Chapter 306: Holding Back, A Storm Is Brewing  

"Boss, are we really just letting him go like that?" 

Bolkin, clearly frustrated, voiced his displeasure. Roman shook his head. 

"There's no choice. This is the hassle of 'the system.'" 

Doflamingo left, taking Baby-5 and Buffalo with him. 

As for Monet and Vergo? If Doflamingo dared to mention them in front of Akainu on the other end of Roman's Den Den Mushi, Roman would have every reason to fight him on the spot! 

"Even if he's a government-approved shicibukai, I can't just take him down without proper cause." 

Of course, that was only on the surface. Although Roman was confident he could defeat Doflamingo, he figured that Dressrosa would be more significant for Sabo, the Flame-Flame Fruit, and the future of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. So, he decided to leave Doflamingo for Luffy to deal with. 

Still, you had to give Doflamingo credit—he was a true mastermind. Even while Roman was openly insulting him, he managed to stay calm. Despite the veins bulging on his forehead, he kept his cool and patiently explained to Akainu that it was all a 'misunderstanding.' He claimed he had only come because two of his family members had gone missing… 

And Akainu, now two years into his role as Fleet Admiral, had grown more restrained. To maintain balance, he told Roman that if it turned out he had 'caught the wrong person,' he'd have to return him. Which led to the current situation. 

If this had happened two years ago, Akainu, who was still an Admiral back then, would probably have sent a magma fist straight at Doflamingo through the Den Den Mushi! 

It just goes to show, the more power you have, the more you have to consider. The current Akainu, now Fleet Admiral, could no longer act on impulse like he did in the past.

"Don't worry. That guy won't be jumping around for long. But——"

Roman glanced at Smoker, who was wrapped in bandages, and nodded at him.

"You'll just have to bear with it for a while, Vice Admiral Smoker."

"Lost because I wasn't strong enough. Getting beaten is just part of the game."

Leaning against a broken wall with a cigar in his mouth, Smoker took it well. "If it weren't for you, I might not have made it out of here today. — Shicibukai... hmph..."

Seeing Smoker's unwillingness to admit defeat, Roman didn't bother comforting him. He began organizing the Marines to evacuate, as people from the 'Science Division' would soon take over the area.

In truth: 

Was Smoker weak? Of course not! He had a Logia Devil Fruit and was proficient in both forms of Haki, making him part of the top 0.0001% of combat power in the world. He was just unlucky to run into Law, Vergo, and Doflamingo. 

Likewise, Doflamingo wasn't weak either! He took a seemingly trash Devil Fruit, the String-String Fruit, and turned it into something impressive. He was advanced in all three types of Haki (though not top-tier) and had a group of strong officers under him. Plus, his status as a Celestial Dragon gave him more leverage. 

But despite all this, Roman forced him back with just one move. Faced with Roman's direct line to Akainu and the obvious disdain for his identity, Doflamingo wisely chose to back off, using the 'Warlord' title as his shield.

Why? 

Because his intelligence reports were clear: the rumored 'White Dove' was known for his advanced creations and versatile abilities. While Roman might not match veteran Admiral candidates in direct combat, his wide range of tricks made him the Marine's number one tactician! 

And Doflamingo feared opponents like Roman the most—versatile fighters. Against a strong enemy, he could escape using 'Sky Path.' Against a crowd, he could use string manipulation to create chaos. He could stitch up his own wounds and had decoys like the 'Shadow Knight.' 

He could fight, defend, heal, and run. 

But those were exactly Roman's strengths too! If a fight broke out and Doflamingo lost, he might not even have a chance to escape. — Though Doflamingo didn't believe he would lose, that phone call was still connected! If an Admiral came... forget it, forget it. Better to take a step back and avoid making things worse.

Crack, crack! But despite retreating, the veins bulging on his forehead showed his frustration. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. "Young Master, it's all our fault."

"If we had grabbed Caesar first·····"

"No," 

Even after suffering a setback at Roman's hands, Doflamingo calmly shook his head at Baby-5 and Buffalo, who were apologizing.

"I was the one who sent you here."

"If anyone's to blame, it's me."

While Doflamingo was arrogant, cruel, and ruthless, he did treat his 'family' fairly well. Otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed here alone as soon as he saw Caesar's broadcast.

"Fuffuffuffu, since Law and the Straw Hats want to play, I'll play along with them!"

—————— 

One day later: 

"That Caesar, who bullied Brownbeard and those kids, is one of your people?"

Just as Roman used his swap ability to return to the Sunny, Luffy's angry voice rang in his ears.

"I'll give Caesar back to you, but if you pull something like this again, I'll send you flying too!"

...Uh-oh, 

"Fuffuffu, Straw Hat Luffy."

Hearing Luffy's serious 'threat,' Doflamingo wasn't upset. After all, Luffy was the kind of guy who stormed Marineford to save someone. There wasn't much he wouldn't dare to do. Still: 

"I've been wanting to meet you. I have something that'll definitely catch your eye——"

"Eh? What kind of delicious meat could it be·····"

Whack! Unable to take it anymore, Law smacked Luffy, whose eyes had already turned into 'meat' shapes, making Usopp shake him vigorously.

"Luffy, snap out of it!! It's a trap!"

········"Since you've fulfilled your promise, we'll meet tomorrow afternoon at 3, on the beach of the isolated island northeast of Dressrosa: Green Bit."

In just one day, the headlines "Doflamingo Quits the Warlords," "Straw Hat Luffy and Law Form Alliance," and "Kid, Apoo, and Hawkins Form Alliance" caused a huge stir across the New World!

Everyone has a feeling that the storm of New World is about to sweep across the world! And at the center of the event:

"Do you think they'll gather a large force at the meeting point and wait for us?"

In response to Franky's question, Law nodded.

