"The Donquixote Pirates?"
Hancock instinctively frowned when she heard the name of the pirate crew from Rindo. She also had the habit of reading the newspaper and knew a bit about this crew that had recently entered the New World.
"Did Doflamingo come himself?" Hancock asked. Even though his bounty was lower than hers, if Doflamingo came in person, she would need to be a little cautious.
"No, it's two of Doflamingo's subordinates, a pair of kids. They hope to invite us to the first auction hosted by the Donquixote Pirates in the New World," Rindo replied.
"A pair of kids? Hmph!"
Hancock let out a haughty sniff and walked back to the palace without turning around. "Are they looking down on Master? Tell them to get lost. If they want to invite us to something, the least they can do is send Doflamingo himself."
While Doflamingo's presence would require some caution, sending two kids as emissaries for an invitation made Hancock feel a deep sense of irritation. Who is Doflamingo? And who is our Master? To send kids as emissaries for an invitation, was this an insult to them?
"Understood."
Rindo and the others immediately complied, but she couldn't help but ask, "But, Snake Princess- sama, should we inform Alucard-sama about this?"
Hancock's face was still filled with disdain. "It's just Doflamingo. Why would I bother Master with this? I can handle it myself."
As one of the main figureheads of the Alucard Pirates, Hancock was confident she could personally handle a matter of Doflamingo's caliber. She wasn't even afraid of a fight.
"Understood."
With that, Rindo led her dozens of subordinates toward the shore of New Amazon Lily.
Waiting on the beach were two of the few female crew members of the Donquixote Pirates, Baby 5 and Monet. Sitting behind them was Buffalo, a man with a chubby face, buck teeth, and what looked like fan blades on his neck. He was a Spin-Spin Fruit user and was also a part of the Spades Army, just like Baby 5. His ability to fly was why they had arrived so quickly.
Even though Rindo was only a mid-to-low-level executive in the Alucard Pirates, standing on a Yonko's territory made the young pirates, who were not even twenty years old, incredibly tense.
Doflamingo had sent these three because Buffalo could fly and arrive quickly while avoiding enemy and Yonko attacks. Also, since everyone knew that Kuja Island was a women-only territory, he chose two female subordinates.
Monet, with her short green hair and thick glasses, swallowed hard when she saw Rindo's group approaching. She forced a professional smile. "May I ask what Alucard-sama's decision is?"
Rindo had a cigarette in her mouth. She blew out a puff of smoke. "Alucard-sama has no idea about this matter."
"Huh?" The three were taken aback, not understanding what Rindo meant.
"I presented your Young Master's invitation to Snake Princess-sama. Snake Princess-sama felt that a small matter like this didn't need to be brought to Alucard-sama's attention," Rindo said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, completely ignoring the trio's darkening expressions.
A small matter…? The Heavenly Yaksha's invitation is a small matter?
Rindo continued, "In short, to put it nicely, Snake Princess-sama's clear message is that if you are sincere about the invitation, your Young Master must come in person to extend it."
"That's all. The Kuja don't like to entertain outsiders, and men who set foot on this island besides Alucard-sama are disgusting." Rindo and the other Kuja members behind her looked at Buffalo with disgust, as if his mere presence made the air foul.
"What?!" Buffalo was furious. What kind of women are these? Is it a crime for me to stand here?
In reality, Rindo's words were already much more polite than Hancock's original words, as she didn't say the word "get lost."
"Buffalo, let's go. We have to report the Empress's answer to the Young Master." The bespectacled Monet regained her composure and stopped the enraged Buffalo. She knew very well what happened when you offended a Yonko's people on a Yonko's territory.
Monet and Baby 5 climbed onto Buffalo's back. The "fan blades" on Buffalo's neck spun violently, and he flew into the air with the two of them.
"Dammit, dammit! This is the first time I've been so humiliated since I joined the Young Master's crew!" Buffalo fumed for over ten minutes before he finally calmed down.
Monet ignored Buffalo's complaints and dialed a Den Den Mushi to contact Doflamingo on the Flamingo ship.
Pere pere pere…
Lying in his ship's cabin, Doflamingo immediately answered the Den Den Mushi. His distinctive voice was heard by Buffalo and Baby 5. "It's me. What's the situation?"
"Young Master, Alucard-sama didn't say anything, but his subordinate, the Empress, demanded that if you want to invite him, you have to do it in person." Monet felt nervous even as she spoke these words.
Hancock considered it an insult that Doflamingo didn't come in person, but wouldn't this be an insult to Doflamingo in return?
I'm a World Noble! Even though I've fallen, do I really have to go in person just to invite you? Isn't that an insult?
But after Doflamingo heard her, he was silent for half a minute. When he spoke again, it wasn't a roar of anger but a laugh. "Fufufufu… it's completely reasonable for that woman to say something like that. But what happens next is important, so I'll go in person."
"Young Master…"
Monet and the others were a little surprised, but considering their opponent was a Yonko, it wasn't entirely unexpected. She then asked, "What about us?"
"You're coming back." The Den Den Mushi perfectly mimicked Doflamingo's expression, including his eyes. "I will handle things myself from now on."
"Understood."
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Monet frowned and muttered to herself, "This is the first time I've seen anyone with so little regard for the Young Master… The Yonko? They're really terrifying."
"Do you think the Young Master will be okay?" the under-twenty-year-old Baby 5 asked with worry.
Monet gave a faint smile, but her heart was full of doubt.