At the world's greatest entertainment city, Gran Tesoro, inside a top-tier suite accessible only to members of the Donquixote Alliance, Doflamingo sat on a sofa. With his legs crossed, he glanced at the day's newspaper. "The Government is trying to... play the fisherman and reap the rewards."
Tesoro had just hurriedly finished his concert for the day after receiving the news.
Three powerful men were gathered: Warlords Doflamingo and Treasure, along with the Gild Tesoro.
Today's headlines were all about Water 7, summarized in one sentence: "Alucard Obtains Pluton Blueprints, Destroys One-Third of Water 7."
The whole world knew that Alucard had the Sea King, Shirahoshi, under his command. With a bounty exceeding 1.5 billion, she was the highest-ranking officer in the Immortal Pirates after Alucard. Now that he had obtained Pluton as well, every pirate and government official in the world was green with envy.
This was especially true for Kaido and Big Mom.
An old fox like Doflamingo saw right through it; the Government wanted to use this news to pit Alucard against the other pirates so they could sit back and watch.
"So," Tesoro spoke up, "what action should we take?"
Hum…
Suddenly, a man with a large head and small body wearing a skin-tight suit emerged from the floor. It was Tesoro's confidant, Tanaka, executive of Gran Tesoro.
"Tesoro-sama, Doflamingo-sama, Treasure-sama... the Heart Pirates' ship, a subordinate of the Immortal Pirates, has entered the Golden Harbor. They request a meeting," Tanaka reported.
"That kid still has the guts to show up?" Treasure's face twisted into an exaggerated expression. "Didn't he get enough of a beating last time?"
"No, this time he has come to deliver a request from Alucard," Tanaka said.
"That brat." A vein throbbed on Doflamingo's forehead. If Law had come simply as the Captain of the Heart Pirates, Doflamingo would have annihilated him without hesitation. He was certain Alucard wouldn't care. But coming as a captain under Alucard's banner was a different story—he couldn't touch him.
"Fuffuffu... the little brat knows how to pick his timing. Let him in. I want to hear exactly what Alucard wants." Doflamingo laughed with suppressed rage, silently noting the boy's cunning.
Law was soon led into the suite by Tanaka. Facing the three leaders and numerous Donquixote executives, he remained unfazed. "The Captain orders you to notify Kaido and Big Mom for a three-way meeting."
Though there were three leaders present, Law's gaze fixed on only one. He raised his voice with emphasis: "Joker!"
"Fuffufffuffufu!" Doflamingo slapped his forehead and laughed, sticking out his tongue. "You've certainly lost your manners toward your former boss since joining Alucard, Law."
Doflamingo crooked his finger and chuckled. "You'd better remember this. Your Captain has no intention of protecting you. If you slip up even once, I'll kill you, and Alucard won't lift a finger to hold me responsible."
Law had long since prepared himself for this. Aside from delivering the message, he wanted to observe the Donquixote Alliance. Since he had taken out Buffalo and Machvise, they didn't seem to have recruited new members yet.
"Hmph. We'll see who kills who in the end!" Law turned and left without waiting for an escort.
"Arrogant bastard," Gladius of the Pica Army snarled. "Young Master, let's send a team to tail him. Once he finishes delivering the message, we kill him."
"Fuffuffufu... Gladius, you underestimate Law. Since he dared to come here, he must have considered all of that. Don't act rashly." Doflamingo slumped back into the sofa. "Do as Alucard says. Pass the message to Big Mom and Kaido. I wonder what he's thinking, calling a meeting of the Three Emperors at a time like this."
…
With the Donquixote Alliance acting as the intermediary, news of the meeting reached Kaido and Big Mom quickly. Naturally, the Navy and Government received the word as well.
"What is he planning?" Both Kaido and Big Mom were puzzled. Though they coveted the Sea King and the Pluton blueprints, they hadn't expected Alucard to make the first move and invite them over.
In the New World, on Kaido's ship…
"Elburn, what do you make of this?" Kaido, whose intellect often lagged behind his brawn, threw the question to the ace of the Saber-toothed ship, Elburn.
"In the last two years, clashes between the Government and Alucard's subordinates have become frequent..." Elburn stood before Kaido, rubbing his chin. "Perhaps he wants to use this chance to cut the Gordian knot and deal with both you and Big Mom at once?"
In truth, Elburn couldn't guess either; Alucard's reasoning was completely beyond him.
"He's got a big mouth," Kaido growled, smashing the armrest of his stone throne. "The Saber-toothed ship will come with me. I want to see how he plans to 'deal' with me."
The Saber-toothed ship was currently one of the three major vessels with the highest number of Artificial Devil Fruit users. The reason was simple: the Calamity Storm was lazy, so his subordinates had to be strong enough to pick up the slack.
He actually believed me? I was just talking out of my ass... Elburn couldn't help but scream internally when he saw Kaido actually took his random guess seriously.
…
Meanwhile, inside the castle on Arderay, the Immortal Pirates' base:
Robin was holding the Pluton blueprints Alucard had given her, looking confused at the man sitting on the high dais. "Alucard-sama, this is..."
"You can read the ancient texts, can't you?" Alucard sat with his legs crossed and hands folded over his knee. "Translate them, then make modifications. How long will it take?"
"A month... no, half a month. No, one week should be enough." Meeting Alucard's gaze made Robin nervous. She had initially wanted to say a month, but she felt pressured to compress the time.
"Half a month is fine," Alucard said easily. "That's plenty of time."