As an elder of the Donquixote family, Trebol was extremely familiar with this hegemon they had supported and nurtured from childhood. Often, when Doflamingo got serious and intended to take the initiative, the opposing side would suffer bloody misfortune.
"Do you have any plans? Doffy." Sticky snot swung disgustingly on Trebol's face as his mouth shape changed, but the young master of the Donquixote family showed no disgust towards this.
In the company of over ten years of loyalty, Doflamingo had long grown accustomed to this. Whether it was the supreme executives helping him when he was in distress back then, or step-by-step assisting the ignorant Doflamingo to become the rising pirate star he was today. Compared to superficial flaws in appearance or eccentric clothing, these kindnesses were nothing.
Family. Compared to his daydreaming father and his mother who died early from illness, Doflamingo truly regarded these supreme executives of the Donquixote family, who had accompanied him through thick and thin, never abandoning him, as his family in his heart.
Downing the cocktail in one gulp, the young master turned and picked up the pink feathered coat hanging on the back of the chair: "We have two choices. First, if it's confirmed the Navy and the Vinsmoke family have joined forces and merged their troops. The family immediately abandons all business operations in the North Blue, and we head directly to the Grand Line."
"Eh!! All of it!?"
"Doffy, you're not joking, right?"
The people in the room were startled by this plan of cutting losses decisively. But how cunning is the judgment of a hegemon? What allows subordinates to follow devotedly isn't just his unique personal charisma, but also his perspective and scope that stand at the pinnacle of the world.
This accurate judgment of the overall situation, this astonishingly decisive execution, is the very essence why Monet and others believed until death that he would become king.
His unique life experience in the world and his scope, large in both depth and breadth, derived from his childhood life in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, endowed him with a perspective and strategic view difficult for ordinary people to attain. Years of struggling from the bottom further perfected Doflamingo's worldview.
Doflamingo shook his head and said seriously: "I'm not joking. If the Burning Legion and the Germa Kingdom cooperate fully, then it's definitely not prey a single Donquixote family can take down. Decisively withdrawing from the competition and heading to the Grand Line for development is the wisest choice."
Letting go of the industry built over many years was certainly hard to accept, but compared to the family's future, it was simply insignificant. The titan of the underworld knew well that sometimes, giving up is the premise for advancing by retreating, breaking before establishing anew.
"Understood, Doffy."
"Okay, Young Master."
"Woo woo woo, I can't bear to part with the industry we built, but I can bear even less to part with the Young Master."
Although the Donquixote family executives felt reluctant, they steadfastly followed their master's steps.
"Fuffuffuffuffuffu, don't be discouraged. I just mentioned the worst-case scenario. If it's the second scenario... it's vastly different." Doflamingo looked at the instantly deflated morale of the whole table and was amused into laughter: "If the Vinsmoke family is just taking advantage of the Navy's flashy arms consolidation to reap some benefits, or if both sides have reached some consensus but aren't a monolithic bloc."
In an instant, the killing intent of this Heavenly Yaksha was released. His words were cold and ruthless: "Then as long as we strike before Sakazuki arrives in the North Blue, we just need to defeat them one by one!"
This outlier among pirates was not only skilled in business trade but also a first-rate strategist in planning. He saw at a glance the weakness in Sakazuki's setup. The opponent's forces were vast, forcing them to choose step-by-step suppression of the Donquixote family. Then he would use speed against slowness, select a small number of elites, and catch the Navy off guard.
How to break the stalemate in this seemingly mutually supportive confrontation is to overturn the small boat of friendship maintaining the peaceful status quo! He already had a plan: "According to the news Vergo sent back, the Expeditionary Force's main camp has over twenty thousand troops stationed, all battle-hardened veterans from various seas, not to mention heavily fortified with heavy firepower. Attacking rashly will only result in heavy losses. But that Gildo Tesoro, hastily cobbled together by swallowing up arms dealers, won't have this kind of strength. We don't need to clash head-on with the Navy's heavy-armored group; we only need to empty out the arms forces controlled by that fake arms dealer—Gildo Tesoro—and Sakazuki's plan to consolidate the North Blue underground arms will have to start from zero again."
Corazon's expression was calm, but inwardly he was already quite alert. The first-generation Corazon, Vergo, had long disappeared, but today his brother had twice mentioned intelligence sent back by the supreme executive of the Heart Pirates. Information about Fish-Man Island could be extracted from the mouths of Fish-Man Island residents who witnessed those events at the time. But Vergo possessing classified information like the Expeditionary Force's troop distribution and specific numbers made one's imagination run wild.
