Doflamingo was quite pleased with the outcome of this negotiation. While a formal partnership with Alucard wasn't confirmed, he at least had confirmation that Alucard wasn't interested in Dressrosa. This meant he could confidently make his move on the country once his crew's influence had grown, and his future as a pirate would be smooth sailing.
The cost was only a slightly powerful Gold-Gold Fruit, but it was worth it. Most of his core subordinates were already Devil Fruit users anyway, so there was no great need for it.
However, from Alucard's perspective, Doflamingo was just getting ahead of himself. Had he ever said he wouldn't interfere with Dressrosa? He hadn't said that from the beginning.
After Doflamingo left, Matthew and the others came to see him, asking what Doflamingo had said. Alucard briefly told them about the Gold-Gold Fruit, which made many of them's eyes light up.
The Gold-Gold Fruit seemed to be a power related to gold. Was it a Paramecia type? Although the name didn't give a clear indication, as a Devil Fruit that Doflamingo dared to "bribe" Alucard with, it was definitely not a simple item. It had to be a top-tier Devil Fruit.
"Captain, who do you plan to… let eat it?" Stragus asked carefully.
They didn't know what Alucard's power was, but they had seen his various abilities in battle and assumed he was a Devil Fruit user. In that case, the Gold-Gold Fruit would be eaten by one of his subordinates.
"Anyone," Alucard said.
He had no interest in the Gold-Gold Fruit, but he was somewhat looking forward to Doflamingo's future plans for Dressrosa. Wouldn't it be fun to watch someone's hope turn into despair in an instant?
Yes, a sense of dark amusement had taken hold. He was just playing with Doflamingo for fun.
After Matthew and the others left, news of the Donquixote Family's auction and the Gold-Gold Fruit spread like wildfire within the Alucard Pirates. Along with it came Alucard's order: "Anyone who gets the Gold-Gold Fruit can eat it." This sparked the ambition of many. There were many people who didn't want to become Devil Fruit users and be abandoned by the sea, but there were also many who did.
Weren't Whitebeard and Big Mom both Devil Fruit users?
The auction was set for the beginning of next month, and this month had just begun. There were more than twenty days left, which made many of Alucard's subordinates eager to try their luck.
"Onee-sama, why don't you go for it?"
In the room of the two Riku sisters, Viola, who had gotten the information, suggested to her older sister, Scarlett.
"Me? Are you sure?" Scarlet was a bit hesitant. After being transformed into a vampire by Alucard, she was at a mid-to-high level among the Kuja, but she wasn't outstanding compared to the other executives. She relied mostly on her relationship with Alucard.
"Becoming a Devil Fruit user… is it really that good?"
Although there were many Devil Fruit users among the Kuja, Scarlett was still full of apprehension.
"You just won't be able to swim. I'm doing just fine, aren't I?"
Viola put her hands in an "OK" sign around her eyes, demonstrating the power of the Glare- Glare Fruit. It was this ability that allowed Viola's bounty to reach 300 million Beri in such a short time. Of course, the fact that she was one of Alucard's subordinates was also a big part of it.
"Then, I'll give it my best shot," Scarlett said, secretly clenching her fist. She didn't want to be looked down on either.
"You want to eat the Gold-Gold Fruit?"
Several hours later, Hancock frowned after listening to Scarlett's words. She herself and her two younger sisters were all Devil Fruit users. It was also impossible to let Shirahoshi lose the power of the sea, so she had no interest in the Gold-Gold Fruit.
As for Koala, who was only 11 years old this year, she said she still wanted to swim and didn't want to become a Devil Fruit user, so Hancock didn't plan to get involved. But if Scarlett brought it up…
"Do what you want. Just take your subordinates with you," Hancock said. While she had no reason to stop Scarlett, she also had no intention of helping her. In any case, she and Viola were executives and were in charge of hundreds of people. With a Yonko's flag, nothing bad should happen to them.
"Thank you. I'll take my leave now."
Scarlett put her hands together in front of her stomach and gave a polite little bow before leaving with Viola.
Hancock immediately put the matter out of her mind and asked her assistant, "How is Shirahoshi's training coming along?"
Rindo, who was standing nearby, quickly replied, "Shirahoshi-sama is making rapid progress."
"None of you are playing favorites?" Hancock narrowed her eyes. Shirahoshi was very young, and her gentle personality was very likable, making it easy for people to be overly protective of her.
"We wouldn't dare," Rindo quickly replied. "That's good."
…
Two days later, Scarlett and Viola led their crew of a few hundred people in a grand procession toward the Donquixote Family's territory. It was a small city that was reportedly already under the control of the Donquixote Pirates.
Even pirates who had planned to go for the Gold-Gold Fruit, like Matthew, the Iron Mask from the former Golden Lion Pirates, backed down when they heard that Scarlett intended to eat it. Even if they were stronger than her, they had heard the rumors about the relationship between Scarlett, Viola, and Alucard. They'd rather believe the rumors than find out the hard way. No matter how high-class the Devil Fruit was, it wasn't worth their lives.
However, many frustrated pirates who were eager to set sail still followed Scarlett's group toward the Donquixote base out of curiosity. They weren't going for the Gold-Gold Fruit, but they could at least watch the show. They were all very interested in seeing what the Donquixote Pirates, a crew that had recently gained a lot of attention, were really like.
"I can't stand having a bunch of smelly men following us."
When Scarlett and the other women saw that Matthew's ship was following them, they showed a strong look of disgust. This was typical of the women of Amazon Lily; Hancock was just the most extreme example.
"Hey! Stay away from us! Just feeling a man's presence nearby is disgusting!" Viola walked to the stern of the ship and yelled toward Matthew's ship.
The group of male pirates was almost infuriated, but considering who they were dealing with, they obediently put more distance between their ships.