After finishing his call with Ace and the others, Meiser caught up with Luffy and the rest of the group as they were about to enter the town.
"You guys, wait a second!" Meiser called out.
Hearing Meiser's shout, Luffy and the others subconsciously stopped in their tracks. They turned around in confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"
Why was Meiser suddenly calling out to them?
Could it be... that Law had some other special instructions?
"There's something I need to tell you." Meiser glanced at the town ahead, then looked toward a large boulder behind them. "Come on, follow me over here for a moment."
With that, Meiser turned and walked toward the boulder, clearly intending to explain everything he had just discussed there.
Seeing this, Luffy said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Didn't we already say everything that needed to be said? What else is there—"
"This concerns Ace," Meiser interrupted.
As soon as those words were spoken, Luffy immediately shut his mouth, his expression turning into one of confusion.
It concerned Ace?
Why would it concern Ace?
Though he didn't know what was going on, Luffy chose to follow him.
The others exchanged looks and then followed Luffy toward Meiser.
"Who is this person named Ace?" Kin'emon asked curiously.
"Ah, he's Luffy's brother," Sanji explained.
After saying that, Sanji began to ponder privately, wondering what this matter had to do with Ace...
Thinking of this, Sanji suddenly remembered something Doflamingo had said earlier.
He had the Diamond-Diamond Fruit, which Ace would be very interested in!
Could it be because of that thing? Sanji muttered to himself.
It wasn't impossible.
"So Lord Luffy has a brother as well," Kin'emon said, surprised.
"Yeah, but they aren't brothers by blood; they're sworn brothers."
Kin'emon froze for a moment, then thought to himself: So they are sworn brothers...
In that case, the man named Ace must also be a man of great honor and righteousness. Otherwise, someone like Lord Luffy would never have become sworn brothers with him.
While lost in thought, Kin'emon followed Luffy to Meiser's side.
"You can talk now," Luffy said.
Meiser didn't waste any time and got straight to the point. "I just spoke with Ace on the phone."
Upon hearing this, Luffy's eyes immediately lit up. "Is he doing well?"
"He seems to be doing quite well."
Meiser nodded to answer Luffy's question, then continued, "But that's not the main point of what I have to say."
Luffy, who was smiling because his brother was doing well, froze for a moment and then asked in confusion, "Then what do you need to tell us?"
"Remember the Diamond-Diamond Fruit that Doflamingo mentioned when Law was talking to him earlier?"
At those words, a flash of realization crossed Sanji's eyes.
It seemed things were exactly as he had thought.
Luffy, on the other hand, was puzzled. "Diamond-Diamond Fruit?"
"What Diamond-Diamond Fruit?"
Perona couldn't help but roll her eyes at Luffy. "You meat-brained idiot, you didn't listen to a single word Doflamingo said, did you?"
She guessed that at the time, this idiot's head was probably filled with nothing but how delicious the meat at Doflamingo's place would be.
As for the Diamond-Diamond Fruit?
Luffy hadn't processed it at all.
"Didn't he say something about meat?" Luffy said, scratching his head.
Perona: "..."
Just as she thought, this idiot really did have nothing but meat on his mind.
"Doflamingo mentioned the Diamond-Diamond Fruit," Sanji reminded him.
"Diamond-Diamond Fruit?"
Seeing the lingering confusion in Luffy's eyes, Meiser added, "Doflamingo said he has something that both you and Ace would be interested in, and that thing is the Diamond-Diamond Fruit."
Seeing that Luffy was slowly starting to understand his meaning, Meiser continued, "You should also know the previous owner of the Diamond-Diamond Fruit. His name was Diamond Jozu. He was one of the people who went with us to rescue Ace two years ago."
"The man whose entire body could turn into diamond."
After Meiser's detailed explanation, Luffy finally remembered the power of the Diamond-Diamond Fruit.
"That man's Devil Fruit..."
The expression on Luffy's face gradually grew somber. He clearly remembered the man who had fought alongside them at Marine Headquarters.
