Back in his room, Jin shut the door, dropped into his chair, and stared at the ceiling.
Yeah… it was about time to move to the next phase.
He reached into his coat, pulled out a transponder snail, and dialed a number from memory.
"Beli-beli-beli… kacha."
A lazy, mocking voice came through.
"Who is this?"
Jin smiled.
"Yo, Doflamingo. Let me properly introduce myself."
"My name's Arakaki Jin. I'm a Marine, Lieutenant Commander at the Loguetown base. Hobby: robbing pirates."
There was a pause on the other side.
"…Fuffuffuffu…"
"I remember now. I've seen your file."
"You're that bastard Marine."
Jin grinned wider.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Doflamingo's tone sharpened.
"Quit wasting my time, Marine. What do you want?"
"I'm a busy man."
Jin lit a cigar, the flame reflecting in the snail's eyes.
"Tsk, don't be so cold, Heavenly Yaksha."
"I just want you to help me with a small favor."
Doflamingo actually sounded amused at that.
"Well now, that's rare."
"A Marine coming to me for help."
"Fuffuffuffu. Go on, then. Let's hear it. I'll decide based on my mood."
"I know you've got long arms and long eyes, Donquixote Doflamingo," Jin said, stressing the full name.
"I'm not asking you for anything complicated."
The name Donquixote hit him like a spike of ice.
On the other end, Doflamingo's veins bulged on his forehead.
How does this little Marine know that name…?
Jin's tone stayed light.
"So, want to hear what I need from you first?"
"Then decide if you're doing me this favor?"
"…Talk."
"I want someone in the West Blue taken care of," Jin said, exhaling smoke.
"Name's Capone Bege."
"If he hasn't eaten the Castle–Castle Fruit yet, don't kill him."
"I'm interested in the whereabouts of that Devil Fruit."
Doflamingo's laugh came out sharp and angry.
"Fuffuffuffu…"
"You do realize I'm in the North Blue, right?"
"You think I can just stroll over to the West Blue for you?"
Jin shrugged, even though the other man couldn't see it.
"No, I know you can do it."
"Oh?" Doflamingo drawled.
"You sure trust me a lot, Marine."
"And what makes you think I'll help you at all?"
"Because I think you will."
Doflamingo's interest snagged.
"And what gives you that much confidence?"
Jin smiled.
"Because I've got news on Law's whereabouts."
"And a little something that could seriously inconvenience you."
On Dressrosa, the wineglass in Doflamingo's hand cracked just from his grip.
This brat… what does he know?
"Law's location," he repeated.
"And something you say can 'threaten' me."
"Let's hear it."
Jin leaned back on his sofa.
"Law's not a lie."
"Last I heard, he's lingering on a small island near where your last 'operation' went down."
"As for the thing that could hurt you…"
He took another drag.
"I heard there's a man named Vergo," Jin said softly, almost gently.
"Who's been living very comfortably inside Marine Headquarters."
"..."
On the other end, Doflamingo's aura turned murderous.
He crushed the glass in his hand with a crack.
Red wine dripped onto the floor like blood.
In the palace courtyard, Trebol, Pica, and Diamante all turned their heads.
"Doffy, what's wrong?"
"Something happen?"
"Need us to move?"
Doflamingo forced his expression to smooth out.
"It's nothing."
"Get out," he said flatly.
The three core officers looked at each other, then withdrew.
"Fuffuffuffu…"
"You wouldn't dare use that to threaten me," Doflamingo said.
"You know what happens to people who hide information from the World Government."
"You should know that even better than I do."
"Tsk, tsk. Don't try that on me," Jin replied.
"You read my file."
"You should know that kind of threat doesn't work on me."
"Bastard…"
"So here's what I'm thinking, Doffy," Jin went on.
"We cooperate."
"Now, in the Blues."
"And later, on the Grand Line."
"Better than starting off as enemies and making everything messy—for both of us, isn't it?"
Kuro, who had just arrived outside the door, froze.
…Did I just overhear something I should never have heard?
He stayed perfectly still.
Jin crooked a finger without looking back.
Kuro hesitated, then came in and sat opposite him.
On the line, Doflamingo was silent for a few moments.
"…You're sure you're not lying about Law?"
"Positive."
"So far as I know, he's with a mink who looks like a polar bear."
"…I'll do it," Doflamingo said at last.
The line clicked dead.
He stared at the crushed glass in his hand, then turned.
"Diamante."
"Yeah, Doffy?"
"Go to the West Blue and deal with a man named Capone Bege."
"After that, have the intelligence officers track down the Castle–Castle Fruit."
Diamante winced.
"Ah, that might be… difficult, Doffy."
He looked genuinely troubled.
"No," Doflamingo said calmly.
"You can do it."
"I believe in you, Diamante."
"N-no, you place too much faith in me…"
"I insist."
"…Well, if you insist that much, I guess I can handle it," Diamante said quickly, terrified Doflamingo would rethink it.
"Leave it to me."
Doflamingo's grin returned.
"Fuffuffuffu."
"I'll be counting on you, then."
He watched Diamante walk away, and his face darkened again, eyes cold.
"One after another…"
"Everyone thinks they can threaten me."
"Fuffuffuffu…"
"This rotten world…"
"Would be better off destroyed."
His Conqueror's Haki exploded out of him like a storm, crashing into the sky.
Out by the pool, bikini-clad women dropped to their knees, trembling as waves of pressure rolled over them, making the water slosh and ripple.
