"As expected, huh?!" Doflamingo wasn't disappointed. Truth be told, he was greedy for how quick and widespread Amazon Lily's Haki training was. If possible, putting all the orphans he'd gathered through Kuja training would quickly forge a powerful combat unit.
He'd been refused. But most things could be negotiated. Doflamingo sweetened the pot.
"Fine. I'll send only girls to train on Amazon Lily. Besides that, the Donquixote family can cooperate with you on material exchanges. And I'm willing to provide Amazon Lily with thirty million Berries in supplies every year—free."
"Mingo-nii, you're the best! Then we won't need to go out raiding anymore!"
Torch Lily was delighted. Only after becoming Empress had she learned how important Berries and supplies were. Amazon Lily sat in the Calm Belt; resources on the island were limited. Without raiding, they'd basically be waiting to starve. So don't underestimate free annual supplies worth thirty million Berries—that could outstrip several Kuja raids. Add in ordinary trade, and maybe the Kuja Pirates wouldn't need to plunder at all—fewer sisters would die.
Shakky, by contrast, thought deeper. On the surface it favored Amazon Lily, yet something about it felt… off. She couldn't say what. Think as she might, she found no fatal flaw. Would anyone really take losses just to satisfy someone else? She didn't quite understand. Failing an answer, she chalked it up to Doflamingo repaying the help she'd given his growth—with an outsized chip.
Shakky gave Torch Lily a confirming look, signaling her to decide for herself. She was the reigning Empress of Amazon Lily, after all.
"Okay, Mingo-nii. On behalf of Amazon Lily, I accept your partnership!"
"Then—happy cooperation." Doflamingo offered his hand, habit carrying him to clasp her small fingers. Torch Lily flushed scarlet; her body heat spiked, steam practically puffing from her head.
Cooperating with Amazon Lily wasn't a whim. On one hand, Doflamingo truly wanted a training ground for his reserve family members. On the other, Amazon Lily's geography was simply too good. Launched from there, a surprise campaign would enjoy innate positional advantages. Solve the Sea King problem, and you could mount rapid cross-sea operations with pinpoint timing.
Of course, considering whether Rayleigh would meddle after retirement… Doflamingo could only say: with him around, it'd be best for Rayleigh to stay with Shakky on Sabaody and mind his own business.
Otherwise—promises? What are promises worth? When you're weak, they have some bite. But once the roles reverse, who cares about a weakling's impotent rage?
Facing Torch Lily's ardent love, Doflamingo suddenly recalled a common theory in the "original." For twenty-eight years of rule, Torch Lily remained extremely low-key—so much so her beauty barely spread beyond rumors, at odds with a Kuja empress. Many, following the timeline, conjectured she might be Luffy's mother—meeting Dragon when he was young, falling for him over some affair, and hence never becoming famous worldwide.
Whatever the truth, he didn't care. Torch Lily already bore his mark. If she truly were Luffy's mother, then Doflamingo would simply make Luffy… change mothers.
As if to validate his suspicion, Doflamingo's Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) suddenly pricked. A notable presence, closing fast from the sky, was headed straight for the wooden house.
Several nautical miles off Amazon Lily, a small tornado scudded the white clouds forward at extreme speed. The violent wind carved a furrow through the sea, a gash that refused to heal.
Soon, the tornado—almost as if sentient—unwound and came ashore at Amazon Lily's harbor in human shape.
Look closely: a young man in a black hooded cloak stood there, peering about. Plainly, this was his first time on the island.
He'd only taken a few steps when golden-haired Kuja guards appeared from nowhere, bows raised.
"Who are you, rude man? Back off! Amazon Lily does not welcome men!"
"Eh?" The young man was baffled. Was the island really this guarded? That old man Garp had said that apart from not welcoming men, Amazon Lily didn't have much of a security posture!
Perhaps that would have been true—if Doflamingo hadn't come two years earlier. Since his intrusion, and under Shakky's orders, Amazon Lily had posted rotating guards at the harbor and beyond.
"Thwip, thwip—"
When the stranger ignored their warning, the Kuja archers loosed several Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki)-coated arrows.
The young man slipped past each shot as if forewarned, then raised his hands and called out:
"Hey, hey—girls, I mean no harm. I'm Dragon. I'm here to deliver a message from Rayleigh. Please inform Empress Shakky!"
"Rude man—die!" As the saying goes, women don't argue logic. The golden-haired warrior cared nothing for his nimble dodges or his request for Shakky. She spun her spear and dashed, thrusting straight for him.
He was, after all, the future leader of the Revolutionary Army. Her strike posed no real threat. But hitting her wasn't an option. And being beaten down passively wasn't either. After a beat of thought, he decided he'd have to knock her out.
He never got the chance.
A razor strike hammered in from the front, too fast to evade. He could only harden his arm with Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) and block.
With a bang, Dragon skidded back several meters. In the spot he'd just occupied, Doflamingo stood, gaze cool and contemptuous. Young as the man looked, his future features were obvious enough.
Whatever Dragon's purpose, Doflamingo had no intention of giving him time to explain. Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) roared to full, pressing down like a falling sky.
"What incredible Haki!" Dragon's heart jolted. He hadn't expected Doflamingo's aura to be this overwhelming. He was at the fiery age; even sensing he might be outmatched in Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki), retreat wasn't in him. He flared his own and met Doflamingo fist-to-fist.
Their clash shook the island. Haoshoku crashed against Haoshoku; black clouds spread to smother the sky. A giant rift split the stormbank above, as if the two masses of cloud were locked in a duel.
(End of Chapter)
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