"Captain, is he... not going to hold us accountable anymore?"
Kaku only snapped back to his senses after Taro's figure disappeared into the curtain of rain.
Lucci's gaze flickered, his expression cold.
"Didn't he say we weren't qualified? He's going to hold those at the top responsible!"
"Ah, this..."
Kaku's pupils constricted violently. "Does he really dare...?"
Lucci shook his head slightly, his fists clenching until they cracked.
"Whether he dares or not is none of our business. Right now, I only care about how to explain the matter of arresting Wan Luo..."
"And that bitch Stussy!"
Kaku also fell silent, his face turning pale. After a long pause, he suggested:
"The World Government didn't know Moria would be with the Wanluos Group either. Perhaps we could..."
Lucci suddenly looked up at Kaku, his bloodthirsty gaze so terrifying that Kaku felt a wave of guilt.
"Kaku, I understand what you mean!"
Lucci's expression softened. "Let's go, back to the Holy Land."
...Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
The rose on his chest seemed to be steaming with heat as Akainu roared loudly with a cigar in his mouth.
"Conspiring to murder a Marine Vice Admiral while simultaneously plotting against a Warlord of the Sea and two great pirates!"
"By doing this, where do you put the face of me, the Fleet Admiral?"
His spit was almost spraying onto the faces of the Gorosei.
The Old Man with a Crutch glanced at Akainu indifferently.
"Sakazuki, watch your attitude. What is the face of a Fleet Admiral? The face of the World Government is what matters!"
Hearing this, Akainu snorted angrily. "Hmph, then the face of the World Government is truly a sight to behold!"
The eyes of the Gorosei turned cold simultaneously as they looked toward Akainu.
Akainu didn't flinch at all, tilting his head slightly as he stared back.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense!
After a long, cold standoff, the Sword-wielding Bald Man adjusted his glasses.
"Sakazuki, the mastermind of this incident, Spandam, was eager for success. Having just joined CP0, he wanted to create a major incident to gain the World Government's trust. Now, we will hand him over to the Marines for you to deal with as you wish..."
"Let's consider this matter settled!"
Akainu's face immediately darkened. "Does that piece of trash have the ability and the guts...?"
Before Akainu could finish, the man with short blond hair interrupted with a sharp shout.
"Sakazuki, think carefully before you speak. You must understand the consequences!"
"Hmph!" Akainu snorted angrily. "Those bastards from CP0 better stay far away from his jurisdiction from now on! Or else..."
The old man with a mustache and a birthmark on his head said in a deep voice, "Do you know what you are saying?"
Akainu didn't speak; he just clenched his fists and stared at them with his neck stiffened.
The air froze once again!
Finally, the old man with a long beard and straight white hair, who hadn't spoken, waved his hand.
Akainu's clenched fists relaxed. With a sweep of his Marine cloak, he turned and left.
After Akainu left, that old man finally spoke.
"In the future, just have the ordinary intelligence agents from CP1-8 keep an eye on those places!"
As he spoke, he sighed.
"I never expected that Doflamingo and Taro would end up in a draw!"
The Sword-wielding Bald Man raised a finger and tapped his forehead in distress.
"How do we explain this to the Celestial Dragons? And then there's Doflamingo..."
The blond man put his hands in his pockets and said disdainfully, "Doflamingo deserves an explanation? He's the one with the least confidence right now!"
"The secret of the Celestial Dragons' 'Secret Treasure' that he knows..." The old man with the birthmark on his head frowned.
The Old Man with a Crutch gave a contemptuous sneer.
"Once that secret is revealed, it will also be the end of his life. He knows that better than anyone! Right now, he doesn't have the resolve to die!"
Then he frowned again.
"What I care about is whether this draw was intentional. One of them might have sensed our plot and deliberately guided the outcome to this!"
After the old man finished speaking, the Gorosei all fell silent, lowering their heads in thought... Sicily Island, outer sea.
On the flamingo-shaped pirate ship, the executives of the Donquixote Family waited outside the cabin, their faces grim and the atmosphere heavy.
Every one of them was injured and covered in bandages. Looking at the closed cabin door, their eyes were filled with guilt.
Inside the cabin, Doflamingo's mouth was wide open, his face contorted, his fingers twitching in silent rage.
On a small table nearby sat over a dozen den den mushi.
After a long time, Doflamingo finally regained his composure.
He picked up a den den mushi and spoke softly, his tone deep and gentle.
"It's me."
From the other end of the den den mushi, a slightly surprised female voice came through.
"Young Lord!"
"Monet, go to... Taro."
When Doflamingo said these words, his cheeks contorted wildly, and sweat broke out on his forehead as if he had used up all his strength.
"Yes, Young Lord," Monet responded without hesitation. "What is my mission?"
Doflamingo's expression became even more pained, and his breathing grew heavier. After a long pause, he finally said,
"Thank you for your hard work up until now!"
"Young Lord?" Doflamingo's low voice finally caused Monet some confusion.
A bead of sweat on Doflamingo's forehead slowly slid behind his sunglasses.
After a while,
an even larger bead of sweat slid out from the bottom edge of the sunglasses.
"Monet, go..."
"Your... bond with the... Donquixote Family... ends... here."
The den den mushi in Doflamingo's hand instantly widened its eyes, its lips trembling, but it couldn't make any sound.
"Click!"
Doflamingo hung up the den den mushi directly, seeming to lose all his strength as he collapsed into the sofa.
His breathing was rapid as he gasped for air, sweat pouring off him like rain, and his knuckles cracking.
After another long while, with a "creak," the door opened. Doflamingo walked onto the deck and looked at his six exceptionally silent Family members.
"Fuffuffuffuffu, don't be so downcast. This great failure was my fault."
Doflamingo laughed wildly, his expression crazed and hideous.
"Yeah, the taste of failure really isn't pleasant, fuffuffuffuffu!"
"Young Lord..."
"Young Lord..."
Doflamingo waved his hand to stop them and looked at Vergo.
"You've worked hard all these years too. Come back!"
Vergo seemed a bit surprised. He wasn't surprised about leaving the Marines, but rather that he could leave so safely.
Clearly, the Young Lord and Taro had made concessions to ensure his safety.
Seeing Vergo's look of guilt and pain, Doflamingo patted his shoulder and smiled.
"Fuffuffuffuffu, partner, I've spent the most time with you. There's no need for this!"
Then, his face contorted again, his speech slow and his voice suppressed with anger.
"Next, investigate with all your might a powerhouse known as the 'Senior Year Homeroom Teacher,' as well as something called the 'Huanggang Secret Scrolls'!"
Facing the astonished looks of the Family executives, Doflamingo offered no further explanation, thinking to himself:
Taro, once I find these, I will return the humiliation you gave me a hundredfold!
"Let's go back. I hope there's good news from Diamante's side!"
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.