On the sea, the puppet spoke to Monet: "Wait here, I'm going to the island."
Ming Ge and his crew had discovered an underground palace on the desert island, which was likely Solomon's hiding place. Rumors circulated that Solomon had hundreds of palaces worldwide, and no one knew his true location. Even his subordinates, like Morgans, found it difficult to see him in person. Not even Benn Beckman, said to have the highest IQ on the sea, could pinpoint his whereabouts.
Guided by the monitor's signal, the puppet quickly found the entrance to the underground palace.
"Who would have thought that the emperor of the dark world would be hidden on such a deserted island?"
The puppet sauntered forward, pulling individual talismans from its pouch as it walked deeper inside, sticking them onto the walls of the passageways.
These were talismans crafted after Arías acquired the Tongtian Rune. To better instruct Sugar, Arías had researched the talisman's structure and sent these to Lisa in the North Blue Tavern through the bite bag, along with Devil Fruits and other supplies, which were then delivered to the puppet.
Back at sea, Monet was practicing martial arts on the deck when she spotted a large wooden board floating in the waves, with a person lying on it.
"Su Tang, look! That man seems to be seriously injured!"
Monet called out to Sugar, who was eating grapes and practicing drawing talismans, pointing to the wooden board drifting closer.
Despite being washed by the sea, the board was stained with blood.
Sugar glanced at it disinterestedly. "Oh," she muttered, reaching for another grape from the basket at her waist, then returned to her talisman drawing.
Monet hesitated. "Should we rescue him?"
Sugar replied indifferently, "We were saved by Master Ye, so our lives belong to him. If we save someone and it angers Master Ye..."
Sugar's words made sense, but Monet, thinking of her own experience, decided to save the man. What if he could serve Master Ye in the future?
With that thought, Monet transformed into her human-animal butterfly form, tied a cable around the man's body, and lifted him onto the ship.
Once on board, she examined him more closely. A deep scar ran across his chest, and his abdomen was slashed, exposing his intestines. The boy, though muscular and likely not much older than a teenager, was in critical condition, his body hot with fever from his wounds.
Monet took him to a spare room, cleaned his wounds, and fed him some warm water.
At the door, Sugar appeared, munching on grapes. "Sister, if Lord Ye is unhappy, he might punish you," she warned.
She gently kicked the unconscious boy, adding, "My sister saved you, so you'd better repay Master Ye! It might make him look at her more favorably."
Monet quickly stopped her. "He's seriously injured, don't kick him."
"Humph!" Sugar snorted, then left, still eating grapes.
After Sugar left, Monet placed a warm towel on the boy's forehead and whispered, "I can tell you're not ordinary. When you recover, repay Master Ye's kindness, or I won't spare you!"
Whether the boy heard her or the fresh water revived him, he let out a faint groan.
Monet returned with some medicine and applied it to his wounds. The supplies had been provided by Arías to ensure Monet and her sister had what they needed in case of injury.
Meanwhile, in the underground palace, the puppet monitored the situation. Ming Ge and his three core cadres had easily defeated the palace guards and swaggered into the palace's luxurious central chamber. The room was adorned with countless treasures, and in the center, a muscular man lounged on a leather sofa, a beautiful woman in each arm.
"Donquixote Doflamingo?"
Solomon, the man on the sofa, seemed unfazed by Ming Ge's sudden appearance.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Solomon asked calmly, despite the sudden appearance of two hundred masked killers, all armed and armored, surrounding Ming Ge and his crew.
Ming Ge let out his signature laugh, "Xixixixixi!"
"Solomon Archibald, King of the Underworld! Submit to me, and I'll spare your life!"
Despite the killers surrounding him, Ming Ge showed no fear. Neither did his three cadres.
"You want me to surrender?" Solomon smirked, sipping wine from a glass handed to him by another veiled beauty.
But those who knew Solomon understood that he was furious. And those who angered him rarely survived.
"Not even the Four Emperors could make me surrender, let alone your little Donquixote family! Kill him!"
With that order, two hundred killers charged at Ming Ge and his crew.
"Really?" Ming Ge taunted, his fingers twitching as if playing a piano. Suddenly, the killers turned and attacked Solomon instead.
Solomon's eyes narrowed, but he didn't react. The hard ground before him rose up, and a strange figure covered in hard scales emerged, wielding a serrated blade. The scale-armored figure swiftly slaughtered the treacherous killers.
"A Zoan Devil Fruit user?" Ming Ge observed.
After the massacre, the scale-armored figure knelt before Solomon, saying, "Your Majesty, the traitors have been eliminated!"
This man referred to Solomon as "Your Majesty," revealing that Solomon already considered himself the true king.
Solomon nodded slightly. "Kill him," he ordered, referring to Ming Ge.
The scale-armored man replied obediently, "Yes, Your Majesty."