"Well then, shall we go teach them a lesson?"
"They're all lively kids. I'm sure your return to teaching will be quite enjoyable."
"As for your salary—part of it will be paid in liquors from all over the world. I'm sure you'll like that."
"Of course, you're free to refuse."
"..."
Rayleigh gently squeezed the hand of Shakky beside him, his thoughts turning over endlessly.
At this point, he really had no choice.
There was only one road left—to accept Doflamingo's offer.
Refuse?
Refusing Doflamingo might very well get him killed on the spot.
Judging by how Doflamingo has acted on the seas in the past...
The entire Kuja, Tritoma, and Shakky could be buried with him.
Whether for Kuja, Tritoma, Shakky, or Roger's bloodline—he had to go through with this.
Taking a deep breath, Rayleigh said in a low voice:
"I'm just an old man. You're not expecting me to follow you back into the Grand Line, are you?"
"Fururururu~ Set your worries aside."
Doflamingo waved his hand dismissively.
"I'll build the new era myself—I don't need a retired old-timer like you tagging along."
Rayleigh was already 59 now, with half his hair turned white. There was no point dragging someone like him into the frontline.
Besides, Doflamingo's top-tier forces were already nearing full strength.
Bullet, Vergo, Enel, and Moria—all of them were approaching their prime.
Smoothie, Tesoro, Pica—with just their Devil Fruit powers, they could already dominate entire regions.
What Rayleigh was suited for... was mentoring these monsters, and guarding Doflamingo's home base.
"I'll do it."
Rayleigh sighed again. It felt like he'd sighed more in these last two days than in the first half of his life.
"Doflamingo, what are you planning to do with Kuja and Tritoma?"
That was also the question Shakky had been holding back.
"Fururururu~"
Seeing that his main goal for this trip had been achieved, Doflamingo couldn't suppress the smug grin spreading across his face.
"Tritoma has to come with me. There's no way I'm chaining myself to this tiny little Kuja."
On this, both Rayleigh and Shakky nodded.
Tritoma's lovesickness condition could only be stabilized by staying near Doflamingo.
Otherwise, the farther she got from him, the higher the risk of her dying from it.
"As for Kuja, I'll relocate them to the White-White Sea."
"It'll be like Vinsmoke Judge's Germa Kingdom—maintaining relative autonomy under my command."
"And as for the safety of the White-White Sea... I'm sure you understand it well, Rayleigh-san."
The research on Wapometal had already begun on Sky Island, thanks to Vegapunk.
The release of Pacifistas probably wasn't far off.
The Kuja were a tribe where nearly every warrior wielded Haki, but in terms of pure combat power, they weren't irreplaceable.
Still, relocating them gave Doflamingo more leverage over Rayleigh.
Even if Rayleigh and Shakky tried to run later, they couldn't exactly escape with an entire island in tow.
Rayleigh nodded silently. Compared to the Calm Belt, which could be attacked by Marines at any moment, the White-White Sea—which few from the Blue Sea ever visited—was clearly safer.
He just wondered... what had that once-pure land become under Doflamingo's rule?
While Rayleigh and Shakky weighed the pros and cons, Tritoma responded with bright enthusiasm.
"I accept, Doflamingo-sama!"
Being able to follow Doflamingo-sama was already more than she could hope for.
And now, bringing Kuja along too? That was even better.
...
Rayleigh and Shakky exchanged a look—and saw the same helplessness on each other's face.
They'd been hoping to bargain for a slightly better outcome for Kuja...
But if their daughter insisted on selling herself out so eagerly, what could they do?
"Then it's settled. Rayleigh-san, Shakky-san, I'll be counting on you to stay behind and watch over Kuja."
Doflamingo smiled with satisfaction and immediately started bossing around his new in-laws.
One was a former Kuja Empress. The other, her partner.
Having them look after Kuja made perfect sense.
"When the time comes, you'll bring the entire Kuja Island to Sky Island."
Theoretically, he could tow the island himself with his current strength.
But it would shake too much. He didn't want to collapse all his palaces.
As for the magnetic field—his ability still wasn't stable. Each use drained an enormous amount of stamina.
Better to have Smoothie, his main wife, help move the second wife's home.
"..."
Looking at that infuriating grin, Rayleigh felt his blood pressure spike.
His six years of peaceful retirement seemed to be over.
...
The next day.
At the newly opened port of Kuja Island.
"Goodbye, Father! Mother!"
"Farewell for now, Rayleigh-san, Shakky-san."
Doflamingo stood with Tritoma at the bow of the Numancia Flamingo, smiling as they looked down.
Below stood Shakky and Rayleigh—both once again wearing their crowns.
"Scram, brat!"
Rayleigh waved dismissively, not bothering to put on a friendly face.
Just watching Tritoma cling to Doflamingo made his stomach turn.
"Please... don't hurt Tritoma!"
Shakky took a deep breath and gave her farewell.
"Don't worry, Shakky-san."
With a thought, Doflamingo made the Numancia Flamingo shoot forward like an arrow from a bow—
Soaring toward the Sky Island.
...
Open Sea, near Hachinosu.
A fleet led by a massive dragon-headed ship was slowly approaching.
The ruins of Hachinosu, flattened to the ground, gradually came into view for everyone on board.
"Whoa! So the rumors were true after all. A massive tsunami wiped Hachinosu off the map."
"Was that one of the new weapons sold by the Donquixote Family? If we could get our hands on those... That explosion looked like a second sun fell into the sea! They say it even caused a super-tsunami near Water 7!"
"Yeah! If we had that kind of power, the Revolution would hit a whole new peak!"
"..."
"Don't be stupid, boy. If it was made by the Donquixote Family, it wouldn't have exploded right above Hachinosu."
Ivankov, with his dramatic purple lipstick, batted his lashes flirtatiously—so much so, it could stop a heart.
He snapped his comrades out of their fantasies.
"This thing... must be the Celestial Dragons' secret weapon."
Dragon, wearing a hood, stared into the sky with solemn eyes.
If a thing like this really existed, toppling the World Government... would be a lot harder than they thought.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Dragon turned and addressed the group.
"You all go ahead to the East Blue..."
"I'm going to investigate. I need to find Kuma, and Be—"
"No! Dragon-sama!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg