Chapter 105: Lucci is a Dog Licker, Minggo is Tenacious!

In the chat group, Shiki the Golden Lion couldn't hide his surprise.

Golden Lion Shiki: "Did I hear that right? The World Government wants to negotiate with you?"

Howard Stark: "It's not that surprising. There's a real need for peace between the World Government and Lucas."

Whitebeard : "Oh? Sounds like you know a thing or two about this kind of situation."

Howard Stark : "Well, in my world, there are superpowered individuals with destructive capabilities. But you know what keeps them in check? They've got too much they don't want to destroy. So, peace becomes the logical option."

Gold Thief Woonan : "It's the same case here. Both the World Government and Lucas want stability. That's why they're sitting at the table now."

Outside the Chat Group—

Rob Lucci gestured for the surrounding Marines and agents to clear the area. Once the coast was clear, he pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed in. The snail-phone clicked to life, and an old, steady voice echoed from its mouth.

"Hello, Mr. Lucas. I'm one of the Five Elders."

Lucas plastered a polite, almost saccharine smile on his face. After exchanging a few empty pleasantries with the equally hypocritical Five Elders, the negotiation got down to brass tacks.

The World Government's demand was straightforward: Lucas should halt the expansion of his territories. In return, they promised not to send Marines to attack his forces.

Lucas leaned back, his grin widening. "That's acceptable," he replied casually, "but I'll be taking Dressrosa and Doflamingo's life."

There was a brief pause on the other end before the Five Elders replied, "Doflamingo and Dressrosa are yours. But in exchange, we want you to sell us seastone weapons from Wano Country."

Lucas chuckled, "No problem."

Just like that, Lucas and the Five Elders wrapped up their cordial and friendly meeting. They reached a consensus on the sovereignty of Dressrosa, the fate of Doflamingo, and even established a cooperative relationship on seastone weapons exports.

Back in the Chat Group—

Watching Lucas laugh and joke with the Five Elders left a sour taste in some members' mouths.

Whitebeard: "To be honest, Lucas… this feels off."

Pirate King Roger : "Hypocritical? Shameless?"

Before Roger could type more, his message disappeared.

"Pirate King Roger retracted a message."

And then the kicker came.

"Pirate King Roger Muted for an hour."

Lucas : "Hypocritical? Shameless? Come on, I thought I was hiding it better than that!"

The group fell silent. No one knew how to respond to such blatant self-awareness.

Of course, Howard Stark was quick to fill the gap, replying with an air of authority.

Howard Stark: "This isn't hypocrisy or shamelessness. It's called having the necessary diplomatic skills."

Lucas : "Exactly! Well said."

Sword God Ryuma: "You're planning to produce seastone weapons in Wano Country? That's going to bring a lot of disasters to Wano."

Lucas : "You're wrong! Seastone weapons aren't the problem. The real disaster was the brutality of Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi. Seastone weapons are a lucrative industry. The profits will feed Wano ten times over."

Sword God Ryuma :"Is that so? Sounds like a joke to me."

Lucas : "No joke. If the industry wasn't profitable, why would I keep those factories running?"

Sword God Ryuma : "But Wano's environment—"

Lucas : "Environmental pollution came from the SMILE Fruits, not seastone. Seastone weapons are handmade. If seastone could be processed by machines, Wano wouldn't have half these issues."

Lucas knew that to promote industrialization, establishing labor-intensive industries—and even facing environmental concerns—was inevitable. But unlike Kaido's ruthless exploitation, his methods had a different purpose.

Back Outside—

After wrapping up the call with the Five Elders, Lucas turned his gaze to Rob Lucci, who was silently putting the Den Den Mushi away.

Lucas's smile grew curious. "So, you're Rob Lucci? I've been quite interested in you." He tilted his head, his voice light but probing. "How about it? Interested in joining me?"

Rob Lucci's expression didn't waver. His voice was as flat as ever. "I am only loyal to the World Government."

Lucas chuckled, unfazed. "Really? But from what I know, your CP9 team fought desperately against the Straw Hat Pirates for the World Government. And how did your superiors repay you?" He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping. "They threw you under the bus. Blamed you for everything without even an investigation. You were wanted criminals overnight."

For a brief second, Rob Lucci's eyelid twitched. But he quickly schooled his expression, his tone steely. "That was a mistake on the World Government's part. But I hold no grudge. It wasn't the fault of the World Government, just a few individuals."

Lucas laughed openly at that. "Wow. You're really loyal to the end, huh?" He clapped Lucci on the shoulder in mock camaraderie. "But hey, if you ever get tired of being their lapdog, my door's always open."

Lucas wasn't surprised by Lucci's response. He already knew that Rob Lucci was the ultimate World Government bootlicker. But he still found it amusing to poke at him.

Curious, Lucas asked, "By the way, how'd you go from being wanted criminals to CP0 agents?"

A shadow passed over Rob Lucci's eyes, but he quickly masked it. "That's classified."

Lucas smirked, eyes gleaming with interest. "Ah, so there's a story there. I'd love to dig into that sometime." He chuckled, imagining how Pudding's memory-reading ability could uncover all of Lucci's secrets.

The Royal Palace of Dressrosa.

Doflamingo stood stiffly in the courtyard, clutching a pair of binoculars, his eyes locked onto the battle unfolding in the distance. His usual confident smirk was nowhere to be seen; instead, his face was taut, his lips pressed into a thin line.

This battle decides my fate. The thought echoed relentlessly in his mind.

"What the hell is going on?" Doflamingo muttered under his breath, his voice tense. "Are Marine's Admirals all useless?" He clenched the binoculars tighter, his knuckles turning white. Then, his eyes flickered as he noticed something peculiar.

"What's that CP0 agent doing?" His gaze followed as the agent pulled out a Den Den Mushi, making a call.

Doflamingo's gut twisted. "Damn it… Masaka… Are those old geezers negotiating with that pirate?"

Panic clawed at his chest, but he forced himself to breathe. Don't panic. Smile. Keep smiling.

His lips curled into a forced grin. "I'm the biggest intermediary in the underground world. The World Government won't abandon me. I'm too valuable." He tried to reassure himself. "If I fall, who's going to do the dirty work for the Celestial Dragons?"

But just as he managed to suppress the creeping dread, a faint, chilling voice whispered in his ear:

"You take yourself too seriously, Doflamingo."

Doflamingo spun around, eyes wide, heart pounding.

"You think your role in the underworld can protect you? No," the voice continued, dripping with mockery, "It's precisely why you'll die faster."

From the shadows, Lucas's Shadow Clone stepped forward, his smirk cold and merciless. "If you weren't such a big name in the underground, you wouldn't have rallied so many forces against me."

Doflamingo's eyes darted around, panic rising again. "Lucas? No, it can't be!"

But before he could process it, Lucas's Shadow Clone exploded into a cloud of smoke, vanishing without a trace.

"A clone…?" Doflamingo's voice was hoarse, disbelief etched on his face.

And then, in a blur, Lucas's real body appeared right in front of him, teleporting in using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"Yes," Lucas replied casually, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "But this… this is the real deal."

Doflamingo instinctively took a step back, trying to mask his fear with a shaky grin. "Come on, Lucas, isn't this a bit much?" he chuckled nervously. "There's no unresolved grudge between us. Sure, I might've schemed against you, but you didn't suffer any real loss."

Lucas's expression remained calm, almost indifferent. "True. You didn't cause me much harm." He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "But I despise anyone who plots against me. And for that, you must die."

Doflamingo's grin faltered. "No room for negotiation?" he asked, desperation creeping into his tone.

Lucas tilted his head, feigning curiosity. "What makes you think you have any bargaining power?"

Doflamingo, grasping at straws, sneered, "You may not believe it, but I'm Celestial Dragons!"

Lucas's chuckle was low and mocking. "You were Celestial Dragons. Not anymore."

Doflamingo's heart skipped a beat. "How… how do you know that?" His voice trembled despite himself. "You can't know that!"

Lucas shook his head, amusement flickering in his eyes. "Oh, Doflamingo, you really think your secrets are safe? There are no walls without cracks in this world. Your status as Celestial Dragons is long gone, and you've got nothing left to hide behind."

Doflamingo's face drained of color, but he wasn't ready to give up. "I know the secrets of Celestial Dragons and the World Government!" he blurted out. "If you kill me, they'll think you know too much. They'll come after you!"

Lucas raised a hand, cutting him off mid-rant. "I'm afraid you're too late for that threat." His smirk widened. "I just finished talking to the Five Elders. They've given me full permission to execute you."

Doflamingo's eyes widened in horror, his body trembling. "No… No, that's impossible!"

Lucas shrugged, his expression turning cold. "Nothing's impossible. You've been discarded, Doflamingo. Face it."

Doflamingo stood there, paralyzed. For a moment, it looked like he'd accepted his fate. But then, his head snapped up, his eyes wild with rage.

"No… I'm not done yet!" he roared.

With a surge of desperation, Doflamingo activated his String-String Fruit's awakened abilities. The ground beneath him twisted into a sea of sharp, white threads. They coiled into deadly spears, glinting with Armament Haki, and shot toward Lucas with lethal intent.

Lucas remained unfazed, his calm demeanor unbroken. "A cornered dog will bite," he mused. With a flick of his wrist, a barrier of top-tier Armament Haki formed in front of him, effortlessly halting Doflamingo's onslaught.

"Die!" Doflamingo bellowed, lunging forward with all his might.

But Lucas was done playing.

With a swift, devastating punch, infused with the combined power of Armament Haki and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Lucas shattered the air itself. The force rippled out, slamming into Doflamingo's chest.

The sound of bones cracking echoed through the courtyard as Doflamingo's internal organs were obliterated on impact.

It was over in a single blow.

In the Chat Group—

Whitebeard : "Poor kid… His life was nothing but tragedy. His father stripped him of his noble status, and his brother destroyed his hope for immortality. Betrayed by the people closest to him… no wonder he lost his mind."

Lucas : "I remember someone once said about him: 'If you lived through my past, you wouldn't be half as good as me.'"

Gold Thief Woonan : "Is the group feeling sorry for him?"

Lucas : "Not really. His past has nothing to do with me."

Whitebeard : "Still, you've got to admit—his heart was strong. He's even more unlucky than Shiki the Golden Lion, but he kept fighting."

Lucas rolled his eyes but couldn't argue.

It was true. Despite being stabbed in the back by his own family, losing two of the most powerful Devil Fruits—the Gold-Gold Fruit and the Flame-Flame Fruit—Doflamingo never gave up. He clung to his twisted dreams, fighting until his last breath.

But in the end, fate caught up with him.

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