an alternative renovation proposal.
“Uh… you’ve already helped us enormously by resolving this matter. We can handle the repairs afterward ourselves. There’s no need for you to put in any more effort.”
“Ahem, one thing is one thing. My dad—Father promised he’d handle the cleanup for you. Come to think of it, Doflamingo should have quite a bit of wealth, right? Maybe that can fill the hole.”
While Nanamo and King Riku discussed what would come afterward, Rosinante seemed to react half a beat late, suddenly realizing something.
“Wait, you’re the princess of the Ryugu Kingdom! So the father you were talking about is Vam—Nereus!”
Only at this moment did Rosinante finally piece together some of the things, such as where Dressrosa’s powerful reinforcements had actually come from.
Just then, Viola, who had been continuously monitoring the coastline, suddenly made a new discovery.
“Father, Princess Nanamo, a Marine ship is approaching… Judging by its size, it’s a large Marine warship, not a patrol vessel passing by.”
As mainline warships, large Marine vessels carried far more soldiers and possessed much greater firepower. They generally would not be used for minor duties like routine patrols.
Moreover, the warship’s course was clearly headed straight for Dressrosa.
“The Marines? Did you contact them?”
“No.”
King Riku shook his head. After learning that Nereus intended to intervene in this matter, he had given up on contacting the Marines.
On one hand, it was because of his trust in Nereus’s strength. On the other, it was because of how well he understood Nereus. Given the relationship between Nereus and the Marines, having both sides appear in Dressrosa at the same time was not a good thing.
“It must be reinforcements from Headquarters! Pirates are trying to seize an entire affiliated nation, I knew it! The Marines couldn’t possibly ignore something like this, even if the culprit is a Shichibukai!”
Upon hearing that a warship was approaching, Rosinante instead became somewhat excited.
If the Marines had ignored everything and simply allowed Dressrosa to fall under Doflamingo’s control, it would have been an utterly crushing disappointment for Rosinante.
Whether it was an order from Headquarters or some high-ranking officer who had received the news and independently decided to come support Dressrosa, Rosinante considered either possibility a good thing.
It meant that there were still people in the Marines who continued to uphold true justice.
“Ahem, everyone, leave the aftermath of this matter to me. All those members of the Family will be locked up in Impel Down. They’ll never appear here again.”
Rosinante was so excited that he practically danced with joy. Without even waiting for a response, he ran off toward the harbor.
The downfall of the Donquixote Family also meant that Rosinante could finally end his life as an undercover agent and return to the Marines to pursue the “justice” in his heart.
“If the Marines had more fools like him, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But these Marines showing up… seems a little ill-timed, doesn’t it?
“That guy Doflamingo is still a Shichibukai. The Marines don’t seem to have any direct reason to arrest him. Maybe they’re actually here to cooperate with the Shichibukai.”
A user of the Glare-Glare Fruit only possessed clairvoyance, not superhuman hearing. Viola had no idea who the Marines aboard the ship were communicating with.
But Rosinante had previously contacted the Marines right in front of King Riku, and King Riku had also told the others that there would be no reinforcements.
Combined with what Viola had seen earlier—Senor Pink contacting someone, followed shortly afterward by the appearance of the Marines—it was hard not to connect the dots and suspect something else.
“Viola, check the rank of whoever’s leading that warship.”
“Okay. His shoulder insignia has…”
“A Captain? Then there’s no need to think about it. There’s definitely something wrong with these Marines. If they were here to deal with Doflamingo, how could they possibly send only a Captain to lead the force?”
Someone unfamiliar with the military system would not recognize rank insignia even if it were placed right in front of them, but after opposing the Marines for so many years, Nanamo was very familiar with such things.
After Viola briefly described the insignia, Nanamo immediately determined the man’s rank.
Although rank could not be perfectly equated with strength, and there were always exceptions, it could still serve as a useful reference.
