Buggy and the others had just left that island when they found Doflamingo.
It had cost Doflamingo dearly to obtain invitations that could conceal identities. The Tea Party's security was extremely strict—guests had to surrender all weapons at the entrance, and there was full identity verification. The information on each invitation had to match the person presenting it exactly.
Doflamingo had assumed his "status" would earn him some leniency, but Big Mom's side was airtight, leaving no room for loopholes. On top of that, Katakuri's recent incident had prompted even tighter security. Even Doflamingo's people would be checked thoroughly.
This gave Buggy plenty of ammunition for mockery. He teased that the groom seemed to have no real standing—only a "brother-level" position at best.
Doflamingo simply gave a cold laugh. It was not that he had a good temper; he simply refused to dignify a red-nosed clown like Buggy with a response. With someone like that, the more you argued, the more excited he became. If you showed no reaction at all, he would lose interest on his own.
Besides, Big Mom had never valued her husbands. That was hardly a secret in pirate circles.
This time, the grand spectacle served two purposes. First, Big Mom coveted Doflamingo's bloodline. Second, the ambitious old woman had her eye on the Donquixote family's potential.
Setting everything else aside, Doflamingo himself as the family head possessed combat strength on par with a Sweet Commander, and the entire Donquixote family's value far exceeded that alone. Their worth was not measured in fighting power alone—it lay in the Donquixote family's influence across the Four Blues and Paradise, through both legitimate and underground channels.
Big Mom might have been obsessed with bearing children, but she had a keen eye for assessing value. A pirate of her magnitude was virtually lawless in the New World, but by the same token, she was effectively confined there.
If she attempted to enter Paradise—or even just set foot outside Totto Land's territorial waters—she would immediately attract Marine attention, or even provoke an outright war.
This was not unique to Big Mom. Ren and Whitebeard had claimed their territories through battles since the Great Pirate Era began.
An unspoken code had gradually taken hold among pirates of their caliber: those at the very top would not mobilize against the Four Blues or Paradise.
(Shiki, who once attempted to destroy the East Blue: ???)
Even Ren did not extend his domain into Paradise.
For weapons trade, he used a proxy. That proxy was Doflamingo himself.
What Big Mom valued was precisely this capability. Paradise might have been weaker in raw power, but its wealth was no less than the New World's.
The larger one's empire, the more one understood just how formidable the Marines and the World Government truly were. They were not the incompetent fools depicted in some stories.
In reality, only those who had reached the summit truly grasped the weight of those institutions—though the World Government's leadership was admittedly its own special kind of hopeless.
In summary, what Big Mom truly wanted from the Donquixote family was their network and influence. Doflamingo's personal combat strength mattered far less to her.
Big Mom knew Doflamingo's abilities well. His Devil Fruit was well-developed, he possessed Conqueror's Haki, and in terms of fighting power he was perhaps only slightly weaker than Katakuri. He would make an excellent vice captain for any crew.
But no matter how strong he was, he could never surpass her, so why bother worrying?
On the other hand, securing Doflamingo would give Totto Land a share of the proxy fees from Paradise and the Four Blues.
At that thought, Doflamingo could practically envision the old hag's wrinkles splitting wide with laughter.
"That old hag is desperate to acquire my Donquixote family. When the time comes, you will send a few people to pose as newly inducted family members," Doflamingo said.
Since they were sneaking in under false pretenses, anyone with a wanted poster would be unable to infiltrate. Doflamingo already had candidates in mind—mostly Shanks' new crew members.
Since setting sail, the six members of Buggy's crew had all earned bounties by now. If the security had been lax, it would have been easy to slip in—like crashing Kaido's feast on Onigashima without a care.
But Big Mom's Tea Party only invited prominent figures. Small-time pirates could not even get through the front door.
In other words, infiltration was essentially off the table for Buggy's group. Even if they could squeeze in, Doflamingo had no intention of letting Buggy sneak into the venue. Who knew what kind of trouble that idiot would cause?
"As for you all, disguise yourselves and hold position outside Whole Cake Island's perimeter," Doflamingo said.
Whole Cake Island was the most important island in Totto Land and Big Mom's usual residence. The Tea Party would be held there—at the center of the island.
Whole Cake Island was enormous in scope.
After realizing he could not bring many people into the Tea Party venue, Doflamingo decided to have Buggy's crew ambush from outside the perimeter. He would confront Big Mom first. Once his signal went out, Buggy's crew would strike.
At that point, the Ruin Defenders and Ruin Hunters he had brought along would activate, plunging everything into chaotic battle. The Donquixote family was not without capable fighters. Their executives might not be overwhelmingly powerful, but they were more than enough to handle Big Mom's less impressive children.
As for the ministers, their strength varied considerably. Those on the weaker end could be dealt with by the Ruin Defenders. For the stronger ones, his side had plenty of capable fighters. Moreover, since this operation targeted Big Mom herself, Inazuma had secretly provided him with a special autonomous mechanism. Once that thing entered the battlefield, its destructive power would be devastating.
In Doflamingo's plan, once it reached the final boss stage, it would come down to just four people: himself, Buggy, Enel, and Shanks. At most, they could add Filacese—that physically extraordinary woman monster. The others simply did not make the cut.
It was not that Doflamingo looked down on Mihawk or old Crocodile. They simply had too little experience. There was a clear gap in their tier.
Give those two a few more years and their achievements would not be lacking—provided they continued to deepen their Haki training. If anyone slacked off and neglected their Haki, that would be a different story.
Right, Crocodile?
Meanwhile, Perospero followed the direction of the Vivre Card. After considerable time, he finally located Katakuri and Cracker on a remote island.
[
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