North Blue. The Donquixote Family residence.
In recent times, Doflamingo had been staying in the North Blue honestly, not running around or causing trouble.
However, he'd still dispatched people to gather intelligence about the New World.
Naturally, he knew the current situation there was extremely tense. War could erupt at any moment.
Two days ago, he'd seen the latest news.
The fish-man who'd previously been a Marine, with Fish-Man Island's backing, had become the newest of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
This development had made Doflamingo nervous.
Because now, only one Warlord position remained vacant.
There were currently six Seven Warlords of the Sea.
White Hunter Smoker, who was coordinating with the Whitebeard Pirates and displayed tremendous ambition, preparing to make major moves in the New World.
Bartholomew Kuma, the mysterious tyrant who, despite appearing to maintain the best relationship with the Marines among all the Warlords, had recently made a brief appearance at the Fleet Admiral's promotion ceremony.
Crocodile, who lurked in Alabasta, seemingly hoping to legitimize himself as nobility, rumored to be connected with the Revolutionary Army.
Dracule Mihawk, known as the world's greatest swordsman standing at kendo's pinnacle, who despite flying pirate colors was essentially a wandering duelist.
After a single pirate raid, she'd remained hidden in the Calm Belt ever since. Her beauty, hailed as the world's most magnificent—even Doflamingo had to admit it was unparalleled—Pirate Empress and captain of the Kuja Pirates, Boa Hancock.
And not long ago, despite having betrayed the Marines, he'd shamelessly acquired the title "Knight of the Sea"—Jinbe.
Now that all six positions were filled, naturally only one Warlord slot remained.
Doflamingo was terrified someone would emerge from some corner and claim it first.
So he'd been extraordinarily anxious during this period.
Fortunately, not long ago, that bastard Finn had sent word he'd visit the North Blue and instructed him to prepare the Flame-Flame Fruit and other matters.
Doflamingo had indeed readied the Flame-Flame Fruit. Whether eating, sleeping, or doing anything else, he wouldn't let the Devil Fruit out of his sight, terrified of failure at the final hurdle.
Once bitten by a snake, Doflamingo now feared even ropes. He'd been tricked twice with Devil Fruits—the Gold-Gold Fruit and the Ope Ope no Mi. It would be strange if he hadn't learned his lesson.
"Young Master, that man's ship has appeared on the horizon." Gladius walked in quickly from outside, addressing Doflamingo, who sat on the sofa.
Doflamingo stood immediately upon hearing this. "Let's go to the port to welcome our good friend."
"Good friend? Young Master, you really want to kill him, don't you?" Gladius muttered internally.
But externally, Gladius nodded quickly. "Yes, Young Master!"
Soon, Doflamingo arrived at the port carrying a box containing the Flame-Flame Fruit.
At the same time, a massive Marine Headquarters standard warship slowly docked at the harbor.
When the warship stopped, the gangplank lowered quickly and steadily. Then Doflamingo spotted that bastard Finn's figure.
Although he wanted to bite this bastard to death, when he considered the Seven Warlords position, Doflamingo actually found Finn rather pleasing to the eye.
Finn descended the gangplank and spotted Doflamingo waiting below.
He smiled and reached out to support Hina, who followed behind him.
Hina blushed and quickly dodged Finn's arm, whispering, "Admiral, please maintain your dignity in public. Hina don't want to be seen as unprofessional."
Finn paused, then burst into laughter. "Hahahaha, understood."
During the journey, Finn had taken excellent care of Hina out of guilt. He'd accommodated her in everything, allowing the young woman to be somewhat willful.
He hadn't expected that in such a public setting, she'd remain remarkably sensible and well-behaved.
She protected Finn's reputation, following him respectfully like a background figure—the Admiral's professional adjutant.
The moment they descended and stood on solid ground at the harbor, Doflamingo approached with a smile, greeting them. "Admiral Finn, you're finally here. I've been waiting for you for quite some time. Fufufufu."
Finn glanced at the briefcase in Doflamingo's hand and understood immediately. Since there was no need for pretense, he was willing to give Doflamingo sufficient respect.
Therefore, he didn't adopt any arrogant posturing. Instead, he patted Doflamingo's shoulder casually. "Thank you for your efforts, Doflamingo."
Doflamingo looked mildly surprised at hearing his name used so familiarly, but soon felt pleased. At least this proved his relationship with Finn had grown closer.
"Fufufufufu, it's nothing. I simply want something in return." Doflamingo's smile carried weight.
He mentioned it subtly—this was a transaction. Finn was such an important figure; please don't bully him and try to obtain things for nothing.
"Don't worry. I'm trustworthy." Finn nodded.
Doflamingo had only brought the box to demonstrate his serious attitude. He certainly wouldn't let Finn enter his base and handle matters directly at the port.
So he soon happily invited Finn to his residence.
Finn had no concerns about this. Even though as a Marine Admiral, it would be somewhat demeaning to associate with a bastard pirate like Doflamingo, and it would look bad if photographed.
But this was Doflamingo's headquarters. With his intelligence, he shouldn't allow such a foolish incident to occur.
