Chapter 102 A Battle of Wits
Blue, blue...
Sitting alone on a clean rock, with her hands on her knees and gazing blankly at the leaves above, Violet heard the sound of a Den Den Mushi and her eyes slowly lowered.
Ginny's voice came through the Den Den Mushi: "Island Master, a big fish has taken the bait."
“Very good.” Violet smiled. It was worth all the preparations the whole of R'lyeh had made. If Doflamingo hadn’t received the news in time, or had chosen to remain cautious and inactive, it would have been a real disappointment. “He’s finally here.”
Vera turned her head to the side. In the woods not far away, the spider nest that had been planted just a few days ago had grown several times larger. Surrounded by spiders half a person's height, the huge spider nest was swaying slightly, clearly indicating that something extraordinary was rapidly hatching inside.
"Are Luo and Da Xiong ready?"
"We have arrived at the planned location and are lying in ambush."
This time, the R'lyeh squad split into three groups. The intelligence and logistics team, led by Ginny, was stationed in R'lyeh to monitor the movements of Doflamingo and his Donquixote Family. The guerrilla team, led by Law and Kuma, ambushed the area near the sea to distract the other Donquixote Family members and prevent any reinforcements from arriving.
Finally, there was the attacking team composed of Vera and Rosinandi.
On this deserted island, they will leave Doflamingo with a profound memory that will last a lifetime.
Violet: "How can this not be considered a long-planned surprise date?" Doflamingo's heart would be too unromantic if it didn't beat with excitement.
Rosinandi looked at Vera helplessly: "I feel like the island lord has been talking strangely lately."
Damn it, I've been affected by that bastard John.
Vera blinked innocently at Rosinante: "What I mean is, we have to give Doflamingo a good beating so that he'll feel the pain of losing his mind whenever he thinks of us."
Rosinandi squatted down in front of Violet, gazing intently at her. The huge height difference between them made Violet look like a delicate and beautiful little doll in his presence.
Rosinante: "Island Master..." Rosinante's feelings were quite complicated as he was about to face Doflamingo head-on.
Although they are brothers, Rosinante and Doflamingo have completely different personalities, and this difference became even more apparent after their father chose to give up his Celestial Dragon status and become an ordinary person.
The Celestial Dragons, unable to earn a living, left Mary Geoise, only to be met not with the imagined equal and easy life, but with poverty, hunger, and disease.
During those difficult times, Doflamingo was a more reliable figure than their father and Rosinante, especially after their mother fell ill, when Doflamingo took on the responsibilities of an older brother.
He rummaged through the trash cans for food he would never have glanced at before, and treasured it for his younger son, Rosinandi, and his more frail mother. Later, through dishonorable theft and deception, he managed to find medicine to alleviate his mother's symptoms.
But... his mother still died, and Doflamingo killed his father, beheading him in an attempt to exchange it for a chance to return to Mary Geoise.
Labeled as self-destructive, he was no longer accepted, and fate played a cruel joke on the two brothers at this time.
Doflamingo encountered Trebol, while Rosinante, unable to accept her brother's actions, chose to leave alone and was later adopted by Sengoku.
Those personality differences that were only manifested in their different attitudes toward toys and delicate flowers in childhood eventually shaped two completely opposite people over the long years.
Sometimes Rosinante wonders if they would have ended up like this if her father hadn't chosen to give up his Celestial Dragon identity, or hadn't been so naive as to expose it after giving it up.
Violet tilted her head as she watched Rosinante suddenly become lost in thought, assuming he was worried that the two of them wouldn't be able to defeat Doflamingo.
Vera opened her arms and leaned forward to hug Rosinante. The black feathers were held in Vera's palms, as soft and yielding as Rosinante himself.
The fact that he was being comforted by a child so much younger than himself made Rosinante's cheeks burn, but he loved the feeling of being embraced so much that his soul seemed to sink into a swamp. No matter how much his reason clamored, he just couldn't lift his hands to struggle out of this embrace.
Rosinante heard Vera's heartbeat; it was steady, healthy, and brimming with a vitality that brought tears to Rosinante's eyes.
"We will win, Rosinandi."
Vera cupped Rosinandi's chin, forcing him to look at her: "You must trust your island master."
“…Hmm.” Rosinandi closed his eyes and gently rubbed his chin against Vera’s palm. “I believe in the island lord.”
——
“Dover,” Trebol stepped out of the cabin, “Princess Viola has confirmed once again that those people are the ones who were found on the island ahead with the Flame-Flame Fruit.”
"Fufufu, thank you so much." Doflamingo, who was steadily advancing his efforts to overthrow the regime of the other country, said without any qualms, "Her Devil Fruit ability is very useful, isn't it?"
"Be careful when you take action."
Trebol looked at Doflamingo with some surprise: "Doflamingo wants to bring her into our group?"
"Why not?" Doflamingo retorted. "Such a convenient and useful ability, now that I've encountered it, it should belong to me."
Viola's own thoughts are not important.
