After escaping from Punk Hazard, since Chopper successfully treated Law, the rescue was timely and everyone, though injured, recovered and rested for a few days without any problems.
"Are you sure there won't be any problems?"
Covered in frostbite ointment and bandaged up, Usopp handed a plank to Franky and asked, "Will repairing it like this cause any damage?"
"Trust in Franky's skills!"
Franky confidently replied, "As long as the keel isn't broken, the ship will be completely restored! Usopp, hand me that piece of steel."
"It's good to know everything's fine." Usopp nodded and went to get new materials.
Back then, the Merry was damaged beyond repair, and now the Sunny carries the will of the Merry. Usopp hopes it doesn't encounter any issues.
Meanwhile, on the island, Law hung up the phone and glanced at Caesar, who was tied to a tree, "That's enough, as long as he is removed from the Seven Warlords, we've achieved the first step of the plan."
"Next, we just need to use Caesar as bait and seize the opportunity to destroy Dressrosa's 'smile' factory. Without the status of a Warlord or the deal with Kaido, Doflamingo will certainly meet his end!"
This was his original plan; infiltrating Punk Hazard was to understand Caesar's moves and the production site for Artificial Devil Fruit materials, 'SAD.'
"If we do that, we'll be directly facing the Four Emperors, won't we?"
Nami hugged herself tightly and exclaimed, "Please, don't do this. The subordinates of the Four Emperors are terrifying enough, how formidable must the Four Emperors be?!"
This time, they faced the might of a Four Emperor directly. While they knew of their terror before, they never had such an explicit experience, and it was with Sage, someone relatively familiar.
Yet in this battle, Nami felt firsthand what a Four Emperor truly represents.
Renedia, whom they knew for two years, was enough to give them a hard time!
If not for Law, they might've really been done for.
Upon hearing this, Law looked towards Luffy, who was uninhibitedly helping Franky repair the ship, smiling widely and seemingly unaffected by the recent battle, and said:
"Your captain aims to challenge all Pirate Emperors, this is only the first one. I only need to challenge one Four Emperor, once Kaido is defeated, our alliance ends, though the chances are infinitely slim..."
He truly understands the terror of the Four Emperors.
"Sage..."
Robin, sitting nearby, murmured, frowning, "Trafalgar, this plan might not be so simple, Sage and Doflamingo's involvement probably isn't just about surface-level drug mediations."
"Robin?" Nami looked over.
"Well, during the two years I worked with the Revolutionary Army, not long ago on their behest, I visited O'Hara..."
Upon mentioning the name, she paused, then continued, "Sage's business is vast, trading with everyone—pirates, black merchants, Revolutionary Army... and likely the World Government."
"As you mentioned, Doflamingo is the Underworld leader, he certainly trades with Sage, deeply so. If the plan succeeds, we might face not only Kaido's wrath, but Sage's pressure too."
"Eh? Aren't we already adversaries?" Nami asked, perplexed.
"It's not the same."
Robin shook her head, "Though I don't know him well, matters at Punk Hazard and Fishman Island might not weigh heavily on him. Otherwise, he wouldn't send Renedia to deal with us; he'd send someone more formidable."
"Once this matter is past, if we meet again, Sage won't target us. The 'lesson' of the Four Emperors follows a set of rules."
Nami: "..."
These words... they nearly met their end there, the ship was wrecked, and this isn't considered weighing heavily?
What does weigh heavily then?
"But destroying the trade changes things; maybe he won't care, or maybe..."
Robin gravely said, "We might be hunted."
"There's no turning back."
Law crossed his arms, hiding the lower half of his face, "Once the plan is set in motion, there's no retreat, or have you lost your nerve?"
"Of course not!"
A spirited voice came from behind.
Luffy appeared, holding down his straw hat, revealing a bright smile with his white teeth:
"I'm the man who will become the Pirate King! On this path, as long as there are no regrets, death... means nothing!"
"Hmph! Without this courage, we'd need a new captain." Zoro emerged behind him, grinning.
Further away, Sanji silently lit a cigarette, exhaling smoke.
Usopp folded his arms, Chopper enthusiastically raised his hoof, Brook let out his unique laughter, and Franky struck a pose, while Robin smiled tenderly.
"You all..."
Nami rubbed her forehead, looking at the somewhat stunned Law, and said, "That's right, this is who we are!"
…
Storm City, Royal Palace.
"You must realize what this represents."
In an office that seemed for official business but was actually Sage's resting area, he bit a cigar, holding a microphone, addressing the radio snail with sunglasses flashing a grin:
"I don't value your Warlord position, but it does impact trade, right? Delay for a day, how much do I stand to lose? Or do you intend to do Crocodile's work? If Caesar is lost, so be it, he isn't more important than my trade."
"Fufufufufu, Sage, I'm not your subordinate. This matter concerns myself, I will make specific judgments, and regarding a few days' delay in trade, let's count by half a month's worth, the goods of this half month, consider them bought by me, how about it?" The snail voiced.
Upon hearing this, Sage exhaled smoke, "Kalifa, calculate."
The secretary-dressed Kalifa adjusted her glasses, after a moment of silence, she said:
"For half a month, our channel through Doflamingo includes weapons, warships, food, and a batch of Rainbow Gems; factoring in costs, the total value is five billion Belly."
"You heard it, five billion."
Sage said, "But this isn't just about money; I need resources. The cash flow is five billion Belly, but the economic value and production value generated by incoming resources are far greater. Without resources, my operations drop, their earnings decrease, and my economic flow worsens."
"I can give you face, but you need to compensate for this loss. Let's account a hundred billion, in half a month, I want to see a hundred billion worth of resources, any issues?"
"Fufufufufu, so ruthless, Sage... I thought we were good enough friends not to need compensation."
"Are you aiming too high?"
Sage rolled his eyes, "Even if the Cosmic Pirates descend tomorrow, here, rules are rules!"
"Fine, I agree." Doflamingo said, "In half a month, I will fulfill this promise. Let's leave it at that."
As he spoke, the snail's visage suddenly switched to a small tiger tooth.
"Sage Sage, Straw Hat and Law seem to be targeting Dofla, should Weevil and I stay behind?"
"No need, there should be trainees aboard, bring them back. You should return too, no need for kids to run around, it's unsafe!"
Before Renedia could defend, Sage hung up the call, then pointed at the snail, displeased:
"Look, Kalifa, this is the shared double-sidedness of the channel; the convenience is I don't worry, the downside is he acts at will, stopping if he pleases."
"Should we get rid of Dofla?" Kalifa asked.
"Do I seem like the kind of low-life with no principles?"
Sage said, "I'm a Four Emperor! Cooperation is cooperation, if willing to compensate, everything is negotiable."
Saying this, he leaned back, removing the cigar from his mouth, snuffing it into an ashtray, and grabbed a nearby gemstone wine glass.
"Dressrosa, huh..."
He chuckled coldly, "Call Lily over."
"Yes."
Kalifa adjusted her glasses and swayed her hips out.
Sage swirled the wine, "Destined fate? I want to see if it's true. Moreover, this kind of guy...
He finished the drink and looked out the window at the pouring rain, sneering, "Isn't worthy yet."