At the very least, Nanamo did not know of any Marine Captain who possessed combat power on the level of a Shichibukai.
Someone like that would be considered a genius even within the Marines. There was no way they would remain so obscure.
Although the Marines certainly had their share of hot-blooded idiots, this situation was still highly suspicious.
“Let’s go, Yamato. We’ll take a look. No matter why these Marines are here, these people are my spoils of war. They can’t just take them away like that.”
“Got it! Just like in those plays on Fishman Island? The Marines always show up after everything’s over to clean up the mess?”
“…”
Culture and entertainment were also part of a nation’s development, and Fishman Island had its own programs. Although the Marines were not always portrayed as villains, they could hardly be called good guys either.
The most common kind of scene was for the protagonist to solve all the problems first, only for the Marines to arrive late, shouting things like how they represented justice.
“More or less. Anyway, we’ll know once we go over and take a look.”
At the same time, aboard the G-5 Branch Marine warship outside Dressrosa—
“Reporting, Captain Vergo! We’ve received a signal from Marine undercover forces in Dressrosa… Our infiltrators say that the Donquixote Pirates attempted to seize Dressrosa, but they’ve already been defeated.
All members, including Doflamingo, have been defeated and captured, and they’re asking us to take custody of the prisoners. But he’s a Shichibukai… something like this… Should we report it to Headquarters?”
Senor Pink’s message had already informed Vergo that something had gone wrong with Doflamingo’s plan, but after hearing his adjutant’s report, Vergo still froze for a moment.
[Young Master… lost?]
For once, a trace of panic appeared in Vergo’s heart, though none of it showed on his face. If the Donquixote Family had already lost, then he himself was their final safeguard.
“So what if they’re Shichibukai? If they’ve committed crimes, they’re still pirates! There’s no need to report it. First take those villains into custody and bring them back to the base prison!
This is for the justice of the Marines! The seas cannot tolerate pirates causing chaos!”
“Yes! For justice!”
[For justice.]
It was the most effective slogan in the Marines.
During all his years undercover, Vergo had also firmly established his persona. In the eyes of the Marines, Vergo was an outstanding Marine who upheld justice and cared for ordinary soldiers.
He was also deeply respected by the troops of the G-5 Branch. Hearing him say this, they all felt that Vergo’s words made perfect sense and gave up on the idea of reporting the matter.
After all, when a warship was operating away from base, making independent decisions was perfectly normal.
Vergo’s own thinking was equally simple. Even if Doflamingo truly had been defeated, as long as he could get him aboard his warship, there would still be a chance.
Once they reached the open sea, all he had to do was give Doflamingo an opportunity to escape. At worst, he would kill a few of the soldiers guarding him.
Vergo believed that as long as they could get away, Doflamingo would be able to resolve this predicament. At worst, they would simply have to start over from scratch.
But when the warship docked, the first person Vergo saw was Rosinante.
“Hey, hey! Over here! You guys are way too slow! What took you so long?!”
Rosinante stood at the harbor waving his arms toward the warship, impatient to see which righteous colleague had come.
But Vergo wore an entirely different expression when he heard Rosinante speak.
A mute had suddenly started talking, and was even waving at a Marine warship?
Anyone would think there was something wrong with him.
Doflamingo had suspected years ago that there was an undercover agent within the Family. Now it seemed that Rosinante was that person.
The other man knew who he was. He absolutely could not allow Rosinante to expose his identity and interfere with his plan to rescue Doflamingo.
“That guy is a member of the Donquixote Family! It’s a trap! Everyone, prepare for battle!”
The moment he finished speaking, Vergo had already leapt down from the ship’s railing.
As the only non-Devil Fruit user among the Donquixote Family’s top officers, Vergo had devoted all his efforts to training Haki, earning himself the epithet “Demon Bamboo.”
At this moment, Vergo’s entire body was coated in Armament Haki as he raised his leg and kicked toward Rosinante.
