Immediately, Doflamingo thought of something
First, he ended the call with Vergo. Then, he quickly dialed Kaido's Den Den Mushi.
"Doflamingo... why are you calling me?" Kaido's voice carried clear displeasure.
He wasn't foolish. He certainly understood that Jack's death was, to some extent, the result of Doflamingo's scheming.
This guy had used others to eliminate his enemy... He just hadn't found a suitable pretext yet.
After all, Doflamingo had openly posted the bounty in the underworld, offering their Beasts Pirates two additional Zoan Devil Fruits on top of the standard underworld reward.
So, this was a bounty hunt.
Or rather, it was a form of employment relationship.
Jack being killed by the target, according to the rules, could only be considered his own lack of strength.
But that didn't mean Kaido held no grievances against Doflamingo.
Doflamingo naturally detected Kaido's displeasure.
In the past, he would have already been thinking about how to appease Kaido and mend their relationship. But now... he truly had no mental capacity to consider that.
He stated bluntly: "That Rear Admiral Lancelot who killed Jack has entered the New World. Furthermore, he somehow discovered my Artificial Devil Fruit factory and launched a direct assault."
"The factory has been completely destroyed, and the scientist manufacturing the Artificial Devil Fruits has likely fallen into his hands."
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Kaido's entire demeanor shifted dramatically.
His previously hostile gaze now burned with murderous intent.
If Lancelot were before him, he would undoubtedly breathe dragon flames upon him immediately. Reducing him to ashes would be the only way to vent the hatred in his heart.
Kaido raised his head to gaze into the distance, where his original destination of Whisky Peak was now visible on the horizon.
That's right, at this moment, Kaido had already entered the first half of the Grand Line.
He had just missed Lancelot...
"Hah..."
Kaido took a deep breath, then said coldly: "Where is he now?"
"Punk Hazard!" Doflamingo gave the location without hesitation.
He understood that once Kaido went there, the result would likely be Caesar Clown falling into his hands, and from then on, Artificial Devil Fruits would no longer need to go through him.
But between two evils, one must choose the lesser. If Lancelot didn't die, he wouldn't feel at ease.
Hearing this, Kaido narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth upward, thinking to himself.
'Good, good, good... When the time comes, I'll directly get my hands on this scientist. That'll be a relief!'
He then hung up the Den Den Mushi and turned to head in the direction of the New World.
...
At the same time.
After Lancelot sliced open the entire mountain with one slash, the poisonous gas immediately found an "outlet," gushing out through the huge gap created by the slash.
Lancelot then flashed forward and charged straight toward where Caesar Clown was.
Caesar Clown stood frozen in place because that slash had just barely missed his shoulder.
He could sense it.
This slash even contained Armament Haki.
If he had been hit by it, even as a Logia Ability User, he would likely have been unable to escape death.
In that instant, he deeply understood what it meant to have a brush with death.
"Gulp..."
Caesar Clown subconsciously swallowed hard, his heart filled with fear.
His heart was practically in his throat.
His scalp tingled with numbness.
Yet reason told him that at this moment, the wisest choice was to flee immediately. Only by escaping this place would he have a sliver of hope for survival.
With this thought, he turned to leave.
But the instant he turned his head, he saw a figure flash past and finally stop directly in front of him...
"Hiss..."
Caesar Clown froze momentarily, and when he clearly saw the newcomer, he couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
His heart, already lodged in his throat, nearly leaped out entirely.
Because the person standing before him was none other than that terrifyingly powerful Rear Admiral, Lancelot.
"Y-you... you..."
At this point, Caesar Clown could barely speak coherently.
He stammered "you" repeatedly but couldn't form a complete sentence.
"Gulp..."
Finally, he swallowed hard and instinctively took several steps back, putting some distance between himself and Lancelot.
As if only this could make him feel slightly more at ease.
Lancelot, meanwhile, was sizing up the man before him.
Long, sharp black hair, goat horns on his head, standing over three meters tall, wearing purple lipstick and eye makeup.
A flat nose, slender eyebrows, and elongated limbs.
He was dressed in a light blue coat with "GAS" printed on all four sides, wearing an orange-yellow pinstripe suit underneath, and purple-black gloves marked with "CC" on his hands.
This signature appearance and attire left no doubt—this was undoubtedly Caesar Clown...
Lancelot couldn't suppress the curl of his lips.
After all, Caesar Clown was his most important target in coming to Punk Hazard.
"Shurorororororo..."
When Caesar Clown finally regained his composure, he let out his characteristic laugh.
Yet anyone could hear the weakness in that laughter, completely devoid of its usual arrogance.
"Kehahahaa..."
Lancelot also began to laugh. But unlike Caesar Clown, his laughter was filled with the satisfaction of achieving his goal.
And this man was nothing but a bully who preyed on the weak while fearing the strong, cowardly and desperate to cling to life.
If someone held his vulnerabilities, he wouldn't dare act recklessly—instead, he would beg for mercy and obey their commands.
When faced with someone far stronger than himself, he became nothing more than an obedient dog.
Lancelot narrowed his eyes, staring coldly at Caesar Clown. "My Four Seas Exchange needs a scientist. Are you interested?"
"Interested!"
Caesar Clown nodded frantically.
Although Lancelot had phrased it as a question, anyone could hear the undeniable authority in his tone. He had no desire to end up like Monet, cut down without hesitation.
He wanted to live, to live well, because he still had countless experiments to conduct.
Lancelot stated bluntly, "Bring your Slime and that Artificial Devil Fruit created by Vegapunk, and come with me!"
At these words, Caesar Clown's pupils contracted to pinpricks. He never expected this man to know about both of these things.
The former was something he had brought with him when he escaped, while the latter was his secret weapon—his ultimate trump card.
Because of this, Caesar Clown held even greater reverence and fear toward Lancelot.
He felt completely under Lancelot's control.
Thus, Caesar Clown quickly retrieved both the Slime and the Dragon Fruit.
At this time, the Slime was only about the size of a soccer ball and was confined within a glass container.
The Dragon Fruit, meanwhile, was casually held in his hand.
Lancelot directly took the Azure Dragon Fruit into his own possession.
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