"Doflamingo, huh? Tsk tsk… never thought he'd turn out to be such a coward—cutting his losses so quickly just to save his own skin."
From a distance, Lin Xuan watched Disco collapse to the ground, eyes blank and lifeless. A faintly amused smile tugged at Lin Xuan's lips. "Too bad for him. Even if he wants to stay out of this, he's not getting away that easily."
In truth, Disco had thought his phone call was completely secret. But both Lin Xuan and Uchiha Madara had noticed everything—and heard every word of his conversation with Doflamingo.
Madara's perception was sharp simply because of his overwhelming power, while Lin Xuan, after multiple rounds of body strengthening, now possessed senses far beyond any normal human. Nothing escaped their notice.
And just like that, Doflamingo had successfully attracted Lin Xuan's interest.
In Lin Xuan's eyes, every strong fighter in this world was nothing less than a walking bag of Prestige Points waiting to be claimed.
He had just been wondering where to go after wrapping up the Sabaody Archipelago affair to keep "farming" fame—and then he overheard that call. Naturally, his next target became clear: Donquixote Doflamingo himself.
Call it fate… or simply Doflamingo's misfortune.
Through the newspaper he'd picked up earlier, Lin Xuan had also confirmed the world's current timeline.
It wasn't as late as he had initially assumed. There was a report about Alabasta offering huge sums to recruit specialists to solve their drought problem—proof that the Straw Hat Pirates had not yet entered Alabasta, nor defeated Crocodile.
He couldn't pinpoint the exact point in time, but it was enough to form a preliminary plan of action.
Just then, a booming voice echoed from a distance—
"To those inside—listen carefully! You're completely surrounded! Hand over Saint Rosward and his family, throw down your weapons, and surrender immediately! Otherwise, you'll die without burial!"
Hearing this, Lin Xuan and Madara looked around. Sure enough, lines of Marines had already sealed off the street, their guns and cannons trained on them with grim determination.
Madara glanced sideways at Lin Xuan. "We're surrounded. What's your plan?"
Lin Xuan gave a calm, almost bored smile. "A bunch of small fry—not worth worrying about. I just wonder what's keeping the Admiral from showing up. I'm getting a little impatient."
Truth be told, Madara was just as impatient. He'd been itching to see this world's so-called Devil Fruit powers, and waiting this long was wasting his time.
Within the Marine encirclement, a bearded officer stood glaring in their direction.
He could see Lin Xuan and Madara standing there, perfectly composed, each holding a rope. On the other end of the ropes—three Celestial Dragons, collars on their necks, dragged along like dogs.
The sight alone made his scalp tingle and his blood boil.
This had happened under his watch. Even if the situation was somehow resolved in the end, he would still be held accountable—and if things went south, losing his position might be the least of his worries.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He wanted nothing more than to charge forward and take Lin Xuan and Madara's heads off right then and there.
But reason held him back. He knew full well that he didn't stand a chance against them. All he could do was grit his teeth and suppress his fury.
"Have you identified who those two are?" he asked in a low, cold tone.
The Marine beside him shook his head rapidly. "No, sir. We can't find any records on them—not even an entry log for Sabaody Archipelago."
The bearded officer—Commander Blackbeard—snarled, "What, did they just materialize out of thin air?"
The subordinate hesitated before replying, "There's only one explanation, sir. They were likely captured and sold directly into the human auction house as slaves—that's why there's no entry record. According to our intel, that man called Uchiha Madara was even one of the auction items earlier today. So the theory fits."
Commander Blackbeard fell silent, speechless.
So… in the end, this whole disaster had started because of the Celestial Dragon themselves?
If that was true, then why in the world did they—the Marines—have to take the blame for it?!
The thought made his stomach churn in frustration.
He took a deep breath to steady himself and turned to a communications officer. "Any word from Marine Headquarters?"
The signaler straightened immediately. "Yes, sir! Headquarters reports that Admiral Admiral Kizaru has been dispatched personally to handle the situation!"
"Admiral Admiral Kizaru?"
Blackbeard's eyes lit up with relief. "Then he should be here soon. If that man's taking command, this'll be over quickly."
But just as he finished speaking, his expression suddenly froze—then changed drastically.
Because in that instant, Uchiha Madara had started walking straight toward them.
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