Scarlett handed over a freshly brewed cup of tea.
Doflamingo took it and moistened his slightly parched lips.
Then, with his usual authority, he summarized:
"Bottom line—focus on the magnetic field lines. Make sure they're explained clearly and simply. I want every student to fully understand them—remember them, internalize them. Got it, Robin?"
"Got it all, Boss!" Robin replied crisply.
But inwardly, she was reeling.
She had managed to memorize everything Doflamingo had said thanks to her incredible intellect, but… why did it all feel so hard to grasp?
"Good. For the other details, you and Tesoro can handle them together. Go."
"Understood, Boss."
Robin had barely left when Smoothie came dashing in.
Thanks to her long legs, she crossed the room in a few strides and practically collapsed into Doflamingo's arms, her face alight with joy and disbelief.
"Doffy, are we really having an engagement party?"
Who wouldn't want their mother's blessing—even if that mother ate people?
"That's right," Doflamingo confirmed.
Under his refined taste, Smoothie's long legs were now sheathed in black stockings. Her once-weird combat boots had been replaced with custom-made Valentinos embedded with Seastone soles. Her battle outfit, once a death-pink bikini, was now swapped for a gothic-chic "evil stepmother dress" Doflamingo had personally designed and woven himself.
It perfectly hugged her waist and accentuated her glutes.
Satisfied with his handiwork, Doflamingo gave her firm, toned backside a light slap.
"This is what you deserve. But this engagement party is just for show—the real wedding will be the main course."
"No problem! This is more than enough for me!"
Smoothie, her lips painted a deep crimson, surged upward and kissed him passionately.
She knew she wasn't the true star of all this, but that didn't matter.
As long as it looked like she was, that was enough.
...
That night passed in wordless intimacy—the only sound was the collision of bodies.
By the next day, Doflamingo was frowning at a photo that had just arrived from the North Blue.
In it, Moria and King were fighting at full force. Neither of them looked worse for wear, but a whole horde of beastmen had been wiped out in the crossfire.
Moments later, Vergo and Pica arrived together.
"Doffy!" they greeted in unison.
Doflamingo gestured to the seat across from him. "Sit. Let's talk."
"Long story short," Doflamingo began. "Vergo, I need you back in the North Blue. Those dumb animals at the Beast Zoo can't tell what's what. And with Moria and King clashing like that, it's just a massive waste of resources."
Vergo nodded, then took the coconut hanging from the left side of his face, popped it into his mouth, and swallowed it whole.
"I understand, Doffy. I'll leave right away."
"Good. Two more things," Doflamingo added, stroking his chin.
"One: while you're there, keep an eye on the Sea Train tracks in the Calm Belt near the North Blue.
"Two: get Rosinante to come to Skypiea. If he refuses, you know what to do. Don't waste time—go."
"Understood!"
Before Doflamingo had even finished speaking, Vergo had vanished. A shadowy dragon climbed into the clouds and disappeared.
"Pica, you head back to Raijin Island. Wait for Diamante and Moria. You'll be handling the track construction on the Calm Belt in the West Blue."
"Yes, Doffy!" Pica saluted and turned to leave.
Since he couldn't fly either—lava-based powers and all—he opted to take a ship.
...
Days later, on the shores of Tenryu Island.
The Numancia Flamingo was ready for takeoff.
"Doffy! You're leaving without me?" Yamato called out, gripping the ship's anchor. Her wide, expressive eyes sparkled with reluctance.
"Yeah! Dad, take us with you! We're super useful!" Zoffy and Ace chimed in like a pair of tagalongs.
"Miss me, huh?"
Doflamingo didn't even need to use Observation Haki to see through their little act. They didn't miss him—they just wanted to tag along and have fun. What a joke.
With a flick of his finger, he formed a hand in the air—his thumb pinning down the index finger with strings.
"Bang!""Bang!""Bang!"
Before the three could react, a trio of flicks landed squarely on their foreheads. Three crisp smacks echoed out.
"OWWW! That hurts, Dad!!!" Zoffy and Ace yowled, clutching their heads and rolling around in the clouds.
"You jerk, Doffy!"
Yamato instinctively let go of the anchor and puffed her cheeks in a sulk, glaring upward.
But her cute face ruined any attempt at looking fierce—if anything, it made her look adorably confused.
"Fufufufufu~ You'll get your chance to go play soon enough."
The anchor retracted back into the ship, and the Numancia Flamingo soared into the sky. Doflamingo glanced down at his two "agonized" sons.
He hadn't even flicked them that hard. Just enough to sting a little. And they dared try to play games with him?
"And you two—if you don't get up right now, I'll whip your butts. And if you haven't made progress by the time I get back… same deal."
"What?! You can't be serious!" Ace and Zoffy stood up, stunned. "We're just kids, Dad! Are you even human?!"
But the Numancia Flamingo had already vanished into the distance.
Its direction, however, wasn't toward the New World—it was heading for Reverse Mountain.
...
Onboard, Enel adjusted his newly acquired sunglasses, clearly not used to them.
"Boss, we're not heading straight to the New World?"
"Relax. A grand entrance requires a little buildup."
Smoothie's birthday was still a ways off. Doflamingo had no intention of fattening himself up with Big Mom in the meantime.
"We've got other places to hit first."
He stared at a winter island on the map, eyes distant.
There were some useful things he needed to grab first.
As for Smoothie?
With Pica gone to the West Blue to work construction, she was staying behind to help Tesoro and Robin with the new Sky Island renovations.
...
Meanwhile, at the scrapyard of Water 7—
A ship was tugging a blimp along, wobbling its way toward Mock Town.
The airship was finally complete, and under normal circumstances, Crocodile would've been pleased.
But his expression was anything but happy.
Several men in black suits had shown up uninvited.
They were a CP9 unit.
"Sir Crocodile, what is your intention in approaching Tom the Fishman's disciples?"
No blueprints for Pluton had been found on Tom himself.
According to Spandam-sama's deduction, if the Pluton blueprints existed at all, they had to be somewhere in Water 7.
Iceburg was now under constant surveillance.
Upon hearing this, the two figures behind Crocodile—Lafitte and Daz Bonez—both had the same thought: This is bad.
Crocodile stepped forward slowly, taking a long drag from his cigar. Then he exhaled—sweet, syrupy smoke.
It made him feel a little dizzy.
From within the mist, Crocodile's low, menacing voice rumbled:
"You're questioning me?!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg