Chapter 150: Storm Clouds Gathering
Dressrosa.
The island, always blessed with fine weather, encountered rare bad weather. Continuous gloomy clouds piled up in the sky, blocking the sunlight. The beautiful sunflower fields lost their usual brilliance. Of course, such scenery was still magnificent. The endless flower fields still attracted many tourists to stop and sightsee.
“So beautiful!”
Standing on a small hill at the edge of the flower fields, Cavendish gazed intoxicatedly at this brilliant expanse of flowers.
Behind him, the pirates of the Beautiful Pirates showed expressions of ‘we can’t do anything about our captain’s behavior.’ The crew members, already accustomed to their captain’s style, had split up before disembarking to purchase supplies, gather intelligence… and at the same time, a small team followed Cavendish to prevent their captain from getting lost in the scenery and forgetting the time.
Such things had happened before.
Cavendish’s personality was extremely narcissistic. In his eyes, no one surpassed him in appearance. Even the mermaid princess he saw in the Eckmond Kingdom… he only reluctantly admitted that she might rival the Pirate Empress among women.
Although he had extremely harsh and picky standards for humans, he always appreciated the exquisite beauty of naturally formed landscapes with an admiring eye. Man-made flower fields like this were also within his scope of appreciation.
Once in Paradise, he got so engrossed in the scenery of an island that he forgot the appointed time to return to the ship. Impatient companions thought he had been attacked by the Navy or other pirates and rushed back to the island in full force to search everywhere.
There were several times when he missed the appointed time because he was immersed in the adoration of his fans…
He had too many similar precedents.
So,
To prevent the same thing from happening again, every time they left the pirate ship to go ashore, someone was always arranged to follow Cavendish to stop their captain from causing any trouble.
“Captain, it’s about mealtime. Time to go back for dinner.”
One person checked the watch on his wrist and shouted loudly beside Cavendish.
Without doing this, they couldn’t wake Cavendish who was immersed in ‘beauty.’
“……What a pity. I heard the flower fields are even more beautiful on sunny days.” Cavendish reluctantly withdrew his gaze. He glanced at the gloomy clouds in the sky; the piled-up clouds showed a trend of thickening further, with no sign of clearing for the time being.
“We’ll look again tomorrow! Hopefully tomorrow will have good weather.”
He was going to stay in Dressrosa for a while. According to Prince Elus’s request, he needed to wait here for invitations from the World Government and the Navy to become a Seven Warlord… He initially thought it was a joke.
After mixing in the New World for so long, he had enough understanding of what ‘powerful’ really meant, and he was far from reaching that standard. Of course, if it was about appearance, he absolutely wouldn’t lose to anyone.
The insurmountable gap in strength had worn down much of his ambition.
Or rather, he didn’t have much ambition to begin with. He wasn’t particularly interested in becoming the Pirate King or seizing the Great Treasure. He just liked being the center of attention. To put it bluntly, he enjoyed the wonderful times of showing off under the gaze of thousands. As long as it attracted people’s attention, he would do anything surprising.
Power was just a ladder for him to achieve the goal of ‘showing off.’
Of course, greater power could bring him a bigger stage and more opportunities to show off. This was what encouraged and supported him to keep getting stronger. Well, the fact that the swordsmanship he practiced was very flashy was also a reason.
In any case, he didn’t think his strength could bear the title of Seven Warlord.
However,
After he took that potion resembling flowing moonlight.
With the power of miracles filling his limbs, watching his own flashy yet powerful swordsmanship, Cavendish understood that Prince Elus’s words about becoming a Seven Warlord were not some boring joke. This power… indeed made it possible!
“Captain, how long are we staying here? This is that Heavenly Yaksha’s territory. If there’s nothing, I think we should leave as soon as possible.” A crew member beside him muttered softly.
Doflamingo’s reputation wasn’t bad in Dressrosa, but in the eyes of New World pirates, this guy was an outright top-tier villain, and he was also a Seven Warlord, a lackey of the World Government and the Navy.
Unless necessary, pirates generally wouldn’t approach Dressrosa.
“Don’t overthink it. Heavenly Yaksha isn’t our enemy.” Even if Doflamingo really came to cause trouble, he now had enough confidence to protect himself. Moreover, there was no grudge between them, so he didn’t think Doflamingo would go all out to kill him.
…
King’s Highland, the highest point of Dressrosa, where the Donquixote Family’s royal palace was located.
“White Horse Cavendish… So this is the new Seven Warlord selected by the World Government?” Doflamingo sat in a soft high-end sofa, half his body sunk into it, back leaning against the sofa, right leg crossed over the left, pointed shoes swaying gently.
He held a microphone in his hand, talking with Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
“That unlucky guy Crocodile!”
He didn’t mock Crocodile’s incompetence—not because he had a good relationship with Crocodile, but because the opponent was a subordinate of that Black Prince, and it was Dillon who had killed countless in the New World. Those magnates of the dark world who were once as famous as him had been taken out by Dillon.
To be honest with himself, he didn’t think he would do better than Crocodile against Dillon.
Well, of course he was confident he could hold out longer, unlike that guy Crocodile who fled in defeat so quickly, with all his gathered subordinates wiped out…
“Doflamingo, we’ve received intelligence that White Horse is in Dressrosa.” Sengoku on the other end of the Den Den Mushi was impatient to hear Doflamingo lament Crocodile’s misfortune. He said gravely, “You probe White Horse’s depth. See if he qualifies to join the Seven Warlords. If he survives against you, tell him about the Navy’s invitation. Then I’ll send Vergo to Dressrosa.”
“You want me to act? I hate this kind of killing work! Fufufufufu!” Doflamingo let out a scalp-tingling laugh.
