To strengthen the faith of the Sky Islanders, Doflamingo gathered every last resident of Sky Island together.
He carried out a thorough brainwashing of the entire population, and as for those who secretly harbored defiance…
Doflamingo simply enacted divine punishment on the spot, eliminating hidden dangers while further engraving his identity as a "god" into the hearts of the Sky Islanders.
Of course, during his time in the sky, Doflamingo also used his powers to completely seal off every route from the Summit of the Western Sky into Sky Island, ensuring that once he left, not a single outsider would be able to enter. Only then did he hurry toward the North Blue.
The reason was that the war situation in the North Blue had fallen into a stalemate, and the Donquixote Family was under siege by several allied underworld powers.
At that moment, with the Vinsmoke Family added into the equation, Owen, Trebol, Pula, Yulian, and Lao G were seated around a large map.
Before anyone else could speak, Pula was the first to open her mouth.
"Trebol, I'm warning you to stay away from this old lady, or I'll beat you so hard you won't even be able to walk."
Trebol, one eye bruised black, was clearly terrified of Pula. The instant Pula's words left her lips, he immediately covered his face with both hands, afraid she might suddenly start swinging again.
As time passed and nothing happened, Trebol finally eased up a little and shuffled farther away until he felt he was at a safe distance.
Inside, Trebol grumbled to himself. He absolutely was not afraid of getting hit. Especially not by Pula's fists.
He was just letting the younger generation have their way. As one of the first original officers of the Donquixote Family, what was wrong with letting the newcomers take the front seat?
At that moment Trebol suddenly started to miss Doflamingo a little. At least Doflamingo wouldn't beat him up just because of his snot.
Now, with Pula taking the lead, the other three followed along obediently. Even though Trebol was nominally the public face and spokesman of the Donquixote Family in the North Blue, no one here gave his status any face at all.
Once he felt the distance between him and Pula was "no longer a problem," Trebol finally spoke.
"Yulian, I'll leave it to you. Tell us how things stand right now."
"Understood."
As the intel specialist, Yulian instantly sorted out his thoughts and reported to the three.
"In the North Blue, the Vinsmoke Family has been rallying several kingdoms and continuously launching wars.
"Under normal circumstances, wartime chaos would be nothing but advantageous to us.
"But that's exactly where the problem lies. Our family's arms business has cut into the profits of other North Blue families.
"Our drug trade has been boycotted in several countries. Many states have joined together to crack down on our forces within their borders, causing a severe manpower shortage on our side and massive Beli losses.
"Although Miss Pula managed to stabilize the situation in time, it made the other competitors and kingdoms fully aware of the threat we pose.
"Several families, with the Dominic Family at their head, have banded together and are launching continuous assaults against our bases.
"I have reason to believe that the incident some time ago, when Rosinante left a letter and then mysteriously disappeared, is related to Rosinante's family.
"In addition, the Vinsmoke Family clearly seems to be targeting us on purpose.
"They gathered the strength of several nations, wiped out two of our bases, and publicly announced their ambition to unify the North Blue.
"The World Government does not allow the Vinsmoke Family to possess any national territory, so they exploited a loophole and built gigantic battleships. They may not be a 'country' on paper, but they still call themselves the Vinsmoke Kingdom to the outside world.
"Due to the Vinsmoke Kingdom's mobility, it's extremely difficult for us to locate their position. If we want to strike back, we have no concrete target to hit."
"All right, everyone give your thoughts. Before Doflamingo gets back, how should we proceed?" Trebol took over the conversation.
"The young master is coming? That's wonderful news!"
Pula was delighted. By her own reckoning, it had been countless "years" since she had last seen him (judging by her 'a day feels like a year' metric).
How could she not be excited? But considering the matter at hand, Pula still gave her opinion.
"Even if we can't find the Vinsmoke Family's exact location, we can still draw them out!
"As for the underworld families from the Four Seas headed by Dominic, we can put them at the front of the line and deal with them first."
"That's exactly what this old man was thinking, G–" Lao G said as he struck a pose that formed the shape of a "G" with his body.
"Then we'll start by wiping out the Dominic group of families."
Doflamingo suddenly appeared in the meeting room, cutting in without warning and making the final decision.
"Y-young master Dof?!" x3
The four of them were overjoyed to see Doflamingo.
None of them had imagined he would appear in person, least of all Pula. Of the ten parts of her reason for joining the Donquixote Family, eleven of them were for Doflamingo.
Now that Doflamingo had shown up again, looking even more overwhelmingly charismatic, Pula felt her heart was about to leap out of her chest.
Fidgeting and bashful, Pula was the first to voice the question she most wanted to ask.
"Young master, did you come here to claim me?
"This old lady hasn't seen you in so long!"
"Damn, I forgot about that…"
Only now did Doflamingo remember that Pula was not a normal woman. Yes, her ability was strong, and she did have a certain kind of dangerous charm.
But that chaotic love life and rough exterior were not something the average man could handle. He really had no idea what the men who fell under her skirts were thinking.
Of course, Doflamingo had no intention of finding out. Curiosity kills the cat; sometimes not knowing is the safest option.
He shot Pula a warning look that clearly said "know your limits," and only then spoke.
"This time I'm here to bring the entire North Blue fully into our family's sphere of influence. In the North Blue, there can only be one voice, our family's voice. My voice.
"I've also heard that Vice Admiral Tsuru has been very active in the North Blue. In that case, we'll include the Marines as well and let them experience the strength of our family firsthand."
"Neh, neh, I'm saying, Dof, my greatest wish is to move with you on this one.
"The head of the Dominic Family, Sisyphus, has been an eyesore to me for a long time!
"Leave Sisyphus's head to me!" Trebol, emboldened to the extreme now that Doflamingo was here in person, declared with swollen confidence.
Never mind the fact that Sisyphus had forced him to the brink of death several times before.
Although he didn't want to ruin the good mood created by Doflamingo's sudden arrival, Yulian still reminded him:
"Young master, my intel points to several pirate crews lurking in the shadows behind the Dominic families. Shouldn't we make some preparations against them in advance?"
"Heh… pirates, huh? Then we'll lure them in too. Wouldn't it be better to wipe them all out in one go?"
Doflamingo looked down on the pirates of the North Blue, not because he thought they were that weak.
It was simply that compared to himself, Doflamingo was confident that in this entire world, fewer than two hundred people could withstand three moves from him.
Clearing out small-fry pirate crews was nothing but a chore. That said, the necessary precautions still had to be taken.
A pirate's brain works in bizarre ways. You never know what they might suddenly decide to do, so proper defense was essential.
"I'm saying, I'm saying, Dof, how exactly are we supposed to gather them all together?"
Right on cue, Trebol posed the crucial question.
Wanting to show his worth and seize greater authority for himself, Yulian's heart stirred the moment he heard Trebol speak.
Now that the boss was here in person, if he wanted to move up another step, then if he didn't bring it up now, when would he…
(End of Chapter)
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