"Brrr-brrr. Brrr-brrr."
Luffy and Robin both turned curiously toward the sound of the Den Den Mushi.
Their ship housed two Den Den Mushi, one standard model used for regular communication, and a special white one designed to prevent eavesdropping.
Although Luffy didn't really know who might be spying on him, he had followed Robin's advice and privately purchased the secure one from the black market.
Oddly enough, getting the white Den Den Mushi actually made Luffy feel more like a real Warlord of the Sea.
To Robin and the others, just becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, recognized by the World Government, was already a significant achievement. After all, Robin didn't have the same firsthand experience as Luffy, who'd seen countless Warlords get beaten up by main characters.
To Luffy, the Warlord title was more of a game. It was a way to live out the kind of life he used to only see on TV.
Walking up to the Den Den Mushi, he picked up the receiver. The ringing stopped. Immediately, the snail's face morphed into an expression that annoyed Luffy greatly.
"Fufufufufu… Long time no see, Luffy-san."
From the Den Den Mushi came a wild and menacing voice. It belonged to none other than Donquixote Doflamingo, the most dangerous of the Seven Warlords, who was laughing maniacally on the other end.
Luffy frowned, wearing a "not this guy again" expression as he stared at the snail's little beady eyes. Holding the receiver close to his mouth, he sighed, "Yeah? What do you want now, Doflamingo?"
"Fufufufufu…"
Inside the royal palace of Dressrosa, Doflamingo lounged like a gang boss and spoke into the phone with a casual swagger, "No need to be so cold, Luffy-san. We're both Warlords, colleagues even. Isn't it only natural to keep in touch now and then?"
"Alright, alright. Just get to the point already."
Luffy cut him off, clearly impatient.
He really wasn't comfortable chatting with someone like Doflamingo. The man might act like a mob boss, but he had a way of slipping casual questions into a conversation and getting people to spill things they shouldn't. It was exhausting.
"I just wanted to say, the zombie soldiers I bought from you are selling like hotcakes. Those 2,000 basic zombies, 50 zombie generals, and three tailed-beast zombies, all sold at high prices."
"Is that so? Well, that means our partnership's going smoothly," Luffy replied indifferently. "But shouldn't you be telling Moria about this instead?"
"Fufufufu… I just found it strange, Luffy-san."
Doflamingo leaned back into his couch with a soft creak, crossing one leg over the other. "Right after I closed the deal, government agents showed up at my door. You think that's just a coincidence?"
His pointed foot stretched out toward a man kneeling before him in a suit and dark sunglasses. The man was tied up, a rag stuffed in his mouth, head slumped forward. Blood dripped from his nose, staining his suit red.
Beside Doflamingo stood Trebol, hunched over, gripping a cane and grinning stupidly. Combined with the thick snot trailing nearly to the floor, he looked like a deranged, senile old man.
"Agents?" Luffy's playful tone disappeared. His expression grew serious as he asked, "Is it CP0?"
"CP0? Fufufufu, Luffy-san, you really are well-informed. Even the secret elite spy agency under direct control of the World Government, huh?"
"Tch."
This time Luffy kept quiet. He didn't want to say anything that might give Doflamingo more ammo.
He remembered the last time he slipped up and accidentally mentioned the name of the Revolutionary Army's secret base, Baldy Island. That one slip let Doflamingo track down their headquarters.
Fortunately, Doflamingo had approached the Revolutionary Army not as a Warlord, but as the underground broker "Joker," using the information to negotiate a massive arms deal. He made a killing.
Afterward, he even sent Luffy a hefty "thank-you" payment. But to Luffy, it felt more like mockery.
That money? It was what Luffy later used to buy warships from the Marine.
Doflamingo had been trying to rope Luffy deeper into his network, contacting him frequently. He had no mob boss airs.
And so began the dark chain of operations: slave trafficking, corpse transport routes, zombie markets... all shadow trades.
With Luffy as guarantor, Doflamingo as investor, and Moria as producer, the three world-famous figures formed a powerful underground "Golden Triangle."
Over the past year, pirates had been mysteriously disappearing all across the seas. Over a third of them had ties to this trio.
CP0, short for Cipher Pol Aigis Zero, was the World Government's top-secret intelligence agency. It had nine numbered branches, each handling different levels of operations.
