"I am preparing to depart for the New World soon. If you have a change of heart, come join me."
After delivering his lengthy, yet pointedly useful, speech, Dragon flew back onto his ship. Standing on the dragon-shaped figurehead, he tossed a palm-sized piece of white paper down to Zephyr. When Zephyr caught it, he noticed it was subtly moving toward Dragon's direction.
"That is my Vivre Card," Dragon stated.
Ain frowned, utterly astonished. This Dragon had immense guts.
A Vivre Card was a powerful tracking tool. If Zephyr were to hand this over to Alucard, Dragon would be doomed no matter where he ran.
With a wave of Dragon's hand, the Dragon ship turned and sped toward the New World.
"Dragon, are you sure it's alright to be so open about this?"
Gilteo came closer, looking back worriedly at Zephyr and the others on the Groseade. What was supposed to be a secret meeting had turned into a frank, open discussion.
Even if Zephyr didn't reveal anything, if someone in the Trash Disposal Unit reported this to Alucard, all their efforts could be ruined.
But Dragon smiled confidently. "Don't worry. Our objective has been mostly achieved. Even if Zephyr doesn't join us, he will absolutely not assist Alucard, let alone report this matter."
"Why are you so certain?" Gilteo asked, confused.
"Because I understand Zephyr."
Dragon answered briefly, then shouted to the helmsman, "Accelerate! Head for the New World!"
…
On the other side, aboard the Groseade, immediately after Dragon left, the Trash Disposal Unit led by Zephyr descended into chaos.
"Z-sensei, I think Dragon has a point!"
"Idiot, do you want to oppose the Immortal Pirates? Don't forget our current position!"
"No, too many of our seniors died fighting the Immortal Pirates. We shouldn't have submitted to them in the first place."
"Now that we have such a formidable warship, we can seize this opportunity to break away from them completely."
The several thousand people erupted in a confusing cacophony.
Some believed Dragon's words should be ignored, but more felt the Revolutionary Army was more trustworthy than the Immortal Pirates because their goal was to overthrow the Government.
Moreover, the Immortal Pirates had killed too many Marines in the past—Zephyr's students, their upperclassmen.
"Step back, all of you. I need to be alone for a while."
Regardless of what happened, Zephyr had definitely been affected.
He had initially joined Alucard to use his power to overthrow the Government, but Dragon's appearance, his words, and now the arguments among his students had shaken his resolve.
…
The Gran Tesoro, a special zone acknowledged by the World Government as a Neutral Zone, where the Navy cannot arbitrarily engage pirates even if they spot them.
The ship covered a super-large area, over ten kilometers in length. From a distance, it looked like a colossal golden ship. As they drew closer, they noticed countless golden balloons floating around the ship as adornments. Golden fountains erupted from the top from time to time, leaving even Sandersonia and Koala, who were accustomed to treasure, wide-eyed with shock.
"Ah... I doubt only the toilets aren't made of gold here."
"My pirate soul is stirring."
The female pirates of the Kuja let out exclamations of awe and excitement.
"That Doflamingo fellow has managed to secure a new safe haven." Alucard commented, emerging from the shadows of the room and looking at the approaching golden giant ship.
Even though it was night, the ship was brilliantly lit, which greatly displeased the night-loving Alucard.
When the pirate ship carrying Alucard, Hancock, and the others, which flew both the Immortal and Kuja flags, arrived alongside the Gran Tesoro, the large steel gates on the side of the ship automatically opened, beckoning everyone inside.
Koala noticed that as soon as they entered the interior, the seawater gradually turned the same golden color as the fountains.
"Is this the power of the Gold-Gold Fruit's ability?"
Hancock saw this, walked up to Alucard, and blinked her beautiful eyes, her tone incredibly angry. "That Scarlett wen... I mean, that should have been her Devil Fruit! That bastard Tesoro actually stole it! Such disrespect to Master!"
She nearly said the word "wench," revealing how Hancock usually referred to Scarlett.
Upon entering the magnificent golden port, the pirate ship, flying the Yonko's flag, had barely made it inside when the image of the people on board appeared on a giant screen at the very top, thanks to the omnipresent Den Den Mushi surveillance.
"Oh!! How amazing!" cried a woman with a yellowish-brown mane who looked like a monkey.
"Don't make such a fuss, Daisy. You're losing your dignity as a Kuja warrior," another female pirate next to her scolded.
"Yonko Alucard came in person..."
"This Tesoro is seriously something else, to be able to attract such a major figure."
The tourists at the entrance gasped in amazement as Alucard's face appeared on the screen, instinctively backing away at the sight.
Perched atop a golden clock, Doflamingo stood in a deep squat, looking down at the Kuja pirate ship gradually sailing into the interior.
"Fufufufufu... Thanks to your interference, I lost Dressrosa, but I gained better resources. However, to guard against that boy Law, I still need to take some measures in time..."
After muttering to himself for a while, Doflamingo used his ability to fly away from the golden clock and head toward the main entertainment district.
The Kuja pirate ship slowly stopped. As the gangplank lowered, Hancock was about to step off when she noticed Alucard was still standing motionless at the bow. Curious, she walked up to him, furrowing her slender brows. "Master?"
"It's been a long time..."
Alucard uttered a mysterious phrase. Before Hancock could figure out what he meant, she heard a strange singing sound.
"Ship-y! Ship-y!"
Hancock and the Kuja women who were preparing to disembark turned to look. A colossal ship, shaped like a cake with a ridiculous, clown-like figurehead, and many times larger than the Kuja ship, was approaching, singing as it went.