Doflamingo paused, his voice dropping as if he was still shaken:
"But... but Whitebeard Edward Newgate... he personally arrived and threatened to destroy all of Punk Hazard, forcing me to stop the experiment!
If I hadn't agreed then, you probably wouldn't be able to contact me now... his power in that state... I was utterly powerless to resist!"
This explanation was like adding fuel to the fire!
"MAMA—!!! Whitebeard!!!"
Big Mom's roar from the other end of the Den Den Mushi became even more furious. Her terrifying Conqueror's Haki subtly permeated through the Den Den Mushi, making the air around Doflamingo's side freeze!
"You old, undead Whitebeard! You've already got one foot in the grave, yet you dare to ruin my good deeds!!"
Big Mom's voice was distorted by rage, "The Giant Race's dream... you dare to obstruct it... I'll remember this debt!!"
The roar echoed like thunder across Whole Cake Island, and a sharp thorn was planted between two Emperors of the New World because of this incident.
Doflamingo listened to the furious roar from the other side and breathed a slight sigh of relief. At least, most of the anger had been temporarily directed towards Whitebeard.
Listening to Big Mom's storm-like roar from the Den Den Mushi, a barely perceptible, triumphant curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He "cleverly" concealed the most crucial information: Whitebeard had not only recovered but had also drastically increased in strength, gaining dual Devil Fruit abilities and fusing them with poison gas.
"Big Mom-sama, you must understand... I was truly forced into it... Whitebeard, he..."
Before he could finish, a crisp "Bacha" sound came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi—the enraged Big Mom had completely lost her patience and roughly hung up, leaving only a busy signal.
Listening to the monotonous busy signal, Doflamingo showed no annoyance. Instead, he slowly placed the receiver back on the Den Den Mushi, and the aggrieved, helpless expression on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a cold, in-control smile.
"Fufufufu..." He chuckled softly, leaning back slightly in pleasure, "The goal... has been achieved."
He didn't need to finish his sentence.
For someone with Big Mom's personality, the mere reason of "Whitebeard forcibly coerced" was enough to ignite all her fury and firmly fix her hatred on Whitebeard.
"Two Emperors... clashing over this incident..."
Doflamingo's fingers gently tapped the table, and cunning, greedy light flickered in his eyes behind his sunglasses.
"Once a conflict erupts, whether it's Kaido's side, or Big Mom's side, or even those forces looking to seize the opportunity to take sides... the demand for weaponry will sharply increase!"
He seemed to already see countless Berries pouring into his pockets like a tide.
"Fufufu... my weapons business, it seems I'll make another huge fortune!" He couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Not only that, the name and influence of 'Joker' will also rise with this potential Emperor-level conflict!"
His gaze became deep and ambitious as he looked out at the sky over Dressrosa.
"Fame, wealth, influence... all of this brings me one step closer to my ultimate goal!"
…On the other side,
A spatial gate silently opened in a vast sea area, and Pluton's monstrous and colossal hull ghost-like quietly sailed out, landing with a thump on the water's surface.
At the same time, in front, the colossal "Gate of Justice," symbolizing the World Government's absolute authority, stood majestically, like an insurmountable chasm.
"Tsk, we actually came here, to the Gate of Justice." Ron stood at the bow, his gaze calmly sweeping over the massive gate.
Zoro, standing nearby, saw it and sneered with a hint of disdain, "I heard that no one who passes through this gate, regardless of whether they're righteous, has ever come back alive. It's really an eyesore."
Sanji exhaled a smoke ring, recalling the rumors he had heard earlier in Water 7, and also snorted, "How's Pluton's main cannon charging? Let's just blast it with one shot and save ourselves the trouble."
Franky was also full of anger, with no good feelings for this place: "Blast this guy! Super!"
Just as Pluton's destructive muzzle began to gather energy, emitting a low hum, Nami suddenly jumped out, hands on her hips, and loudly stopped them:
"Wait! Ron! Don't be so quick to fire!"
She quickly pulled out a shimmering treasure map that appeared out of thin air, her face beaming with the unique excitement of discovering treasure:
"My system just generated a treasure map for this area! The treasure spot is nearby! Let me dig it up first, then blast it, it's not too late! Who knows, there might be something good!"
Ron had almost forgotten about this, then didn't object, "Where is it?"
Nami immediately bent down to carefully study the treasure map, her finger rapidly tracing across it, finally locking onto a precise location.
"Found it! It's under that abandoned watchtower reef over there! I'll be quick!"
No sooner had she spoken,
Brilliant lightning instantly erupted around her!
With a soft "Crack!", she had already transformed into a rapid blue lightning bolt, vanishing from the deck and shooting towards the location indicated by the treasure map at a speed impossible for the naked eye to catch.
The entire process was astonishingly fast, as if only the blink of an eye had passed.
"Whoosh—!"
Then, a startling blue light appeared from the distant watchtower reef.
Immediately after, another flash of lightning, and Nami had reappeared on the deck, holding a peculiar, ancient-looking special box covered in a bit of dirt.
With a mysterious and triumphant smile on her face, she patted the dirt off the box:
"Done! Treasure hunt complete! Quickly guess, what good thing did I dig up this time?"
Luffy was the first to stretch his neck and lean over: "Meat?!"
Zoro, holding his sword: "Is it a famous sword?"
Sanji, with hearts in his eyes: "Is it news of the Clear-Clear Fruit?"
Usopp: "...I'm the powerful attack weapon!"
Chopper: "Eh? Is it new medical equipment?"
Franky laughed, declaring: "Whatever it is, Super me can remodel it with one hammer!"
Nami shook her head triumphantly, denying each guess: "No~ No~ All wrong!"
She carefully opened the box, and inside lay a strangely shaped golden Den Den Mushi with complex golden patterns on its shell, completely different from ordinary Den Den Mushi.
"Deng deng deng deng—Look!" Nami carefully held up the seemingly still-sleeping Den Den Mushi, announcing the answer, "It's a 'World Broadcast Den Den Mushi'! And it's a super rare one-time use item!"