"I want a few things. With your resources, it should be very easy."
Yami raised one finger and said slowly, "First, I want the most detailed map of the New World and a chart of power distribution."
"...No problem."
Doflamingo was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
In his heart, his estimation of Yami rose higher.
This guy truly wasn't like those narrow-sighted, defiant rookies.
While those newcomers blundered about the New World, he was seeking targets with a clear purpose.
As a former Celestial Dragon, a Warlord of the Sea, and one of the rulers of the underworld, there were indeed few on these seas whose intelligence network could surpass Doflamingo's.
You could tell from how he knew the World Government and Marine Headquarters had laid an ambush for Yami and Nami at the Sabaody Archipelago.
After Doflamingo agreed, Yami raised a second finger. "Second, I want to look at the most detailed Devil Fruit encyclopedia on the market."
"Sure."
This time Doflamingo didn't hesitate at all.
Every major power kept a Devil Fruit encyclopedia.
It wasn't a precious item; the World Government not only didn't suppress it, they even used it to rewrite the Nika Fruit's name—force-reclassifying a Mythical Zoan as a Paramecia.
Lending Yami the encyclopedia was, to Doflamingo, a mere lift of the hand.
Then Yami raised a third finger and continued, "Lastly, I want a Haki handbook, and intelligence on one particular ability user."
"No problem."
Doflamingo nodded again. Haki was a power New World elites had to master, and methods for awakening and training it could be found among all the black-market factions.
Providing a Haki handbook was likewise trivial.
More than the handbook, Doflamingo was curious about Yami's last request. "Which ability user do you want intel on?"
"A Paramecia Teleport-Teleport Fruit user," Yami answered.
"Paramecia Teleport-Teleport Fruit?"
Doflamingo looked surprised; he'd thought Yami sought some civilian master who had eaten a top-tier Fruit yet kept so low-key he was hard to track. Instead—
Doflamingo replied at once, "I know that one. Name's Elliot Borg, one of the three top executives of the Wang Zhi Pirates, and—"
"The Wang Zhi Pirates' sniper. He has instant movement and teleportation. One of the strongest snipers in the New World."
"Is there a wanted poster?" Yami asked at once, expectant.
"There is."
Doflamingo nodded, then gave Diamante a look. "Diamante, go fetch the Devil Fruit encyclopedia and the Wang Zhi Pirates' wanted posters."
"Understood."
Diamante left the parlor immediately.
"Thanks—that helps a lot," Yami said with a smile.
"Fufufufufu… honestly, that's too cheap."
Doflamingo smirked. "Aside from the Haki handbook having some value, the rest—the New World map and power chart, the Devil Fruit encyclopedia, and intel on Elliot Borg—can be bought at any black market."
"Doesn't matter. Let's call it making a friend."
Yami raised a glass of wine toward Doflamingo, teasing, "I wonder if I'm qualified to be friends with a big shot."
"Fufufufufu...."
The corners of Doflamingo's mouth couldn't help but curl up. He lifted his glass and smiled. "To be regarded by the strongest rookie in history—it's my honor."
Clink!
The two glasses touched lightly. Yami and Doflamingo exchanged polite smiles, though both had their own designs.
Doflamingo was thrilled inside—it wasn't often he won someone like Yami's favor so easily.
With profit above all, this was the moment to deepen ties with Yami—easier to cling to a super-thick thigh later.
Little did he know, Yami was deliberately projecting friendliness.
Like profit-first Doflamingo, Yami was also an egoist.
If you could make an egoist willingly cut off a slice, it meant you had value.
In Yami's eyes, Doflamingo was a near-perfect toolman.
Former Celestial Dragon, Warlord of the Sea, king of a member nation, an underworld lord—all in one; Doflamingo's background and experiences were an epic in themselves.
By blood, a descendant of the "Creators."
By talent, awakened Conqueror's Haki at age eight.
By experience, founded the Donquixote Family at ten and clawed his way to where he stood.
With that template, he should by rights have been a super boss.
Yet such a promising seedling was squandered by a few losers.
The Paramecia String-String Fruit locked Doflamingo's potential.
He'd awakened Conqueror's at eight, yet for lack of a true master, he still only wielded the basic applications of the three colors of Haki.
From super-boss template to a mere Emperor-crew executive-level mini-boss.
Precisely why Yami saw Doflamingo as a perfect toolman.
Clever, capable, comfortable in both the underworld and the overworld—but comparatively weak: in the New World, only Doflamingo fit that bill.
As long as he established cooperation, Yami could leverage Doflamingo's intel web to quickly learn all sorts of New World information the original story never revealed.
Such as the Paramecia Teleport-Teleport user just mentioned!
Without Doflamingo, Yami would have had to spend a lot of time asking around to find this crucial… fifth strategic-level Devil Fruit.
That's right—Yami's next target to seize was the Paramecia Teleport-Teleport Fruit.
There were two main reasons Yami had been willing to give the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to Nami.
First, Nami's affinity with it was high, and with the Dark-Dark Fruit's black-hole trait, if Yami ate a second Logia there was an overwhelming chance he still couldn't elementize.
Rather than eat it himself, better to cultivate Nami.
The second reason was the Paramecia Teleport-Teleport Fruit!
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's monstrous mobility is nothing but a fart before the Teleport-Teleport Fruit—not worth mentioning at all.
Of course, other Teleport-Teleport users wouldn't qualify.
But Yami absolutely did.
Because in the original manga, when Van Augur (who ate the Teleport-Teleport Fruit) was transferring a comrade, he said one line: "Bring the ship a little closer."
That line clearly revealed a flaw of the Teleport-Teleport Fruit: you need line of sight to teleport.
But in Yami's eyes, that "flaw" was an unmatched advantage!
Only teleport where the eye can see? Ever heard of the Paramecia Zoom-Zoom Fruit?
Clairvoyance with a 4,000-kilometer radius, plus the ability to warp to anywhere the eye can reach—what does that mean?
In two words: unbeatable!
In three: cross-dimensional!
In four: a dimensionality-reduction strike!
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