New Deal On The Table

It took a moment, but finally the Deadweight was once more in Dante's possession, the boat had been treated with damn near reverence due to the intense fear these people held of the Red Devil.

Though, being on this island once more gave Dante an idea. Given his recent quarrel with Dragon, he decided that perhaps the old bastard didn't deserve his supplies. Dante was possibly being petty with this maneuver, but frankly he didn't care. The deadbeat had pushed a few inches too far.

He went forward into the castle once more, the gates still broken entirely from his first foray into the building only an hour ago at most. The soldiers all treated him with thinly veiled hostility, though Dante had no care for such things, he'd already culled the army enough as it was. Any more and the Germa would become easy pickings for pirates.

Reaching the throne room once more Dante swung the doors open, expecting to see Judge sat on his throne, still hand-less, but was instead met with only Reiju, a pensive look on her face as she stared at several patches of blood around the floor.

Her expression immediately turned into one of fear when she laid eyes on him, turning still as a statue, unable to meet his gaze once again as Dante looked around the room confused.

"Where's Judge? Thought he'd still be here licking his wounds."

Reiju cleared her throat, her voice shakey but nonetheless firm and confident.

"Father is still dealing with wounds from your battle. The damage was extensive, and his recovery will take time. In his absence, I am now the current Commander of the Germa."

Dante hummed, realising that Reiju was doing an impressive job of masking her fear while she spoke, although he wasn't here to appraise her. He made his will known.

"Old deal is out the window. Put it simply, you don't work for the Revolutionary Army."

She visibly relaxed, her stance becoming far more comfortable. Dante could tell that she was feeling immense relief at the news, and he was glad for that. To emphasise his next words, he pointed a finger at her.

"Instead, you're mine."

Her eyes widened comically, her pulse going haywire as she stared shocked at Dante, a small patch of red growing across her face. He decided to give her some more elaboration as he didn't quite explain his thoughts fully, unaware of how far Reiju had misinterpreted his words.

"Me and Dragon had a... disagreement, so now you've got a new deal. As of this moment, the Germa Kingdom is a territory of the Red Devil Dante. Make sure everyone knows that, I don't care if its the news, the Marines, or even your grandma. I want word spread, capiche?"

She nodded at him mindlessly, mentally chiding herself for even thinking of such depraved things. Despite the embarrassment Reiju now felt, she wagered it was better to work under Dante than the Revolutionary Army. His name alone would propell the Germa to new heights as opposed to the underground deals Dragon wanted.

"I'm glad you understand Reiju. You're a lot easier to convince than Judge, that's for sure."

With his piece spoken, Dante left the island once more, returning to where he had left the Deadweight instead of abandoning it by accident. He was taking the next steps on his journey as a Pirate, and soon he would be known to the World as an Emperor.

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It had been weeks. Vegapunk had spent several hours staring at each and every frame of the short footage Akainu had captured of Dante in action.

With rapt attention, Vegapunk once more ran through the 15 seconds of footage they had to work with, never growing bored through the hundreds of hours they had spent watching the same exact video, time and time again.

Today though, Vegapunk would have to part ways with the footage. They had promised Sengoku that he would have access to it after analysis, and finally after 13 days spent writing thousands of pages filled to the brim with theories and observations, Vegapunk decided that there was not enough data to form any proper conclusions of the origins to Dante's powers, and what they even are.

However, through extensive analysis, Vegapunk had made several actionable plans to try and engage with Dante if the need came along, the rate of success never exceeding an abysmal 3.4 percent.

One specific plan they had created was more of a personal contingency, in the event that Dante is too great a threat for any being to handle in this world.

The plan was simple. Vegapunk held no allegiance to any flag, that much was assured. They believed in knowledge, they frowned on loyalty. To pledge allegiance was to limit one's reach, after all. So, if by chance Dante were to hold a grudge against the World Government, Vegapunk would do everything in their power to ensure their own survival, even if it meant making a deal with the Devil.

Vegapunk would happily work with Dante and avoid the risk of annihilation if given the chance. They had spent far too long learning, observing, testing, analysing, theorising and calculating just to meet a pitiful end at the sharp blade of a sword.

Vegapunk had been called a 'rat' several times before by Sengoku, and slowly they were beginning to appreciate such a title because they would happily ensure their survival through any means necessary, no matter who had to fall in order to guarantee such a thing.

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Sailing through the open oceans, Dante had been relaxed in his fine leather chair in the cabin, enjoying the calm waters as he thought over his next moves, and the plans for how to properly train the Straw Hats henceforth.

His peace was interrupted though, extremely rudely no less, by a phone call.

"Devil May Cry; we don't accept plumbing jobs."

The line was silent, broken only by the suave voice of one Doflamingo. His tone was far more relaxed than it usually was when speaking to Dante.

"Dante, we've had a change of plans, the employer wants to meet in a place they feel safe in. Recent events have caused them to feel much less comfortable meeting you out on a barren island. Instead, you'll be heading to Wano. You able to get there?"

"Yeah, I can make it there. 12 days if I remember correctly. Or did that change too?"

"No, no. Employer simply wanted to change the venue, figured you wouldn't try any funny business surrounded by Kaido's top men, and the Beast himself."

The real truth was that Doflamingo had been unable to convince Kaido to go out to some random island in the middle of nowhere. The Beast wanted a pulse pounding battle to the death, and he wanted an audience. It would he humiliating for either one of them to die on such a remote land.

"Sounds good. I'll see you then, Doffy."

Dante hung up the phone and leaned back in the chair, rubbing his hand against his forehead as he laughed to himself.

"Well if it wasn't a trap before then it definitely is now."