"Sorry."
Looking at the citizens of Dressrosa, Yamato didn't know what to say. After leaving behind those two words, their figure turned into a blur and vanished, heading straight toward Doflamingo's location.
At that moment, in the depths of Yamato's inner world, a pair of azure pupils faintly appeared in the darkness and began to focus on Yamato's situation, directly meeting with another pair of crimson eyes on the other side.
"So, you're interested too, Reshiram?"
"This isn't her ideal. This is reality. The truth often runs counter to ideals. The path to light is never smooth.
When her ideals clash, what will she choose to do then?"
"Reshiram, hearing you mention ideals is truly laughable.
An ideal isn't about doing whatever you want. It's about striving to uphold your beliefs, to stay true to your heart. That is the path of ideals."
"But your hollow ideal will never become reality. If it doesn't align with reality, how can others accept it?"
"So, even if reality is shrouded in darkness, you will continue to just follow the rules?"
For the umpteenth time, Reshiram's discussion with Zekrom ended on a sour note. Yet this time, Reshiram perked up, paying attention to Yamato's actions with some interest.
"Sorry to bother everyone, but there's no need to worry. We merely have some dealings with Doflamingo. If you head east about two kilometers, you'll find a doctor. To the north, you'll run into the Marines. Feel free to go wherever you prefer."
After Yamato departed, Robin also activated the flight mode of her combat suit and followed in Yamato's direction.
In midair, she even encountered Sanji, who was using "Sky Walk" to move. This stunned Sanji momentarily.
However, this time Sanji didn't have a nosebleed. He was stunned not because he saw a beautiful woman, but because Robin's white combat suit reminded him of something very unpleasant.
Above King's Plateau, Doflamingo's situation was also beginning to change.
Not long ago, he had still been calmly holding a meeting.
With Pica using his ability to gather rocks and form this plateau, the underground factory had also been brought to the surface. But Doflamingo wasn't worried about the factory being destroyed.
The entire outer layer of the factory was made of Seastone—extremely tough, with top-level protection.
All the executives had now gathered here.
"Hey, hey, Doffy, I'm really sorry about Sugar.
Who would've thought that someone tied up could scare Sugar into fainting? She was holding on just fine at first, but then Buggy suddenly dropped down from the sky!"
"And the tournament too, it was supposed to be a group for weaklings, but Redfield slipped in. Who could've predicted that kind of old monster would enter the tournament?"
Trebol and Diamante were explaining their mistakes to Doflamingo.
"It's fine. Blaming you won't turn back time, so don't worry about it anymore. Everyone, just carry on with your tasks. Focus on doing well from here on out."
Doflamingo was quite lenient with his family executives. Unless their deaths were necessary to achieve a goal, failing a mission wasn't a big deal.
Following Doflamingo's arrangements, the executives began to disperse. At the same time, the Katakuri brothers, who had been hired by Doflamingo, arrived on the scene.
"Doflamingo, just what are you trying to do? You've locked a Marine Admiral in here along with these monsters, are you trying to have them all gang up on you?"
"Fuffuffuffu, Katakuri, don't worry. Fujitora won't make a move. Even though he's a Marine Admiral, he has a lot of concerns. But letting him leave would pose endless trouble."
Previously, Fujitora had said to his face that he wanted to abolish the Shichibukai system. Naturally, someone like that was a major threat to Doflamingo.
"I wouldn't do something like that, and you couldn't afford that kind of price anyway."
"Relax, relax, I know ordinary methods won't work against him. Unless that person is willing to accept the job, dealing with a Marine Admiral is always troublesome."
"You three just need to help me handle some other problems, like the brother of that Straw Hat kid.
Marco and Ace are old rivals of yours, right?"
"Of course."
"Then there's no issue. I'll handle the rest as best I can."
As Doflamingo said this, he calmly sat back down in his seat, as if everything was under control. But as time passed, the situation changed dramatically.
First, Luffy, carried by Hercules, successfully reunited with Law, and with Violet's Glare-Glare Fruit, they found the key to Law's handcuffs and also met up with Brook and Bon Kurei, who had arrived in the area. The group then advanced toward the mountaintop together.
Facing both Luffy and Law, Doflamingo managed to hold his own quite well. Moreover, Katakuri wasn't just watching idly either. Though he and Oven didn't step in directly, they allowed Daifuku to make a move.
Even though Brook's sword had a natural advantage against the "spirit" summoned by Daifuku's ability, he and Bon Kurei still struggled greatly against him.
"Daifuku, fall back!"
Katakuri seemed to sense something. Sweat covered his forehead. Even though Daifuku had gained the upper hand, Katakuri still ordered him to retreat immediately.
"Brother Katakuri, what's wrong?"
"Get behind me. The real trouble has just arrived."
Seeing this shift, Doflamingo was still puzzled, wondering what was going on. Just then, a panicked soldier ran up.
"Young Master! Young Master! Bad news! Someone's coming up! That monster Red Count is coming up with Rebecca! It seems like he wants to—"
"To take you down, Doflamingo."
Before the soldier could finish, Redfield gracefully floated up from the side. He, Rebecca, and Pato were all standing on a massive flying carpet.
This was also why Katakuri had called Daifuku back. He had just been using his ability to foresee the battlefield's future, and saw a scene where, just as Daifuku tried to strike Brook, Redfield arrived and instantly killed him out with a single blow.
Watching Luffy and Law battle Doflamingo, Redfield lifted his umbrella. Blood-red energy transformed into a whip and directly dragged both of them off to the side.
He had already made an exception by accepting Rebecca's request for revenge due to personal reasons. In this case, there was no way he'd join others in ganging up on a weaker target. It wasn't his style.
"Taking me down? Do we have some kind of grudge?"
"Not really. I just accepted a commission from a little girl. I find her easier on the eyes than you, that's all."
If Rebecca had agreed to Redfield's conditions, he really would've attacked Doflamingo outright.
As things stood now, that was only part of the reason he was stepping in.
But, there was no way he could publicly reveal the other reason.
[I already found you annoying, and I'm actually a fan, yet you dared to try and harm my idol. Do I even need a reason to beat you up?]
"Old Man Red?"
Though Marco had already given a brief explanation of who Redfield was, in Luffy's mind, the name "Red" had stuck far more clearly.
In fact, the fact that he remembered the word "Red" at all and didn't give Redfield some weird nickname was already impressive.
"Luffy, I think... I remember who he is."
At the same time, looking at the now-younger Redfield, Brook also recalled something from the past.
Logically, he shouldn't have remembered a child from so many years ago so clearly.
But after being trapped in the Florian Triangle for so long, the thing he did most was reminisce—about past adventures, the smiles of his crewmates, and the longing for Laboon, who was waiting for them.
That included the time aboard the Rumbar Pirates' ship, when a little kid once clung to him, asking for stories about his adventures.
****Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations
You can read ahead upto 75 chapters on my pa*reon.