In Loguetown, Jin flicked ash off his cigar and looked at Kuro.
"You're really not afraid I'll get rid of you?" he asked.
"You heard everything."
Kuro met his eyes.
"If you were going to, you wouldn't have let me hear it."
Jin snapped his fingers.
"Heh. Smart."
"Right answer."
"Climb as high as you can," he said.
"Get stronger as fast as you can."
"Don't fall behind."
"And you?" Kuro asked, taking a sip of tea.
"What are you planning?"
"Me?"
Jin thought for a moment, then smiled crookedly.
"…Me, huh."
"I can't ever be part of the Marine high command."
"They'll reject me. Squeeze me out. Keep me far away from the center of power."
"Maybe throw me into the New World as a blunt instrument."
Kuro had wondered why earlier.
But looking at that unruly face, those eyes that refused to bow to anyone, he understood.
Jin shook his head.
"I like robbing pirates."
"I like using pirates as training dummies."
"I like watching pirates butcher each other."
"With that personality, you think I'm suitable for a 'position of power'?"
Kuro frowned.
"That's not what I heard."
"The ones you rob and kill are the scum-of-the-earth pirates."
"But the ones forced into piracy…"
"You bind them, take the leaders, send the crew to prison…"
"And send the innocents home."
Jin exhaled smoke.
"Heh."
"Maybe I was a little too broken when I was a kid."
"Got persecuted enough I started feeling sympathy for people like that."
Kuro studied him.
"You're just going to accept being used, then?"
"Follow orders like that and call it a day?"
"You don't look like that kind of man."
Jin stared at the burning tip of his cigar.
"My biggest dream… is simply to stay alive."
"…To stay alive?" Kuro repeated.
Jin nodded.
"Yeah."
"To stay alive."
"To live free in this world."
Kuro thought about it.
"That's a pretty big dream."
"Bigger than most people's."
"And probably harder than all of them."
Jin chuckled.
"Exactly."
"The simplest, plainest dream."
"And the hardest to pull off."
"How's that for irony?"
"In any era, if you want to live free, you need power."
"Or authority."
"Preferably both."
Kuro looked at his hands.
"You don't think you're strong enough yet?"
Jin raised a brow.
"You think I am?"
Kuro remembered the day Jin's slash cut his ship in half.
He remembered how powerless he'd felt.
"Yes."
"You're very strong."
"That slash you used that day, I felt like I couldn't survive it even if I used every trick I had."
"I thought it was some kind of special weapon until I heard the others say it was just you."
Jin patted the hilt of the greatsword beside him.
"It's still not enough."
"I'm not strong enough yet."
Kuro laughed quietly.
"I can't imagine it."
"If someone like you isn't 'enough'…"
"Does that mean the rest of the world is full of monsters?"
Jin grinned.
"It's not that everyone's a monster."
"But there are… plenty of them."
"Right now, I've only earned the ticket to stand at the door of freedom."
"I don't have the strength to push it open yet."
"That door—for me—that's the real dream."
Kuro's eyes narrowed.
"How strong do you have to be to open a door like that?"
Jin's gaze went distant.
"Strong enough that everyone hesitates before they touch you."
"Strong enough that anyone who wants to move against you has to think about the cost."
"And decide it's not worth it."
"When I reach that point, then I can stay in the Marines or walk away."
"It won't matter."
He stood up, stretching.
"All right, that's enough talking."
"Once you're familiar with the paperwork, we start the real training."
"You and that hypnotist."
"When you're strong enough, you'll understand just how insane my 'little dream' really is."
Kuro's lips curled.
"…I'm looking forward to it."
At that same time, the Red-Haired Pirates were fleeing the gauntlet and about to reach Reverse Mountain.
"Damn it!"
"These guys are chasing us like rabid dogs!"
Shanks yelled at the wind.
"As soon as they see our flag, their eyes start shining like they're looking at a gold mine!"
Beckman took a long drag of his cigarette.
"With your bounty and ours, you really don't understand why?"
"Er… hahahaha."
Shanks scratched his head.
"Didn't think I was that famous already."
Beckman rolled his eyes.
Lucky Roux spoke around a chunk of meat.
"Boss, our crew's total bounty is just over thirty billion."
"If I were out there, I'd be greedy too."
"That's a lot of meat."
"Just thinking about it makes my mouth water."
Shanks burst out laughing.
"So we're that valuable, huh?"
"Hahahaha!"
His optimism was so ridiculous that the whole crew could only shake their heads.
But that was who he was.
That was who they all were.
Beckman watched the spray off the bow.
He still felt a chill when he remembered the first wave of bounty hunters and Marines coming for them after the posters went out.
Only after they'd slaughtered enough people, made enough examples, did the sea calm down again.
"Boss!"
"Government ship ahead!"
Shanks ran to the prow and used a spyglass.
"…Oh."
"It really is a World Government ship."
He grinned.
"That just means we can't let it go, right?"
"After all the trouble they put us through, we need to collect some interest."
He turned and shouted.
"Grab your weapons, boys!"
"We're boarding!"
"OOOH!!"
Ten minutes later, it was over.
The sea was quiet again—except for the sounds of cleaning up.
"Shanks, look at this!"
"One of the chests had a Devil Fruit in it!"
They opened the crate.
A bizarre, spiraled fruit with strange markings lay inside.
Flipping through a Devil Fruit guidebook, Yasopp's eyes lit up.
"According to this…"
"This is…"
"The Rubber–Rubber Fruit… the Gomu Gomu no Mi."
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