New World Headquarters.
"This is Sean," Sean said as he picked up the Den Den Mushi.
He could already guess who was calling. After all, he had just received word from Akainu that he had departed for Dressrosa; only a few minutes had passed before the Den Den Mushi started ringing.
Who else could it be?
"This is the Five Elders. Sean, tell me—did you order Akainu to attack Dressrosa?"
"Dressrosa? No, I didn't!"
"Hmm? Then where is Akainu?"
"I sent him to the G5 Branch to capture Vergo. He's a spy, something Fleet Admiral Sengoku knew about a year ago. Now that I'm in charge of the Marine in the New World, I naturally can't let a spy operate right under my nose."
"But we heard that Akainu is marching toward Dressrosa."
"Absolutely not," Sean replied, his voice laced with "confusion." "I received a report from Admiral Sakazuki. Although he took control of the G5 Branch, Vergo escaped. He is currently in pursuit... which might happen to be in the direction of Dressrosa?"
This answer left the Five Elders uncertain. Could it be a coincidence? Was Akainu simply heading in that direction while chasing the spy, rather than intending to attack Dressrosa?
"Very well. I understand. We'll leave it at that for now."
As the call ended, a faint smile played on Sean's lips.
Now, those five old men would likely call Doflamingo and tell him that Akainu was merely chasing Vergo and had no intention of attacking Dressrosa. Then, Doflamingo would likely inform the Five Elders that Vergo was already with him and was his subordinate.
By playing these sides against each other, Sean could keep them bickering for quite some time. That window of time would be more than enough for Akainu to establish a foothold in Dressrosa. After all, given the speed of an ironclad warship, the trip from the G5 Branch to Dressrosa wouldn't take long.
'''
On the deck of a ship.
Doflamingo held the Den Den Mushi, his face darkening.
What had he just heard? Those five old fossils actually told him that Akainu's goal was to pursue the Marine traitor Vergo, and that he wasn't targeting him?
"Vergo is my subordinate, and he is currently returning to Dressrosa with me!" Doflamingo spat, gritting his teeth.
The Five Elders fell silent upon hearing this.
Unbelievable. After all this time, the man who had been a mole in the Marine for nearly fifteen years—even climbing to the rank of Vice Admiral—was actually planted by him?
Did he really think that possessing 'that thing' gave him a license to do whatever he pleased?
Doflamingo, you've overstepped!
"Doflamingo, hand over Vergo and cover the costs of rebuilding the G5 Branch. This matter ends here!"
The Five Elders were furious and took a hardline stance this time.
Doflamingo rejected the demand instantly, returning to his usual threats. "Impossible. Don't push me, old men, or the Celestial Dragons' greatest secret will spread across the entire ocean by tomorrow. And as for 'that thing', you'll never get your hands on it!"
"Doflamingo, you would do well to understand one thing," the Five Elders replied coldly. "Even if you leak that secret, while it would cause us considerable trouble, the result for you would be death."
"Think carefully. Are you really willing to take that step for the sake of one Vergo?"
It was like a saying from Sean's previous life: a nuclear threat is most potent while the missile is still in the silo.
The same logic applied here. As the Five Elders stated, having leverage allowed one to force the World Government into compromises. But once that trump card was actually played, the leverage vanished, and the holder became a liability that needed to be eliminated.
While leaking the secret would indeed cause the World Government significant grief, was it truly worth it for one man like Vergo?
Even so, Doflamingo didn't want to give up on Vergo. He struggled internally for a moment.
"Fine. But I won't hand Vergo over to Akainu directly. He will leave, and whether Akainu can catch him will depend on his own skill."
"As for the reconstruction costs of the G5 Branch... it's only a few billion Belly. I'll pay it. Are you satisfied now?"
After a moment of decision, Doflamingo abruptly hung up the Den Den Mushi.
"Doffy, I'll leave right now. I won't let myself be a burden to the family," Vergo said firmly from the side.
For Doffy and the Donquixote Family, fleeing was a small price to pay. He was perfectly fine with it.
However, he had completely misunderstood Doflamingo. The man was not one to compromise so easily.
"Vergo, when did I say you were leaving?"
"Doffy?"
"Listen, while I'll announce to the world that you've vanished, you can stay in Dressrosa. There's no conflict there."
"But if I do, Akainu likely won't give up..."
"It's fine. I've already told Sugar to be ready. Once she captures Akainu, no one in this world will remember him!"
Vergo was stunned. He had completely underestimated Doflamingo's audacity.
But in the next moment, Doflamingo said something even more shocking.
"Once Akainu is gone, we can easily seize all the other Marines in that fleet and have Sugar deal with them as well!"
"Guess what happens next?"
"The so-called strongest fleet in the world will fall into our hands, and no one will remember a single Marine on that ship. They won't even remember that they ever dispatched the fleet in the first place!"
"After all, if not a single man is missing, how could the fleet have just sailed away on its own? Right?"
"In the end, unless they suspect their own memories are failing them, they'll have no evidence!"
"Fuffuffuffuffu..."
Doflamingo was brimming with confidence.
Truthfully, if Sean weren't involved, this plan would have a very high probability of success. Aside from Akainu, there were no other Vice Admirals on that warship, and the Commodores or Rear Admirals would be no match for the Donquixote Family.
Unfortunately, Sean's existence changed two critical factors.
First, Akainu already knew Sugar's general appearance, her Devil Fruit ability, and how it was activated.
Second, because of Sean, the fleet also contained hundreds of field-grade officers from the 16th Branch.
That group alone... was essentially enough to wipe out the entire Donquixote Family.
Consequently, even if Akainu had still fallen for the trap, the others could simply take down Sugar and revert "Toy Akainu" back to his original form.
From the very beginning... Doflamingo never stood a chance!