Even without formal instruction, Doflamingo was a born leader. He was born knowing how to discover the various weaknesses of human nature and grasp them as easily as grasping the transparent threads wrapped around people's hands and feet, and from then on, he could manipulate them as easily as puppets.
"Keep Viola and Sugar in the cabin and don't go ashore."
Regardless of how opposed the two may be in the future, at least for now, Viola is still just an innocent girl who idolizes Doflamingo and envies Don Quixote's free and adventurous life.
Viola and Sugar both possess unique Devil Fruit abilities, and their combat strength is not particularly high. Sometimes, when Doflamingo needs to bring them out, he will send out some members with higher combat strength to protect them.
But this time, Trebol sensed something different in Doflamingo's tone.
Trebol thought of the Den Den Mushi call Doflamingo made before he set off, as if he sensed something.
"The news is fake?" That shouldn't be the case. Viola personally confirmed the news from those people's memories, unless...
Someone orchestrated a flawless scheme just to lure them here?!
This was also Doflamingo's speculation, but he really couldn't figure out who had such great ability to set up such a big scheme, and who had such a deep grudge against him, and who was just waiting for him to fall into the trap.
As for excluding those who have a grudge against him...
Doflamingo is a qualified tyrant, which refers not only to his extremely high personal charisma among his subordinates, but also to his ruthless attitude towards his enemies and adversaries.
Those people were either long gone, their graves overgrown with grass half a person's height, or their movements and weaknesses were completely controlled by Doflamingo, preventing them from causing any trouble. Doflamingo simply couldn't think of anyone who could...
A pale, thin figure, seemingly burning himself and the world to ashes, appeared in Doflamingo's mind.
Is the brat who made his younger brother betray his only blood relative and devour the fruits of his long-planned surgery still alive?
The moment the idea popped into Doflamingo's mind, even he found it absurd and laughable.
But if the news about the Flame-Flame Fruit really was directed at him, Doflamingo instinctively felt that this matter was inextricably linked to that brat.
Could a kid who was seriously ill and on the verge of death just a year ago really do this?
Bru bru...
Baby5 is holding a Den Den Mushi that is much larger than normal, with two curved and sharp tusks growing from its mouth.
"Doflamingo, is the Flame-Flame Fruit you mentioned on that small island over there?"
"Yes, that's what my intelligence system says. The Flame-Flame Fruit was last discovered on that small island."
"Did the person who found it eat the fruit immediately?"
"It's a pity, but he's already a Devil Fruit user."
The person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi suddenly asked, "What ability?"
"In short, it's not a Zoan-type Devil Fruit."
As is well known, Kaido, the Emperor of the Sea, has a particular fondness for Zoan-type Devil Fruit users. The top members of the Beasts Pirates and the Flying Son are all Zoan-type Devil Fruit users.
Sure enough, after hearing that the unfortunate guy captured by Doflamingo was not a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, the other side quickly lost interest.
"But speaking of which, you actually told us about the Flame-Flame Fruit? Doflamingo, what exactly are you planning?"
"Fufufu, aren't we collaborators?"
And aren't collaborators just there to be sabotaged? This kind of obviously problematic intelligence is perfect for someone like Jack, who's thick-skinned but not very bright, to scout ahead.
Although Doflamingo looked down on Jack's nearly unused, almost-new brain, he had to admit that Jack's fighting ability was still quite considerable.
Doflamingo: "Anyway, you should also take a look at the site selection for the artificial Devil Fruit experiments. And it's not like it's being given to you for free. According to the old rules, whoever grabs the fruit first gets it."
"Heh, no matter what your scheme is, the Flame-Flame Fruit will belong to our Beasts Pirates!"
Doflamingo turned his head away from the Den Den Mushi with a look of disgust, while Baby 5's pained expression was revealed by Jack's shout.
That's why he disliked Jack: stubbornness, lack of critical thinking, and a strange kind of persistence.
For example, if Jack thinks Doflamingo is a bad guy, then no matter how hard Doflamingo tries, he can't change his image in Jack's mind.
Doflamingo suspects that Jack's single-threaded brain simply hasn't evolved a higher-level function like "secondary evaluation."
Doflamingo: "Then you'd better hurry, after all, time is of the essence..."
A sharp buzzing sound came from the center of the island ahead, tearing through the sky and exploding with a bang at the very top.
The vibrant fireworks covered most of the island, their reflection shimmering in Doflamingo's burgundy glasses before vanishing in an instant.
The ship began to rock violently, and a whirlpool formed on the surface of the sea.
A massive ship with a sharp ram emerged from the whirlpool, its transparent outer membrane bursting open upon contact with air.
Jack was standing at the bow of the ship and happened to see the fireworks disappear into the sky.
He could sense that a respectable giant was waiting for him on that island, and his blood was boiling over.
[You used a [Host Signal Flare]]
[A new seasonal boss is spawning and being deployed...]
The "Defend the Nest" event has begun.
Enjoy the game!
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Author's Note: Jack: [Angry] Who are you calling brainless!
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