Chapter 85: Agreement

At the moment everyone showed shock,

A terrifying energy swept out, overwhelming many Donquixote Family members standing behind.

Marco landed gracefully and looked at the numerous Donquixote officers rising from the ground. "Do you all want to come at me together?"

The group of people had just gotten up when they heard Marco's words, and their faces twisted in anger.

"Stop."

From the pit, now filled with rolling smoke, came the voice of Doflamingo.

"Ahem~~!"

Soon, Doflamingo emerged from the pit, looking rather disheveled. The narrow sunglasses that he always wore were nearly broken, though they still clung to his face, keeping his eyes hidden from view.

"Dover (Young Master)!"

The officers of the Donquixote Family were both surprised and relieved to see him.

"Get out."

Raising his hand, Doflamingo spoke in a cold tone. "Leave the island, all of you. I'll handle things here."

"Yes!"

Some of the officers hesitated briefly, but Trebol dragged them along. "Do as Dover says."

Absolute obedience to Doflamingo's orders—this was the rule of the Donquixote Family.

Reluctantly, the cadres turned around, led by Trebol, and headed in the direction of the bombarded Pica.

"Have you made up your mind?"

Marco stood with his back to Doflamingo, speaking indifferently.

"I just can't beat you."

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Doflamingo responded stubbornly.

Earlier—

The reason Doflamingo had raised his hands was twofold: First, it was a display of superficial surrender. Second, it was a ploy to use the power of his String-String Fruit with finesse.

Thanks to his mastery of Observation Haki, he had detected Marco's presence early on.

When Doflamingo raised his hands, a split second before Marco's blow landed, countless threads had hooked together, forming a giant shield woven from tens of thousands of strings. Each thread had been fortified with powerful Armament Haki, serving as a dense, high-level defense.

But the moment Marco's strike connected—

The shield shattered instantly.

Doflamingo was horrified.

The defense he had thought so clever crumbled as easily as it had when he intervened to assist Pica earlier.

There was no stopping Marco!

In that moment, an unprecedented sense of crisis gripped Doflamingo. For a brief second, he truly believed that, if not death, at least several broken bones were inevitable.

Yet the outcome defied his expectations.

He wasn't dead—just seriously injured.

"You went easy on me."

Smart as Doflamingo was, he understood immediately.

Marco had shown mercy.

The two stood close to each other, and the conversation that followed was low enough to be heard only between them.

"Help me track down Blackbeard's movements. I want real-time information on all his crew members."

Marco, his hands folded behind his back, spoke with unsettling calmness.

"I'm not an intelligence broker…"

Doflamingo instinctively objected, not eager to provoke the dangerous Blackbeard Pirates.

"I also want information on the Beasts Pirates," Marco continued, giving Doflamingo no time to refuse. "Specifically, I want news on Kaido and the two remaining Calamities. As for the dead ones... I don't care."

Doflamingo gritted his teeth. It was bad enough to dig into Blackbeard's affairs, but now Marco was demanding information on the Beasts Pirates too!

"This is suicidal. I won't agree—"

Before he could finish, Marco added, "I want real-time updates on Charlotte Linlin. Inform me immediately if she makes any moves."

"I…" Doflamingo began to object again.

"And I want information on Charlotte Katakuri," Marco interrupted smoothly.

"I agree! No more conditions!" Doflamingo blurted, exasperated. "That's the limit of what I can do!"

Damn it!

Tracking the real-time actions of the Yonko crews was a terrifying task. If they ever discovered that Doflamingo was feeding information to Marco, not even nine lives would be enough to save him.

A cold shiver ran down Doflamingo's spine, as if Marco had pushed him toward the edge of an abyss.

"Forget Katakuri. I'll wait for him to come find me."

Marco turned to face Doflamingo with a subtle, knowing smile.

I've been played!

Doflamingo's lips twitched, feeling the sting of his cleverness backfiring on him.

"Don't try anything funny," Marco warned, his tone flat but laced with a chilling killing intent. "With someone as sharp as you, Mingo, you should know what the smartest choice is."

"Before I die…" Marco's voice dropped even lower, filled with quiet menace. "I don't want to hear any false reports. Not even the slightest ambiguity."

A nervous twitch spread across Doflamingo's face, leaving him feeling deeply uncomfortable.

When the Immortal Phoenix warns you that he doesn't want to deal with anything before his death, the real meaning is clear—he doesn't want to hear even the tiniest flaw in the information you provide.

"This is my Vivre card and personal Den Den Mushi contact information."

Doflamingo dutifully handed his Vivre card to Marco, knowing there was no room for negotiation.

Marco took the Vivre card and, in return, gave Doflamingo his Den Den Mushi contact information. "Talking to smart people saves both time and effort."

"…"

Time and effort for you—misery for me!

Doflamingo rubbed the tense muscles at the corners of his mouth, feeling a sharp cramp creeping in.

Offending all three of the Four Emperors' pirate crews in the New World? No one in the entire New World would offer him shelter!

But—

If he refused Marco's terms...

Then by tomorrow, it wouldn't just be him—Doflamingo would vanish along with the entire Donquixote Family, erased from the New World entirely.

Choosing the lesser of two evils was no mystery to Doflamingo.

"I believe you'll carry out the task perfectly," Marco said with a calm certainty.

He knew Doflamingo's vast influence in the underworld all too well. A man who'd spent years dealing arms across the seas—he wasn't to be underestimated. Even the Blackbeard Pirates had raided the Revolutionary Army's base to stockpile ammunition, and Doflamingo was at the center of that dark trade.

Doflamingo gave a silent nod.

In that moment, he was no longer the arrogant and coldhearted king, nor the unruly "Young Master" Dover. Now—

He was Celestial dragon, Joker, the shadowy ruler of the underworld.

And that's exactly what Marco needed from him.

Swish!

With a gust of flames, Marco spread his azure wings wide. "I suggest you don't step even half a step beyond the line I've drawn." His tone was eerily serene. "Otherwise, even if you hide in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, not even the World Government will be able to protect you."

Doflamingo remained silent, his mind whirring with thoughts, as he watched Marco lift off into the sky.

"Birdcage…!"

The moment Marco disappeared from view, Doflamingo didn't hesitate. He raised his hand, and with a flick of his fingers, countless razor-thin strings shot skyward.

The threads stretched high into the sky, then curved back downward like sharp swords, stabbing toward the ground in all directions.

Soon, a massive birdcage of strings enclosed the entire island, locking everything within.

On another street, where the officials of the Donquixote Family waited anxiously, they immediately noticed the birdcage forming overhead. A grim sense of foreboding gripped their hearts.

"Young Master, he…"

Their eyes filled with fear. They knew what the birdcage signified.