Chapter 169: Doflamingo and Enel
Purupurupuru…
The Transponder Snail rang. At the Marine base, the communications officer slowly put down his newspaper and answered with a frown.
"Hello, G-51 Branch? This is Major Roshio. I am currently trapped on the former Skuld Island. Tens of thousands of people are trapped here. I request support from the branch! I request support from Headquarters!"
The communications officer, John, clicked his tongue. Those guys on the island really are unreliable. They actually let Major Roshio live this long. He was about to hang up, but the Transponder Snail's eyes suddenly narrowed, its expression twisting, faithfully mimicking the face of the person on the other end.
"Petty Officer John, I know you're listening! I order you not to hang up!"
The voice of Roshio, now a furious roar, made John jump. But his fear quickly turned to anger. Roshio wasn't in charge of this base anymore. In the official report, he, along with that branch-star Marine, Coby, had died at sea.
Roshio, as if he knew what John was thinking, continued, his voice now full of mockery. "You're all taking orders from that woman now, aren't you? But I bet she didn't tell you just how much gold is on Skuld Island… It's not a hundred kilograms, not a thousand… Here… there is a city of gold!"
John's angry expression was instantly shattered by the words "city of gold," his eyes turning the color of money. He swallowed. "Are you… are you telling the truth?" he stammered. "Major… Roshio?"
The Transponder Snail's eyes narrowed into a smile. "Of course. Do you really think that woman would risk sacrificing me and Coby just for the position of branch commander? She wants the treasure, a treasure that could rival a kingdom. And you, John… you'll just get a tiny, insignificant reward. You won't even get a single broken gold brick…"
John's breathing grew heavy. He glanced outside his office. "Major Roshio… what should I do?"
Roshio sneered. These people, who sacrificed me and Coby for their own profit, will of course sacrifice that woman for an even greater one.
"John, you should know that you can't swallow the entire city of gold by yourself." John nodded. He was a petty officer; a few gold bricks would be enough for him to retire and live a good life back in the North Blue.
"You have to… leak the information. Spread it as far as you can… Attract the most vicious pirates, the most greedy Marines… Only then will you have a chance to fish in troubled waters! John, listen—AAGH!"
A scream, followed by a dull thud. The Transponder Snail went silent.
John's forehead was beaded with sweat. He thought that this time, Major Roshio was probably really dead. He felt no sadness. On the contrary, his mind was now on fire.
Tap, tap…
Footsteps. A woman in the white greatcoat of a high-ranking Marine officer, her long purple hair flowing down her back, strode in, followed by a group of other officers. The coat was open, revealing a low-cut white shirt that showed off her fiery figure.
John, seeing Captain Hina, jumped to his feet and saluted. Hina's lips curled. For the first time, she paid attention to this powerless little communications officer. She patted his shoulder. "Petty Officer John. I appreciate you."
She then led her group of officers into the conference room at the back of the base. Vaguely, John could hear her ordering them to suppress the rumors that were spreading from Mock Town, something about gold. But he didn't dare get too close. Hina was sharp.
But he had heard enough. He immediately returned to his office and, after a moment's thought, pulled out another, private Transponder Snail, one he used to communicate with certain pirates and gangs.
"Hey. I have some news. I think you'll be interested…"
Kaito Shirogane sat in a tavern, tearing into a massive hunk of meat.
[You have consumed simply-cooked Sea Beast meat. You have gained a temporary buff: Stamina recovery speed slightly increased.]
His appetite was terrifying. His body's digestive ability was also abnormally high. He quickly devoured nearly 10 pounds of meat and only felt slightly full.
"Hey, old man! Don't you have a secret menu or something? Are you holding out on me because I'm an outsider?"
The owner, his face still bruised, quickly shook his head. He looked at the other pirates in the bar, all of them with broken arms and legs, and knew that this fierce, handsome man was the one who had caused all the trouble last night. It was said that he had beaten several bounty hunters to death, and then had just thrown a gold brick at the crowd of pirates who had gathered, proclaiming that he had found the city of gold and that money was now worthless to him.
This, of course, had drawn a lot of attention. All the most vicious men on the island had gathered, but by morning, the only news was of those pirate crews desperately trying to send messages out.
Mock Town, as a gathering place for pirates and villains, was connected to the underworld. It was said that even one of the Seven Warlords, the "Heavenly Yaksha," Donquixote Doflamingo, had often appeared here. It was, in a sense, the gateway to the Grand Line's underworld.
In less than half a day, the news of El Dorado's reappearance had spread throughout the Grand Line, passed through the hands of a certain "King of the Underworld," and had reached the ears of every ambitious player in the sea.
Kaito, of course, was not going to let this grand event be a pirates-only affair. He had thoughtfully contacted over a dozen Marine bases, including Headquarters. He had informed them that tens of thousands of people were being held captive on Skuld Island by a madman calling himself "God," that at least a hundred Marines had died in this sea area, and that a remnant of the G-51 branch was still fighting on the island.
