After the kiss, their lips parted.
Nico Robin felt her mind go blank, her entire body feeling soft and weak. Her beautiful face was flushed, as though it had been painted by the most vibrant sunset. Her blue eyes, usually so intelligent and calm, were now watery, too shy to meet Takero's gaze. She buried her face in his broad, warm chest and spoke in a voice barely louder than a whisper:
"I... I want to go to Elbaf... for a trip."
Slap!
A crisp, elastic sound rang out as Takero lightly slapped her round, perky bottom.
Hmm... It's not as plump or mature as Smoothie's long legs, but it's quite bouncy. Youth is truly wonderful, Takero mused, silently giving a "good review" in his heart.
"Don't worry," he finally said. "Once everything with the Martial Arts Tournament here is settled, I'll personally take you there. I don't trust you to go alone."
"...Mm," Robin responded shyly from his arms, covering her burning cheeks.
When Takero returned to the villa with Robin following him like a docile kitten, Gildo Tesoro was already waiting respectfully at the door. He glanced at his boss and Robin, whose face still held a captivating blush, and a knowing, "I understand" smile flashed in his eyes.
"Boss, Miss Robin, you're back?" Tesoro asked.
Takero nodded and inquired, "How was it? Did you settle everything with those 'Revolutionary' guys?"
"Yes, Boss, we've reached a preliminary agreement," Tesoro replied, just about to dive into the specific details of the negotiation.
Takero raised a hand to interrupt him. "Alright, alright, it's the same old saying. Since it's settled, you and Robin can handle the specifics together. I don't want to deal with these troublesome matters."
"Yes, Boss!" Tesoro immediately responded.
However, a somewhat troubled and conflicted expression suddenly appeared on his face.
Seeing his hesitant look, Takero instructed, "If you have a problem, just say it directly. Don't beat around the bush with me."
Tesoro no longer hesitated and revealed the biggest difficulty that he and Monkey D. Dragon had encountered during their talks.
"It's like this, Boss," Tesoro began. "Just now, the Revolutionary Army's leader, the man named Monkey D. Dragon, and I reached an agreement. Following your instructions, our Golden Group will regularly provide the Revolutionary Army with large amounts of food, medical resources, and daily necessities as support."
"The Revolutionary Army has also promised the conditions they previously agreed to with you—to do their utmost to gather information about the Poneglyphs for us. Furthermore, after they 'liberate' those countries ruled by tyranny, our Golden Group will have the priority right to choose and take over all industries in those countries."
He paused, his tone shifting sharply. "But... among those resources, there's one crucial one we cannot provide. That is... weapons."
"A 'Revolution' is not a dinner party," Tesoro's expression became extremely solemn. "It's about people dying. If the Revolutionary Army wants to 'liberate' those countries oppressed by corrupt kings and nobles, merely talking about it isn't enough. In the end, they still have to solve problems through force."
"But they themselves don't have enough weapons to equip an army. Strictly speaking, for them, the demand for guns and other weapons comes first. As long as they have those, they can find ways to obtain other resources themselves."
Tesoro's face showed his genuine trouble. "Boss, because of your presence, and with everyone below practicing the Turtle Hermit Style, the Golden Group follows a path of individual valor, so we don't have a large stockpile of weapons."
"Even if we were to immediately use Germa's technology to set up new production lines for large-scale manufacturing, that would still take a very, very long time. Regarding this issue, that man named Monkey D. Dragon and I are both... a bit troubled."
However, after Takero listened to this detailed analysis, which was full of "real-world problems"... he simply said "Oh," and then, in an extremely flat tone, as if remarking "The weather is nice today," he asked in return:
"...Is that all?"
"Huh?" Tesoro was stunned. "Boss... You... What do you mean?"
"What I mean is..." Takero said indifferently, "As for weapons... doesn't that pink-haired birdman named Donquixote Doflamingo have a lot of them?"
Tesoro's eyes widened. Could the problem really be solved that simply? He was completely dumbfounded.
Doflamingo's Premonition
Meanwhile, in another part of the North Blue, on the island of Dressrosa, the Donquixote Family's stronghold.
After Lao G lost the match, which successfully allowed Trafalgar D. Water Law to infiltrate the Golden Group, Doflamingo had completed his plan and returned to his stronghold, quietly observing the unfolding events.
At this very moment, Doflamingo was leisurely lying on a sun lounger by his pool, reading today's newspaper, which made him let out his characteristic strange laugh.
"Fufufufu... Morgans's intelligence is truly sharp. I wonder how Ambury Island is doing?"
The news in the paper was precisely about the joint operation of the Marines and government agents invading Ambury Island, with several personnel, including Aokiji (Kuzan), being captured. Although the news didn't specify the details, seeing that even a Marine Admiral like Aokiji was defeated, the operation must have been a spectacular failure.
Thinking of this, Doflamingo felt as if he had drunk a chilled cocktail on a hot summer day, feeling a refreshing chill to his core. To summarize his feeling in one word: awesome! As long as the world saw the Five Elders (Gorosei) suffer, he was happy.
"Fufufu, that's right, you stinky old men, keep provoking that monster."
He thought that by then, the Gorosei and Takero would ideally fight to a mutual destruction, and he, the fisherman, would reap the benefits.
But just then, a sudden, extremely ominous... chill, without any warning, instantly shot from his tailbone straight to the top of his head! It made him instinctively shiver.
Hmm? What's going on?
This feeling... it's like being targeted by some extremely terrifying, utterly unreasonable existence... What's happening?
The next moment, the Den Den Mushi in Doflamingo's hand began to ring.
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