Rewinding time just a little...
While Kaido and the others were examining his memories on Sweet Island, Whole Cake Island was still brightly lit.
In the plaza, the miserable Moria was still being forced into labor reform by Gin, sweating buckets for his weight-loss mission.
Meanwhile, in a certain casino within the island's entertainment district, a group of people were shouting and hollering... over a card game.
Only three were actually playing: Doflamingo, Crocodile and Queen.
But the spectators were packed in layers, forming an impenetrable crowd.
Not only were there original members of the Beast God Pirates like King, Judge, and Smoothie, but also officers of the Donquixote Family and newly recruited pirate crew members.
"Hahaha! Finally, it's my turn to call Beast God!" Queen laughed, his thick fingers reaching greedily for the three cards on the table.
Crocodile squinted through the smoke at his hand before glancing at Doflamingo.
"Fufufufu, Queen, if your hand's no good, you can always fold. Leave the Beast God position to someone who needs it more."
Doflamingo lounged casually, one leg crossed over the other, as a few scantily clad women in swimsuits giggled and fed him peeled grapes.
"Yeah, fatty, if your cards suck, don't just call Beast God willy-nilly. You might end up losing your pants."
"Huh? I'll call Beast God if I damn well please! Who's yapping?" Queen snapped, his beady eyes scanning the crowd.
"Hey! Over here, you rude oaf."
At Doflamingo's feet, a little girl in an oversized coat and sky-blue curly hair licked a lollipop while giving Queen a disdainful look, standing on tiptoe to peek at Doflamingo's cards.
Queen froze when he saw her, then awkwardly chuckled and shrank back.
No way, no way—it was Ain.
Lately, this little girl had become the Beast God Pirates' mascot, adored by everyone.
"I'll do as I please! What's it to you?"
Crocodile sneered arrogantly, leisurely accepting a glass of red wine from Daz and downing it in one gulp.
"Daz, don't just stand there. Pour Doflamingo a glass too," Crocodile said, taking a satisfied drag from his cigar.
Sweat beaded on Queen's forehead.
This Beast God card set had just been introduced by Doflamingo.
The photos printed on them had piqued the pirates' interest.
After Doflamingo briefly explained the gameplay, everyone immediately became excited.
According to Doflamingo, this deck of cards would be printed in countless copies and sold all over the world.
The cards featuring members of the Beast God Pirates would deepen the crew's influence as people played with them over time.
For now, Doflamingo had casually selected photos of over a dozen individuals without deliberately arranging their order.
After all, Sanji technically wasn't a member of the Beast God Pirates.
But to match the number 3, Doflamingo temporarily included Sanji on the cards.
The subsequent cards were arranged as follows:
4 - Smoothie
5 - Daifuku
6 - Pica
7 - Judge
8 - Gin
9 - Moria
10 - Pudding
J - Doflamingo
Q - Queen
K - King
A - Yamato
2 - Katakuri
Little Joker - Kaido
Big Joker - Caesar
Following Doflamingo's vision, he would later create additional cards based on feedback, such as Pirate Council Chairman cards, Gold Councilor cards, Silver Councilor cards, and Bronze Councilor cards.
If the Beast God Pirates eventually had enough God-level members, there was even potential to produce a deck of Divine Cards.
When Doflamingo shared his ideas, everyone looked at him with admiration and desire.
Among them, Judge's emotions were the most complex.
"Look at this flamingo guy," he thought.
With just a simple deck of cards, Doflamingo could not only rake in massive profits but also expand the influence of both the Beast God Pirates and the Pirate Council.
If pirates wanted their images immortalized on these cards and known worldwide, they would have to prove their strength and curry favor with Doflamingo.
Judge had also heard that Doflamingo planned to create special character cards—crafted from gold—featuring powerful members of the Beast God Pirates or the Pirate Council, selling them globally at a starting price of one million Berries each.
There would also be limited-edition cards, God-level cards, Vice-Chairman cards, and Supreme Chairman cards.
"What the hell goes on in that Demon of Heaven's mind? How… how is he so damn brilliant?"
Judge was green with envy.
"Damn the Marines! Give me back my research lab! I need to make waves with groundbreaking research—I want to show off like Doflamingo too!"
Though Judge envied Doflamingo deeply, he was still thrilled that his photo had been printed on the number 7 card.
To celebrate, he dressed up meticulously, donning his Germa 66 battle suit, and had the master photographer Queen take a dashing portrait of him.
Judge realized that in this deck, two spots were occupied by members of Germa—what an honor!
If these cards spread worldwide, Germa's reputation would skyrocket!
"Play your cards! Play them already!" Queen fumed, glaring at Old Sand.
Crocodile however, remained unshaken, as if he had Queen right where he wanted him.
He casually tossed two more cards onto the table.
"A pair of Katakuris."
Bam!
Queen slammed his fist onto the sturdy table, his beady eyes turning red.
"What the hell kind of hand are you holding? After playing Beast God and Dragon God, you throw down two Katakuris? Do you even know how to play this game?"
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