Chapter 57

"...W-what?"

Trebol. 2nd in command of the Donquixote family, as well as a man whom many may perceive as 'creepy' in terms of appearance. He, unable to believe what just happened, took a step back from the Den Den Mushi.

Said Den Den Mushi grinned, at Trebol, much to his horror. 'White Hunter' Smoker, the super rookie of the Marine who not only defeated 'Nightmare' Gecko Moria, but also 'Hell Flame' Diego. Trebol believed that this time was the best chance that they had to kill off this man, however, they instead lost their family member.

Trebol's eyes trembled behind his sunglasses. They slowly moved to another Den Den Mushi that sat nearby the one connected to Smoker—the one which was connected to his boss, 'Heavenly Demon' Donquixote Doflamingo.

<<...Oi, say that again.>>

Then, Trebol found his heart dropping as Doflamingo's rage-filled voice was heard through it.

<<Oh?>> Smoker's Den Den Mushi raised an eyebrow. It then chuckled, before responding, <<Are you the boss of this 'Vergo' over here?>>

<<FUCKER!!!!>> Doflamingo's Den Den Mushi barked, unable to contain his fury, <<Smoker...!!!!! I will ensure you the most painful death you can ever imagine!!!! Just you wait over there—>>

<<...Painful my ass.>> Smoker's Den Den Mushi snorted. Then, Smoker's voice turned ice cold as he spoke, <<Sit tight and watch from there, 'Joker,'>>

Both Doflamingo's Den Den Mushi and Trebol flinched in shock and disbelief,

<<as I obliterate your kingdom into nothing.>>

Trebol's both trembled. He unconsciously took a step back. Though it was a virtual conversation that happened by chance, he would later come to believe—that this conversation alone brought forth in many changes to the fate of Doflamingo family. Because Smoker's word just now,

<<...Who leaked the information.>>

Became the trigger of Doflamingo's distrust.

__________

"P-please, I will give you all I got, so please... spare me."

Down the throne was the king Barnon of Lulusia kingdom. He, without a sense of dignity, stepped down from his seat and knelt willingly. As he did so, the crown on his head fell out, however, he didn't seem to care—knowing that his life was on line.

"Siasiasia!!! Look at you, king Barnon!!" Among the rebels who watched the king with disgust, Seki stepped forth. He, with his hands on his back, triumphantly walked. Stopping in the middle, he leaned down and lifted up—the crown that Barnon dropped.

'...' And Rosinante's face darkened. From his perspective, Seki's eyes—they were just like those of the Celestial Dragons, filled with nothing but greed.

"From here on, I, Seki, am the king!!!" Seki placed the crown on his head while stepping on Barnon's head. Upon his announcement,

"""Seki! Seki! Seki!""" The civilians all cheered in joy, happy that the long-lived rule of Barnon was finally over.

Garfield, turning to Aramaki, nodded as a means of goodbye. He ordered to his men, "Arrest Barnon and the rest of his forces. And as for those slaves—"

"Marines," Aramaki, whose eyes were shadowed, then stated with his arms crossed, "Free those women from their shackles. Provide them the necessities as soon as possible."

"""Yes, sir!!!"""

Garfield, stopping in the middle of his track, turned and gazed at Aramaki questioningly. However, upon seeing Aramaki's fierce glare through his bangs, Garfield turned back with a pale face and continued walking, as if he's seen nothing at all.

And thus, here it was, the resolution to the incident in the Lulusia kingdom.

"...Dragon, Kuma, and Ivankov? They are the names of those who killed my men?" Comil, upon receiving the report, would growl at Smoker, "And you failed to get them?!"

But still, Comil's anger will be futile. Eventually, he will be forced to let go of his meaningless anger, which was born from an idiotic reason of 'his reputation being tarnished.'

Aramaki, Rosinante, and Robin will all receive the promotion, having partook major roles in leading the joint operation with CP8 to success. 'Lieutenant' Aramaki. 'Warrant Officer' Rosie. 'Seaman First Class' Orobi. Among them, Aramaki's name will earn many higher-ups' attention, recognizing that he's the one who used to be the bounty hunter, 'Mad Bull.'

And then, there was Smoker. Though he wasn't present during the day of operation, he was at the Knockdown island, arresting and subduing every single pirate in sight. Within one day, the island was demolished, and pirates lost a route to bypass G-2.

"Promotion again, Garp-sensei?" Currently, Smoker, back to his division, was chatting with Garp through the Den Den Mushi, "Uh... didn't I become Commodore just recently?"

<<Bwahahaha! What can I say? Marine is a meritocratic system, and you made just enough feats!>>

'Rear Admiral' Smoker. He couldn't help but scratch the back of his head, for he couldn't really be bothered with a rank at this point.

"...Garp-sensei," Instead, Smoker said with a serious voice, "I have a favour to ask."

<<Hm? Go ahead, let me hear!>>

"Tell Sengoku-san that I won't be accepting missions for some time."

<<Eh? Why? Do you not want to be promoted?>>

I grinned, "It's not that I don't want to be promoted, but that... I already have a set objective in mind."

<<Which is?>>

"Slavery."

Garp's voice momentarily paused, falling silent. He clearly knew what I meant by this. Then, he finally said,

<<...Heh, now that's my disciple. Worry not, I'll cover you as much as I can, Smoker.>>

__________

Lulusia kingdom. What did they achieve in the end?

'Freedom?'

No, they were still bound by the World Government.

'Strength?'

No, they simply watched as Marine and CP8 agents led the rebellion to success.

'Wisdom?'

No, for as long as I could see... the history was about to repeat.