He mixed truths and lies, hinting at the incompetence and corruption of certain Marine branches, while praising the bravery of the common soldiers. This way, even the most reluctant branches would be forced to send men, just to save face.
Somewhere on the Grand Line, Doflamingo looked at the special-delivery news from the News Coo and let out his signature laugh. "Fuffuffuffuffu! Hey, Baby 5. Didn't we recruit a pirate crew from Mock Town?"
Baby 5, in her maid outfit, frowned, trying to remember. But the snot-nosed Trebol had already confirmed it. "Behehehe! Young Master, we did indeed take in a 'Hyena' over there. And it seems one of his subordinates tried to contact us for help last night, but the call was cut off."
The Donquixote Family, with its many Devil Fruit users, now the rulers of Dressrosa, didn't really care about up-and-coming pirate crews. How much money could you really make as a pirate? How much influence could you really have?
Doflamingo had long since seen the gap between himself and the true monsters at the top. He was certain that as long as a man like Kaido was still on the sea, his own crew could never make a real splash. In comparison, the things he really wanted couldn't be obtained just by sailing around.
He took a drag of his cigar. "Then it seems we have a perfectly legitimate reason to set sail for Skuld Island, don't we?"
"Of course, Young Master! One of our men is in trouble… behehehe…" Trebol, as one of the top executives who had first recognized Doflamingo's potential, knew exactly what his master was thinking. That [City of Gold], if it truly existed, was a treasure that could shake the entire world. In this world, other than the "Gold Emperor" and the Celestial Dragons, no one could possibly have that much wealth. In other words, to obtain that wealth was to obtain unimaginable power.
"Then let's go and see," Doflamingo said, dropping his cigar. "This guy who was lucky enough to get a Logia fruit… let's see just how much he's worth… fuffuffuffuffu…"
He waved his hands, and his body shot into the sky. He was using his [String-String Fruit] ability, attaching invisible threads to the clouds, to move at high speed through the air, like a flying yaksha. His flamingo-pink coat was dazzling against the clouds.
On the ship, Baby 5 was still worried. "Will the Young Master be alright on his own? After all, the intel says a new Logia-user has appeared there."
Trebol just sneered. "Baby 5, do you know who the Young Master is? He is the Heavenly Yaksha! He's not some lucky bastard who just ate a Devil Fruit. This sea… it's not a place you can run wild in just because you have a Logia fruit!"
He was certain. The Young Master, a master of all three types of Haki, was not someone an ordinary Logia user could handle. And, he would not be alone. He pulled out a secret Transponder Snail and informed the family's top executive hidden within the Marines—Vergo—of their new plan.
On Skuld Island, in a massive temple complex that had been carved out of a mountain, Enel sat in his throne room. The outer buildings were made of stone, but the interior was all gold.
He tilted his head, and the spring-man, Bellamy, was lifted into the air by a powerful electric current, his body spasming in pain.
Enel's expression was cold, his earlobes strangely long. "So, in your heart, that 'Heavenly Yaksha' is stronger than me, a god? Just because of this so-called… Haki?!"
Bellamy's face was a mask of agony. This man could read his mind and was using lightning to torture him, to break his spirit.
Enel sneered. After coming to this Blue Sea, he had discovered that the people here were all arrogant. Even when faced with him, they refused to kneel and recognize him as a god. Enel was not stupid. On the contrary, he was a master of gathering information. Even back on the sky island, he had learned about the different types of Devil Fruits from the pirates who had made their way up.
In the past two years, he had killed many people on this island, and he had interrogated many more. In the end, he had learned that in the eyes of these Blue Sea pirates, even someone with his power was not the strongest. They all believed the strongest was an old man named "Whitebeard," or a madman named "Kaido." Some thought the Marine who controlled magma, "Akainu," was the strongest, or the "World's Greatest Swordsman" among the Warlords.
After his initial, angry slaughter, Enel had begun to realize the vastness of the world. He had continued to develop his ability and had consciously begun to prepare for his own weaknesses. So that one day, if one of these so-called Haki masters appeared before him to hinder his divine work, he would be able to completely destroy them.
Enel flicked his finger, and Bellamy, with his bounty of over 50 million, was sent flying across the throne room.
At that moment, a man in a Marine uniform walked out from another room. He kept his head bowed. "Captain Hina has sent a message. Several Marine branches are about to send intelligence units to this island and are preparing for a cannon barrage. She asks that you… move the city of gold as soon as possible…"
He kept his head down, but the fear in his heart was easily read by Enel.
BZZZT!
A flash of lightning, and Enel was behind him. "That Hina woman… she is also a faithless mortal. She does not understand the greatness of a god."
"Yahahahaha…!"
Enel's laugh was like rolling thunder. In the sky above the island, storm clouds were rapidly gathering, as if an unprecedented divine punishment was about to descend.