In the New World, in the land of Wano, Kaido stared darkly at the Den Den Mushi shaped like a flamingo, his voice low and threatening.
"Joker, you'd better explain to me why the goods you sent me were sunk by that damn old hag son. If that bastard Katakuri acted on his own, I won't blame you—I'll go to Totto Land myself to settle the score. But if this was your fault, and my shipment suffered because of it… then I'll demand ten times the compensation. Otherwise, I'll come and kill you!"
On the eastern outskirts of Flevance, in the abandoned ruins, Doflamingo gripped the Den Den Mushi, veins bulging on his forehead as he listened to Kaido's words.
The fact that Kaido was calling him meant he already knew something.
Recalling the overwhelming newspaper coverage from before, Doflamingo's rage burned so fiercely it felt like it might consume him.
But since things had already escalated this far, he might as well make the situation even more chaotic.
After letting out a sinister chuckle, Doflamingo replied.
"That shipment wasn't particularly valuable—just an ordinary Zoan-type Devil Fruit, nothing rare. A common lizard variety, worth about 120 million berries on the black market. Ten times the compensation? Fine, I'll give it to you. This incident does involve me, but… don't you want to know the real reason behind it?"
Hearing that Doflamingo would pay tenfold, Kaido's tone softened slightly.
He knew a thing or two about Katakuri—a reliable man, much like his own right-hand, King.
The fact that Katakuri had actively attacked and destroyed Doflamingo's cargo ship piqued his curiosity.
"Is this related to that brat Marine from the newspapers a while back? I remember Katakuri fought him in Gourmet Town, didn't he?"
Doflamingo's laughter turned eerie, but when he mentioned Jake, every word seemed to grind between his teeth.
"Exactly! That damn Marine brat! This whole mess was caused by that little bastard!"
"Wororororo! Joker, you're truly useless! Can't even take care of some rookie brat? You even made me lose my cargo! Do you have any idea how much effort I've put into gathering every Zoan-type Devil Fruit in this world to build my army?!"
Hearing this, Doflamingo's lips curled into a smirk.
He'd been waiting for this moment.
"Kaido, what you lost was just an ordinary Reptile Zoan fruit. But did you know that brat is also a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user? And not just any Zoan—a Mythical Zoan like yours! No, even rarer than yours! A fruit that's never appeared in this world before! That fruit is an ultra-rare Mythical Zoan that only exists in legends!"
As Doflamingo spoke, Kaido's collector's itch flared up.
He took a huge gulp of alcohol before growling at Doflamingo.
"Stop playing games or I'll kill you!"
Unfazed by Kaido's routine threats, Doflamingo continued calmly.
"Mythical Zoan: Seraphim! A Devil Fruit that only exists in myths, just like the current Marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku's Buddha Fruit! And according to my intel, that brat is currently being groomed by the Marines as their next top brass. If your Zoan army were to miss out on such a Devil Fruit..."
Before Doflamingo could finish, Kaido's laughter boomed through the air.
"Wororororo~ A Zoan user with an even rarer fruit than mine? I want him! Such a rare fruit is wasted on those worthless Marines. I'll take him under my wing, make him bear my name! Same goes for Sengoku's Devil Fruit—one day I'll kill him and claim his power too!"
Hearing this, Doflamingo felt a surge of satisfaction.
He knew Kaido had only two hobbies : attempting suicide and completing his collection of every Zoan-type Devil Fruit to make an army of it.
This was precisely why Kaido had personally come after him over some measly 120 million Beri cargo—all because of the man's bizarre collecting obsession.
Kaido's collecting habits were infamous across the seas.
Even Marco, the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, had received recruitment offers from him.
Though Marco was frequently courted—whether by Shanks or Kaido—fortunately he wasn't the type to switch allegiances easily.
The madman had even once tried recruiting Sengoku himself after seeing his powers, offering him a position as his top executive.
Shortly after making that proposal, Kaido found himself imprisoned by the combined efforts of Garp and Sengoku.
He later escaped during his execution.
Not that the Marines couldn't kill Kaido—they simply weren't permitted to.
The World Government needed to maintain balance between the Marines and pirates.
Doflamingo's mind raced through these thoughts before asking Kaido.
"So what's your plan?"
"Where is he now?"
"North Blue, but I don't know the exact country. However, I can roughly narrow it down to six possibilities: the Kingdom of Aston, the Kingdom of Yarde, the Kingdom of Prince, the Kingdom of Belltix..."
"I got it. I'll bring him back. But as I recall, you seem to have a grudge against him, So, if you kill him before I capture him, I won't blame you—because that would just prove he's unworthy of bearing my name if he can't even escape trash like you!"
"Fufufufufu, I'll bring you his head."
The buru buru sound rang out as the Den Den Mushi disconnected.
King glanced at the heavily intoxicated Kaido and sighed slightly in resignation.
He had been the one to notice the newspaper report—after all, anyone with half a brain could see how suspiciously coincidental the incident in the paper was with Joker's cargo being attacked.
Their crew had no conflict with Big Mom's pirates, at least not recently, so the only possibility was some personal feud between Joker and Katakuri.
But now, judging by his captain's words, it seemed Kaido intended to capture that guy named Jake alive.
The mere thought of it made King's head throb.
That guy was practically being groomed as the next Marine Fleet Admiral!
If they actually made a move on him, the fallout would be disastrous...
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