After getting used to it, Law wasn't surprised anymore. On the contrary, he thought it made more sense, and even considered it an opportunity.
Big Mom's tea party was basically a grand gathering for the Underworld. Normally, it was a real hassle to get all those people together. With Doflamingo's position vacant, Big Mom's tea party even meant it was time for the power structure to reshuffle.
Even if this whole thing hadn't happened, Law would have found a way to get involved, and now the opportunity was even better.
"Don't worry, we'll meet them again sooner or later. But, does anyone here have a Log Pose for Totto Land?"
The scene instantly fell silent. Only when thunder struck did they snap out of it.
Sanji had been taken away, so of course he didn't have to worry about navigation routes, but the rest of them did. The next stop from Egghead didn't include any islands within the Totto Land archipelago. Just the very first step blocked their way forward.
"Don't look at me! I don't have an Eternal Pose for there either!"
Normally, there was still some time before Big Mom's tea party, so Law wasn't in a rush to deal with it. Who could have guessed that Big Mom would suddenly arrange a wedding, totally changing their situation.
"So what do we do now? Hercules, do you have any ideas?"
"I've got an Eternal Pose to there. As long as you help me with one thing, I'll give it to you. By the way, do you have any food? Give me something to eat first, I'm starving."
At that moment, an unfamiliar female voice suddenly sounded in their ears. Looking back, they saw that Jewelry Bonney had also appeared on the ruins of Egghead.
"Who are you?"
"Jewelry Bonney. Three hundred and twenty million Berry bounty. Pirate who arrived at Sabaody Archipelago the same year as you. Straw Hat-ya, can't you pay a little more attention to news on the seas?"
"It's fine, that's not important. Anyway, thanks! You really are a good person."
Bonney just randomly received a "good person card," but she wasn't going to be bought by a single compliment.
"Cut the crap, this is a deal. There's something I want in the ruins on this island. You guys dig up the ruins. One day at most, whether you find it or not, I'll give you the Eternal Pose."
Luffy's simple brain didn't even consider whether this might be a scam. He just agreed to her terms, becoming the third group digging through the ruins, while a new question popped up.
"Hercules, why do you have so many pickaxes?"
Seeing that everyone had a pickaxe, and there were even extras, Luffy was a bit confused. It made Hercules look like it could see the future or something.
"Heraaacross."
What could it do? It couldn't exactly say, "These are for your future. Based on your personality, you were bound to need them sooner or later."
This place had already been excavated twice, but whether it was the World Government or the Vinsmoke family, both had been doing it in a protective way, hoping to inherit certain technologies.
The Straw Hats were different. They were just digging holes with no concern for any damage to the surroundings.
If they weren't so skilled, it probably would have been impossible for them to even dig through the permafrost. At this point, Bonney used her ability to turn herself into a much stronger version of her future self.
Her fruit wasn't just about making people older or younger. She could embody different possible futures, displaying every possible future form on herself. Right now, she was using a particularly muscular appearance.
By the end, even Law's ability had become a tool for digging. After digging all night, they found some remnants deeper underground, and Bonney finally found what she was looking for: a bear-paw-shaped bubble.
Germa 66 was still on its way back, Luffy and the others had just finished their excavation, while in Wano Country, a completely different scene was unfolding.
Inside the Reverse World, Yamato's fight with Kaido was still raging on, and Kaido was getting more and more excited the longer it went. If Arceus hadn't set boundaries for the area, the two of them probably would have turned the whole place into ruins.
At this point, the Reverse World had no real connection with the real world, so the two didn't affect each other.
Otherwise, with all the chaos they were causing, the real world would be facing a massive crisis.
After Queen managed to escape from the Reverse World, nobody was willing to go in there and throw their life away. Rushing into Yamato and Kaido's battlefield was basically asking to die. But just because people weren't willing didn't mean Pokémon weren't.
A Pokémon that didn't belong to the Reverse World had arrived. Rayquaza was actually interested in the fight. After all, the duration of Yamato's battle was equal to how long Rayquaza wouldn't be disturbed.
Compared to Kaido, who was obsessed with fighting, Rayquaza actually found Groudon and Kyogre, who only fought every few hundred years, much more agreeable.
"Zekrom and Reshiram, huh? Too bad, this isn't the essence of that power."
Rayquaza easily saw through the source of Yamato's power, but since the bodies of the twin dragons weren't actually present, Yamato wasn't using the essence of their power.
"This isn't exactly a good thing. This level of power… should I just leave him alone? That way I can have more peace, but that's not what the Creator wants. Besides, his mind isn't normal. He might make things even more troublesome."
Muttering to itself, Rayquaza started considering how to deal with Kaido, but couldn't come up with any good ideas for now, so it simply turned around and left.