"You're suddenly telling us this..." Sanji said, rubbing his chin. "Does this mean Ace is coming to Dressrosa?"
Luffy's eyes lit up instantly at those words.
"Is Ace coming?"
He hadn't seen Ace in two years.
If he could see him here, that would be for the best.
"He originally wanted to come, but there was a small hiccup, so he isn't coming anymore," Meiser said.
Sanji: "???"
"What do you mean?"
Several question marks popped up over Sanji's head. What did he mean by 'originally wanted to come but isn't coming anymore'?
Luffy, meanwhile, anxiously grabbed Meiser's arm. "Did Ace and the others run into some kind of trouble?"
As Ace's brother, he was very worried about his safety.
Even if Ace always emphasized that a pirate's life was in the hands of fate, he still couldn't feel at ease about his brother.
"It's a yes and a no."
Luffy: "???"
What did 'yes and no' mean?
Wait, had he heard that phrase somewhere before?
"What's with the riddles?" Zoro said, looking at Meiser with exasperation. "If you have something to say, say it quickly. We don't have much time."
Their schedule for finding the factory was already tight, so it was best to settle matters here as soon as possible.
Meiser rolled his eyes at Zoro. This guy was certainly impatient.
"To put it simply, Doflamingo wanted to use the Diamond-Diamond Fruit as bait to lure Ace here," Meiser explained. "Once Ace arrived, he would likely team up with the Marines to capture him."
"But he's no longer one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea," Perona said, puzzled. "Under these circumstances, how can he coordinate with the Marines?"
"What if Doflamingo had already reached a cooperation agreement with the Marines before he resigned as a Warlord?" Meiser countered.
Meiser then briefly explained his previous conversation and theories with Ace, which left Perona silent.
Thinking about it carefully... it wasn't impossible!
"He has that much guts?" Franky asked in disbelief.
Wasn't Doflamingo afraid of things spiraling out of control?
"He didn't have a choice," Meiser shrugged.
What else could Doflamingo do right now except take a gamble?
Franky fell silent. Thinking about it... it seemed that was indeed the case.
Doflamingo had no second choice other than to team up with the Marines and roll the dice.
"So, that Diamond-Diamond Fruit is a lure meant to capture Ace," Sanji said, frowning.
That guy Doflamingo was certainly willing to pay a high price.
Luffy, however, was displeased. "That damn Doflamingo, I'm going to kick his ass!"
At this moment, a great deal of resentment welled up in Luffy's heart.
That Doflamingo actually dared to plot against his brother... He was practically begging for a beating!
"While I don't know if my guess is entirely correct, based on the current situation... the possibility of Doflamingo cooperating with the Marines is very high," Meiser said. "To take a step back, even if he didn't cooperate with the Marines, he definitely has the intention of capturing Ace."
After all, that was his only chance to regain his title as a Warlord.
Once he lost this chance... what awaited him would be a cold-blooded purge by the Marines.
A clever man like Doflamingo wouldn't fail to realize this, so he would definitely execute this plan at any cost.
"Doesn't that mean Ace is in danger?!" Luffy's face changed. "No, I have to go find him."
"Meiser, tell me quickly, where is he?"
Right now, Luffy desperately wanted to be by Ace's side to help him resolve this trouble.
"Meiser?"
Kin'emon froze for a moment. Was that the real name of the man in sunglasses?
Speaking of which, had he heard that name somewhere before?
Thinking of this, Kin'emon fell into deep thought.
Meiser merely looked at Kin'emon with a smile and said, "My name is a bit special and cannot be exposed yet, so please keep it a secret for the time being."
"Alright, I understand," Kin'emon nodded.
Though he didn't know what was so special about the name, out of trust for the Straw Hat Pirates, he chose to help keep the secret.
Meiser nodded and then looked at the anxious Luffy. "Luffy, why are you always so hot-headed?"
"That's my brother!"
"I know he's your brother," Meiser said. "But don't worry, he's fine right now."
"At least for now, he's safe."
After hearing that his brother was safe for the moment, Luffy relaxed significantly, but he still didn't give up on asking about his brother's whereabouts.
