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At Sabaody Archipelago's Lawless Zone:
"Flame-Flame Fruit? Never heard of it."
"I remember a Devil Fruit appeared at the auction house a while ago, but I don't know if it was the Flame-Flame Fruit."
"You can go to the auction house and ask."
For ten or even a hundred times the profit, black-hearted merchants from various seas were willing to risk death to bring large quantities of rare treasures to Sabaody Archipelago, hoping to sell them for good prices.
Even precious Devil Fruits frequently appeared in the black market of Sabaody, being less rare than mermaid slaves.
Therefore, the news of a Devil Fruit appearing didn't attract too much attention. Even among those black-hearted merchants, only a handful had seen a Devil Fruit encyclopedia.
Hoenn's manager, Snake, led several of his confidants to investigate in the black market. Under the assault of money, although they couldn't find the whereabouts of the Devil Fruit, they found the seller.
At Sabaody's Girl Ship Club, the seller was drunk, with women on both sides.
"You're asking about that Devil Fruit?"
"Hahaha, this transaction made me a fortune!"
"I never thought that Devil Fruit could sell for 500 million Berry. Unfortunately, most of that money is almost spent. Hiccup~~"
When the Devil Fruit was mentioned, the seller immediately became animated and boasted. This business was the most profitable he'd ever done in all these years.
He'd bought that fruit in the West Blue for 5 million Berry from a farmer—a hundredfold increase.
When you have money, you should spend it to your heart's content!
Snake called for a few more ladies and skillfully poured drinks.
"What did it look like?"
The seller swayed from side to side, and it took him a long time to remember. "Hiccup~ It was a red fruit, like it was on fire."
Devil Fruits were strangely shaped and came in various colors. It was difficult to determine their specific abilities based solely on appearance.
It could be very powerful, or it could just be an ordinary ability. For a helpless merchant, selling it was the safest bet.
The news quickly reached Daichi.
"A red fruit."
Daichi stroked his chin.
The probability of it being the Flame-Flame Fruit was very high!
More than a year had passed since the Summit War, and the Flame-Flame Fruit could have reappeared at any time. As for who would buy it, it was almost unnecessary to investigate.
Doflamingo!
The black market in Sabaody was almost entirely controlled by Doflamingo, including not only human trafficking but also many other illegal transactions.
If a Devil Fruit appeared, with his personality, he definitely wouldn't let it go. There were no underground forces in Sabaody that could compete with him.
"Set sail!"
In the New World, at Dressrosa:
"Fufufu~ Fufufufu~~"
Doflamingo held a red Devil Fruit, his laughter growing more sinister.
"Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit!"
"Even the heavens are on my side!"
After Whitebeard and Ace died, the Donquixote Family had been secretly searching for the Flame-Flame Fruit, as well as the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Now, they'd finally obtained one of them.
Although it couldn't compare to the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the Flame-Flame Fruit was definitely a top-tier ability. At this juncture, when he was being welcomed back to the Holy Land, this fruit would become his trump card.
He'd already decided who would eat this fruit.
Heart—Vergo!
However, this matter would have to wait until he returned to the Holy Land. As a Celestial Dragon, he would bestow the Flame-Flame Fruit upon Vergo, thereby intimidating other Celestial Dragons.
He wanted to tell those Celestial Dragons that even if he'd stayed in the filthy lower world, his wealth and power would not be inferior to theirs!
Trebol leaned forward, almost touching Doflamingo, his viscous mucus just a hair's breadth away.
"Ne~ Ne~~ Doffy, what about Daichi?"
"Don't worry about him."
Doflamingo leaned back uncomfortably, creating some distance.
Too many people wanted the Flame-Flame Fruit, and Daichi was one of them. He'd even commissioned Doflamingo to help find it.
Before, he might have actually given the Flame-Flame Fruit to Daichi in exchange for more leverage with the Beast Pirates.
But now he had stronger backing.
The Beast Pirates were indeed powerful, and the Hoenn Government was not to be underestimated, but the Celestial Dragons were the rulers of the world!
As long as that national treasure existed, the struggles of mortals were meaningless. No one could resist the power of that thing, not even the Yonko.
"Fufufufu~~"
Doflamingo laughed uproariously.
The winds of a new era were blowing toward him!
On the other side, at Egghead, inside the Mother Flame laboratory, a wisp of flame burned within the huge fusion furnace.
"Finally... success!"
Vegapunk and his six satellites stood excitedly before the fusion reactor. After decades, they'd finally developed infinite energy.
The Mother Flame!
However, whether it was truly useful still needed to be verified.
Vegapunk looked at his satellites.
"Don't let the World Government know about this for now, understood?"
"Understood."
The satellites nodded.
They were all Vegapunk—the only difference being their personalities and divisions of labor. But they synchronized their brains daily and clearly understood the original's thoughts.
The Mother Flame possessed immense energy and was therefore extremely dangerous. Before fully mastering it, it absolutely could not be revealed to the public.
After witnessing the birth of the Mother Flame, Vegapunk and his satellites returned to their workstations. York, who represented greed, returned to her room.
"It's finally developed successfully!"
York's eyes were filled with greed as she took out a Den Den Mushi to contact the Holy Land.
She'd been waiting for this day for a long time!
With the Mother Flame, she could negotiate with the Five Elders and become the most noble Celestial Dragon in the world!
Not only that, she would also eliminate the original and all other Vegapunks. One Vegapunk was enough!
"Puru puru puru~~"
"Click!"
The Den Den Mushi quickly connected.
Upon learning that the Mother Flame had been successfully developed, Saturn's expression immediately changed. He went to the Room of Authority at once and summoned the other Five Elders to meet Imu.
In the Pangaea Castle Hall, at the Empty Throne, Imu—dragging her long skirt—sat on the throne. Her sharp gaze looked down at the Five Elders below.
Consecutive failures had pushed her patience to its limit.
The Five Elders collectively knelt.
"The Five Elders greet Imu-sama!"
"..."
Imu looked at them coldly.
The Five Elders bowed their heads.
"As per your wish, the Mother Flame has been successfully developed."
"Imu can't wait."
Imu spoke coolly.
In Lulusia Kingdom, she'd endured unimaginable humiliation. Now, her most urgent task was to kill that man and destroy everything he possessed.
Saturn respectfully replied.
"Imu-sama, the warship has already departed. We will escort the Mother Flame back to the Holy Land as quickly as possible. Please wait a moment."
"..."
Imu stared at Saturn.
"If you disappoint Imu again, Saturn, you know the consequences."
"..."
Saturn's body trembled.
He clearly knew what Imu-sama's consequences meant.
Death!
He feared death!