Doflamingo's smile froze. "How could I possibly be colluding with Kaido? There must be some misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?" Kaguya gave him a sidelong glance. "Even your secret meetings with Kaido's subordinates are a misunderstanding?"
"That must be a rumor. As a member of the Seven Warlords, why would I meet with Kaido's men?" Doflamingo forced a grin.
Kaguya leaned back on the sofa, legs crossed. "Then how do you explain the Devil Fruits you prepared for Kaido?"
Devil Fruits.
Doflamingo's heart skipped a beat.
Seeing the mocking expression on Kaguya's face, Doflamingo felt a sinking feeling. Could it be that his secret had been exposed?
His expression darkened. "How do you know about that?"
To avoid investigation, the shipment of Devil Fruits to Kaido had been kept extremely secret. Only a handful of people knew about it, and the fruits were sealed in secure crates. Even the couriers didn't know what was inside.
No one should have known about it. So how did she?
"Oh?" Kaguya blinked in mock surprise. "I was just guessing. Are you saying it's actually true?"
Doflamingo abruptly stood up, shouting, "You dare trick me?!"
"Trick you?" Kaguya said with a teasing smile. "You're thinking too highly of yourself. Has becoming the king of Dressrosa gone to your head?"
The moment Doflamingo locked eyes with Kaguya's calm, sharp gaze, he felt a chill down his spine. The memory of being thrashed by her at sea years ago flashed in his mind, instantly extinguishing the rage he had just mustered.
Regaining his composure, Doflamingo sat back down. "What is it that you really want?"
"It's simple," Kaguya said nonchalantly, filing her nails. "Hand over the Devil Fruits you have. That's all."
"Impossible," Doflamingo rejected flatly.
"Impossible?" Kaguya raised her head, smirking. "Looks like your new title as king has made you bold enough to defy me."
Doflamingo's eyes grew sharper. "Those are for Kaido. Aren't you worried he might not be pleased?"
"Not pleased?" Kaguya laughed as if she'd heard a great joke. "Why should I care if he's unhappy? If he has a problem, he's welcome to come find me himself."
Come find you?
A vein pulsed on Doflamingo's forehead.
If Kaido were that reasonable, he wouldn't be known as a tyrant. If he found out the Devil Fruits were lost, his first reaction would definitely be to kill Doflamingo.
"I know what you're worried about," Kaguya said, watching the conflict on Doflamingo's face. "Just become my lackey, and I guarantee Kaido won't touch you. How about that?"
Doflamingo's face darkened. "Lackey?"
"Oh no," Kaguya said with a bright smile. "I meant subordinate."
Doflamingo's face turned livid. No one had ever dared speak to him like this.
To make him someone else's lackey?
If anyone else dared speak to him that way, he would have annihilated them without hesitation.
But the person before him wasn't someone he could easily defeat. Though many years had passed and his strength had grown significantly through hard training, Doflamingo still didn't have absolute confidence that he could take down Kaguya.
"I won't make you decide right now," Kaguya said as she stood from the sofa. "In a few days, I expect your answer." With that, she elegantly walked toward the door.
"What if I refuse?" Doflamingo asked.
"Refuse?" Kaguya paused, then turned back with a radiant smile. "Then you have no reason to continue existing in this world."
After Kaguya left the palace, Doflamingo slammed his fist down with a boom, shattering the table to pieces. Veins bulged on his forehead, his muscles tensed, and he growled through clenched teeth, "Damn it!"
Trebol walked over nervously and said, "Doffy, what should we do? Are we really going to hand over the Devil Fruit?"
"No," Doflamingo said, calming his fury. "If I give the Devil Fruit meant for Kaido to someone else, no matter what excuse I have, Kaido won't let it slide."
He wasn't really afraid Kaido would kill him—if he truly wanted to escape, even Kaido would struggle to find him.
But doing so would mean giving up Dressrosa, the kingdom he had spent years building. That would cripple his entire plan. All his years of effort would be wasted. He couldn't allow that.
"Then what should we do?" Trebol asked hesitantly.
Doflamingo sat down on the sofa with a grim face. Everyone nearby held their breath; they had never seen him with such a terrifying expression.
"When is Drought Jack arriving?" Doflamingo suddenly asked.
"He should arrive in the next few days," Trebol answered.
Doflamingo suddenly smirked. "Looks like we won't need to act."
Trebol was stunned. Realization struck him, and he said in shock, "Doffy, you want to use Jack?"
"Exactly. As Kaido's subordinate, Jack is incredibly powerful. We can use him."
"You mean... use Jack to defeat Kaguya?" Trebol asked.
Doflamingo shook his head. "Jack alone isn't enough to defeat her. But he can stall her. Then, we just need to inform Kaido of what happened."
Trebol's eyes lit up. "Given Kaido's personality, he won't ignore this. Just for the Devil Fruit alone, he'll show up. Then it becomes a matter between him and her."
Doflamingo laughed. "Exactly. The entire Beasts Pirates will mobilize. With the crew and his three All-Stars, even she might not be able to win."
"Right!" Trebol said excitedly.
Doflamingo gazed out the window, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold sneer. "Blame yourself for being too arrogant."
Just then, someone rushed in, panting and sweating. "Bad news! It's bad!"
Doflamingo's heart sank with a sense of foreboding. "What happened?!"
"J-Jack the Drought..." the man gasped, "Jack of the Beasts Pirates has been killed!"
Doflamingo's pupils shrank violently and abruptly stood up and shouted, "What is going on?!"
The man before him turned pale with fear, his legs trembling as he stammered, "Jack of the Beasts Pirates, after disembarking, got into a conflict with the Inspector near the port for some unknown reason, and then... then Jack was killed."
