"You're going after Doflamingo?!" Sengoku was shocked. He had been wondering why the two members of the JoJo Pirates had suddenly returned, but never in his wildest dreams had he expected Giorno's first words to be something this startling.
Sitting in a chair inside the meeting room, Liam nodded. "Yep, yep. Ideally, I'd like to kill him."
Sengoku glanced at Jolyne Cujoh, who was sitting calmly beside Giorno, quietly sipping her tea. Puzzled, he asked, "Have you had some kind of conflict with the Donquixote Family? They've been entrenched in the North Blue for years, expanding their influence, while you two shouldn't have ever even been there."
Liam looked even more confused. "Do I need a personal grudge before I can go kill him?"
Sengoku was momentarily speechless. Although these two were now, at least nominally, members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and thus allies of the World Government, he still viewed them through the lens of pirates. The Donquixote Family was naturally hostile to the Government, so it made perfect sense for the Marines to target them. But for two pirates with seemingly no connection to the Donquixote Family to suddenly decide they wanted Doflamingo dead, that felt strange.
Of course, Sengoku didn't dwell on it. He simply assumed Giorno wasn't revealing whatever history existed between them and Doflamingo. The details weren't important. The Marines were already preparing to wipe out the Donquixote Family in the near future, so any additional assistance was welcome, especially from powerhouses like the JoJo Pirates. As fellow Warlords, there was no reason for Sengoku to refuse.
"So," he asked, "what exactly do you want?"
"Information. Information." Liam grinned. "Tell me where Doflamingo is. Better yet, send a battleship to take us there. We're actively showing up to work, pretty loyal service from your Warlords, don't you think?"
Looking at Giorno's cheerful face, Sengoku felt countless complaints rising inside him. 'The Warlords are government partners, not Marine employees! What do you mean 'showing up to work'?'
Suppressing the urge to argue, Sengoku said, "Perhaps this is fate at work... You've come at exactly the right time. Five days from now, on an island in the North Blue, we're planning to completely eradicate the Donquixote Family."
Five days later? As soon as Liam heard that, he immediately figured out where they were in the timeline. On the way here, he had already used 'B.I.B.' to review his memories and refresh himself on the original manga storyline.
The situation was roughly as follows: The Marines, acting behind the scenes, had arranged a transaction involving the 'Ope Ope no Mi (Operation-Operation Fruit).' Information regarding this deal was leaked to Doflamingo by 'Vergo', the Marine officer secretly embedded within the Donquixote Family. After learning about it, Doflamingo contacted his younger brother 'Rosinante' and arranged a meeting on 'Seagull Island', which was adjacent to 'Minion Island', where the transaction would occur.
The meeting was scheduled three days before the deal, but its true purpose wasn't to discuss the fruit. Doflamingo wanted to determine whether Rosinante was the traitor within the family who had been leaking information to the Marines. Because Donquixote Rosinante was indeed an undercover agent.
Years ago, the brothers' father voluntarily renounced his status as a Celestial Dragon. Believing ordinary people would welcome them, he moved his family to the North Blue. Reality proved otherwise. The local population, consumed by hatred toward the Celestial Dragons, took their anger out on the Donquixote family. The family fell into extreme poverty, and their mother eventually died from illness and hardship. At one point, the brothers and their father were nearly burned alive by an enraged mob.
Eventually, the young Doflamingo, filled with resentment toward his naïve father, shot him dead. Rosinante, devastated by the tragedy, was later found by a passing Marine officer who adopted and raised him. That Marine was none other than the man currently sitting before Liam and Robin: Marine Admiral Sengoku.
Years later, after becoming a capable Marine himself, Rosinante was assigned by Sengoku to infiltrate the Donquixote Family in the North Blue. Thus began a rather amusing period where Doflamingo would flee from place to place while Vice Admiral Tsuru relentlessly chased after him.
According to the original story, five days from now on Minion Island, Rosinante would obtain the Ope Ope no Mi before anyone else. He would then force the critically ill 'Trafalgar Law' to eat it. After confirming that Rosinante had betrayed the family, Doflamingo would unleash the 'Birdcage' created by his String-String Fruit, trapping the entire town. Determined to kill his brother, he would hunt Rosinante down, leaving Rosinante and Law with nowhere left to run. In the end, Rosinante would sacrifice himself, but through a twist of fate, Law would survive and escape. More than a decade later, roughly thirteen years afterward, Law would join forces with the Straw Hat Pirates in the New World. Together, they would defeat the tyrant Doflamingo on Dressrosa and finally avenge Rosinante.
Naturally, Sengoku had no idea Liam knew all of this, including many details that even Sengoku himself didn't know. Nor did Sengoku intend to reveal everything he knew. As far as he was concerned, if Giorno and Jolyne wanted to fight Doflamingo, then the Marines simply needed to transport them to the battlefield in time.
"You should head to the Red Port first and cross the Red Line," Sengoku said, quickly finalizing the arrangements. "Once you reach the Marine base in the North Blue, a battleship will be prepared to take you to the target area. There's not much time left, so you should depart immediately."
Liam didn't waste time with further conversation. Having gotten what he wanted, he stood up alongside Robin and left. After all, they were still pirates. Even if they were Warlords, they remained pirates. Nobody was about to invite them on a friendly sightseeing tour of Marine Headquarters.
