"Fufufufufu! This is just too funny. Kaido's daughter turns out to be a die-hard fangirl of Michael, and on top of that, she ran away from home… only to meet Michael along the way…"
After piecing together information from several sources, Doflamingo sat in his base, laughing so hard he was slapping the table.
Even though he had seen Kaido's daughter on Raijin Island back then, he never expected things to blow up like this.
"Doffy~ what are you laughing about?" Trebol came over curiously. "Tell me too."
"Trebol! How many times have I told you?! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
Doflamingo narrowly dodged Trebol's giant snot.
Then he cleared his throat and asked seriously, "How are the profits on Pleasure Street right now?"
"Very good. Thanks to the heavy traffic from Fishman Island and Dressrosa, profits are at least thirty percent higher than before."
"Thirty percent… not enough!" Doflamingo wasn't satisfied. "Don't forget, we're also investing in the Beasts Pirates!"
"But Doffy, that's already the limit… If you really want to increase it more, we could always start targeting the customers on Pleasure Street directly…?"
"That kind of dangerous idea—don't ever say it again, Trebol." Doflamingo immediately frowned.
"Michael knows everything about my business on Pleasure Street. The only reason he hasn't taken action against me is because I'm basically following the rules. Gambling and women… you can't ban those."
"But human trafficking is Michael's primary crackdown target… He's been looking for a reason to hit me hard, but he hasn't found the right excuse yet."
Thinking of that winged man, Trebol couldn't help but shiver, fear flashing across his face.
"Still… Trebol, you've given me an idea." Doflamingo's mouth curved into a sly smile. "If I want more profits… why not go straight to Michael and apply for a partnership with Fishman Island?"
"Uh… wouldn't that be walking right into the trap, Doffy?!"
"Isn't that perfect?" Doflamingo sank back into the sofa with a grin. "He wants leverage over me? Fine, I'll hand it to him… That way, he'll trust me even more…"
"And only then can I get what I really want."
...
"Rayleigh, why are the Beasts Pirates suddenly buying so much intelligence about Michael and the Secret Special Force?" Gaban looked over the latest reports, rubbing his chin. "What are they planning?"
"You haven't been back to headquarters lately, so it's normal you don't know." Rayleigh sat behind a wide office desk. As one of the top leaders of the Cross Guild, he now carried almost none of the old pirate air about him. He looked more and more like someone used to power. "Kaido's daughter just pulled off something big recently."
"Something big? Like what?" Gaban's eyes lit up instantly, his dark sunglasses unable to hide his excitement. "Come on, tell me. It's been way too long since this sea had any real fun."
"This will definitely exceed your imagination." Seeing his old friend's look, Rayleigh actually smiled for the first time in a while. "After running away from the Beasts Pirates, Kaido's daughter, Yamato, declared herself 'Maria D. Yamato'…"
"Pffft!" Gaban spat out the drink he had just swallowed. "Maria? D? If I remember correctly, that surname…"
"That's right—it's Michael's surname. The girl is such a hardcore fan that she even changed her own name to Maria." Rayleigh shook his head, smiling. "But you know how Michael is about stealing people away from under someone else's nose."
"True enough. These years, he's either stealing people or on his way to steal someone." Gaban nodded in agreement.
"So he publicly claimed that Yamato was the mistake of his youth—that she's actually his daughter."
"…Hold on. My brain isn't keeping up. I understand every word you just said, but somehow none of it makes sense together." Gaban shook his head, checking if he was drunk. "The files say Kaido's daughter is sixteen this year. And Michael is only thirty, right?"
"That's true. But if the man himself admits it… what can you do?"
Rayleigh spread his hands in mock helplessness.
In the One Piece world, with its mix of long-lived and short-lived races, there were no laws about things like legal age…
Because they'd be meaningless.
The World Government had ruled through chaos for most of history. Everyone lived like there might be no tomorrow. Who would care about such details?
So at most, Michael's claim would just be gossip for a while…
"Tsk tsk tsk. Then Kaido must hate Michael's guts right now."
"Why do you think Kaido's been spending so many Belly, paying two or even ten times the price for all information about Michael? You think he's trying to merge the two families?"
"Ha! Then we're making a fortune, aren't we?"
"To be precise, Shakky's the one making a fortune." Rayleigh shrugged. "Don't forget—we have to give her half the cut for the intel business."
"Right, right!" Gaban nodded. "How's Shakky these days? Still on Amazon Lily?"
"She's busy… after all, she has a certain troublesome Empress to deal with."
...
"I don't care! I don't care, I don't care! I'm going back to Marine Headquarters right now!"
Boa Hancock sat on her throne. At nineteen, she had completely grown into the stunning beauty that would one day be the "Pirate Empress" from the original story.
Except now, there was no slave brand from the Celestial Dragons on her back. Over her Amazon Lily attire, she wore a Marine officer's cloak of justice.
At the moment, Hancock was throwing a tantrum at Shakky and Gloriosa in front of her.
"This is the critical time for the Marine's awards and rankings… The marines from our Branch are counting on you to lead them to the top honors."
"Tch… fine, I get it."
Hancock sighed, waved at the now-grown Sandersonia and Marigold, and turned to head back to her palace with her sisters.
Shakky and Gloriosa didn't think anything was wrong.
Since taking the throne, Hancock had been an excellent ruler. Sometimes she threw little fits, but she always calmed down quickly.
Only this time, the "calming down" lasted from afternoon all the way to dusk.
By the time Shakky and Gloriosa rushed into the royal palace, they found it completely empty.
"That girl… really couldn't hold it in any longer!"
"Well, what do you expect? Michael is her idol, after all."
...
At this moment, in the Calm Belt…
A small ship pulled by a giant sea serpent was cutting across the windless waters.
Sandersonia and Marigold looked at each other helplessly.
Hancock stood sternly at the bow, staring in the direction of Marine Headquarters.
"I was here first…"
"Why does this Yamato woman get to beat me there?!"
"Even if Michael wants a daughter… I should be first in line!"
"Does this Yamato not have her own father?!"