"Doffy, I found it."
Night, King's Plateau.
In Doflamingo's study, Diamante reported, "The previous—no, the current user of the Zoan Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Zoan Nine-Tailed Fox model, the 'Crescent Moon Hunter' Catarina Devon, was captured by the Marines years ago and is now imprisoned in Impel Down, Level 6—Infinite Hell."
"Alive?" Doflamingo asked.
"Alive. If any ability user dies in Impel Down, they notify the World Government and Marine Headquarters. Vergo checked the death list—no sign of Catarina Devon."
At that, Doflamingo gave an order at once. "Tell Vergo to keep quiet watch on Impel Down's movements. See if anything major happens there in the next few days."
"Understood."
Diamante nodded, hesitated as if to speak, then left without asking.
Of course Doflamingo saw Diamante's expression and knew what he wanted to ask.
But Doflamingo didn't dare, and couldn't.
Because that suspicion was far too outrageous.
If it turned out to be true, he would have to wait for Yami to expose it before telling his family.
Otherwise, if Diamante or another let something slip, even with the Beasts Pirates' shelter, the Donquixote Family would face annihilation.
"Fufufufufu… if Catarina Devon dies within days, these seas are about to go completely berserk."
After sitting dazed on the sofa a while, Doflamingo covered his forehead and let out a low, wicked laugh. "The Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the Float-Float Fruit—two of the very top Fruits among Logias and Paramecias—appearing at the same time on two rookies is already unbelievable."
"Even so, one could still chalk it up to heaven-defying luck."
"But if Catarina Devon dies and the Nine-Tailed Fox appears on that girl named Carina, it means that man Yami truly has a method to steal Devil Fruits."
At that thought, Doflamingo's body trembled involuntarily.
He was both excited and afraid.
Just like the common knowledge that everyone can eat only one Devil Fruit—
When an ability user dies, the Fruit reappears somewhere on the sea.
If you're lucky, it will lodge in a nearby piece of fruit and be reborn on the spot.
No one can interfere with a Fruit's rebirth—that is a rule of the world.
Even the World Government that has ruled for eight hundred years cannot break it—hence Impel Down exists.
Now, a monster who seems able to break the world's rules has appeared.
No one understood better than Doflamingo what that implied.
If Yami were ambitious, and if his potential and power proved sufficient, then his faction might become a second Rocks Pirates.
The Yonko-dominated balance of the New World could be rewritten.
"The Dark-Dark Fruit, because it can seal an ability user's powers, is called the most sinister ability in history."
Doflamingo recited the basics of the Logia Dark-Dark Fruit, as if he'd discovered a great secret. "If he truly stole the Nine-Tailed Fox, then the ability to seize Fruits must be connected to the Dark-Dark Fruit."
"That Devil Fruit surely hides an unknown secret."
Yami did not know that one of his greatest secrets had been guessed by Doflamingo.
If Yami knew, his estimation of Doflamingo would rise.
No wonder that in his weaker years, Doflamingo could slip from Vice Admiral Tsuru's hands time and again—one of the intellectual heavyweights of the pirate world.
But Doflamingo was too cautious. Telling Diamante wouldn't have mattered—Yami didn't care whether the secret got out.
If he feared being known, he wouldn't have said what he did to Carina right in front of Doflamingo.
Having just entered the New World and not even stayed half a day at their first stop, Yami's crew left again.
More than six thousand meters up, the Pegasus flew at a ridiculous speed.
With the More-More Fruit's amplification, the Pegasus took just over two hours to leave the New World and return to the first half of the Grand Line.
In the small hours before dawn the next day, the Pegasus hovered on the White Sea seven thousand meters up.
Beneath the cloud sea lay one of the Grand Line's most terrifying regions, the windless belt teeming with Sea Kings.
"Wait here for me. I'll be right back."
Under the cabin lights, Yami hefted a bag of fruit, cautioned the girls, opened an Air Door into the pocket dimension, and stepped through.
Moments later, from the White Sea at seven thousand meters, Yami emerged at Impel Down in the Calm Belt.
Like coming home, he passed through tier after tier without obstruction and entered the eternal night of Infinite Hell once more.
Relying on Clairvoyance and X-Ray Vision, Yami quickly located Catarina Devon.
Creak—bang!
He didn't wait for an opening—he didn't need to, and none would come.
Yami opened a door in the floor beneath Catarina Devon, dropping her into the pocket dimension.
The piercing sound of a door opening, followed by the slam of it closing, instantly alarmed all of Infinite Hell.
"A door? Who the hell is breaking out? Let me out and I'll kill my way up!"
"Wait… there's no one outside. Then what was that door sound just now?"
"Hey… you in the cell over there—what happened?"
"..."
Countless waves of Observation Haki swept out; crazed shouts and roars shook all of Infinite Hell.
The scene was immediately spotted by guards in the monitoring room and rushed to Magellan.
No doubt, in moments the strongest man in Impel Down would descend to Level 6.
A prisoner who shared a block with Catarina Devon stared, dumbfounded.
Then one inmate snapped back to himself and shouted, "The Paramecia Door-Door Fruit! Someone who ate the Door-Door Fruit slipped in and took Catarina Devon!"
"Door-Door Fruit?!"
"Great! That's the perfect jailbreak ability!"
"Hey… you in the pocket dimension—I know you can hear me! Get me out of here and I'll give you all the treasure I've stashed outside!"
"Get me out of this damned place and I'll serve you for life—I'll be your dog if I have to!"
"Same here—just take me out and I'll be your woman!"
"Save me, please!"
"..."
Supplications poured from every cell.
Those tormented by darkness and loneliness howled without dignity, voices tearing.
Only the truly strong watched coldly and sneered.
A pack of fools.
Anyone locked down here is a heinous criminal.
If it were you, would you save strangers you don't know and whose danger you can't gauge?
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