Sabaody Archipelago
Doflamingo had just gestured for Smoothie to sit down when Tesoro came rushing in, excitement practically written all over his face.
He dropped a thick stack of documents in front of Doflamingo.
"Boss! The Sea Train project in Water 7 has been completed successfully. Here's the full dossier—please have a look."
Hearing this, Gladius—who had been standing to the side—immediately looked over.
Doflamingo hadn't expected to stumble upon such good news the moment he set foot in Sabaody. Tesoro really did deliver.
He glanced at Gladius, whose expression was clearly stirred up, then casually took the documents from Tesoro's hands.
The first thing he saw was a photo: Tom, grinning from ear to ear, arms slung around Franky and Iceburg as the three of them posed atop the train's engine.
He flipped through a few pages, then shut the file and handed it back.
"Give me a rundown."
Doflamingo wasn't one for technical details—he left the research and science to the professionals.
"All right!"
Tesoro hadn't expected Doflamingo to read the entire thing anyway. He was long used to his boss's hands-off management style and launched confidently into his report.
"All the schematics and technical plans for the Sea Train are complete. We can begin production at any time. Boss, here's what I'm thinking..."
Right now, the Donquixote Family's operations were protected by the World Government on the surface. In the underworld, they had Kaido and Big Mom as allies—basically untouchable.
But even so, there was one thing they couldn't escape: the forces of nature.
Every year, at least 60% of ships attempting to pass through Reverse Mountain or Fish-Man Island were damaged or destroyed.
Not even Doflamingo could fully avoid this problem.
It wasn't until the development of airships that travel from the North Blue across the Calm Belt became slightly more viable.
Airships had one big advantage: total safety in the skies above the Calm Belt.
But they also had downsides—slow speed and extremely limited cargo capacity.
The Sea Train, on the other hand, was a different beast entirely.
It could carry massive loads.
It was fast. It was stable.
The only downside was that its floating rails were vulnerable to storm damage.
But the Calm Belt was, well, calm. Most of the time.
Perfectly suited for the floating rail system.
Even better—the sound created by the train running along the tracks seemed to drive off Sea Kings.
It was like the Sea Train had been made specifically for the Calm Belt.
"Boss, once the rail route across the Calm Belt is completed, our reach across the Four Blues will expand significantly."
"Fufufufufufu… Not bad."
Doflamingo nodded approvingly.
He had the insight of a man born into power, with access to more knowledge than most could dream of. So this level of awareness wasn't surprising for him.
But for Tesoro to have this level of foresight already... now that was impressive.
No wonder this man had risen from a penniless slave to the world's richest tycoon, controlling 20% of the world's Belly—the Golden Emperor.
"Still, you missed two unstable factors. And both are close to us."
"The Navy Headquarters and Mary Geoise?"
Tesoro caught on immediately, blurting it out, then muttered thoughtfully to himself:
"And Impel Down is located in the Calm Belt on the East Blue side…"
Smoothie looked completely lost, clearly unfamiliar with geography and nautical strategy.
"Yes."
Doflamingo ruffled Smoothie's head playfully—it was almost cute how clueless she looked.
Then he laid out his final decision.
"We'll start in the North Blue. The West Blue comes next. Our dealings with Kaido are still ongoing.
We need to deepen our connections with the New World... bring in some wild beasts from overseas. Make the kingdoms in the North Blue even more dependent on us."
...
"I understand, Boss." Tesoro nodded in understanding.
After signaling for Tesoro to leave, Doflamingo finally turned his attention to Gladius, whose mind was clearly elsewhere.
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