Chapter 110: Those Who Return and Those Who Flee (Part Two)

Due to his status as a former Celestial Dragon, it was exceedingly difficult for a pirate like Donquixote Doflamingo to reenter the system. Although the Seven Warlords of the Sea number only seven, their power roughly represents a unification of seven largely independent pirate crews—some even lone wolves. Strictly speaking, they stand on equal footing with the Navy, as both are subordinate organizations under the World Government.

Thus, the authority to command the Seven Warlords has always belonged to the Five Elders, not the Fleet Admiral.

Doflamingo’s primary focus now was on how to secure the position of a Warlord—a government-recognized pirate status—which, of course, was a stepping stone for an even grander plan.

Overall, this task was extremely challenging. Doflamingo himself knew that a mere “request” or “application” to the World Government would never be accepted. Therefore, he prepared to adopt a more flexible, bold, and incisive approach.

If a friendly request wouldn’t work, he would resort to blackmailing the World Government.

And he already knew exactly what he could use as leverage against the government—the annual tribute of “Heavenly Gold” paid by the world’s nations to the Celestial Dragons.

Only the Celestial Dragons ranked above the World Government, a fact Doflamingo understood intimately.

Hence, he dared to seize the transport route of the Heavenly Gold. At this moment, he had already acquired this crucial intelligence as he wished. Furthermore, a key Navy Vice Admiral had been discreetly eliminated by him—as if he had truly perished at sea, vanishing from the world.

Having accomplished this major objective, the Donquixote Pirates were finally able to set sail for home. The transport of Heavenly Gold wasn’t something you could interfere with on a whim—it was scheduled meticulously.

Gathering tribute gold from all member nations of the World Government began at the end of the year, and the actual delivery to the Celestial Dragons occurred in the first quarter of the following year. For this year, even if Doflamingo wanted to act immediately, it would be too late. So he had no choice but to wait at home.

Moreover, such a bold move that stirred the nerves of the World Government was better handled with caution rather than haste. Doflamingo likely intended to let the “Komodo Pirates’ destruction incident” settle down before making any further moves.

None of this was yet known in detail to Akira, whose most pressing and disheartening news recently concerned the doctor’s latest assessment of his injuries.

Indulgence in reckless wandering inevitably exacts a price. His wounds would require at least six months to fully heal—a painfully long time for the restless Akira.

It was quite possible that by the time he recovered completely, Law’s grave would already be overgrown with grass. Yes, that possibility did exist.

Just as Akira felt as if second and third mushrooms were sprouting on his body, the pirate ship finally docked at an island he knew best.

After a long voyage, the Donquixote family had finally returned to their “base.”

They were then greeted by the family’s “second-in-command” who had stayed behind—the captain’s younger brother, Rosinante—who, at least in theory, was the crew’s number two.

At this time, Rosinante must have been deeply concerned about what Doflamingo had been up to during this period. At the very least, he knew it was far more than just the things Akira had done. Yet the truth had been carefully concealed from him. In such times, he could not afford to show excessive curiosity. Gathering intelligence while maintaining self-protection is the most fundamental principle for any spy. When one’s life is at risk, patience is the only choice.

Once Doflamingo became certain of something or sufficiently suspicious, even his own brother would be swiftly eliminated without hesitation.

On the surface, the reunion between the two brothers showed no sign of estrangement or abnormality—not that Akira could perceive anything. But Rosinante’s time was limited.

Though these matters seemed unrelated to Akira, they implied that certain aspects of his training must accelerate. Although after disembarking, he immediately embraced a blissful, almost paralyzed existence—gazing at the smiling moon above and watching the waves dance below.

Yet, the one who truly needed to train harder now was not him, but Ain.

...

Several months later.

“Donquixote Rosinante and Trafalgar Law... have disappeared,” said Ain, who now served as Akira’s eyes and ears due to Akira’s limited mobility. She had established a system of “major discoveries and immediate reports.”

“Are you sure?” Akira’s gaze shifted from the “scenery” outside the window. He had been observing a spider nearby spin silk into a cocoon around its 158th trapped prey in a web trap.

It would be more accurate to say they had “left” rather than “disappeared.”

“Of course. This morning, a message from Rosinante was found, implying that he temporarily left the family to seek treatment for Law’s Porcelain Disease... Akira, is there really a chance that this ‘incurable disease’ can be cured?”

“Well... who knows? But at least Rosinante believes it can be cured,” Akira replied. That was all he could say; he certainly wasn’t going to claim that Rosinante planned to shove a miraculous “Surgery Fruit” medicine into Law’s mouth.

He vaguely recalled that Rosinante “should” have left the pirate ship with Law—yes, it was during the battle with Vice Admiral Tsuru that he took the opportunity to depart. Compared to that, was this new departure from the island earlier or later?

“Would you rather save one small, insignificant life in front of you than pursue grand yet elusive justice?” Rosinante’s actions effectively meant renouncing his Navy identity and duties, so Akira posed the question.

“What?” Unfortunately, Ain didn’t catch what he said; his voice was too low.

“Nothing. Did Doflamingo have any reaction?” Akira brushed it off. He couldn’t very well confess that he had just been talking about “humanity”—that would be far too pretentious.

“No particular reaction... well, no, nothing.” It was too difficult for Ain to see through Doflamingo’s thoughts. She might have sensed a slight incongruity but, upon reflection, it didn’t differ much from before, so she couldn’t provide a more detailed explanation.