Sengoku frowned. He had no fondness for this seafaring thug. Among the Seven Warlords, this bastard was the most annoying. But who let this guy have Celestial Dragon backing? He bypassed the Navy and Holy Land to hook up directly… To be honest, if not for orders from the Holy Land, he really wanted to punch this guy to death.
“Cut the crap. White Horse Cavendish, remember this name. Don’t forget your identity, or even with the Holy Land, if you anger me, I guarantee you won’t have good days.”
“Click!”
Sengoku hung up directly.
“Hmph! What a bad-tempered old man who loves ordering people around.”
Doflamingo chuckled twice, pinching the microphone in his hand, eyes staring at the Den Den Mushi with its head drooped on the table. But that vacant gaze proved he wasn’t looking at anything but thinking… Naturally, he was thinking about what they had just discussed.
Actually, before Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s call came in, Vergo had already contacted him and told him the cause, process, and result of the matter.
Crocodile was removed from the list.
He didn’t care much.
Whether that crocodile driven out of the New World by Whitebeard lived or died was of no concern to him. His influence in Paradise was limited anyway, and he had no conflicts with Crocodile’s Baroque Works… What he cared about was this White Horse Cavendish.
A supernova who had risen not long ago.
Speaking of which, another supernova, Fire Fist, had rejected the World Government’s invitation.
This white horse was often reported extensively in the newspaper, but in Doflamingo’s view, White Horse was clearly not as strong as Fire Fist, a level below! Yet White Horse had also been eyed by the World Government and the Navy…
And according to Vergo, it was that crippled old man Zephyr who nominated him.
This was simply unbelievable.
As a seafaring thug famed for his cunning, with the convenience of being a Seven Warlord, he had a deep understanding of the Navy. He knew clearly the personality and temper of the renowned Black Arm Zephyr. His relationship with pirates was irreconcilable.
For such a person to get involved in selecting Seven Warlords, Doflamingo grew curious. What secret did this White Horse have? Could he be Zephyr’s illegitimate son? Strayed from the path, unable to turn back, so Zephyr planned to secure him an official Seven Warlord identity…
Very unreliable speculation, but he couldn’t stop his wild thoughts.
“Someone come.”
“Young Master.”
“Go fetch Violet for me.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
————
New World, storm brewing in Dressrosa.
Navy Headquarters was also far from peaceful. Although the weather outside was fine—clear skies, refreshing air, fluffy white clouds—the air pressure in the headquarters building was low. From the Fleet Admiral’s office to the Admirals’ offices… a heavy atmosphere spread, making the staff upstairs and downstairs instinctively hold their breath, even standing up cautiously, afraid of making harsh noises by moving chairs.
Fleet Admiral’s office.
“Nico Robin… Another troublesome figure like this!”
Sengoku tugged at his beard, his eyebrows twisting into a knot.
The Seven Warlords issue wasn’t resolved yet, and now another potentially bigger trouble needed handling: Nico Robin, the Devil Child who had been on the run for over a decade, was caught for the first time. Though not by the Navy, they could try to take custody.
But—
Would Prince Elus hand her over willingly?
To be honest, ambitious people coveting Nico Robin’s ability to read ancient texts were countless on this vast sea. Even those without much ambition originally might develop some after getting Nico Robin…
Prince Elus was already strong enough. The existence of Poneglyphs wasn’t a secret to someone at his level. Sengoku had no great confidence in how Prince Elus would react after obtaining Nico Robin.
If, if Prince Elus developed undue ambition and refused to hand Nico Robin to the Navy, things could spiral into irreparable trouble.
“No use thinking about it no matter how much. Instead of pondering alone, why not ask directly? If Prince Elus has developed ambition, you can’t extinguish it anyway, right?” Vice Admiral Tsuru on the sofa said leisurely.
“Ask directly? Hopefully no bad news. Recent matters are giving me a splitting headache.”
Sengoku rubbed his brow.
He picked up the microphone, flipped open the phone book next to the Den Den Mushi, found the official number for the Eckmond Kingdom, and dialed.
Sengoku didn’t have Prince Elus’s private number, but open countries like the Eckmond Kingdom usually had official contact channels for dealing with other countries or large organizations. Secretaries periodically updated Sengoku’s phone book, removing dead numbers and adding new ones, ensuring he could reach whoever he wanted anytime.
After two transfers, Sengoku connected with Prince Elus.
Den Den Mushi itself couldn’t transfer calls, but with the right equipment installed, it could. This technology hadn’t been around for more than a decade, and correctly, it was one of Vegapunk’s inventions before joining the World Government.
“Hello, Fleet Admiral Sengoku?”
“Prince Elus, sorry to bother you.”
“Uh… Your Excellency Fleet Admiral, you’re calling about Nico Robin too?”
Sengoku was stunned. He was still figuring out how to broach the topic without arousing Prince Elus’s resistance, but Prince Elus brought it up directly. However… wait, ‘too’? That word was quite meaningful!
“Someone else contacted you about Nico Robin?”
“Of course. Such a treasure naturally interests more than one person. BIG·MOM supposedly has more than two Poneglyphs!” Prince Elus spoke frankly.
Sengoku’s heart tightened. His already knotted eyebrows tangled completely like a dead knot. “Prince Elus, Nico Robin is a heinous criminal pursued by the World Government and the Navy. She absolutely cannot fall into BIG·MOM’s or other criminals’ hands. The best place for such a threat to world peace is Impel Down. I hope Prince Elus you can hand her over to the Navy.”
After the final request, Sengoku held his breath, awaiting Prince Elus’s response on the other end.
Agree?
Reject?
Or beat around the bush…
Different possibilities raced and collided in his mind. Which one it would be actually made him feel a long-lost tension.
This was only because it was Prince Elus. If it were any weaker guy, honestly, no need for such effort—a warship there, and no one would dare not bow their head.