'King Seki, eh.' I chuckled as I stared at the island that contained Lulusia kingdom. Currently, with my division back on our ship, we were sailing away from the island, toward our next destination, 'History repeats. Revolutionary Army will return here in the future, upon realizing that Seki is yet another Barnon in the end. Then...'

I raised my head up and stared at the sunny sky,

'That enigmatic laser beam will erase the island.'

I grimaced.

'Who exactly are you, Imu?'

I know I improved a lot over the past 2 years. Even against 'Hell Flame' Diego, there was no need for me to go all out. However, I also know that I need to improve more. To become free from the shackles of the World Government, my current strength was far from enough.

And strength. It is more than just one's physical capability. Though such type of strength was the one of most importance in this world, what I currently needed were allies like Robin and Dragon, ones who will oppose the World Government with me.

Tap. Just then, I heard someone stopping by next to me. Turning my head in response, I came to see... Rosinante, who was smoking casually. He, upon sighting me, widened his eyes before immediately throwing away the cigarette into the ocean and acting as if nothing happened.

"Ha..." I couldn't help but sigh. For years, everyone on my left and right smoked. It is a bad thing, and I've been preventing those around me from doing so—such that I earned the title of 'Non-Smoker.'

Yet, they didn't stop; their addiction to nicotine was beyond belief. Even after slapping their cheeks, throwing their unused cigarettes into garbage bins, and threatening to punish them, they continued. At this point, I began to wonder,

"...Why do you—"

Bam! Rosinante fell down all of a sudden, even though he was simply standing still,

"—smoke?" I sweatdropped.

Rosinante, immediately standing back up while sweating profusely, stuttered in response, "W-what do you mean, Smoker-san? I-I didn't smoke! Not at all!"

He cowered in a comical manner. He squinted his eyes, as if he expected a physical blow from me. After a minute or so, he reopened his eyes and asked warily, "W-wait, are you serious about that question?"

I simply gazed back at him. Rosinante, upon recognizing my seriousness, too turned serious. He, taking in a deep breath, turned his head to the distant sky,

"Well... not everyone is as strong as you are, Smoker-san." Rosinante muttered, "Some started because smoking looks cool, and became addicted. Then there are ones like me, those who are haunted by the past."

My eyes widened. Rosinante, at this moment, looked like a traumatized child in my eyes.

"The nightmare never ends, and the pain that keeps on intruding us. The reason why we joined to become marines—such reason keeps coming back to us, in a way that we cannot find ourselves to bear it without smoking."

Rosinante, turning his eyes on me, then grinned mischievously as if he was acting. He subsequently whispered, "By the way, Aramaki-san smokes too—"

BOOM!

"—AHHH!!!!"

Aramaki fell on top of Rosinante all of a sudden.

"Oh? Since when were you there, Rosie? Oh damn, hang in there!!!" Aramaki, not daring to meet his eyes with mine, quickly lifted Rosinante up and ran away, much to my amusement. But still,

'...Was I being inconsiderate?' I couldn't help but think in such a way, knowing what kind of past Rosinante had, until...

I saw Robin, who tilted her head upon noticing my gaze.

'...They smoked next to a 10-year-old girl?'

I found myself crackling my knuckles, causing the nearby marine soldiers to take a step back in fear.

"M-MERCY!!!!!"

"GAHHH!!! KRSAUWFIUSEGBEU!!!!!"

And for the next hour, the two will face a horrific punishment, one that will make them bedridden for a week.

__________

[December 30th, 1504]

A luxurious room. That was probably the most adequate way to define the current surrounding of Donquixote Doflamingo, who was unusually wearing black attire.

Behind him stood all the current executives of the Doflamingo family: Trebol, Diamante, and Pica. Vergo was supposed to be one of them, however, he was no longer here.

Along with them were the rest of the family: Giolla, Lao G, Senor Pink, Machvise, and Gladius. They served as the officers who commanded the countless number of underlings that Doflamingo controlled through the name of 'Heavenly Demon' and 'Joker.'

Altogether, the Donquixote family was a force to reckon with. Their total strength was enough to open a nation-scaled war, and Doflamingo was an ambitious man—seeking to take over the world. And when he was angry, it meant that something big was about to happen.

"...Vergo died," Doflamingo said. No one exhibited any sign of surprise though, since all of them received the news beforehand, "And so did Warmog."

Everyone listened Doflamingo in silence. Doflamingo, gritting his teeth in vexation, snarled, "The war that should've provided us a huge profit has ended in a single day. I lost my loyal family members. And then, that 'White Hunter,' he's begun to interrupt my business, somehow locating every single slave ship that was heading to Sabaody Archipelago. The losses that I accumulated up until now—they are beyond the amount that can be calculated. And furthermore..."

Doflamingo grabbed a piece of news with a trembling hand. It was the news reporting the feats of Smoker and his division, and behind Smoker, there stood one blonde man.

"...Warrant Officer 'Rosie.'" Doflamingo then let out a furious chuckle, "Fuffuffu... ffuffuffuffu... Rosie my ass. Rosinante... why is my brother in the Marine, and in that accursed White Hunter's division? Is it out of his free will, or is he forced to do so?"

"...Brother?" Trebol whispered in a shock, "That biological brother whom you told us before... he was alive?"

"Yes indeed, Trebol." Doflamingo, grinning with the veins popping out of his forehead, turned around. He then threw the newspaper in the air, and then,

Swoosh. The sharp strings suddenly sprang into the existence, shredding it into pieces in an instant.

Doflamingo, massaging his temple, then stated, "Fuffuffu... stop all ongoing businesses for now and gather all available forces."

The executives and officers all listened seriously to Doflamingo's declaration,

"We're going to massacre that White Hunter and his marines."