"Worororo, that was great. Now that's my daughter! But I think it's about time to wrap things up."
Kaido suddenly put away his kanabo, bringing the battle to an abrupt end. As for how things would have ended if they kept going, no one could really say.
Yamato had just started the final story arc, and all of Kaido's buffs weren't for nothing. Both were getting stronger, but living a few decades longer was an enormous advantage.
"You're not possessed by some evil spirit, are you? Voluntarily stopping a fight isn't something I'd expect you to say."
"Worororo, once I have more time, I'll have a proper, satisfying fight with you.
This time was fun, but it still felt like something was missing. Since you've succeeded, I'll have to step up my game too."
Kaido returned his kanabo to his waist and reverted back to his normal form.
"Yamato, honestly, your personality isn't really suited for this sea."
"You ba*tard, you're the one who doesn't fit in! All you ever think about is war, war, and more war. So after you fight what you call the biggest war, what will you do? Start more chaos and raise new enemies yourself?"
"Who knows about that? We haven't gotten to that point yet. I'll figure it out when the time comes.
Since you're ready for battle, just keep preparing. I'm not going to stand still and let you pass me by."
As he finished speaking, Kaido suddenly stopped in front of her and didn't say anything for a while.
"What's wrong?"
"Have someone open the door. I didn't bring a Rotom."
Kaido glanced at Yamato, giving a very practical reason.
In the end, it was Yamato who contacted someone who could open the Reverse World. As soon as they left, the first thing Yamato did was look for a hot spring. After fighting for so many days, she really needed a good bath.
Kaido was different. He went straight back to Onigashima and held a small banquet.
In the Flower Capital, Senor Pink was pushing his wife along the street in a wheelchair. Because of his bizarre outfit, he had almost been arrested by the Shinsengumi, and only after getting a special permit was he able to move about freely here.
After some time of recuperation, his wife had become a little more responsive to the outside world. Although there were no signs of full recovery, it was still considered a rare bit of good news.
While Senor Pink was starting to have new hope for the future, Doflamingo was getting a firsthand look at the many faces of human nature, and how quickly people could change.
After leaving the Reverse World, Queen began revising the new system. Once he'd re-registered a bunch of seemingly ridiculous rules, he also ran into Doflamingo.
During their previous transactions, he and Doflamingo had gotten along fairly well. But this time, Queen's expression was nowhere near as enthusiastic as before.
Besides setting up training rules, the first thing Queen did was try to understand everything that had happened during this period.
The news app on his Rotom Phone let Queen learn about the big events, but he didn't know the details, which was undoubtedly very dangerous for him.
And the biggest event during this period was, of course, Doflamingo.
Queen was certain that Kaido had no interest in Doflamingo. After all, what Doflamingo had to offer was of little value, and the Beasts Pirates had plenty of replacements.
Similarly, Arceus wouldn't deliberately pay attention to a character like this. That meant it all came down to their young miss.
Given that Yamato didn't particularly like Doflamingo, Queen definitely wouldn't go out of his way to maintain any kind of relationship with him.
At most, Doflamingo might curse him under his breath, but if Queen couldn't hear it, it was as good as not happening.
But Yamato could actually beat him up, or make things difficult for him, so Queen still had a sense of what was in his best interests.
As for Doflamingo…
He didn't let such trivial matters get him down. Instead, he found a rather special conversation partner.
"Fuffuffuffu, I see. So you don't like your brother? I hate my own younger brother too; he actually betrayed me for outsiders."
"Betrayal? It's not the same. If it weren't for my brother, my mother would have made a different choice. So it's all his fault that things turned out this way."
"Actually, your life isn't so bad. At least the way the Beasts Pirates handled things is a surprise for me."
Doflamingo didn't really understand the situation in Wano Country. This country had a strange kind of worship for the shogun, totally different from Dressrosa.
"But I do get how you feel. After all, it's all my stupid father's fault. If not for him, our whole family would still be high and mighty world nobles…"
His mother wouldn't have died from illness either; though Doflamingo didn't say that last part out loud.
"Oh? So what happened to your father afterward?"
"Afterward? I killed him with my own hands. That's all there is to it."
"Interesting~"
The person Doflamingo was chatting with was none other than Kozuki Hiyori.
He had run into her by chance while wandering around the Flower Capital.
Kozuki Hiyori had learned about Doflamingo's situation from things like newspapers, so she was a little curious and struck up a conversation with him.
But when it came to playing mind games, Kozuki Hiyori was no match for Doflamingo, and she quickly let a few things slip.
In a sense, their wavelengths suddenly matched, and they even found they had something in common to talk about.
"Speaking of your brother, I actually have a more interesting suggestion. Want to hear it?"
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