"Then where is he?"
"To be honest, I don't know where he went either," Meiser said. "Based on our last call, he encountered the BIG MOM Pirates on the sea."
As soon as these words were spoken, Franky's expression changed instantly.
"The Four Emperors?"
Luffy's brother had actually run into one of the Four Emperors?
That was definitely not good news.
The expressions of the others also grew grave, as they all knew how terrifying the Four Emperors were.
"It's not the Emperor herself," Meiser explained. "The one leading the team to seize the Devil Fruit this time is Katakuri."
Hearing that it wasn't the Emperor herself, everyone relaxed a bit.
Although they didn't know who this Katakuri was, as long as it wasn't the Emperor herself, it wouldn't be as big of a problem.
Then, Sanji seemed to think of something and said, "You just said... the BIG MOM Pirates are here to seize the Devil Fruit?"
"Yes."
"Then doesn't that mean their objective is also the Diamond-Diamond Fruit in Doflamingo's hands?"
"Yes."
Upon hearing this, Sanji was rendered speechless.
They were also after the Diamond-Diamond Fruit?
Did that mean Dressrosa would soon become a battlefield for an Emperor's crew and Ace's group?
Wait!
Meiser said just now that Ace and the others didn't plan to come to Dressrosa... Does that mean Ace and his crew went to intercept the BIG MOM Pirates?
Upon realizing this, a sharp glint flashed in Sanji's eyes, and several theories began to form in his mind.
"In other words, because of this Devil Fruit, they've started fighting somewhere else?" Merry, who had been silent until now, asked curiously.
"Pretty much."
After a moment's thought, Meiser said, "Ace plans to block the BIG MOM Pirates elsewhere so they can't come to Dressrosa and mess things up."
"That way... it will be easier for us to carry out our operation."
After saying that, Meiser paused, looked at Luffy who was about to speak, and continued, "However, in exchange, Ace asked me for a favor."
"What favor?"
"He asked me to help them get their hands on that Diamond-Diamond Fruit," Meiser said. "Luffy, what do you think?"
"We're taking it, of course!" Luffy said without a hint of hesitation.
This was something his brother had asked them to do; he was definitely going to help to the very end!
Luffy then continued, "Meiser, contact him right now, we'll help—"
"I already agreed."
Meiser interrupted Luffy, saying, "I already agreed during the call. I told him that once Luffy found out, he would definitely agree to it too."
Strictly speaking, this matter also had benefits for the Straw Hat Pirates, and given the relationship between Luffy and Ace... there was no problem with helping him secure that Devil Fruit.
"That's good then."
Luffy first sighed in relief, then grinned and patted Meiser's arm. "You really get me, don't you!"
Exactly as Meiser had said, if he found out about this, he would definitely agree to help Ace fight for that Devil Fruit!
After all... they were brothers!
Sanji, meanwhile, wore a "just as I thought" expression. It really was exactly as he had guessed.
He then rubbed his chin and said, "It seems we have one more thing to do this time."
"The only thing is, we don't know where that Devil Fruit is."
If they could find out the location of that Devil Fruit, with Meiser's strength, taking it away wouldn't be much of a problem.
As for whether this would affect their operation...
Who said destroying the factory and stealing the Devil Fruit couldn't be done at the same time?
Sanji didn't think it would be a problem.
"Once we're inside, I'll find a way to gather information," Meiser said.
Seeing Meiser say this, Sanji nodded in relief.
That was true; with Meiser's information-gathering abilities, he should be able to pinpoint the location of the Devil Fruit soon.
"But we also have to be careful of the Marines here," Franky spoke up. "Although Ace's plan might draw away the Marines' top combat power, what if... what if they don't take the bait?"
Who knew if the Marines would stay here and wait?
After all... the thing Ace wanted was right here!
"That's also what I'm worried about," Sanji said. "I even suspect that Doflamingo's plan includes us as well."
While the influence of the Straw Hat Pirates wasn't as great as the Spade Pirates right now... Luffy's head, worth 500 million, was quite the attraction for the Marines.