For a fleeting moment, the thought that this was all an elaborate, cruel trick flashed through Doflamingo's mind.
An insult to his intelligence.
After all, an offer this good was simply too unbelievable to be true.
It violated every known law of the underworld, where every transaction was a knife fight in the dark.
However, Doflamingo was Doflamingo, a master of navigating these treacherous waters.
He was well aware of Ron's rapidly growing status, his position within a Yonko crew, and the quiet, terrifying confidence that surrounded him.
He knew this young man was prudent, calculating, and never, ever made a move without being certain of the outcome.
So, after the initial, disorienting shock, he forced his racing mind back under his control.
"Vice-Captain Ron," Doflamingo said, his voice a hoarse, strained whisper that he struggled to keep steady.
"Are you absolutely certain what you just said is true?"
Ron simply offered a slight, placid nod.
"Of course."
"..."
Doflamingo sat there quietly, his body perfectly still.
But beneath that calm composed facade, a blockbuster bomb had just detonated in his heart, unleashing a colossal storm of ambition, greed, and suspicion.
A pie this huge falling from the sky without any warning?
It was absolutely a trap.
There was no other possibility.
In this world, how could there be such immense benefits that came out of thin air?
Behind every seemingly easy opportunity, there were always unknown, lethal dangers lurking in the shadows.
And based on his own assessment, Ron was an extremely intelligent and cautious person.
It was obvious he would never, ever do business at a loss.
Doflamingo was crystal clear on this point.
The Donquixote Family executives standing at the back were frantic, their eyes wide with a mixture of anxiety and avarice as they stared at their leader, waiting for his signal.
"Ron," Doflamingo finally said, breaking the suffocating silence.
"Tell me your conditions. I know you're not running a charity."
"Of course," Ron replied with a flicker of appreciation in his eyes.
He gently put down the teacup he had been holding.
The soft clink of ceramic on wood was particularly clear in the silent, tense environment.
He slowly raised his head, his eyes as calm and deep as a lake, looking straight at Doflamingo.
"The conditions are simple. Just like with the Golden Lion, we will both sign a contract."
"A contract..." Doflamingo's eyes flickered slightly.
e stared intently at Ron, trying desperately to decipher the true angle, the hidden price tag in this unbelievable deal.
"That's right," Ron said, ignoring Doflamingo's complicated gaze as he directly stated his three requirements.
"The contents of the contract boil down to three main points."
"First: Those who sign the contract must not take any action that harms the interests of the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Second: If necessary, the contracted party must provide support to our crew at any time."
"And third: If the person who signed the contract violates any of these terms, they will die on the spot." He let that last part hang in the air, his voice taking on a cold, hard edge.
"This is a sign of respect for the agreement, and a constraint on both parties. Anyone who dares to trample on this contract will pay the price with their life."
When Ron finished speaking, a heavy silence fell over the clearing once more.
Only one person wasn't silent.
The Golden Lion's mouth twisted into a wide, ugly grin.
He had to physically turn away, his massive shoulders shaking with suppressed, convulsive laughter.
You really deserve it, you flamboyant bastard, Shiki thought, a wave of pure, unadulterated schadenfreude washing over him.
Are you still chasing me? Chase it! Go on, chase me right into the same damn cage! Hahahahaha!
Seeing the normally untouchable Heavenly Yaksha get so thoroughly played was, at that moment, the single greatest and happiest thing in the world for him.
A little further away, the members of the Donquixote Family didn't show much outward emotion.
To them, these demands seemed… surprisingly reasonable.
It was almost an anticlimax.
"Don't harm their interests?" Diamante whispered to the others.
"We weren't planning on picking a fight with Whitebeard anyway! That's just basic survival!"
"Behehe," Trebol snickered, a drop of mucus dangling from his nose.
"And provide support? A Yonko crew needing our help? That's a good one! The day that happens is the day the Celestial Dragons apologize to the world!"
They saw it as a non-aggression pact with a support clause that would, in all likelihood, never be invoked.
The risk felt minimal.
Doflamingo thought the same thing, but on a much grander scale.
In his opinion, even with the contract, they wouldn't be a subordinate crew.
They would only be making some compromises in name while remaining independent and autonomous in reality.
Moreover, in today's world, Whitebeard was the closest thing to a living Pirate King.
For Doflamingo, being able to officially establish a cooperative relationship with such a force was a blessing in disguise.
His original purpose in dealing with Kaido was to use the Yonko's fearsome reputation as a shield, allowing his underworld transactions to proceed more smoothly.
But Kaido was a rabid, unpredictable dog.
This… this was different.
This was an alliance with a lion.
If his Family could obtain these new Devil Fruit abilities, their strength would increase tenfold, perhaps even a dozen times over! With that kind of power, backed by the flag of the world's strongest pirate crew, their journey through the New World would be a smooth, triumphant
march.The path to his ultimate goal… the destruction of Mary Geoise… would be clearer than ever.
As for Kaido? Doflamingo didn't care.
He was the Joker, an underworld broker.
He could always find new clients.
Thinking of this, Doflamingo's heart began to pound with a wild, uncontrollable excitement.
He stood up from his stool, pressing his hands to his forehead as a wave of manic energy overtook him.
An unsettling, high-pitched laugh began to bubble up from his chest.
"Fufufu… Fufufufu… FUFUFUFUFUFUFU!"
The golden lion standing aside frowned, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists.
The shrill, cackling laughter was like nails on a chalkboard, making his ears buzz.
"It's happening again," he growled under his breath.
"Can you change that annoying laugh?"
But Doflamingo didn't care.
He was lost in his vision of the future.
He stared at Ron, his eyes wide with a triumphant madness.
"Vice-Captain Ron!" he declared, his voice firm, every word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth without a shred of hesitation.
"I, Donquixote Doflamingo, and the entire Donquixote Family, are willing to form an alliance with you!"
Hearing this, Ron also smiled.
He slowly stood up, politely extended his right hand, and made a crucial correction.
"It's not an alliance," he said, his voice quiet but firm, cutting through Doflamingo's manic excitement.
"It's cooperation."