All his previous responses were instinctive reactions to Cyrus's sudden appearance, because right now, Cyrus's deterrent power was simply too great.
If anyone refused to submit, they just had to take a look at the pierced Red Line and the half-vanished Mary Geoise.
'What should I do next?'
This was the question repeating in Caesar's mind.
However, there were no other options left.
With Caesar's intelligence, he was very clear on what he should and shouldn't do, and he also knew about some of the conflicts between Cyrus and Doflamingo.
Buru buru buru!
The sound of the ringing snail made Caesar jump.
He whipped his head around to look at the Den Den Mushi sitting in front of the numerous monitors on one side of the room, knowing this particular snail could only be contacted by its specific counterpart.
Caesar silently picked up the receiver.
The Den Den Mushi's eyes changed into the shape of a pair of sunglasses, and a familiar laugh came through.
"Fuffuffuffu! Caesar, that person is at your place, right?" Doflamingo's voice sounded from the speaker.
"Monet told you, right?" Caesar asked calmly.
"It seems you already know." Doflamingo was not surprised by Caesar's words.
Caesar had known about Monet's identity as a spy before, he just hadn't pointed it out because there had been no need to.
After all, the two were originally collaborators, and Caesar was using Doflamingo's wealth and power to help him find test subjects.
But now...
"Doflamingo, please don't contact me again in the future. I'm afraid Lord Cyrus will misunderstand me."
As soon as Caesar said this, Doflamingo fell completely silent.
Only the faint sound of breathing could be heard from the other end of the line.
"Fuffuffuffu, it seems you've already made your choice, Caesar!" Doflamingo finally said after a long pause.
"Yes. After all, that guy is not someone you or I can stand against, right?" Caesar continued, his voice sharp but his tone calm.
"Or perhaps, Doflamingo, you have the confidence to deal with Lord Cyrus yourself?"
Doflamingo fell silent again before abruptly hanging up the Den Den Mushi.
The situation was obvious, making more words useless, and as for making threats, Doflamingo was clearly not in the mood for that right now.
Watching the snail go to sleep, Caesar turned to look at the entrance of the monitoring room.
A woman with striking long green hair, wearing a blue and white striped tank top, stood in the doorway.
"Monet, while that guy hasn't noticed you yet, shouldn't you take the opportunity to leave? Or perhaps, that guy has already discovered you, but is just too lazy to act."
Monet's green hair swung, revealing her golden pupils.
"Young Master will definitely become the Pirate King."
Her voice was gentle, and even now, her loyal tone remained exactly the same.
"Pirate King? He'll have to get past the hurdle of Lord Cyrus first." Caesar's words clearly showed he was taking a side, making Monet's eyes blink.
"Or is it that Doflamingo intends for you to dispose of me, this treacherous collaborator?"
Hearing this, Monet's eyes swept over Caesar for a few moments before she turned and silently left.
'A Logia-type Snow-Snow Fruit user.' Caesar was actually a little wary.
Although he had already decided to take a side, Caesar himself was not sure what his exact status was in Cyrus's eyes, meaning he had no idea if Cyrus would even intervene if he fought with Monet.
As a researcher, although Caesar had combat power and could display considerable strength under certain circumstances, he wasn't sure he could win against a trained killer like Monet.
It was best not to fight.
Next, he would have to see what his status was in Cyrus's eyes, and whether he had enough value to be used.
After all, following Cyrus seemed much more promising than sticking with Doflamingo, because in the end, this world was one where absolute strength spoke the loudest.
...
With his Observation Haki constantly active, Cyrus was naturally aware of the conversation between Caesar and Doflamingo.
As for Monet, his Haki sensed the Snow-Snow Fruit user leaving with a considerable number of boxes, but Cyrus made no move to stop her.
'What kind of surprise will that Doflamingo fellow have for me later?'
The one thing Cyrus could be sure of was that the Warlord would certainly not wait for death with his hands tied.
As a former Celestial Dragon, Doflamingo might try to re-establish connections with the nobles or the World Government.
If that were the case, the ones who came for him might be members of the God's Knights.
'Perfect. I can take this opportunity to properly study what is going on with their immortality.'
Since the God's Knights possessed this kind of regenerative ability, perhaps Imu had it as well, so it could be considered finding a countermeasure in advance.
If they didn't come, it didn't matter much either.
As for Doflamingo running away, Cyrus didn't think the man would do that.
Although he was a villain, Cyrus had to admit that in this world, even villainous pirates had all sorts of strange beliefs.
You could call it spirit or obsession, but in any case, they were more or less the same thing.
Cyrus was in no hurry, as letting Doflamingo prepare a bit more might just give him a pleasant surprise.
Stroking his chin in thought, Cyrus's expression suddenly faltered.
"How did I become so careless again? But forget it, it's not like he can stir up any real trouble anyway."
If he had previously taken the conflict with Doflamingo seriously, now it was no longer something he paid much attention to.
After all, there was a much bigger fish waiting for him.
...
In the Dressrosa Royal Palace.
In the dim and empty room, Doflamingo sat alone on a soft red sofa, gently swirling a glass of wine.
His eyes were hidden behind his glasses, but his expression could, to some extent, represent his current mood.
The veins on the side of his forehead were practically frozen in place.
"Cyrus!" Doflamingo spoke softly, his tone incredibly grave.
He had no choice but to be grave, because he was definitely no match for Cyrus.
He would be beaten to death.
But his own ambitions had yet to be realized!
However, for the matter of destroying half of Mary Geoise, Doflamingo wanted to give Cyrus a thumbs-up.
"Kaido, will you choose to come?" Doflamingo took a deep breath, set down his wine glass, and let his gaze fall upon a long row of boxes placed before him.
Inside each box was a Devil Fruit.
At a rough glance, there were at least twenty or thirty boxes, a large portion of them were Artificial Devil Fruits, but the rest were genuine Devil Fruits he had spent all his power and resources to find and seize.
Just as his eyes were surveying these boxes, several figures suddenly appeared in the royal palace.
A moment later, a few people walked into the empty room.
"You're here. So, are you here to kill me?" Doflamingo asked, seemingly anticipating their arrival.
"Doflamingo, you deserve to die for what you've done, but you have a chance to live now," an indifferent voice rang out.
Moonlight shone through the huge windows, illuminating the figures.
The red hair on one of them was particularly conspicuous.