"Understood."
Naguri said nothing more and immediately went to prepare a ship for El.
....
A few days later, on an island somewhere in the Grand Line.
Inside a room on the island, several pirates were sitting around together.
"Hahaha… One hundred billion! One hundred billion berries! Once we sell this Devil Fruit, we'll have a full one hundred billion berries in our hands!!!"
Diego Barrett held the Op-Op Fruit in his hand and laughed wildly with excitement.
"The Marines will be arriving on this island very soon. Once we sell it to them, we'll be rich enough to live in luxury for the rest of our lives!" another pirate beside him exclaimed, equally thrilled.
"Thank goodness the Marines contacted us directly when they did. If we had gone through Doflamingo as the middleman, that bastard would have surely skimmed off a huge cut for himself!"
Originally, they had planned to contact the Marine Headquarters through Doflamingo as an intermediary.
However, right after their call with Doflamingo, the Marine Headquarters contacted them directly via Transponder Snail, offering to buy the fruit at a high price.
So after negotiating the price directly with the Marines, they simply cut Doflamingo off completely. They had not answered a single one of his calls since then.
Knock! Knock!
While they were talking, a knocking sound came from the door.
"Coming! It must be the Marines!" Diego Barrett stood up excitedly.
Creaaaaak…
As the door slowly opened, the people standing there were not Marines at all.
It was Corazon, also known as Rocinante — the younger brother of Donquixote Doflamingo.
Standing beside him was a young boy dressed in white, his body covered in white dust.
This was none other than Trafalgar Law, at a much younger age!!!
"It's you guys!?"
Diego Barrett tensed up the moment he saw them.
Doflamingo was currently one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and as his brother, Rocinante was also quite well known!
"Damn it! Did Doflamingo send you here? Are you here to kill us all and steal this fruit for yourselves?"
Because they had originally intended to use Doflamingo as a middleman to sell the fruit to the Navy, he would have earned a massive commission from the deal.
But instead, they had contacted the Navy directly and cut him out entirely, leaving him with nothing.
Now that Rocinante had appeared, they assumed Doflamingo had sent him.
They believed his goal was to kill them all, take the fruit, and sell it directly to the Navy himself to claim the entire one hundred billion berries!!!
"I wasn't sent by Doflamingo, but it is true that I have come for this Devil Fruit." Rocinante lit a cigarette and spoke calmly.
Rocinante had originally been a Marine spy planted within Doflamingo's crew.
Now that Doflamingo had become a Warlord, his connection to the Marines had weakened significantly.
Although he knew how important this fruit was to the Navy, the person he cared about most right now was the child standing beside him — Law.
Law was currently suffering from Lead Disease, and he didn't have much time left to live.
Only the power of the Op-Op Fruit could save him.
Therefore, as soon as he heard the news about the fruit from Doflamingo, Rocinante had taken Law and rushed here, arriving even before Doflamingo himself.
"You want this fruit? Then pay up! One hundred billion berries! Take it or leave it!" Diego Barrett said with a fierce glare.
"I don't have a single berry on me."
Rocinante dropped his cigarette on the floor and replied indifferently.
"Damn you, you bastard!!!"
The pirates flew into a rage the moment they heard his words.
They knew the Op-Op Fruit could sell for a full one hundred billion berries!
Once they sold it to the Navy, they would never have to live as pirates ever again — they could enjoy wealth and luxury forever.
There was no way they would let Rocinante just take it from them!!!
Just as Diego Barrett and the others were about to attack Rocinante, a voice echoed from a distance.
"Fufufufu… I wondered where you had disappeared to. So this is where you were hiding."
Hearing that familiar voice, Rocinante's pupils shrank. He turned around to see Doflamingo and his top executives walking toward them.
"Damn it!"
Cold sweat appeared on Rocinante's forehead. He knew things had gone wrong.
His original plan had been to defeat Diego Barrett, snatch the fruit, feed it to Law, and save his life.
But now that Doflamingo was here too, he knew that dream was impossible to achieve.
"Corazon… Doflamingo has always treated you as his most precious family. Do you really intend to take this Op-Op Fruit right under his nose without even saying a word?"
Trebol sneered, mucus dripping from his nose.
Ever since they had learned the location of the fruit from Diego Barrett, Doflamingo's intentions had changed.
He no longer wanted to be just a middleman earning a commission — he intended to take the fruit by force!
"You want this fruit to save Law's life, don't you? Originally, I did plan to get this fruit and give it to him, so he could become a strong subordinate under me."
"But… the Marines are extremely interested in this fruit, and they've offered an incredible price! So now, I intend to sell it directly to them."
Doflamingo looked at Rocinante and spoke calmly.
As a former Celestial Dragon, Doflamingo had received certain information from the World Government.
He knew that even El — the strongest pirate in the New World — was also looking for this fruit!
If he dared to give it to Law… not only would the Marines never forgive him, but a man like El would likely destroy his entire organization completely!
Doflamingo had witnessed El's almost god-like power firsthand back in Loguetown.
That was why he refused to give the fruit to Law. He would sell it to the Navy and take the money instead.
"If you sell it to the Navy, Law will die!"
Rocinante stared at Doflamingo seriously.
"If we don't hand it over to the Navy… we will all die. Including you, and including me."
Doflamingo's expression turned grave.
"Damn it!"
Rocinante's face hardened. He glanced at Diego Barrett, who was still holding the fruit, and made up his mind. In a swift motion, he snatched the fruit right out of his hand.
"Run, Law!"
He grabbed Law's arm and tried to flee the scene immediately.
But the very next second, his body froze in place as if he had been paralyzed, unable to move an inch.
"You have no idea what kind of disaster this fruit will bring upon us, Corazon!"
Veins popped out on Doflamingo's forehead as he walked slowly toward Rocinante.
Today, there was only one possible outcome: the fruit had to go to the Navy.
If Law or Rocinante took it away… with El's intelligence network, he would find out without a doubt.
__________________
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