So Finn happily accepted the invitation and departed the port with Hina and Doflamingo.
Vergo was also brought along. He looked at his comrades with a helpless expression, shook his head, and followed the group without comment.
It had to be said that Doflamingo was definitely someone who knew how to enjoy life. After all, he was a former Celestial Dragon.
At this moment, Finn stood by the reception room window, observing the scenery outside. The castle-like structure overlooked a massive swimming pool garden. Even though Doflamingo hadn't organized elaborate entertainments like pool parties to welcome Admiral Finn, numerous beautiful young women still occupied the pool, wearing elegant swimsuits, playing in the water.
Their slim, attractive figures made Finn nod continuously, until Hina glared at him. Only then did he look away with lingering reluctance.
Finn couldn't evaluate much about the interior decoration, but he could vaguely sense the luxurious atmosphere from countless details.
For example, on the stairs leading to the second floor, the baseboards on both sides were decorated with black pearls.
Some decorative hangings on the walls were obviously famous paintings of tremendous value.
And on the living room wall opposite the sofa hung a pair of pure black ivory tusks.
Yes, pure white ivory Finn had seen before. But pure black was a first.
The entire tusk was black as obsidian, clearly worth substantial money.
Finn touched the ivory and exclaimed, "What magnificent pieces!"
"Admiral, if you like them, I can give you a pair. Hanging them in your office would enhance your presence." Doflamingo smiled.
Although personally, he genuinely wanted to beat Finn up.
But from a practical standpoint, Doflamingo had already committed to maintaining positive relations with Finn.
Finn shook his head, smiling. "That's unnecessary. The Marines are cracking down on these kinds of items. You, a pirate, giving me, an Admiral, such a precious gift—I'd be hard-pressed to explain it back home..."
After a brief pause, Finn glanced at his feet. "The carpet is nice. Prepare one for me later and I'll take it back to cover the floor..."
Doflamingo froze momentarily, then laughed. "Fufufu, Admiral, you truly have excellent taste."
In fact, among all the decorations in Doflamingo's entire residence, this carpet was genuinely the most valuable item.
Worth more than six billion berries.
Finn looked mildly surprised upon hearing this. He genuinely hadn't noticed anything special and had simply responded to Doflamingo casually.
Was this carpet expensive? How expensive could something you walked on be?
He didn't know that in his previous life, in the world he'd come from, top-quality carpets could fetch millions of dollars yet remained perpetually out of stock. You couldn't buy them even if you wanted to.
However, Finn didn't display any inappropriate reaction. He sat down on the sofa confidently and reached out to pick up the Flame-Flame Fruit from the box Doflamingo had opened on the table.
Compared with the image in his mind, there was no discrepancy.
It was indeed the Flame-Flame Fruit. He didn't think Doflamingo would dare deceive Finn about such a matter.
After examining the Devil Fruit briefly, Finn tossed it back into the box. He looked at Doflamingo. "Very good. I've already informed Headquarters. Go ahead with your plans. As long as Mary Geoise approves your Seven Warlords appointment, we won't cause you any trouble."
Doflamingo's eyes brightened upon hearing this. Wasn't this exactly the assurance he'd wanted?
"Thank you very much, Admiral. Fufufu." Doflamingo's smile was genuine.
"What are you planning to do? Those above don't seem inclined to make you one of the Seven Warlords." Finn picked up an apple from the table, took a bite, and asked casually.
"Actually, I've had plans for quite some time, but I wasn't certain of your attitude, Admiral, so I didn't implement them." Doflamingo's voice carried weight.
"Meaning?" Finn's tone remained calm.
"I'm going to steal Mary Geoise's Heavenly Tribute and use it to threaten those bastards into accepting me." Doflamingo looked directly into Finn's eyes.
Finn raised an eyebrow slightly, smiled, and said, "Good idea."
First of all, the Heavenly Tribute's importance was self-evident. It represented each member nation's legal recognition of the World Government's authority. Simultaneously, this gold served as tribute to the Celestial Dragons.
If Doflamingo did this, it would definitely infuriate Mary Geoise's leadership.
What's more, the Five Elders were desperately short on funds now. If Doflamingo stole the Heavenly Tribute, they might genuinely compromise.
That's what he'd done in the original timeline.
The current situation was even more favorable for Doflamingo to execute this plan than in the original story.
"If you simply want to force Mary Geoise into concessions, it's actually not the optimal approach. For the sake of the Flame-Flame Fruit, I can tell you that Mary Geoise is extremely short on cash now. If you employ both carrot and stick, it may prove effective." Finn offered his insight.
Doflamingo paused, then comprehended. "In other words, Admiral, you're suggesting I offer Mary Geoise money after robbing the Heavenly Tribute?"
"Think about it yourself." Finn was unwilling to elaborate further.
Seeing this, Doflamingo didn't press for more information.
"What about the Dark-Dark Fruit? Have you heard any news?" Finn asked again.
Doflamingo's expression turned somewhat helpless. "Not yet, but I'll intensify the search. I'm quite tempted by your conditions, Admiral."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~