“Vergo?!”
“You despicable pirate, your voyage ends here!”
Boom!
Rosinante, who had already taken a kick from Alber earlier, was sent flying once again. And Vergo was aiming to silence Rosinante for good, so his kick was far more vicious than Alber’s had been.
“Ugh…”
His insides churned violently as Rosinante spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground. Even getting back to his feet became incredibly difficult.
However, Vergo did not want Rosinante to utter even a single word, and immediately stepped forward to finish him off with another kick.
“Stop!”
Just as Vergo was about to deal a killing blow, Kyros charged forward with his sword held in both hands, placing himself in front of Rosinante and blocking Vergo.
Kyros still had a great deal of respect for Rosinante, this somewhat dim-witted undercover agent, because Rosinante genuinely wanted to protect Dressrosa.
“He’s also a member of the Donquixote Family… be… careful…”
Before Rosinante could finish speaking, he lost consciousness.
“This man is Doflamingo’s biological younger brother. He’s an extremely deceitful pirate. You’ve been tricked by him. I came here to help you after receiving your distress signal.
I heard you defeated Doflamingo? He’s an extremely dangerous criminal. Let me take him away. A Marine prison is far better suited to holding pirates.”
Seeing Kyros block him, Vergo did not continue attacking. He could not afford to be charged with attacking the military of an affiliated nation, as that would ruin his undercover mission.
Instead, Vergo offered a different explanation, hoping the other side would hand over Rosinante along with the rest of the Family members.
“A distress signal? Unfortunately, Dressrosa never asked the Marines for help. The only person here who contacted the Marines was the man you were so eager to kill.
And he said that you’re the undercover agent. So, who do you think is more credible?”
“Of course Captain Vergo is more credible! Your Majesty, the Captain specifically brought us here to help you!”
The Marines beside Vergo chose to trust him unconditionally, but at a time like this, King Riku trusted his daughter more.
Although the Glare-Glare Fruit could not read memories, it could see a person’s current thoughts. When someone was caught off guard, Viola could see what was truly in their heart.
“Father, he’s the one who works for Doflamingo!”
King Riku naturally believed Viola without hesitation, but the Marines who had come with Vergo trusted Vergo more.
The Marines who claimed they had come to help now ended up facing off against the kingdom’s forces instead.
“See? You people still lack experience when it comes to dealing with Marines. Rather than trying to reason with them at a time like this, it’s better to knock all of them down first.”
Buzz—
At that instant, the air along the coast seemed to grow thick and heavy. The nearly tangible pressure caused the bodies of the soldiers behind Vergo to stiffen, while an inexplicable sense of panic welled up in their hearts.
Thud… thud…
The soldiers with the weakest wills were the first to collapse unconscious. The others soon followed, foaming at the mouth and their eyes rolling back as they fell to the ground. Even Vergo himself felt a wave of dizziness, his legs going weak as he nearly fell.
“Conqueror’s… Haki?!”
Nanamo yawned, then waved toward the sky. Hermes immediately flew over carrying Senor Pink.
Once Nanamo had confirmed that Vergo was Doflamingo’s contingency plan, she had ordered Hermes to handle Doflamingo’s ship, along with anything valuable aboard it.
As for these Marines…
If this had not been Dressrosa, merely losing consciousness might not have been the end of it.
“Is this… really okay?”
King Riku had not experienced this sort of situation very often and had no idea that, from Nanamo’s perspective, this was already an extraordinarily gentle response.
Compared to these Marines, Nanamo cared far more about how to maximize the benefits of this incident.
Now that the Marines had gotten involved as well, there was even more room to maneuver.
“Relax. You’re the king of an affiliated nation. These Marines actually pointed guns at you under the command of an undercover agent. They’re the ones in the wrong.
Besides, we’re helping the Marines clean house here. If they don’t cough up a few hundred million Berries as hush money, I’m submitting the story to Morgans.”
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