"Do you know the meaning represented by the Will of D. Clan?"
"Me? No idea." Dante, who was just putting away his Den Den Mushi, looked up in confusion at Trafalgar Law. The surgeon had marched up to him with a grave expression. "Why? What's wrong?"
"..."
'You're asking me what's wrong?'
Law's expression reddened with exasperation. Yet, he couldn't dismiss the intelligence he had gathered recently. This man... always managed to get his hands on exclusive information. Therefore, Law strongly suspected that Dante knew exactly what it meant but was withholding the answer.
Not that Law was the type to pester someone endlessly. While uncovering the secret of the Will of D. had become his primary goal after Doflamingo's capture, he wasn't desperate. As Law, he believed the truth would find him eventually.
As for right now... perhaps ignorance was safer.
Law fell silent for a moment, his gaze shifting to Mock standing at the ship's bow, the Golden Mane Cloak fluttering behind him. Law's eyelid twitched. "Does he really possess the 'D', in his full name?"
"I don't know!"
'You don't know, yet you recklessly slapped a 'D' onto his name anyway?' Law looked ready to pop a vein.
The Dressrosa incident had caused a massive stir. Beyond the Marines, countless ambitious opportunists would be eyeing that bounty. Given how famously arrogant the man was, adding the moniker 'D' to the mix...
Law's lip twitched. "Aren't you worried someone's going to beat him to death?"
"To be honest..." Dante frowned, considering it. "Given the current situation... whether he has the hidden name or not won't change the number of people wanting to kill him."
True enough. Ignoring the hidden name and the bounty, his sheer arrogance alone was enough to make plenty of pirates want him dead.
Law fell silent again, realizing that while the 'D' added risk, it was a drop in the ocean compared to the danger the man was already in.
However.
"In that case..." Law furrowed his brow. "Why force the name on him at all?"
"When you're out in the world, status is something you have to give yourself~"
Law stared at him, then decided to drop it. As an ally, he had said his piece.
Besides... the Hero of the Marines and a Marine Admiral were Dante's backers. Even if the 'East Blue Overlord' went down, Dante wouldn't. The man would probably just return to the Marines like he was going home on leave.
Seeing Law retreat, Dante didn't press the issue either. He reclined on his beach chair, enjoying tangerines peeled by Robin and grapes hand-picked by Viola.
Then, he sighed with a touch of melancholy.
The team was growing, and it seemed the rumors about him were past the point of whitewashing. Once news got out that a female executive of the Donquixote Family had fallen into his hands, the stories about the "Corrupt Marine Captain" would circulate the seas with renewed vigor.
Dante sighed at that, 'Such slander'. Shaking his head, he looked at the Devil Fruit in his hand, or rather, the Artificial Devil Fruit.
It was the "failed" specimen Vegapunk had hidden on Punk Hazard. The Azure... no, the Pink Dragon. The Artificial Devil Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Kaido Form. Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon.
On the way to Dressrosa, he had asked Kuma to make a detour to retrieve it. With Vegapunk missing, Caesar Clown had accepted a reappointment as a World Government Scientist. Since Caesar hadn't hidden on Punk Hazard with Doflamingo's help, the island remained uninhabited, making the retrieval straightforward.
Of course, Vegapunk claimed it was a failure, but who knew if that was solely due to its color? Regardless, the ability itself was impressive.
But who to give it to?
It was a pity Mock had already eaten one. Honestly... this fruit would have suited him perfectly.
Setting aside the "macho pink" color, the dragon form alone was terrifying. Combined with the "East Blue Overlord" title and Kaido's reputation, it would be the ultimate bluff. Mock had the fame and the personal pirate ship, with this fruit, no one would dare look down on the Mock Pirates.
Alas, to 'recruit' Vegapunk back then, Mock had consumed the Clear-Clear Fruit. Not that invisibility wasn't useful, but a giant dragon was far more domineering. Plus, the physical boost from a Zoan type was convenient.
"Is this an Artificial Devil Fruit?" Robin observed the unique fruit with a hint of admiration. "As expected of the world's greatest scientist. To think he could manufacture even these..."
"I've heard of them, too." Viola frowned, looking at the fruit in Dante's hand. "After the explosion on Punk Hazard, the Donquixote Family received intel about someone manufacturing artificial fruits-rumors pointed to that evil scientist, Caesar Clown. Doflamingo suspected it was true and planned to send Vergo to extract him, but the World Government got to him first. To think..." She let out a breath of amazement. "To think it's actually real."
"It looks a bit weird." Nami narrowed her eyes at it. "Is this thing worth any money?"
Kuina and Vivi leaned in curiously.
Of course, Nami was just talking. Despite her sensitivity to berries, she knew this fruit was too hot to sell. Vegapunk had just vanished, if they suddenly put an Artificial Devil Fruit on the market, it would be a dead giveaway. They had the scientist himself, there was no need to expose their hand for a single fruit.
Dante shook the fruit. "Any of you want to eat it?"
Unsurprisingly, they all declined.
Robin and Viola already had powers. Nami had no interest in becoming a landlubber. Kuina was dedicated to the sword, even if the fruit was powerful, she was hesitant to rely on it. And Vivi... she didn't object to fruits in principle, but she felt a pink dragon didn't quite suit her image.
Dante decided to store it for now. Since he had Vegapunk and access to Kaido's lineage factor, perhaps he could build a Pink Dragon Corps in the future.
"Let's go home!" Dante stretched comfortably, shaking his head.
Once they were back, he'd have to intensify Mock's training. Couldn't have the man blowing his cover now.
--**--**
However, Dante was unaware.
Because of his little prank, the atmosphere in the Fleet Admiral's Office had just plunged into solemn gravity.
"Take a look at this!"
===============
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