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Mock Town.
The sky had cleared.
After the elimination of Machvise and his associates, the Germa clones had taken control of the town.
In the basement of Machvise's hideout, they had found a cache of weapons and six kidnapped children.
It wasn't surprising. Jin knew that Doflamingo had his hands in everything, that he was a major player in the arms trade, with influence all over the world. He also ran an illegal auction house, supplying slaves to the Celestial Dragons and other wealthy nobles.
Jin suspected that Doflamingo was already in business with Kaido, selling weapons for him. Doflamingo was just a broker, after all, not a manufacturer. So who was the manufacturer?
Not a hard guess.
Kaido's three top commanders were King, Queen, and Jack.
Doflamingo was Joker.
Put them all together, and you've got a full house.
It would be stranger if they 'weren't' connected.
"You sell weapons? So do I," Jin mused, sipping his tea and reading a newspaper. The front page was about the Warlord meeting. "You deal in Devil Fruits? So do I. What a tangled web we weave."
Cricket had said that Doflamingo had been here. Jin deduced that he was still in Paradise.
The call to Diamante... Jin had let it go through. He was deliberately provoking him.
With evidence in hand, he was curious to see how Doflamingo would try to deny it.
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"King Jin of the Winter Blossom Kingdom has appeared in Mock Town and has killed one of Doflamingo's top executives."
After a long morning of waiting, this was the latest intelligence report that reached Sengoku and Tsuru.
"Is this confirmed?" Sengoku asked, stunned.
"It is," Tsuru replied. "The report came from a Cipher Pol agent embedded in Mock Town. It happened this morning."
Sengoku frowned. "That king is too reckless. Just because he has the favor of the Celestial Dragons... he thinks he can just ignore a Warlord and kill one of his men. No wonder Doflamingo left in such a hurry."
Sengoku said the words, but a flicker of a smile played at the corner of his eye.
Did the top brass of the Marines not know what Doflamingo was up to?
Of course they did.
There were many in the Marines who despised the Warlord system.
But the Warlords were an institution created by the World Government. Theoretically, they were on equal footing with Marine Headquarters. They were even a check on the Marines' power.
The top brass could only turn a blind eye.
And now, hearing that Doflamingo had been taken down a peg, Sengoku was secretly pleased. But he couldn't say it. He couldn't even smile.
"Indeed," Tsuru said. "A very willful king. I hope he knows what he's doing."
Sengoku put on a pained expression. "Yes," he sighed. "Why must he go out of his way to antagonize the Warlords? Ah, well. Let's get back to the meeting. By the way, Captain Hina on Asuka has his contact information, doesn't she? Have her send him a message. 'Marine Headquarters strongly condemns this action.'"
"Of course," Tsuru said. "We must protest."
Playing their parts perfectly, they made the arrangements.
When they returned to the meeting room, Hanafuda asked, "Where's that flamingo? I heard he took off."
"There was an incident," Sengoku explained. "One of his executives offended a king and was killed."
"Offended a king and was killed?" Jinbe said, surprised. What king would dare to kill a Warlord's subordinate? And Doflamingo wasn't just any Warlord. He was also the king of Dressrosa, a member nation of the World Government.
"Hey, hey," Hanafuda said. "It's not him, is it?"
"It is," Tsuru replied.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Hanafuda was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, a laugh filled with undisguised schadenfreude.
Jinbe, Hancock, and Mihawk all exchanged surprised looks.
———————————
Afternoon.
The sun hung low in the sky.
A figure swung through the air, like a spider, and landed on the docks with incredible speed.
He had blond hair, sunglasses, and a pink feather coat over capri pants and pointed shoes.
He was a stylish, flamboyant man, the very picture of a flamingo.
His gaze swept over the town. It was quiet, the streets empty. In the distance, a young man was sitting at a table.
With a single glance, Doflamingo matched his face to the picture in the newspaper. This was his target.
It was clear that the man hadn't run. He had killed one of his executives and was now waiting for him.
Such audacity.
Such nerve.
He was a man of substance.
Doflamingo's rage slowly transformed into a smile. In that moment, he felt a strange sense of admiration for the man.
If he had run away, Doflamingo would have been disappointed.
Doflamingo was arrogant, cold-blooded, and ruthless. He would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He would abandon anyone who got in his way, even his own family.
But in some ways, he possessed a certain kingly air. He was a unique kind of villain.
"Fuffuffuffuffu!" Doflamingo laughed. "You're really not afraid to die."
"Afraid to die?" Jin said, closing the book he had taken from the underground library of Elegia. He looked at Doflamingo.
He swaggered forward in that unmistakable, bow-legged gait of his, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
"There are consequences for killing a member of my family," Doflamingo said, his eyes fixed on Jin. "It is an unforgivable offense."
"You have two choices. One, you hand over those things now, and you give me one of your subordinates to kill. Then we'll be even. For example... that sniper on the roof, or perhaps... the lady sitting across from me. Or... should I just kill one of them right now?"
Doflamingo spread his hands, his fingers twitching up and down, like a puppet master pulling his strings.
On the roof, Van Augur's rifle, against his will, turned toward Robin. He was horrified. His body... was not his own.
'That guy... when did he get me?'
He hadn't even noticed.
So this was the power of a Warlord.
Robin, too, was bound to her chair by an invisible force, unable to move.
A Devil Fruit ability?
She tried to release her awakened Armament Haki, but it was no use.
Haki can counter Devil Fruit abilities, but Robin's Haki wasn't strong enough.
Doflamingo's mastery of the Paramecia String-String Fruit was at the level of an awakening. He was incredibly powerful. And the fact that he had been able to control both Van Augur and Robin the moment he arrived was a testament to his exceptional control and perception.
"A magnificent performance," Jin said, applauding. "But... I'm not a fan."
He threw a punch.
His arm turned to candy, suddenly stretching out like rubber, growing larger in Doflamingo's eyes.
Doflamingo tried to dodge, but he found that his feet were stuck to the ground, covered in candy.
WHAM!
The punch landed squarely on his face. The force of the blow sent him, and his chair, flying, crashing onto the pier.
The chair shattered, and the pier buckled.
With Doflamingo's control broken, the strings on Van Augur and Robin were released. They quickly moved away, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.
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