Chapter 239: A Chaotic Situation
On a bright and sunny day, the waters around Dressrosa, which should have been calm, were rippling with unease.
All because ships bearing the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates had entered this sea area.
"That ship belongs to Marco! What on earth is he doing here?"
A Marine officer shouted loudly, his voice nearly drowned out by the noise of the ship's rapid movement.
The Marines beside him were equally shocked.
The Whitebeard Pirates, who had previously stopped making any major moves, were active again.
They had followed them all the way from Whitebeard's territory to this place.
And their first destination was an organization directly connected to the World Government.
Were they aiming at one of the Seven Warlords?
Were they planning to start a war?
Just thinking about it made their hearts tighten.
If something went wrong, this sea area, which had only recently regained a fragile peace, would once again fall into turmoil.
"Contact the local Marine base immediately and have them send personnel to stand by for support."
The officer gave the order without hesitation.
"Also, notify Marineford at once! We cannot let the situation deteriorate any further."
"Yes, sir!"
The Marine officer did not take any forceful action.
He did not dare.
Nor did he have the authority.
The name Whitebeard represented an era.
The changing of eras was certainly not something he could decide.
Attacking rashly would be foolish.
At this moment, the Marines could not afford the losses that would come from a battle with Whitebeard.
"These Marines are so boring. I wanted to use them for a little practice."
"Yeah, yeah. The Marines are such cowards. They don't even dare attack us, so Captain Marco has no reason to attack them either."
"Can't be helped. Who told Pops' reputation to be so great?"
The pirates on Marco's ship casually commented on the Marines following them from a distance.
They showed none of the fear ordinary pirates would have toward the Marines.
Instead, they looked more like tourists in a zoo, casually judging the tamed animals inside because those animals no longer posed any threat.
Marco sat casually on the deck, unlike the others, paying no attention to the nearby Marines.
To him, the only reason he did not attack those Marines was because he did not want to cause unnecessary trouble for Pops.
Otherwise, with his style, he would have long since destroyed any Marine ship that dared follow them.
"Jozu."
Marco looked toward the man beside him.
"Although Pops said to handle Doflamingo's matter first, I understand what he really wants."
His voice was calm, but his eyes were sharp.
"I'm going to drag out the person who planned this and present them to Pops."
Jozu did not agree immediately.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "I can accompany you to find the mastermind, but we need to resolve the matter with the Seven Warlord first."
"If we don't handle it properly, people might think Pops is afraid of the World Government."
His tone was firm.
"We can't let Pops' prestige be diminished."
Marco agreed with Jozu's words.
What needed to be handled now was Doflamingo.
At the very least, they needed a response.
A response where one of the Seven Warlords lowered his head to Whitebeard.
...
At the same time, inside the palace of Dressrosa.
Doflamingo's eyes were hidden behind his orange sunglasses, making it impossible to see what he was thinking.
However, the twitching veins on his forehead and the glass beside him that had been sliced apart by threads made one thing clear.
His mood was terrible.
At this moment, Doflamingo was facing an unprecedented situation.
An unprecedented behemoth was standing before him.
He had actually received a notice from the Whitebeard Pirates.
And the reason was some baseless letter of mockery.
He did not remember being stupid enough to provoke Whitebeard before his own strength was sufficient.
Thinking of everything that had happened recently, along with that kid's methods, Doflamingo was certain this was the work of that brat named Axel.
But now, it no longer mattered who had done it.
What mattered was the choice before him.
Either lower his head to Whitebeard.
Or go to war with him.
If he chose to fight, that would undoubtedly be self destruction.
But if he chose to compromise, the result would not be much better.
The Seven Warlords were originally tools used by the World Government to maintain balance.
If Doflamingo could not produce the intended effect and instead compromised with one of the Four Emperors, he would not only be slapping his own face.
He would also invite ridicule from the entire sea.
More importantly, it would expose the flaws of the Seven Warlords system and create ripples throughout the world.
It might even push more people to join the Four Emperors.
Therefore, from the moment he chose to compromise, he would practically be standing in opposition to the World Government.
That result was no better than facing Whitebeard.
This was not a simple matter of one plus one.
It was a chain reaction.
For Doflamingo, one wrong decision could cause everything he had painstakingly built to disappear.
"Fufufufu..."
Doflamingo began to laugh.
He was so angry that he could no longer feel anger.
All he could do was laugh.
This was the first time since escaping Tsuru's pursuit that he had been forced into such a predicament.
It really made him excited.
"Trebol, I need to go out to sea personally for this matter."
Doflamingo's voice was low.
"After I leave, you and Pica will be responsible for guarding this place."
"Although I don't know what that kid's goal is, connecting everything together, aside from Sugar, it should be those dwarves."
"In other words, that kid's target must be one of those two."
Trebol nodded.
"Yes!"
The other Top Officer, Pica, the user of the Stone Stone Fruit, was submerged within the castle itself.
He replied as well.
"Yes!"
However, his voice was sharp and childish, forming a ridiculous contrast with his massive, muscular body.
Trebol accidentally let out a laugh.
That immediately drew a resentful gaze from Pica.
"Trebol, you snot nosed bastard, how dare you mock me!"
"Pica, don't blame me."
Trebol spread his hands, still unable to fully restrain his amusement.
"It's just that your voice is too funny. I couldn't help laughing."
Hearing Trebol say that, Pica's anger flared even more.
Suddenly, the entire castle began to shake, showing signs of shifting.
This was Pica's ability.
He could merge his body with stone and control entire buildings, even the ground itself.
Before Pica could truly attack, Doflamingo stopped him.
"Enough."
His voice cut through the room.
"Don't fall into internal strife before the enemy even attacks."
Hearing Doflamingo's voice, Pica immediately stopped moving.
The castle, which had begun to shift, slowly returned to its original state.
Pica then emerged from the floor of the castle.
He was a burly, hulking man.
It was no wonder Trebol had laughed after hearing that voice come from him.
After all, no one would expect such a childish voice to come from a man with that kind of body.
"That kid is not simple."
Doflamingo's expression was dark.
"Last time, I almost died at his hands."
"And Diamante's fate is an even greater warning."
"At a time like this, we cannot afford internal strife."
Serious expressions appeared on both Pica and Trebol's faces.
Diamante's strength was not necessarily above theirs.
Yet Diamante had been killed instantly by the opponent.
Did that mean the opponent could also kill them?
More importantly, even their seemingly omnipotent Young Master had nearly fallen for the kid's schemes.
That alone was enough for them to take him seriously.
Doflamingo continued giving instructions.
"If that kid's target is Sugar, then Trebol will be responsible for protecting her. Pica, you assist from the side."
"But if that kid's target is those dwarves..."
His voice became colder.
"Then Pica, you will be responsible for eliminating them."
"I would rather destroy them than let that kid rescue them."
In Doflamingo's view, since that kid could instantly kill Diamante, he was likely stronger than both Pica and Trebol.
If Axel wanted to rescue someone, the two of them might not be able to stop him.
In that case, rather than allowing the dwarves to be saved, it would be better to destroy them.
Consider it payment for the trouble that brat had caused earlier.
Pica did not hesitate at Doflamingo's cruel command.
He silently nodded.
"Yes, Young Master."
.....
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