"Caesar was just a 'decoy.' Our real target is the SMILE factory. Once we destroy that place, we can truly set Doflamingo's Pirates and the Beast Pirates against each other! — Then, we can sit back and enjoy the benefits."

"Then, Torao, have you been to that place called 'Dressroba'?"

"It's Dressrosa... That's Doflamingo's territory, where he's been in control for ten years. There's no way I've been there."

"Hee hee hee, then let's talk about it when we get there! I can already smell the scent of adventure~~~!"

Facing Luffy, who quickly went off-topic, Law tried to give some serious advice.

"Stop talking nonsense. There's no way we'll go without a plan..."

"Sanji, what's for breakfast?"

"A sandwich,"

"I want a cotton candy sandwich~~"

"I'll just have some black tea."

"I hate bread..."

As soon as the words came out, Law froze in shock!

Why am I calmly discussing what to have for breakfast with the Straw Hat crew?

"Don't panic," 

Roman, who was steering 'The White Knight', walked over. Since Law already knew his true identity, there was no need to hide anything anymore.

"Plans can't always keep up with changes, but some information still needs to be shared."

"Roman, you're here?"

"Come over and have breakfast!"

Seeing Roman pass by and tilt his head toward the dining area, Law sighed and had no choice but to follow.

I hope the Straw Hat crew's double-faced adviser is reliable...

——————

"The strength of the Donquixote family members?"

"That's right."

In the Sunny's dining room, everyone was sitting and having breakfast. As Roman spoke, everyone, except Luffy, who was still eating, stopped and listened carefully.

The day before, when Law presented his 'take down the Four Emperors' plan to Luffy, Luffy's response was:

"As long as the first one isn't Shanks,"

 I'll beat all the Four Emperors!

Since Luffy said that, there's no way they can continue their carefree adventures like before. — Except for Luffy, no one else would be that reckless. If the first part was a wild journey driven by dreams, the second part is about everyone helping Luffy claim the throne!

This makes information incredibly important.

"First, there's the captain, Donquixote Doflamingo, also known as 'Heavenly Yaksha.' He's one of the Shichibukai and the king of Dressrosa. His former bounty was 340 million Berry. As a middleman in the underground world, his code name is 'Joker.' He has the powers of the String-String Fruit."

"Of course, that bounty doesn't really reflect his strength. From my estimation, it should be around 800-900 million."

"He can use all three types of Haki. I just fought him once, and his Armament Haki is on par with mine. Also, his String-String Fruit has been developed to perfection — he can use various strings for puppets, parasitic threads, stitching lines, and even use strings to connect clouds and fly in the air..."

"?!"

"And most importantly, his Devil Fruit has reached the level of 'awakening.' When a Paramecia-type fruit 'awakens,' it can affect things outside the user, which means Doflamingo can even turn houses and the earth into 'strings' to fight!"

Although in the original story, Doflamingo only awakened after getting beaten by Gear Fourth Luffy, what if he doesn't follow the usual path? If he awakens right from the start of the battle, the Straw Hat crew could lose half of their members in an instant.

"Such detailed information is almost like..."

It's as if I've personally seen the opponent fight at full strength! Law looked at Roman in disbelief. While abilities in this world aren't hidden as much as in other worlds, even Law, who keeps track of the Donquixote family, didn't know that Doflamingo's Devil Fruit had awakened!

"Is it too late to back out of this alliance?"

Usopp and Chopper were already holding onto each other tightly! They knew Roman wouldn't say anything comforting. Any time he willingly shared intel about an enemy, that enemy always turned out to be ridiculously strong! 

"The next ones are his subordinates, the 'Four Suits,' who are: [Heart] Vergo, [Diamond] Diamante, [Spade] Pica, and [Club] Trebol."

"These four are all at Marine Vice Admiral level, with no doubt about their mastery of the two types of Haki. Among them, [Heart] Vergo is the strongest in Armament Haki, making him the second most powerful in the family. [Spade] Pica has the most dangerous abilities, making him the ace for large-scale battles..."

Seeing Usopp and Chopper trembling even more, Roman decided to share some "good news" first. 

"[Heart] Vergo has already been defeated." 

"Woo-hoo!" x2 

"The person who beat him was me, and I had to give it everything I had—even though I didn't use my Devil Fruit powers..." 

"We're out!" x2 

How could we compare ourselves to you? If you fought us, we'd be wiped out instantly! 

"Interesting." 

Hearing Roman describe things like this, Zoro's fighting spirit began to burn again. 

"That bird guy is mine," 

Luffy, still stuffing food into his mouth, didn't even look up. 

"None of you are allowed to fight him. He's mine!" 

The so-called "bird guy," of course, referred to the man known as "Flamingo" Doflamingo. 

"He was already yours from the start," 

Roman shot an annoyed glance at Luffy. Besides himself and Luffy, who else in the crew could take on Doflamingo? 

Zoro wasn't weak, but his lack of mobility would make him an easy target for hit-and-run attacks. His flying slashes were fine for weaker opponents, but not enough to take down a top-tier fighter. As for Sanji, while his mobility was sufficient... he'd probably end up with another broken bone, wouldn't he? 

"Hmm?" 

Sanji, carrying a tray of food from the kitchen, glanced around suspiciously. 

"I feel like someone's bad-mouthing me!" 

"That's just your imagination. The sandwiches are great, by the way." 

"Right? My cooking is top-notch~~" 

In an instant, Sanji's focus shifted, and Roman rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 

Well, unlike Luffy, Zoro, and himself, who trained nonstop, Sanji spent most of his time cooking for the crew. It was only natural his growth would be affected. Once they got their hands on the Germa 66 combat suit, maybe Franky could try reinforcing it with Wapometal...

(End of Chapter) 

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