Hearing the voice from outside,
Shakky could only feel exasperated.
Of all times for him to return early...Of all days, why did he have to come back so early today? Was it on purpose?!
Thinking this, Shakky decided to drop the act.
She pointed directly at the white-haired old man who had just entered the bar and said, "That's Dark King Rayleigh. You're looking for him!"
With that, Shakky casually took out a lady's cigarette, lit it, and watched the smoke curl upward.
Roya turned to look at Rayleigh.
He had long, curly hair and a beard, both silver in color. He wore glasses, with a vertical scar running down his right eye.
Though his appearance seemed fierce, there was no trace of gloominess about him—instead, he gave off a somewhat sunny vibe.
Rayleigh, seeing Roya clad in the Justice cloak, casually placed the tools in his hand onto the counter.
He smiled at Roya and said, "The Marine's White Dove Admiral—what business do you have with this old geezer? Don't tell me you're here to arrest me?"
"If I were here to arrest you, I wouldn't have come alone. Besides, aside from me, no one else even knows that Dark King Rayleigh is working as a coating craftsman on Sabaody Archipelago."
"You're not just here to chat, are you?"
A glimmer of curiosity flashed in the eyes of both Rayleigh and Shakky.
They were well aware of the reputation of the White Dove Admiral.
Naturally, they knew he was one of the Marine's top combatants.
In terms of fame, he even overshadowed the other two Admirals.
"Of course not. To keep it short—I want you to coat my ship. And I need it done within a day!"
Hearing Roya's words, Dark King Rayleigh instinctively replied, "That's it?!"
"Otherwise, what did you think I came here for?!"
Roya smirked as he spoke to Rayleigh.
Rayleigh studied Roya's eyes, trying to discern his true intentions.
But after turning it over in his mind, he couldn't find an answer.
So Rayleigh added, "Aren't you afraid I might tamper with the coating and send you to a watery grave? After all, we're on opposing sides."
"If that were the case, you wouldn't be known as the Dark King Rayleigh!"
As the words fell, a sharp glint flashed in Rayleigh's eyes.
The two of them burst into laughter.
Rayleigh immediately turned to Shakky and said, "Shakky, pour the White Dove a drink—on me!"
"You owe me at least ten thousand Berries already. How are you going to pay for this?!"
"Well, we have the White Dove Admiral here. You know, getting a coating done in a single day doesn't come cheap."
"Don't worry, the Fleet Admiral will reimburse me for the expenses."
As he spoke, Roya took a seat beside Rayleigh.
The two of them chatted merrily.
——
Sabaody Archipelago.
Grove 1.
Human Auction House.
Doflamingo stood on the highest floor, looking down at the auction below.
His brows furrowed, an icy aura radiating from him.
"Have you found any concrete leads on the Op-Op Fruit yet?!"
"Master, we haven't. It's as if the fruit vanished into thin air—no trace of it anywhere!"
Trebol, standing beside Doflamingo, replied.
Ever since the Op-Op Fruit was snatched by that mysterious figure on Hachinosu, Doflamingo had grown increasingly furious.
Though the world continued to be shocked by the mysterious man's power, Doflamingo's resentment never faded.As long as that mysterious figure doesn't reveal the power of the Op-Op Fruit, Doflamingo will never give up!
Given the chance, he would go to any lengths, even at great personal cost, to seize control of the Op-Op Fruit.
He absolutely won't flee in disgrace like last time!
That incident has become the greatest humiliation of his life.
Because of it, his authority in the underworld was nearly destroyed.
This has only deepened Doflamingo's hatred for that mysterious figure.
"Keep investigating! Dig up everything you can about the organization this mysterious person belongs to!"
"Yes, Young Master!"
As Trebol finished speaking and turned to leave,
several subordinates came rushing in, looking disheveled.
"Young Master, bad news! The slaves we just captured were taken by a female Marine!"
"A female Marine? What happened?"
Already furious, Doflamingo's anger flared even hotter at this report.
"We were bringing the slaves back and had just reached Area 1 when one of the slaves—a wretch named Stella—managed to escape her cage. She ran into a Marine, and now all the slaves we just captured have been confiscated!"
"Worthless! If you've lost the slaves, you don't deserve to live either!"
Doflamingo flexed his fingers and flicked out razor-sharp strings.
The deadly threads sliced through the air, cleanly severing the heads of his incompetent underlings.
Heads rolled to the ground as blood sprayed everywhere,
gushing like fountains.
"Have someone clean this up. Let's go see which Marine dares to confiscate my merchandise!"
Face icy with rage, Doflamingo set off for Area 1 with Trebol.
Slave trading was common on Sabaody Archipelago.
Doflamingo even operated his own human auction house.
But this didn't make it a legitimate business—if the Marines discovered it, they would still confiscate everything.
However, ever since Doflamingo became JOKER in the underworld, no one had dared touch his shipments.
If he didn't handle this properly, Doflamingo knew such incidents would only increase.
After all, none of those underworld figures were easy to deal with!
——
Meanwhile,
Ain helped Stella to her feet.
With the sword at her waist, she cut through all their shackles.
"Are you all right?"
"We're fine now. Thank you for saving us."
"This is what we Marines should do. I'd heard lawlessness ran rampant on Sabaody Archipelago, but I never imagined they'd transport slaves in broad daylight! I can't forgive this!"
"Who can't you forgive?!"
Doflamingo had arrived just in time to see Ain freeing the slaves.
His fury burned even hotter.
Veins bulged on his forehead.
Behind his orange-red sunglasses, his eyes glared viciously at Ain.
Seeing Doflamingo appear before her, Ain's expression turned stern and heroic.
She shielded Stella and the others behind her, gripping her sword as she faced Doflamingo.With righteous indignation, he declared, "No criminal shall be spared!"