"What kind of place is Sicily Island? What is Vergo doing there?"
Inside Smoker's office, Taro leaned back on the sofa with a relaxed look, casually crossing his legs and showing off his Supreme Big Slippers!
Smoker sat carelessly in his wide seat, took a puff of his cigar, and didn't mind Taro's slacker-like appearance.
"It seems he found a lead on some pirate. Before he left, he said that if you came while he was away, you could go there directly to find him!"
Taro curled his lips into a mysterious smile and said softly,
"Then the pirate he found must be someone extraordinary!"
"Perhaps!" Smoker lightly flicked the ash from his cigar.
Taro leaned back further, switched legs to continue showing off his slippers, and then asked,
"Vergo went alone, right?"
Smoker paused for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly,
"That guy does that often. Why? Do you have some kind of bad feeling?"
Taro chuckled and shook his head slightly. "No, nothing!"
Heh, Donquixote Doflamingo, you've set a trap and want me to walk right into it!
Taro began to ponder. He had only requested that Caesar stop the children's giantification experiments. Even if Doflamingo was dissatisfied, this reaction was far too extreme.
His core businesses should be 'Artificial Devil Fruits' and arms dealing.
With those two businesses unharmed, he dared to brazenly set such a 'Hongmen Banquet.' Isn't he afraid of exposing Vergo's identity as an undercover agent?
After struggling in the Marines for over a decade to reach his current position, was it really worth letting him surface just for one of Caesar's experiments?
Beneath his lazy expression, Taro felt deep down that something wasn't right.
"Taro, what are you thinking?" Smoker was confused to see Taro looking relaxed yet neither leaving nor speaking.
Taro uncrossed his legs and stood up from the sofa.
"Nothing. Give me the Eternal Pose for Sicily Island!"
Smoker stared at Taro for a long while, trying to find some clues from his expression, but noticed nothing.
"Catch."
Finally, he fished a pose out of his drawer and tossed it over.
After catching it, Taro turned to leave, bumping right into the airheaded girl Tashigi as she was entering.
"Ah, Vice Admiral Taro, are you leaving already? I wanted to ask to see your sword, and if possible, regarding swordsmanship, I also wanted to...!"
Taro laughed and interrupted the "sword-obsessed" girl,
"Tashigi, I have some serious business to attend to. If everything goes well, I'll be back soon! We'll talk then!"
With that, he bypassed Tashigi and left.
Tashigi watched blankly as Taro left before turning back to Smoker.
"Rear Admiral Smoker, this..."
Smoker had been deep in thought and was startled by Tashigi. He stubbed out his cigar.
"Tashigi, get ready. We're heading out to sea!"
...Dressrosa, Royal Capital, Acacia.
A young man wearing a coat with goggles on his head pulled out a den den mushi in a dark alley.
"Captain Koala, please tell the Chief that our investigation in Dressrosa has no progress for the time being."
Immediately after, Koala's gentle voice came through the den den mushi.
"It's alright. Watch your safety, there's no need to rush, lest you be exposed!"
The young man hummed in affirmation. "Understood."
Then, after hesitating, he continued, "There's one more thing, I don't know if I should say it, but the atmosphere in Acacia has been a bit off these past few days."
"Oh? What's wrong? Be specific," Koala asked, glancing at Dragon beside her.
"The high-ranking officers of the Donquixote Family have rarely appeared lately, and just now, King Doflamingo also left the capital. Although I don't know the reason, I feel it's not normal!"
"Understood. Stay safe!"
Click
The den den mushi hung up. Koala looked at Chief Dragon and said softly,
"In that case, it's unlikely we can find the source of those arms in a short time! Do we need to send more people?"
Dragon's expression showed no emotion, and his voice was somewhat raspy.
"It doesn't matter if we can't find it now. Recently, CP0 has been frequently active in the New World, which is very unusual. Notify our comrades to be extremely cautious."
At this point, his tone lightened slightly.
"Since Betty's return, hasn't Sabo and the others successfully planned several uprisings in the East Blue? Next, let's shift our focus to the four seas!"
"Undercurrents are surging in the New World, and CP0's attention has been drawn here. This is an opportunity for us!"
Hearing Sabo's name, Koala's face showed a mix of happiness and annoyance.
"Yeah, Sabo is so unwilling to come back from outside now; he's almost forgotten he's still the Chief of Staff!"
Dragon didn't respond to Koala and slowly walked to the balcony.
The sea breeze blew through his hair, sparking many thoughts.
"Dressrosa and the underground arms trade were both mentioned by Taro. This unusual movement of the Donquixote Family might also be related to him."
Thinking of this, he turned to Koala and said, "Notify Sabo to return to Baltigo as soon as possible to take charge. I need to leave for a while!"
Koala was stunned for a moment, but seeing Dragon's serious expression, she didn't hesitate and quickly nodded. "Yes, Chief!"
...Marine Headquarters, New Marineford.
"Little sister, have you already returned to Marijoa?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru's voice sounded somewhat helpless. It had only been a few days, yet Gion had called again, her tone still full of anger.
"Did Kake confess to you again and make you angry?"
Momousagi was very dissatisfied with Vice Admiral Tsuru's words and let out a light snort.
"What Kake? Hmph, don't pretend. Don't you know who I'm angry at?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru rubbed her temples and sighed.
"Alright, tell me, how did Taro provoke you again?"
"You told me to stay in the Sabaody Archipelago for a few more days to help you gather information, but do you know? That bastard spent half his time hiding in his room, and early this morning, he ditched us and ran off!"
Momousagi's emotions were stirred, and she spoke very quickly, sounding quite furious.
Vice Admiral Tsuru paused, her brow furrowing slightly. "Where did he go now?"
"I heard from Hina that Vergo from G5 invited him to meet, saying something about strengthening the connection between the two bases!"
Momousagi responded, then snapped back, "We're not talking about that! Don't change the subject; I'm still angry right now, I'm dying of anger..."
Vice Admiral Tsuru didn't rush to answer Momousagi but instead fell into deep thought.
G-4 and G-5 are on opposite sides of the Red Line; what kind of connection needs strengthening?
Furthermore, Taro and Vergo haven't even met!
With Taro's shrewdness, how could he not see through such a ridiculous excuse?
So, why would he go to the meeting?
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