At the moment the Den Den Mushi connected, all the maids and guards in the room vanished, leaving only the Seagull King standing there quietly.
A cry of pain rang out in a distant chamber of the palace. The voluptuous dancing girl was now covering her eyes, hot tears streaming down through her fingertips, the pain unbearable.
Violet didn't know how she had been discovered. She had been watching just fine; Orin merely connected a call, glanced toward the direction of her gaze, and then her eyes started to burn with searing pain.
Orin didn't care much. He didn't dislike being peeped on by a beautiful woman, but the conversation to follow was rather secret, so he had to be a bit rough.
He slowly shifted his gaze back, looking at the blank-faced Den Den Mushi as the corner of his mouth tugged into a smile.
"Long time no see, Saint Saturn."
...
On the other side, at the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, in the most prestigious palace of the Jaygarcia family, an elderly man leaning on a cane sat there and suddenly received a call from a familiar Den Den Mushi.
Seeing the caller, his pupils shrank slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he looked at the surrounding guards and CP agents.
"All of you, withdraw first."
"Yes!!!"
When there was no one else around, Saint Saturn still connected the call.
"I didn't expect you would call me. Truly unexpected, Orin…"
"I have nothing to discuss with you!"
"You should understand there is an irreconcilable, fundamental conflict between us. Joy Boy is the bottom line of the World Government!!!"
His tone was righteous, issuing strong condemnation toward Orin.
And Orin?
Hearing this, he didn't get angry at all. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, his tone teasing.
"Is that so~"
"So that also means the relationship is broken and there's nothing to talk about, huh?"
"Of course."
Saint Saturn's gaze was icy, his reply crisp and decisive.
"I don't really mind~"
The face of the Den Den Mushi before Saint Saturn, its eyes bursting with scarlet light, looked utterly relaxed, as if unbothered by the World Government's hostility.
"From the very beginning, I've never worried about being treated as hostile by you Elders, or by the God's Knights, or even… by Imu~"
Hearing this, a trace of gravity appeared on Saint Saturn's cold face, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He truly had never doubted that. From the opponent's youth until now, the World Government had never been able to pose an effective threat to Orin—or even when they knew his weak spots, such as old Keek, remnants of the Roger Pirates, and so on, they had never actually taken action.
It was simply because they couldn't effectively target him.
If it had been when Orin was still very young, Lord Imu's mysterious rule-based power could indeed ignore the ability of the Warp-Warp Fruit and erase Orin at a certain cost. But after that time two years ago, when Conqueror's Haki Infusion shook the entire sea, they no longer had a chance and could only avoid going to war with him as much as possible.
Even when it involved something as sensitive as Joy Boy, they merely expressed anger and repeatedly hunted the Dark Sun God, without directly declaring war on Orin. They hadn't even explicitly revoked his Celestial Dragon status.
A replica of Joy Boy might at most shake the World Government's rule, but fighting Orin, who had already grown to his current level, would truly leave the World Government half-destroyed if not dead—after all, that was Conqueror's Haki Infusion acknowledged even by Lord Im.
So now Orin truly didn't need to give the World Government any face, and as long as they didn't declare war, the World Government wouldn't directly start one.
"I don't mind~ I just don't know whether you'll be okay, Saint Saturn."
"Nani?"
Saint Saturn's previously narrowed eyes suddenly widened. He didn't understand why Orin would say that.
"Me? What do you mean, Orin!!!"
"Are you doubting my intelligence capability, Saint Saturn?"
Orin stretched out his hand, the Seagull King carrying the video Den Den Mushi perched on his arm.
"Take a guess~"
"If Imu finds out that you secretly kept Joy Boy's robot and studied it on your own, will He get rid of you, or appreciate your dedication?"
"So hard to guess~"
Orin raised his brows, laughter in his eyes, but the words fell into Saint Saturn's ears like a demon's whisper.
Cold sweat appeared on his face, his pupils even trembling, because he understood his ruler too well.
That was a king who, just by sensing Joy Boy's Haki, would tremble in fear and be filled with boundless rage!!!
"But since you're so confident, Saint Saturn, then pretend I never made this call…"
"Wait!!!"
"Oh?!"
Orin tilted his head.
"I think we can talk, Orin. State your purpose."
Saint Saturn's suppressed voice slowly sounded, though he seemed to have some misgivings.
Orin wasn't surprised by his reaction and smiled.
"Today's conversation is guaranteed not to be known by a second person."
"…"
"Gah—" (I don't count as a person)
After establishing the conditions for communication, Orin stated his purpose.
"I know that although nominally I still retain the status of a Celestial Dragon, I probably can't command anyone in the World Government anymore. So this time, I want to borrow some people from you to stir things up in Dressrosa."
"Dressrosa? That kid from the Donquixote family's territory?"
Saint Saturn knew clearly what was happening within Dressrosa, but he didn't understand the exact reason.
"What exactly do you want to do?"
"Right now, many rookie pirates are about to challenge Doflamingo's rule over Dressrosa. Have your side send some experts to help out, would you?"
"…Fine."
Although Saint Saturn didn't understand why Orin wouldn't take action himself, that didn't matter. What mattered was shutting Orin's mouth—if he could make the other side owe him a favor…
"Of course, there will be payment. After it's over, Dressrosa will truly return to the embrace of the World Government. How about it?"
Anyway, once the young Doffy goes in, Dressrosa would originally be taken back by King Riku's line. Orin didn't feel the slightest pain selling out his subordinate's territory.
"…Fine."
In the end, Saint Saturn agreed. After all, sending Marine Admirals or CP to Dressrosa on a mission—whether fighting Luffy or Doflamingo—wouldn't give anyone grounds to complain, so he had no psychological burden.
After hanging up the phone, he sighed.
He cast a complicated glance at the gloomy window outside, then dialed Marine Headquarters.
"Sakazuki? Notify Green Bull for me…"