"Doffy, dozens more people want to join our family today."
A slovenly man with a runny nose spoke respectfully to the young boy seated in the place of honor.
Though still young, the boy already bore some resemblance to the future Heavenly Yaksha.
A pair of brown-tinted sunglasses hid his eyes behind the lenses, making it impossible to discern his thoughts from his gaze
Accompanied by a young boy with a bowl-cut hairstyle, also wearing sunglasses.
For some reason, however, the boy had a strange piece of bread stuck to his face.
The Donquixote Family's leadership and core members had been initially formed.
They would rise by stepping over the Mafia and civilians of the North Blue.
"Trebol, we don't lack manpower right now, so there's no need to recruit so many people."
"Tell them that our Donquixote Family will only take five from this group. Only the strongest will qualify to join us."
Even at a young age, Doflamingo was already demonstrating his high intelligence and strategic mind.
He understood his goals clearly and knew that the North Blue was merely a place to accumulate strength.
There was no need to establish a large territory here—he would take his true core members with him.
To the Grand Line, to the place where he had suffered humiliation, for revenge!
Having too many people was useless to Doflamingo anyway.
He only needed true strength; the Donquixote Family would not accept weaklings.
"How much longer until we can move to the next location?" Doflamingo asked again.
He was already growing impatient, eager to toy with the fates of the North Blue's Mafia.
Ever since his own fate had been manipulated and he had suffered humiliation in Mary Geoise, Doflamingo had become somewhat unhinged.
"The family members are already prepared. They want to make a name for ourselves in the North Blue."
"Besides, the Mafia in the next area has explicitly rejected our Donquixote Family's proposal and decided to resist us."
Trebol sniffled as he spoke.
Hearing this response, Doflamingo rested his right hand on his forehead and laughed.
"Fufufufufu, what a bunch of fools."
Having come to the North Blue from Mary Geoise, Doflamingo's heart had already twisted.
In truth, he didn't want to conquer the next territory so easily—he preferred watching his enemies die in despair.
(Just like in a game, when you can spawn-camp the enemy, you don't want to see them surrender; you'd rather lure them out and wipe them all out.)
This was his greatest pleasure now, aside from rebuilding the Donquixote Family with his new "family."
However, just as Doflamingo's ambitions were beginning to take shape, he had already caught the attention of a lion.
He had no idea how terrifying his incoming opponent would be.
––––––––––––-
"Huff… huff… huff…"
In a dense forest, a nimble short-haired woman was swiftly moving through the trees.
Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her clothes were torn in several places by branches, leaving her looking quite disheveled.
In front of an exceptionally tall tree, Bell-mère came to a stop, cautiously scanning her surroundings before pulling a rice ball from her pocket and eating it.
The rice ball didn't taste good—it had already started to sour slightly.
After finishing the last two rice balls and drinking some mountain spring water from her canteen, Bell-mère patted her stomach contentedly.
Since the day she sailed away on Steel's small boat, she had been on the run.
After several days of travel, she was finally nearing the 133rd Branch.
As she approached the coast, she sank the small boat in the sea and swam the rest of the way to shore.
She did this to minimize her own traces and avoid exposure.
She didn't know how far the CP9 members had followed her, but a small boat could never outrun a large vessel anyway.
So instead of relying on the small boat to escape, she recalled something Raleigh had told her before leaving.
"If you encounter any trouble in the East Blue, you can seek help from Captain Momonga at Branch 133."
Bell-mère hadn't initially considered contacting Momonga during her escape, but during her flight she had seen her own arrest warrant.
She knew that relying solely on her own strength would only result in being captured by the CP9 organization.
Without help from others, she simply couldn't escape an organization under the World Government's command.
Among the people she knew, Duncan had been temporarily suspended, and all the marine personnel at Branch 127 were confined to their base pending investigation.
That left only Momonga and Raleigh, but Raleigh was temporarily away from the East Blue, leaving Momonga as her only possible contact.
"Hello, is this Captain Momonga of Branch 133?"
Bell-mère calmly dialed Momonga's number.
"This is Captain Momonga of East Blue Branch 133. How may I assist you, ma'am?"
Momonga, who was on his return voyage, received a strange call.
He felt puzzled - his private number was generally known only within the Marine ranks, so why would a stranger be calling?
Judging by the Den Den Mushi's display, he didn't recognize the caller either.
"I'm First Class Soldier Bell-mère from East Blue Branch 127. This Den Den Mushi belongs to our squad leader."
On the day Bell-mère escaped, her squad leader had given her his Den Den Mushi.
"Oh, Bell-mère, what's the matter?"
The World Government's wanted notice hadn't yet spread throughout the East Blue, as this wasn't a dignified affair.
Thus, many marine officers hadn't received this wanted notice.
Only World Government affiliate nations responsible for border control and some organizations under the World Government had received this wanted notice.
"Captain Momonga, I'm currently being pursued by the CP organization under the World Government due to some matters concerning Raleigh-san."
"Raleigh-san said that if I encountered any unsolvable problems in the East Blue, I should come to Branch 133 to find you."
Hearing silence from the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Bell-mère didn't make a fuss.
She just calmly gazed at the sky.
Truthfully, she hadn't placed all her hopes on Momonga - she was a strong person.
Even if Momonga decided not to help her, she would still do her utmost to protect both herself and Raleigh.
If she were truly about to be captured by the CP, Bell-mère would definitely choose to end her life immediately.
Because among all the people she had encountered, only in Raleigh had she witnessed true justice manifest.
Therefore, in Bell-mère's heart, Raleigh's life was far more valuable than her own.
(People in the world of One piece are strange indeed - sometimes a single sentence can make someone acknowledge you and willingly sacrifice their life for words you once spoke.)
After the Povo Village incident, Bell-mère regarded Raleigh as the only person who could bring justice to this world.