He knew he needed to pass the message immediately; otherwise, the Navy's layout in the North Blue would absolutely turn into bubbles as Doflamingo said. But if his guess was correct, that the original Corazon was lurking within the Burning Legion, then the fact that Corazon was a Navy spy was highly likely to be discovered by Vergo.
"Doffy, then why don't we split into two groups? Before Sakazuki arrives, take out both Vinsmoke and Gildo Tesoro." Pica seemed full of confidence; after all, his fruit ability could single-handedly hold off an army.
The young master didn't respond to this somewhat overly ambitious plan. He looked at his younger brother, the only one in the room wearing the same style of clothes in a different color: "The overall strength of the Germa Kingdom is formidable, though lacking high-level combat power. But for us, it's still a tough nut to crack. Don't create side issues; they are the next target."
The fallen Celestial Dragon wasn't as arrogant as his kin in the Holy Land. His arrogance had been ground away bit by bit in his hellish childhood, leaving only the struggle to survive.
Only those who have experienced a hellish childhood would particularly cherish a hard-won "family." Influenced by patricide in his early years and years spent with people committing evil everywhere, Doflamingo would cherish family, yet couldn't learn how to truly cherish family.
Therefore, in the original work, he would be so furious when Pica was mocked for his voice, so desolate when Vergo and Monet died, and shoot his own biological brother without batting an eye.
Without warning, Doflamingo burst into unrestrained laughter: "A Burning Legion without Akainu! A Gildo Tesoro consortium composed entirely of useless underworld trash and arms dealers with differing agendas. I'd like to see what they use to stop my family!"
"Hey, Sakazuki, are you sure it's okay not being stationed in the North Blue?" Borsalino held a bowl of Douhua (tofu pudding) and desperately added sugar into it. Taking advantage of the roundup of the "heinous criminal" Fish-Man Tiger, the three Admiral candidates, who hadn't gathered for a long time, finally reunited at a buffet reception organized across several warships.
And Kuzan, sitting beside Sakazuki, looked at Borsalino's action and raised an eyebrow somewhat puzzled: "I heard from Senior Brother that Shiliew seems to have already arrived in the North Blue. With him there, no waves can be stirred up in the North Blue, right? Also, Senior Brother Borsalino, Douhua doesn't taste good with sugar."
"No wonder. Shiliew went over?" Kizaru finally knew why the dog beside him still had the leisure to eat Douhua unhurriedly: "That's one of Impel Down's aces. Also, Kuzan, since we're all fellow disciples, the old man will give you a piece of advice: eating Douhua with green onions, seaweed, dried shrimp, and pouring soy sauce is the evil path."
"No no no, this mellow and rich texture is unattainable by adding sugar," the usually lazy Kuzan was uncompromising on this issue.
Borsalino shrugged. As a sweet tooth, he couldn't stand such a salty taste, but the slippery Glint-Glint Fruit user didn't intend to argue until red in the face with the other.
On such matters, everyone's taste differs; there's no need to impose on others.
Therefore... Kizaru decided to start with the dog, who was most likely to listen to Kuzan.
He turned his head sideways, looking at Sakazuki who was scooping seasoning from a sealed jar into his own bowl: "Indeed, sweet Douhua is bett— Wait, Sakazuki, what are you adding to your bowl?"
Hearing this, Kuzan also turned his head sideways, curiously examining the condiment in Sakazuki's bowl. In his impression, there seemed to be no Douhua dipping sauce of this color on the dining table.
"Gion prepared it specially for me," Sakazuki started, blasting the two single dogs beside him. He very calmly made an invitation: "Want to try my favorite Douhua sauce?"
The young Aokiji and Kizaru didn't anticipate the seriousness of the matter. The two curious babies obediently picked up their spoons and scooped up a large spoonful of the dark red dipping sauce.
"Uh... you guys better take a little less," Sakazuki hadn't finished speaking when Kuzan and Borsalino had already swiftly put the spoons into their mouths.
"...."
"...."
Watching their faces rapidly flush red, Sakazuki waited full of anticipation for his favorite taste to be acknowledged: "How is it, my recommendation isn't bad, right?"
The Ice Saber, shimmering with azure patterns, and the Sword of Light, blooming with golden brilliance, were raised simultaneously at this moment.
"You dog bastard actually put hot pot base!!!!!" The two Admiral candidates roared furiously.