Impossible.
Doflamingo couldn't believe it.
Jack, known as one of the "Three Disasters," carried the epithet of "Drought" because wherever he stepped, the land would wither and rot as if a calamity had struck. He was one of Kaido the Beast's core subordinates—a flagship officer with a bounty of one billion. Brutal and violent by nature, Jack possessed overwhelming strength.
Doflamingo had encountered him many times before. His incredibly strong physique and regenerative abilities had left a deep impression on him. It was hard to believe that someone even Doflamingo considered difficult to deal with could be so easily killed in such a short time.
Recalling the stunning smile of that unbelievably beautiful silver-haired girl as she left, Doflamingo shuddered, breaking into a cold sweat.
Meanwhile, at the port—
A man lay in a pool of blood. He wore a ponytail and two braided pigtails, had a metallic jawpiece, and ivory-like decorations on his head and shoulders. Adorned with spiked gear and a feathered coat, he had a towering, muscular build. His muscles bulged like slabs of marble, filled with immense power.
A truly fearsome figure.
He was Jack the Drought, one of Kaido's elite.
But Jack looked pitiful now. His body was riddled with black rods like a human pincushion, nailed to the ground. He couldn't even move a finger, lying there like a dead dog.
Scarlet blood streamed from his wounds, dyeing a wide area of the ground red within moments.
With injuries like that, anyone else would likely be dead already.
That was why the person who reported to Doflamingo had assumed Jack had been killed.
Kaguya nudged the motionless Jack with her foot and said, "Still not dead? Your vitality is more stubborn than a cockroach's."
Because of Kaguya's black rods, Jack's body was immobilized as if paralyzed. All he could do was glare at her with bloodshot eyes, seething with rage, his clenched teeth wishing he could tear her apart.
"Oh? Angry?" Kaguya smiled with narrowed eyes. "You're just a big ape, yet you dared to act so arrogant." With that, she stomped hard on Jack's face several times.
Jack's face twisted from the force, looking downright ridiculous. Shoeprints were left on his face, and he was so enraged it seemed like he might explode. No one had ever dared treat him like this.
This punk was someone Jack had run into as he disembarked. The two walked toward each other, and neither gave way.
Jack got angry. "How dare she not yield to me?!"
He decided he had to teach her a lesson.
But when he saw Kaguya's delicate features, his mind changed.
Of course, he didn't take a little girl seriously. In fact, he was already imagining how he would torment her after capturing her.
But he never expected it—the unbeatable Jack actually lost.
That seemingly frail silver-haired girl possessed terrifying power. Caught off guard, he was smacked to the ground with a single blow.
Just like that, he was humiliatingly captured.
Not only that, but even his ship had been destroyed. The wreckage could be seen drifting in the nearby sea.
As for the crew he brought with him, they had already been fed to the fish.
Flames of fury practically erupted from Jack's eyes.
"Hah, you still dare glare at me? You're really asking for it."
As she spoke, Kaguya raised her leg and slammed a heavy kick into Jack's abdomen. Jack flew back like he had been hit by a train, crashing hard into the arena wall and smashing a massive hole through it.
The nearby guards were dumbfounded, their jaws nearly dropping to the floor.
That wall was made of seastone—a material as hard as diamond. Ordinary blades couldn't even leave a scratch, and even with direct strikes, not a mark would appear. But now it had been shattered just like that.
Kaguya walked over, grabbed Jack by his braided hair, and dragged him out. She gave him two more kicks for good measure.
"Frustrated? Angry? Want to tear me apart? Good," Kaguya said with a cold expression. "You overgrown, bald gorilla dared to come at me? You must be tired of living."
Then, with a flying kick, she slammed her foot straight into Jack's groin.
A cracking sound followed. Jack's eyes bulged, his face turned red, and veins popped out along his neck. His whole body twitched violently as searing pain nearly caused him to black out.
Looks like he'd be spending the rest of his life serving as a eunuch in the palace.
As Jack lay on the ground like a dead fish, Kaguya turned to the nearby marines. "Bind him with seastone and report to the navy. Tell them that Kaido's subordinate Jack the Drought has been captured."
"Yes, ma'am!" the marines responded at once.
The surrounding soldiers wore stunned expressions.
That was Jack the Drought, one of Kaido's Three Disasters.
As expected of the Inspector—to defeat such a vicious and powerful enemy so easily. Jack had a bounty of one billion, and while not quite on the level of an admiral, his strength was not far off.
And yet, someone that powerful had been utterly crushed. It was beyond belief.
"Wait! Wait!"
Just as Kaguya was about to leave, a girl suddenly rushed out from the crowd, calling out as she ran toward Kaguya.
"Hey, grab her! Don't let her escape!"
A group of armed soldiers chased after her.
But before she could get far, bang! A trigger was pulled, and a net shot out from the barrel, entangling the girl completely.
"Wait! Please wait!" the girl cried, struggling desperately within the seastone net, shouting toward the silver-haired girl.
But perhaps she was too far away. Kaguya didn't seem to hear her and continued walking, not looking back.
A man who looked like a commanding officer sneered. "What, still trying to run? Someone get her back in line!"
"Wait, don't go..." The pink-haired girl, now lost in the crowd, bit her lip and wore a deeply disappointed expression.
"Let me tell you this—not even God can save you now," the officer said coldly. "Take her to prison."
"No one can save you" — was that supposed to be about me?
Just then, a beautiful voice rang out.
The tear-streaked girl froze, then quickly looked up, her lovely eyes widening in shock...
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