"Captain, a call from Doflamingo."
Laffitte brought over a pink transponder snail.
"Give it to me, quickly! If it weren't for him, this batch of slaves wouldn't have sold so fast!"
Blackbeard took the transponder snail. "Zehahahaha~ Doflamingo, is there a new deal?"
Doflamingo's voice came through the pink transponder snail.
"Blackbeard, an unprecedented slave auction will be held near the Sabaody Archipelago soon. At that time, I will lure both the Clown Buggy and the Straw Hat there. Don't forget our agreement."
"That's a given..." Blackbeard grabbed a handful of Berries. "We agreed on it when the payment was made. But, are you sure they'll show up?"
The condition for this deal was to help Doflamingo deal with these two Four Emperors Crews, but Blackbeard didn't think a slave auction could draw them out.
If they encountered it on their way, they might intervene, but to make them go out of their way to do a good deed? Did he think they were saints?
"Rest assured about that. This slave auction doesn't just have slaves from Totto Land, but also a group of merfolk from Fish-Man Island. The one commissioning the auction is a collateral branch of the Alabasta Kingdom's royal family."
The transponder snail wearing sunglasses let out a smug laugh. "Both of these places have deep ties with the Straw Hat; he won't just ignore it..."
"As for the Buggy Pirates..." The transponder snail paused. "I'm not entirely certain. But the buyers of the slaves this time are the Celestial Dragons. If he doesn't show up, it will be a massive blow to his reputation..."
"Zehahahaha, as expected of you, Doflamingo." Blackbeard grinned ferociously. "But let's be clear beforehand, I won't be the first one to head over. If you want me to act, your World Government must show some sincerity first..."
"That's only natural. Although only one Navy Admiral will follow my lead, once the fighting starts, won't the Celestial Dragons continue to call for more people? All you need to do is deliver a fatal blow from behind."
"Zehahahaha, hearing you say that has already gotten me excited. I'll be waiting for your news, Doflamingo."
After ending the call, Blackbeard tossed the transponder snail back to Laffitte.
"Gather all the members of the Pirate Crew; we're going to give those guys a surprise!" Blackbeard ordered.
"Captain, is Doflamingo's plan reliable?" Laffitte asked.
"Don't worry about that. If the World Government and those guys don't fight until both sides are crippled, we won't make a move."
Blackbeard lay on a throne made of Berries and licked his lips. "Whether it's Luffy or Buggy, their Devil Fruit Abilities seem quite good..."
"But I can only choose one. Which one should I pick?"
"Then I'll go gather the men. Oh, and should we bring Aokiji along?" Laffitte asked.
He had always felt that Aokiji was untrustworthy, but Blackbeard had insisted on taking him in.
"Of course, this time I'll see how he performs. If his performance doesn't match his strength..." A fierce glint flashed in Blackbeard's eyes. "Then I'll just extract his fruit ability."
"But for now, let's just enjoy the revelry! Zehahahaha~"
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"Is this the place? Whitebeard's hometown?"
Buggy's ship approached a nameless little island.
"According to the log pose, this is the place, but it looks very impoverished!"
Mr. 3 turned his legs into wax, constantly rising to check the situation on the island from a height.
"Should we search around, Captain Buggy?"
"No need." Buggy directly released his Conqueror's Haki. His aura soared into the sky, affecting the entire island.
Before long, a blue phoenix flew from a distance and looked over hesitantly; it was Marco.
"Yo, Marco, long time no see." Buggy greeted him.
"You are... Buggy?"
After confirming his identity, Marco lowered his guard.
During the Marineford War, the two sides could be considered "allies."
The phoenix flew onto the ship and transformed into human form. "What are you doing here?"
"To pay my respects to Whitebeard. After all, he also once opened up an era." Buggy brought out some wine from the ship.
After Roger voluntarily went to his death and before the Marineford War, it was Whitebeard's era.
It was a pity he had no ambition and only wanted to go around collecting sons.
"Follow me." Marco's expression softened significantly. "Pops would be very happy to know you came."
He led Buggy and the others onto the island and came before a cemetery.
One of the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords, Murakumogiri, served as a tombstone, with the Whitebeard Pirates' flag fluttering above it.
To the left was Ace's grave, with his hat placed on it.
A new one had been built on the right, with two flintlock pistols placed on it.
Buggy poured himself a bowl of wine, raised it, and drained it in one gulp, then splashed the remaining wine on the open ground in front of the grave.
"I really miss the time of the Marineford War. As a senior among the Four Emperors, you raised the status of the Four Emperors to a height where they didn't belong, taking on the whole world by yourself..."
"After that, the Four Emperors quickly went downhill."
"Of course, Charlotte Linlin went downhill terribly, while Kaido at least did his best."
Buggy sat cross-legged before the grave and said slowly, "The new era isn't as interesting as the old era now."
"Hey, what nonsense are you talking..." Marco didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I thought you came to catch up with Pops."
"You've also gone downhill terribly, Marco. Back when the Roger Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates had their great war, out of the four rookies, only you were out of place with us..." Buggy teased.
"If you don't know how to talk, then say less..." Marco felt insulted, but the key was that he couldn't refute it.
"Old man, our Buggy Pirates are going to war with the Blackbeard Pirates. We'll be the ones to take that rebellious son's life."
Buggy stood up. "Next time, I'll bring Blackbeard's head to pay my respects to you."
"Wait, what did you just say?" Marco grabbed Buggy's shoulder.
"The Buggy Pirates are going to war with the Blackbeard Pirates," Buggy said. "Did you hear clearly?"
"But why... You guys don't even have any intersection?"
"To make the new era a bit more interesting, we can't let the old men of the previous era look down on us." Buggy pushed Marco's hand away. "We've paid our respects to the old guy; it's time for us to go."
Before he had walked more than a few steps, Marco's voice came from behind. "When?"
"Hmm? What did you say?" Buggy turned and asked.
"When are you going to war with the Blackbeard Pirates..." Marco asked.
"Soon. If you want to know, come find me in Wano Country. But... remember to bring Murakumogiri."
"Rather than leaving it here as a tombstone, I think the old man would rather have it drink its fill of the enemy's blood on the battlefield!"
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