217: Chapter 217, Dressrosa Arc, begins.Smoker lay on the snow, covered in blood.He wanted to fight back, but the difference in strength was too great; he couldn't contend with Doflamingo.Seeing that Smoker remained silent, a savage glint flashed in Doflamingo's eyes.He decided not to waste any more time.
"Fuck fuck fuck fuck, fine, fine, you won't talk, huh?Then go die!" With that, Doflamingo summoned thin threads and slashed towards Smoker's neck.The threads gleamed with a cold light, carrying a deadly threat.
Severely injured and lying on the ground, Tashigi watched this scene in despair.She wanted to stop it, but she was also seriously injured and powerless.Her eyes were filled with helplessness and sorrow, as if the world was about to collapse.
However, just as Smoker was about to perish, an extreme chill suddenly spread.The frigid aura was chilling, and the extreme cold instantly froze Doflamingo, who had no time to dodge, into an ice sculpture.
"Oh dear, thank goodness I came to check, otherwise my friend would really be dead here." A voice rang out, accompanied by a chilling aura.Aokiji walked in, radiating coldness, and his appearance put everyone on alert.After all, Aokiji was no longer a Marine Admiral, but a pirate.
With a "crack, crack," Doflamingo easily broke free of Aokiji's ice restraints.He quickly retreated, looking at the nonchalant Aokiji with a serious expression.After thinking for a moment, he laughed wildly and turned to leave.He didn't want to face an admiral-level fighter.
"Hey, why did you draw it like this again?Is it some kind of special hobby?" Aokiji looked at Smoker with a strange expression and couldn't help but ask.
Smoker, supported by his subordinates, coughed weakly a few times before questioning, "Cough cough cough, wasn't this drawn by your good captain!Aokiji, tell me, why did you abandon your position as a Marine Admiral to become a pirate?"
As Aokiji turned to leave, he suddenly stopped, but without turning back, he said in a calm tone, "The answer I'm looking for cannot be found in the current Navy, so I've decided to explore this question from the perspective of pirates."
"Answer?What kind of answer?" Smoker's face showed a puzzled expression, but Aokiji had already crushed the teleportation stone and vanished without a trace.Smoker was left alone, sighing and gazing silently at the calm sea for a long time.
The following day, shocking news spread throughout the world—Doflamingo had voluntarily resigned from his positions as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and King of Dressrosa!This event caused a huge uproar, with various speculations and discussions arising.However, Doflamingo, the person involved, sat in a dark room, letting out a sinister laugh: "Fufufufufu.Law, I'll be waiting for you in Dressrosa!"
But none of this had much to do with Luffy and the others.At that moment, Law was explaining the battle plan at length, which everyone else could understand, but Luffy looked completely bewildered and couldn't understand a word he was saying.
"Straw Hat Master, listen carefully!This plan can perfectly crush Doflamingo's forces and the factory that produces artificial Devil Fruits!" Law said excitedly, but as he was getting into it, he noticed that Luffy had started to lose focus.
Luffy awkwardly touched his nose, then boredly started squeezing Caesar's heart.Putting aside the slight discomfort, it was undeniably fun, allowing him to temporarily forget his troubles.Each time Luffy squeezed hard, Caesar let out a piercing scream.Even more hilarious was that Luffy not only squeezed it, but also stretched Caesar's heart like a rubber toy.Meanwhile, Caesar, locked in the training space, writhed and screamed on the floor, while his good friend Caribou looked at him like he was an idiot.If he could speak, he would have already mocked him.At the same time, Doflamingo's personal Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.Everyone immediately gathered around, nervously watching the Den Den Mushi.Luffy picked up the phone and unceremoniously launched into mocking mode: "Yo, isn't this our Clown Bro?What, looking for trouble again?"
There was a moment of silence on the other side, and everyone could clearly hear a creaking sound, as if Doflamingo was gritting his teeth.To prevent Luffy from further angering them and preventing them from getting more information, Uta suddenly pressed Luffy tightly against her ample bosom.Luffy was instantly suffocated and could only make muffled noises.
After a long silence, Doflamingo finally broke it, saying, "As per our agreement, I have resigned from my positions as a Shichibukai and King of Dressrosa.I also hope you will keep your promise and return Caesar to me.I do not wish to fight against my former family, nor that straw hat kid!I have prepared a mysterious gift for you in Dressrosa.If you have enough courage, go to Dressrosa and accept this gift!"
"Doflamingo, you don't need to say anything more.I'll keep my promise.Besides, I'm not your family; that title disgusts me." Law hung up the phone with a look of disgust, then sat down sullenly, saying nothing.Luffy finally broke free from Uta's embrace, but he was still lost in thought, wondering what kind of gift Doflamingo had mentioned.After all, since Ace was still alive, the Flame-Flame Fruit should naturally belong to Ace."Never mind, whatever Doflamingo's up to, I'll just go and see." Luffy stopped thinking about it, but he had a feeling that this mysterious gift would definitely be useful to him.In any case, since it was prepared, he would take it.They couldn't let such good intentions go to waste, so everyone grinned.Nami, however, had eyes only for Beli."A mystery gift!Hehehe, there must be a lot of gold and silver jewelry!We're rich!We're rich!" Nami excitedly hugged Luffy, urging him to make sure he got the mystery gift Doflamingo mentioned.Everyone was also looking forward to their trip to Dressrosa.As they were about to arrive in Dressrosa, Law reconfirmed the group division plan: "The first group consists of Luffy, Uta, Zoro, Kuina, and Franky.Their main responsibility is to find and destroy the factory."
"The second group consists of Nami, Chopper, Brook, and Sanji.They will stay behind to protect the Sunny in case Doflamingo resorts to unethical tactics and launches a sneak attack."
"The third group consists of Law, Vivi, Ries, and Elsa; they are responsible for transporting Caesar to Doflamingo in exchange."
The rest of the group disguised themselves and infiltrated Dressrosa to gather intelligence.Although Luffy suggested just charging in and fighting, Law refused, insisting on playing it safe.Luffy, seeing he couldn't persuade him, gave up.Sabo was supposed to be there too; he'd already informed Ace beforehand.The three brothers hadn't seen each other in a long time, so this was a good opportunity for them to get together.