It was rumored that some of its agents had combat power rivaling Marine Admirals.
They didn't answer to the government, they answered only to the Celestial Dragons. Powerful and omnipresent, CP0 recruited orphans from all over the world, putting them through brutal training and bloody eliminations. The few who survived disappeared into the world, hidden in plain sight.
As for the ones who didn't make it, no one ever saw them again.
Luffy had started selling zombie soldiers partly to test how the government would react. He wanted to know what it was about Moria's fruit that made the government so wary.
"It wasn't CP0," Doflamingo suddenly said.
He glanced down at the barely-breathing agent at his feet and gestured to Trebol.
Luffy heard strange voices through the Den Den Mushi.
"Damn it, don't get so close. You're disgusting…"
"Have Sugar take care of him."
"Okay, Doffy," the snail answered with a lewd grin.
Smack-smack-smack, the sickening sound of Trebol leaving the room.
"Tch," Doflamingo exhaled irritably, then picked the receiver back up. "Alright, Luffy-san. Looks like you're not in the mood for a heart-to-heart. I'll get to the real reason I called."
He lowered his voice. "I just wanted to let you know, Godia and the kids left my place yesterday."
"Oh? They left?"
Luffy perked up a bit. He sounded genuinely interested. "How's that kid doing lately?"
"Impressive little guy. Not long ago, he even fought Diamante to a standstill. He's progressing fast, worthy of being your subordinate. Fufufufu..."
"He's not my subordinate," Luffy shot back immediately. He never thought of Godia that way.
Still, Godia had helped him take care of a troublesome matter, so if they had any relationship, it was more like master and apprentice. A three-month apprenticeship. Five-year work term, maybe.
Luffy never intended to make Godia follow him forever. In fact, he encouraged the kid to chase his own dreams.
"Alright, alright," Doflamingo laughed. "But I must say, Godia's a lot more reliable than you, Luffy-san. Fufufufu..."
Luffy's brow twitched. That laugh was really starting to wear on him.
"I got it. If that's all, I'm hanging up."
"Wait, wait, don't be like that every time!" Doflamingo called quickly. "Just one last question: What are you going to the East Blue for this time?"
Luffy's face darkened. His voice went cold. "You know exactly what I hate."
"My, my," Doflamingo chuckled mockingly. "One of my guys saw you heading that way during the last trade. Just got curious, that's all.
You're a big player, Luffy-san. I just wanted to see if there's a new business opportunity."
"Humph." Luffy snorted through his nose.
And really, what could he do? Even the Four Emperors were under surveillance. He and Doflamingo were business partners, he couldn't exactly escape that.
"Well, if you don't want to say, that's fine. It's lunchtime now. I won't disturb you any longer, Luffy-san. Fufufufu..."
Click.
Luffy slammed the receiver down, unable to stand that obnoxious laugh any longer.
Back in Dressrosa, Doflamingo didn't mind. He leaned back on the couch and chuckled, "Fufufu... such a temper."
Just then, Trebol returned. "Doffy, it's done. But lately, there've been a lot more government agents sniffing around. Luckily, Sugar's ability is still special enough."
"Sugar's an important part of the family. Make sure you protect her, Trebol," Doflamingo said, standing and walking toward the castle window.
"Of course!" Trebol answered instantly.
"And one more thing..." Doflamingo's tone grew solemn. He looked out over the laughing, carefree kingdom and said in a low voice, "Be especially cautious of outsiders."
"Yes!" Trebol replied again. He glanced up, saw that Doflamingo had nothing more to say, and tactfully withdrew.
"CP0, huh..." Doflamingo looked down at the city through his sunglasses and chuckled. "Fufufu... Looks like things are starting to get interesting.
And you... you know far more than I imagined, don't you? Fufufufu..."
"Fufufufufufu, Fufufufufu!"
He suddenly spread his arms wide, his heavy pink feather coat flaring like wings. The silky feathers trembled in the breeze as he struck a wild, triumphant pose.
"Fufufu! Monkey D. Luffy! What an entertaining man you are! Let this chaotic era spiral even further into madness!!! Fufufufufu!!!"
His laughter echoed from the royal palace of Dressrosa, piercing the sky and scattering the clouds above.
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