Watching the pair board a battleship bound for the Red Line, Sengoku couldn't help but think, 'If such powerful and hardworking people weren't pirates but Marines instead... how wonderful that would be.' Shaking his head, he returned to his office.
---
### North Blue Route
From the Red Port in Paradise, they rode the bubble elevator to the summit of the Red Line. After crossing the section of the Red Line that overlooked the Calm Belt, they descended on the North Blue side. At the foot of the Red Line stood the Marine base that served as the gateway to the North Blue.
Along the way, the two entered the Den Den Mushi Castle once to return the Flower-Flower Fruit ability to Robin.
"Can the 'flower mask' still be used?" Liam asked.
Robin raised a hand. Layers of delicate flower petals bloomed across her face, forming a mask. In moments, she once again became the Jolyne Cujoh recognized by the world. After testing it briefly, she nodded. "It still works."
Liam sighed in admiration. "Devil Fruits really are incredible."
The two left the Den Den Mushi Castle. The Marines escorting them watched as Jolyne Cujoh and Giorno Giovanna flew out of the floating Den Den Mushi with two 'BIU BIU' sounds. They were both amazed and slightly nervous. Good grief! Super-famous pirates of this caliber were people they'd never normally have a chance to meet at a North Blue branch base.
"The battleship is over there. It's been waiting for you for quite some time..." The Marines led them all the way to the harbor.
A battleship had already been prepared, its deck filled with Marines led by a broad, powerfully built officer. Liam couldn't tell what rank the man held, nor did he care. After stepping aboard, he casually said, "Everyone here? Then let's set sail."
The burly Marine nearly choked. 'Are you the captain or am I?!' The words reached his throat, but unlike how he usually barked at subordinates in his branch base, he forced himself to swallow them. These weren't ordinary Marines, nor were they insignificant pirates. Their former combined bounty exceeded 730 million Beli, former, because Marine Headquarters had already ordered every branch to withdraw the wanted posters for Jolyne Cujoh and Giorno Giovanna.
The reason was simple. These two had become members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Now they were partners of the World Government. Technically still pirates, but pirates granted legal authority to operate. That was what it meant to be a Warlord. Well... officially, the Warlord was Jolyne Cujoh, but everyone knew how this pirate crew actually worked.
Warlords... The muscular branch captain watched the two figures walking away, especially Jolyne. From the moment she stepped aboard until she passed by the Marines, she hadn't spared any of them more than a glance.
Warlords... The captain raised a hand and roared, "Set sail!"
The title echoed through the minds of the Marines on deck, and their expressions became solemn. "YES, SIR!!"
Liam paid them no attention. Once the battleship departed the harbor, he and Robin simply stood on deck enjoying the snowy scenery. After becoming accustomed to the Grand Line's utterly insane weather patterns, even the North Blue's gloomy winter conditions felt strangely peaceful.
As soon as they arrived in the North Blue, the temperature dropped sharply. Because of the Grand Line's magnetic routes, its weather was notoriously chaotic, and some islands even maintained permanent spring, summer, autumn, or winter climates year-round. The Four Blues were far more normal, experiencing ordinary seasonal cycles: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The year was approaching its end, and it was roughly wintertime. The North Blue was covered in snow and ice.
"The Four Blues differ from one another as well," Robin said, holding Liam's hand and breathing warm air onto it. The cold wind had tinted her cheeks red. "East Blue has the longest spring. South Blue has the longest summer. West Blue has the longest autumn. And North Blue has the longest winter."
Many Marines patrolling the deck occasionally glanced toward the pair chatting by the railing. They respected the two because of their Warlord status, but beyond that... looking at such a couple, a tall, handsome, powerful man and a beautiful, elegant, and equally powerful woman, even though they were pirates, many Marines couldn't help feeling a trace of envy deep inside.
At that moment, a News Coo flew through the falling snow and landed on the ship's railing. Like an old professional, it saluted the Marines. A Marine hurried over and purchased a stack of freshly printed newspapers, since the cost would be billed to the government account.
Several Marines immediately crowded together to read them. Moments later, every single one of them looked even more miserable. Their envy, jealousy, and resentment toward Giorno reached unprecedented levels.
"Hm?" Liam turned around. "What's wrong?"
The Marines immediately shook their heads. Nothing at all. Please continue dating.
Robin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "There's a new newspaper?"
Before she could ask for one, several Marines rushed forward and eagerly offered their copies to her. Not far away, the muscular branch captain glared at the shameless Marines trying to curry favor with Jolyne Cujoh.
"Thank you." Robin accepted one of the newspapers and returned to Liam's side, and the two began reading together. Liam hadn't been particularly interested at first, but after a single glance, he let out a surprised laugh. "Oh ho!"
Across the world, countless News Coos flew across the seas. Through the first half of the Grand Line, Paradise. Through the second half, the New World. To the East Blue, to the South Blue, to the West Blue, to the North Blue. Fresh newspapers scattered across islands, kingdoms, and cities everywhere.
Some places were experiencing morning, others were at noon, and others were deep in the night. Some regions were filled with thunder and lightning, others were buried beneath blizzards, and still others basked under blazing sunlight. People walking in the streets, people sitting at home, people aboard merchant ships, pirates on pirate vessels, Marines on battleships, all around the world, at different places and different times, countless people unfolded the same newspaper.
And one after another, shocked expressions appeared on their faces. Many involuntarily sucked in a breath.
'Hiss!'
(End of Chapter)
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