"Caesar and Monet? It's so familiar yet strange."
A woman in a pink cloak stepped on a man emitting gas. Beside her, a woman with long grass-green wavy hair lay on the ground. Cold snow poured from her body, gathering quickly.
"You… you aren't—the Young Master!" she cried out, waving her right hand. The biting cold snow turned into a vortex, swirling madly.
"Whoosh!" A huge red string pierced the vortex, wrapping around Monet's neck and strangling her tightly. The snow vortex dissipated on its own.
"Dead… dead?" The man emitting gas, Caesar, gritted his teeth, his body wobbling.
"Who knows," Dove said, shaking her head. With a hook of her finger, Caesar was lifted into the air.
"No… don't kill me, I'm still useful!" Caesar, seeing death approaching, let out a pathetic wail.
"Don't worry. With you here… that guy won't run around," Dove smiled. But Caesar felt that her smile was more wicked and terrifying than Doflamingo's own.
Just then, Rodin, who had changed into wearing a pale gold cloak, walked over. "It's time to go. While that Doflamingo guy is still in Dressrosa." He had no interest in what was being studied on this island. It wasn't necessarily safe and he had no need for its periodicities. He had his summoning system.
It had been less than six days since his last summon. After killing Doflamingo, he would have about four days left. It was coming soon!
"Doflamingo, Boa Hancock, Merman Jinbe, Hawkeye…" Akainu leaned against the wall and tossed a newspaper. "Now there's a new Warlord of the Sea… Blackbeard Teach. They're all missing. Should we go find them one by one?"
"Blackbeard?" Dove frowned. She had never heard of him.
"He's pretty gutsy," Rodin said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You don't need to look for them one by one. Doflamingo will just be the last one. The rest will all be in one pot."
The fact that Blackbeard was appointed as a Warlord meant that Ace had been handed over to Marine and was now in Impel Down. The execution date had not yet been announced, but Rodin estimated that the Marines were preparing a plan. The battle was not far away.
As for whether his presence would change the course of the war? That depended on whether the World Conscription had given Marine enough confidence. The New World had five Emperors, counting himself, and the balance had long been broken. Whether Marine would decide to clean one of them up was anyone's guess.
Just as he was thinking this, the system beeped.
[Ding! The famous Punk Hazard is detected. Do you want to sign in immediately?]
"Sign in."
[Congratulations on your successful sign-in! You have obtained: Four-and-a-half-star character fragments * 2 (Can be used after collecting ten pieces. When summoning a female character, a four-and-a-half-star character will be obtained!)]
Four and a half stars? Rodin was slightly taken aback. The strength of his four-star characters was beyond a doubt. How much stronger would a four-and-a-half-star character be? Who could be summoned? Rodin looked forward to it. He had eight pieces left. He hoped to collect them soon.
A group of people boarded the Ark Maxim again, following the navigation map toward the nearest island: Dressrosa.
In the golden open-air hall, several female crew members were relaxed. After fighting three Admirals, a guy like Doflamingo couldn't be a problem, right?
Meanwhile, Caesar, who was handcuffed with seastone, swallowed hard. The Doflamingo family was the most powerful under the Four Emperors. Why are they not nervous at all? They truly were the monsters from the newspapers.
Caesar lowered his head and glanced at Rodin, who was seated in the first place.
"Where are you looking at?" Crocodile punched him.
"Boom!" A fist mark appeared on Caesar's face, and he passed out.
"Hmph. How dare you spy on my man?"
"Hey, stupid crocodile, be careful! Killing him is worthless. This guy can be exchanged for money with the Marines after we're done with him!" Baki floated over.
"You love treasure so much, you should have eaten the Golden-Golden Fruit."
"Pirates that don't steal treasures? What kind of pirate is that?!" Baki immediately became unhappy. The fruit was not what she wanted to eat.
"Be more careful this time," Dove said, crossing her legs and interrupting them. "I'm very familiar with the family members, especially the most dangerous one, Sugar… Be careful of capsizing in the gutter." She was full of hope for the family that was about to face the world. "Especially you two idiots."
"What did you just call me, old woman?!"
"Well, it's almost here."
Rodin took a bite of a banana. On his left and right, the quiet Akainu and the stomach-exposing Mihoko heard his words, and their beautiful eyes moved. Finally. Is it time?
In Dressrosa, the Birdcage was already in place, its size covering the entire island. The people looked at their inevitable doom with solemnity. When Doflamingo had given them permission to leave the country for asylum, few had left. All of them had chosen to live and die with their nation. This had touched Doflamingo greatly, and he immediately swore he would defeat the villain Rodin and save the country. Under this emotional wave, the people took up arms like soldiers going to war.
Doflamingo was very smart. He had directly bound the entire island to his fate. If the Rodin Pirates wanted to kill him, they would have to face these excited people first. Of course, he wasn't naive enough to rely on them. His true reliance was his group of powerful cadres. Besides… there was Kaido of the Beast Pirates!
On the King's Plateau, Doflamingo gathered all the members of his family and spoke from his heart. Trebol, Pica, Diamante, and the others all remained silent. The family was facing its greatest challenge ever, but they were ready.
"They're here! The transparency was lifted within ten kilometers." At the corner of the high ground, a woman in a dancing dress, with flowers in her hair, held her thumb and index finger together, looking into the distance. She could monitor everything within a four-thousand-kilometer radius. She had first seen the Rodin Pirates thousands of kilometers away. She had lied. She hoped Rodin could save the Riku royal family.
"Heh heh heh, they're here so soon?" Trebol was the first to turn around, showing his chipped teeth. "Don't worry, Doflamingo. Everything will be fine with all of us here." Although Doflamingo had been shaken by the past defeat, Trebol believed that with the strength of the entire family gathered, they would be fine. Not to mention the reinforcements that would come.
"Xee xee xee, it's because of you that I feel at ease," Doflamingo said, slowly getting up. He opened his hands and his ten fingers, embracing the sky.
Just as he was about to clench his fists, Baby 5, dressed as a maid, approached him, holding a bowl of soup. "You haven't had your medicine for noon yet," she said caringly.
"Hmm?" Doflamingo turned his head. Veins appeared on the corner of his grinning mouth. Just when everyone thought he was about to get angry, he held the big bowl tightly and endured the bitterness. He drank the medicine in one gulp and threw the bowl aside.
Clenching his fists toward the sky, he said, "The test… has begun!"