Annihilate the North Blue Fleet?
For a moment, Doflamingo just stared.
The Gorosei sat there—five faces, five shapes, all wearing the same dead-eyed coldness—and his mind went oddly blank, like someone had knocked the air out of him.
Have these five fossils finally lost it? Or did they swallow the wrong medicine?
Me?
Annihilate the North Blue Fleet?
Rogers Darren's arrogant smile flashed across his mind… followed by Momonga's stoic, glacial stare. Then the memory behind them, the one that never faded no matter how hard he tried to laugh it off:
Flying battleships splitting the clouds like blades.
Silver-black gun barrels lining up, heat condensing so thick it felt like the air itself was choking—
and then the golden rain.
Lasers. Cannon fire. A storm of annihilation that didn't negotiate, didn't hesitate, didn't miss. The North Blue Fleet's fury falling from above like judgment.
A ridiculous urge bubbled up in his throat.
"Heh heh heh," Doflamingo chuckled, the sound twisting into a sneer. "Are you sure this is my mission?"
Saint Nusjuro didn't even look up; he kept polishing that dark purple blade as if it were the only thing in the world worth tenderness.
"What's the issue?" he asked mildly. "The Knights of God exist to uphold the authority of the Celestial Dragons. We judge. We punish. And we remove threats before they become disasters."
Doflamingo's grin sharpened. "I thought that was the Marines' job."
Saint Warcury raised his teacup and took a slow sip, serene as a monk.
"The Marines are riddled with rot," he said, voice almost gentle. "Garp ignores orders. Zephyr defected. The younger generation—Rogers Darren among them—keeps questionable ties with pirates. Sengoku still clings to his principles, but his reach is shrinking by the day."
Doflamingo caught the meaning in the softness. He let out a low laugh.
"So that's what this is," he said. "You don't trust them anymore."
Saint Saturn's tone was colder than the stone beneath their feet.
"You could call it that. Trust shatters in an instant. Rebuilding it takes eons."
His gaze pinned Doflamingo without warmth.
"Your appointment as Vice Commander of the Knights of God comes with conditions."
Holding the core of the Government's power means carrying the weight that comes with it.
"And don't forget," Saturn added, "you are a Celestial Dragon."
Is that so?
Back then, you five old corpses didn't sing that tune.
Doflamingo's laughter turned darker, softer.
"Heh heh heh… Fine. No problem." His head tilted a fraction. "But if you think I can annihilate the North Blue Fleet on my own, you're severely underestimating them."
Saint Saturn replied as if he were stating the weather.
"Your abilities give you a natural advantage in aerial combat. The North Blue Fleet is dangerous, but their maneuverability has exploitable weaknesses."
His eyes shifted to a shadowed corner of the chamber.
"Stussy."
From that darkness, a lithe figure stepped forward, heels clicking lightly. Black batlike wings folded behind her back, her blonde hair and crimson lips catching the lamplight with a strange, predatory elegance.
"Excellencies," Stussy said, her gaze flicking briefly to Doflamingo before settling politely downward.
"Handover complete?" Saint Saturn asked.
"Yes, Excellency." Stussy's smile was composed. "Admiral Sengoku has expressed respect for your directives. The Marines will comply strictly with the Government's decision."
Saturn let out a quiet scoff.
"Sengoku must be tearing his hair out over military funding. We've been too lenient these past years. Their egos swelled, and they produced pests like Rogers Darren… and Dragon."
His voice turned faintly contemptuous.
"In the past, when faced with similar circumstances, Zephyr, Sengoku, and Garp didn't dare voice even the slightest dissent. Let alone rebellion."
Stussy's eyes flickered for the briefest moment before she lowered her head again.
"Then, Excellencies… regarding the Marines' recent request for funding assistance—what are your intentions?"
Saint Warcury sipped his tea, smiling serenely.
"We'll continue to withhold it."
He set the cup down with unhurried confidence.
"The Marines need a lesson. They must understand that without our trust—without the Government behind them—their so-called 'Justice' is nothing."
He waved a hand, as if dismissing a bothersome insect.
"Let Sengoku wait. We have no urgent assignments for the Marines anyway. Delaying their funds a while longer won't cause any trouble."
His smile didn't change.
"The Marines are a facade. If a dog we raised grows disobedient, we starve it until it remembers who its master is."
Stussy and Doflamingo both fell silent.
For reasons neither could quite name, the same image surfaced in both minds: Sengoku's flagship—Marines in brand-new gear, cannon barrels gleaming, morale high.
So, esteemed Gorosei… it seems the Marines aren't as desperate as you imagine.
If this is the lesson, it's a remarkably comfortable one.
"As expected of the Government's highest leaders," Stussy said smoothly, head bowed. "Your foresight is unmatched."
Saint Saturn chuckled, satisfied.
"Now then," he said, "back to the North Blue Fleet."
He pulled a file from the drawer of a nearby tea table and placed it down.
Stussy's gaze sharpened. She stepped forward, picked it up, and flipped through quickly. Something shifted behind her eyes.
"Excellency Doflamingo," she said, holding it out. "Please take a look."
Doflamingo accepted it and turned the pages. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes narrowed.
"Heh heh heh… So that's what this is."
His smile spread, slow and vicious.
"You old fogies really are afraid of this North Blue Fleet."
"And you've been gathering intelligence quietly all this time, too…"
The file was thick—dense with analysis, diagrams, and cold numbers.
A comprehensive breakdown of the North Blue Fleet's combat capability.
Report on the North Blue Fleet's Maneuverability?!
Study of the North Blue Fleet's Military Structure and Command Hierarchy?!
Research on the Endurance and Energy Systems of the Fleet's Flying Battleships?!
Page after page—every angle, every weakness, every detail the World Government had scraped together and dissected in silence.
To be continued...