"Yes!"
Doflamingo lowered his voice and said, "A few days ago, about the fourth day after the battle on Cake Island, Blackbeard, a member of the Whitebeard Pirates' Fourth Division, had contact with Nini Poland. Not only that, but Blackbeard also made contact with the vice-captain of the Lance Pirates…"
Hearing this, Vladimir paused, raising an eyebrow. "Blackbeard! What is this guy up to? What does he want?"
He didn't need to ask to guess.
Nini Poland had lost the protection of the Unicorn Pirates. There were certainly many people eyeing her "Treasure-Hunting Mouse" ability, Vladimir himself being one of them.
And Blackbeard approaching her was likely to find the Dark-Dark Fruit using this ability.
"This is interesting. That guy is indeed acting quickly."
Vladimir chuckled softly. "However, that little girl will probably make special demands. Doflamingo, keep an eye on the Navy's prison ship. In the next few days, there might be some good drama unfolding."
...
Blackbeard, whose full name is Marshall D. Teach, belongs to the Fourth Division of the Whitebeard Pirates.
This man is an ambitious schemer who has been hiding within the Whitebeard Pirates, his goal being to obtain the most ferocious Logia-type Devil Fruit—the Dark-Dark Fruit!
Upon hearing the news of Blackbeard's contact with Nini Poland, Vladimir's first thought was that he wanted to find the Dark-Dark Fruit using the Treasure-Hunting Mouse.
While contemplating how to intervene, Vladimir fell silent for a moment.
"Keep an eye on the prison ship?" Doflamingo frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Are you out of your mind?"
Vladimir glanced at him and shook his head. "Nini Poland's brother has been captured and is currently being escorted by a prison ship to the Deep Sea Prison. If you were her, and Blackbeard came knocking, wanting to use the Treasure-Hunting Mouse's ability, what demand would you make as a trade?"
"Rescue him!" Doflamingo suddenly realized. "I see… Fufufu, but that's unrealistic. As one of the high-profile criminals, the prison ship escorting Andy Poland must be guarded by at least three Vice Admirals, possibly even an Admiral. Teach is just a crew member, not a direct subordinate of Whitebeard, so he doesn't have that kind of combat power to intercept a ship and rescue someone."
If it were a direct subordinate under the Whitebeard Pirates, there might be a slight chance of success. But a mere crew member attempting such a feat was wishful thinking.
Moreover, even if it were an executive, it would be difficult to defeat an Admiral one-on-one. They could only hope that no Admiral was escorting the prison ship.
"Hehehehe…"
Hearing this, Vladimir couldn't help but chuckle. "You can go tell Shanks that."
"Huh?" Doflamingo paused. "Is something wrong?"
"Shanks has three scars on his left eye," Vladimir said. "He once had a battle with Blackbeard. Back then, Shanks' right arm wasn't broken yet, and it wasn't due to carelessness or a sneak attack."
"How is that possible?!"
Doflamingo exclaimed in astonishment. "That guy has that much strength?"
Shanks rose to prominence quickly, and his strength grew remarkably fast. It only took about ten years from the dissolution of the Roger Pirates to him becoming an Emperor.
"What's impossible about it," Vladimir said calmly. "Ten years later, Blackbeard will also become an Emperor, even replacing Whitebeard as an Emperor."
"Wait, let me think carefully."
Doflamingo held his forehead, frowning in thought. "Shanks' left eye does have scars. Judging by the marks, were they made by a claw-like weapon? Marshall D. Teach did indeed use claw weapons with his left hand in the Whitebeard Pirates."
Thinking about it, it really seemed possible.
Although he didn't pay much attention to Blackbeard, and his presence in the Whitebeard Pirates was rather faint, Doflamingo still collected intelligence on anyone under Whitebeard.
"What's the point of you thinking about it here? Why not go and keep a close watch on the prison ship? If my prediction is correct, they'll make their move soon."
Vladimir chuckled. "Besides, whether he's strong or weak makes no difference to this Ninth Master."
"Alright, I'll have someone get on it right away."
Doflamingo nodded, then added, "Also, we obtained a lot of items from clearing the battlefield. I'll have someone bring them over immediately so you can take an inventory."
With that, he turned and left.
The top executive Pica also followed him out in silence. Not long after, Pica entered, carrying a large chest in each hand.
"These are the spoils of war," he said concisely…
"Fantas, scan them."
Vladimir nodded and instructed inwardly.
Instantly, a barely perceptible force swept over. After a moment, the answer from the Fantasia gene sounded in his mind.
"Mysterious power detected… Quantity: one. Very weak."
Vladimir paused, suddenly intrigued. He opened the chests and searched through the pile of spoils. It took him a full five minutes before he finally found the target.
It was a pocket watch, very old, with nothing particularly special about it.
"Can it be absorbed?" Vladimir asked inwardly.
"Yes, but the contained mysterious power is less than one-fifth of a Devil Fruit."
"Then forget it."
Vladimir was speechless.
It wasn't a Devil Fruit, but this was the second time he had encountered something containing mysterious power. The first time was a jade box on Fish-Man Island. His Nine-Tailed Fox transformation was unlocked by absorbing the power within that jade box.
"I wonder what this thing is useful for?"
After examining it for a while, Vladimir found nothing unusual and put it aside for now.
Then, he looked at Pica and said, "Doflamingo has an auction house under him, right? Sell all of these and convert them into cash."
"...Alright."
Pica was silent for a long time before nodding.
Next, Vladimir asked the two to leave and sat on the sofa, continuing to ponder the item in his hand.
The pocket watch was gold on the outside, with a mechanical structure inside. He even disassembled it, but still found nothing particularly special.
"Never mind, I'll keep it for now. Maybe I'll figure it out someday."
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