Redfield and Rebecca had somehow formed a connection. Previously, Doflamingo hadn't thought much of it, but now he was starting to feel a bit uneasy. The good news, however, was that he considered Yamato, whom he regarded as an ally, capable of matching Redfield.
The three Katakuri brothers also had the strength to deal with the people of the Whitebeard Pirates. Without Whitebeard to back them, Doflamingo wasn't afraid of these remnants.
As for the Marines, he could get in touch with them through people in the World Government. That only left the troublesome people of the Revolutionary Army. As for Luffy and Law, even now, Doflamingo still regarded them as only unexpected variables, not significant threats.
"What exactly are you planning?"
"Fuffuffuffu. Just got bitten on the foot by some ants, that's all. I just need a little outside help. I'm currently contacting the Oni Princess from the Beasts Pirates, she should be more than enough to deal with this situation."
After a moment of thought, Katakuri weighed the situation and temporarily agreed to Doflamingo's hiring.
Doflamingo had been a broker in the Underworld for a long time, and naturally had close ties with many in that circle, including some connections to Big Mom.
"I have one more question, where's that Caesar?"
"Well... he was taken away by the Straw Hats. I don't know where he is now."
"Caesar belongs to us. If you can agree to that condition, then we can talk."
"No problem. But we have to get rid of these troublesome guys first."
Doflamingo had long planned to ditch Caesar, who'd become a burden. Once he found Law and obtained the formula from him, Caesar had lost all value. Doflamingo had no problem selling him off for a good price; it was simply making use of worthless trash.
Even though Doflamingo had completed a few transactions, the things he had been worrying about were starting to happen. At this moment, Rebecca was negotiating a deal of her own.
"Sir Red, I want to hire you."
"Oh? Have you changed your mind and decided to become a pirate?"
"It's not that. But Doflamingo has brought too much suffering to this country. I want to ask you to drive him out on our behalf. I offer you my word as the granddaughter of King Riku, we will pay you a satisfactory price."
"Rebecca, you must understand, I'm also a pirate. What you're offering now is nothing more than an empty promise."
Redfield had already stated that the condition for helping to take down Doflamingo was that Rebecca had to join him. He hadn't changed his mind about that yet.
The country was indeed unfortunate, but that had little to do with him.
But at that moment, with the Birdcage fully deployed, a massive change swept over Dressrosa.
Under the influence of Pica's powers, the royal palace rose up from the ground. Rocks and soil on the entire island began converging toward the center, eventually forming a massive elevated platform.
At the original location of the royal palace, although Luffy had arrived, he didn't see Doflamingo's face, only King Riku, Law, and the others who had been knocked down due to Pica using his ability.
Kyros, now restored to his original form, was there too. He had previously launched a surprise attack on Doflamingo and successfully beheaded him, but it turned out to be just a puppet made of strings.
It seemed Doflamingo wanted them to witness with their own eyes what the island would become, so he had held back from killing them outright.
At the same time, Doflamingo's voice echoed across the entire nation through loudspeakers.
"People of Dressrosa, and our honored guests, if I had ruled you with fear from the very beginning, there wouldn't be such trouble now.
"I'm sure many of you, after learning the truth, want nothing more than to tear me to pieces.
"So I've prepared a little game for you, a game where you can kill me. I'll be waiting in the royal palace. I won't run or hide."
"Of course, there's another way to end the game, just eliminate all the people I name. I'll even offer a high bounty for it. During this time, the killing will not stop."
A massive number of Parasite strings rained down from the sky across the nation, manipulating some of the people in Dressrosa to begin their attacks.
"As long as the game doesn't end, these people will keep attacking you. Even if you kill them, their corpses will continue to fight."
As he spoke, Doflamingo announced a long list of designated targets. Buggy and Usopp topped the list, becoming the highest-bounty targets.
Compared to the original timeline, there was another difference. At this time, the Thousand Sunny had returned to the vicinity, and Brook and the others were already on the island and taking action, making them targets as well.
Redfield naturally heard Doflamingo's declaration. When he saw Brook's name, he slightly changed his mind.
"I've changed my mind now. I happen to need a new ship for my voyage. Have one built for me when this is over."
A new agreement was reached, and Redfield now had a new goal.
Most people still had their own goals and planned to take down Doflamingo, but the chaos and slaughter on the island left many unsure of what to do. Was it easier to defeat Doflamingo, or to kill the dozen or so targets? This became the new dilemma for most.
"What should we do? His Majesty Riku was just proven innocent."
"Let's take down Doflamingo! There are so many of us, if we unite, we can definitely defeat him!"
"That'll get people killed! Have you forgotten what happened ten years ago? That guy's powers are terrifying! Even if we can take him down, who's willing to die to make it happen?"
War requires sacrifices. They were just ordinary citizens; no one wanted to use their own corpse to pave the way for others.
Doflamingo's actions were essentially a blatant confession. He had openly admitted to being behind the events of ten years ago.
He wasn't afraid that this would unite the country against him, because Doflamingo understood well: the human heart is the most unreliable. When pirates and citizens alike are faced with profit or the threat of death, they'll inevitably make different choices.
That was how he planned to deal with the enemies all around him—by dividing them. And with the help of a few powerful helpers he had already secured through deals, the problem would naturally resolve itself.
Not long after Doflamingo's speech ended, the once-unified people began to split into two factions.
"He's just one man!"
"He's not just one man! To kill Doflamingo, you also have to fight the 2,000 soldiers of the Donquixote Family, the officers, and that monster!"
At this moment, Pica had already transformed the rocks into a giant monstrosity, targeting all those who dared to attack. To these people, they couldn't comprehend just how powerful their enemy truly was.
But the 2000 soldiers, coupled with Pica's enormous body, and the overwhelming fear Doflamingo had instilled in them left them lacking the confidence to launch an attack against him.
"Then what do we do?! Are we supposed to go back to targeting His Majesty Riku?!"
"Actually... maybe we don't have to kill them. It's just a dozen or so people, if we capture them alive, won't Doflamingo stop?"
"Yeah, otherwise there'll be too many casualties."
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