The sudden, whiplash-inducing turn of events left Doflamingo momentarily stunned, his mind, which was usually a whirlwind of calculations and schemes, grinding to a complete halt.
This… this needed consideration?
Of course, the answer was an immediate, resounding yes!
This wasn't a deal; it was practically a gift from the heavens.
To not take it would be a crime against his own ambition.
Though the success rate wasn't a perfect 100%, with a fifty-fifty chance of failure, even half a probability still meant there was a very real possibility of success!
And what if it worked? The changes it could bring to his Family would be earth-shattering.
At current black market prices, the service to become a Dual-Fruit ability user was rumored to cost a staggering sum, and that was if you could even get an audience with Ron.
And now, such a rare, priceless opportunity was being handed to him on a silver platter, for the cost of a single, replicated fruit he hadn't even received yet.
Only a fool, a complete and utter fool, would refuse.
A slow, wide, manic grin spread across Doflamingo's face.
"Fufufu… Vice-Captain Ron, you continue to surprise me. I accept," he purred.
"A pleasure doing business with you."
"The pleasure is all mine," Ron replied, his own lips curling into a meaningful smile.
"I'm very curious to see how the 'Joker's' famous luck holds up."
He slowly extended his hand, placing the glowing, pale pink Float-Float Fruit into Doflamingo's waiting palm.
The moment the deal was struck, the members of the Donquixote Family behind them exploded with jubilant, disbelieving chatter.
"This is amazing! Did that just happen?!" one of them whispered loudly.
"Vice-Captain Ron is so generous!"
"A chance to become a Dual-Fruit user! Even if it's only a fifty percent chance, what if it works?!" Diamante boomed, all pretense of composure gone.
"Exactly!" Trebol chimed in, dancing a little jig.
"That geezer succeeded on his first try! The Young Master's luck has to be better than that lion's, behehe!"
"A fifty percent chance is worth at least five billion Berries! And the replicated fruits we ordered only cost three billion each! By that math, we're still up by two billion!" another calculated, his eyes wide with greed.
"Yeah, no matter how you slice it, this deal is a massive win for us!"
Doflamingo stared at the Devil Fruit in his hand, his emotions surging.
For a fleeting moment, a part of him wanted to eat it himself, to hoard yet another power.
But after a moment's thought, he dismissed the idea.
Flight? He already had his Sky Path.
And the second ability he truly desired, the one that would help him achieve his ultimate goals, was not this one.
Just as he was lost in these thoughts, Ron's calm voice suddenly cut through the excited chatter.
"Joker. As partners, I feel obliged to give you a friendly warning."
"Oh?" Doflamingo's head snapped up, his expression instantly turning serious as he fixed his gaze on Ron.
"The success rate of my Enchanted Devil Fruits isn't constant," Ron explained casually, as if mentioning a minor detail.
"The more times a single person has successfully undergone the Enchantment process, the lower the probability of their future success becomes. It's a matter of diminishing returns on a spiritual level, you could say."
At this, Doflamingo's pupils contracted to pinpricks.
He had assumed it was a simple, repeatable process.
He never could have imagined such a complex, underlying rule.
Ron continued, his voice smooth and even.
"In other words, the more abilities you possess, the lower your chances of succeeding in the next Enchantment. The cost, in terms of risk, goes up exponentially."
Doflamingo's heart lurched as if struck by a bolt of lightning.
'So that's how it is!' He silently congratulated himself for not rashly consuming the fruit a moment ago.
Had he acted on that selfish impulse, the future cost of obtaining the ability he truly wanted would have become immeasurable.
He had nearly plunged himself into an unknown, catastrophic risk due to a moment of recklessness.
Thinking this, he couldn't help but feel a new wave of cold respect for the man before him.
It wasn't trust, not in the way his Family trusted him.
It was the wary respect one monster gives another. Ron hadn't needed to share that information.
The fact that he did was, in its own way, a power play, a demonstration of his confidence.
Doflamingo slowly rose to his full, towering height and turned to face the assembled officers of his Family, who immediately fell silent.
He held up the glowing fruit.
"You all heard him," he announced. "A fifty percent chance to claim the power of the Golden Lion. Who among you wishes to take this gamble?"
'What?'
'Was he really just going to give it to them?'
This was an utterly unexpected surprise.
Bellamy's breathing grew ragged, his eyes locked onto the pale pink fruit as his heart pounded so fiercely it felt lodged in his throat.
Desire was too weak a word for what he felt.
This was the legendary ability wielded by the Golden Lion himself, a power that commanded the skies.
He was acutely, painfully aware of his own predicament.
His Spring-Spring Fruit was mediocre, and he felt he had hit a wall in its development.
Against the true powerhouses of the New World, he was nothing.
A single slash from a man like Whitebeard would shatter his limits effortlessly.
This fruit… it was his one chance at redemption, at becoming truly useful to the man who had given him a second chance.
Despite the fire burning in his gut, Bellamy kept his composure, his face a mask of neutrality.
He was a newcomer, a stray dog taken in.
He knew that appearing too eager now, too greedy, might not only cost him the fruit but also invite resentment from the others.
He forced himself to stay calm, to blend into the background, biding his time.
Diamante tilted his head with a lazy grin on his face.
"Doffy, let's be honest," he said, his voice leisurely. "It doesn't really matter which of us eats it. It's a coin flip. Any one of us could be the lucky winner, but none of us can guarantee it."
He shrugged his broad shoulders.
"Besides, you know me. I'm the hero of the Corrida Colosseum! My stage is the ground, with the roar of the crowd in my ears. I've never been fond of flying."
Standing nearby, Machvise gave a slight shake of his head.
"I'm with Diamante on this," he said, his voice a low rumble.
"My Ton-Ton Fruit is all about crushing my enemies with overwhelming weight. Flying around would just complicate my fighting style."
Trebol, ever the sycophant, let out a low hum.
"I say, I say, this flying ability really isn't all that appealing, behehe. It sounds dangerous! And what if it just replaces my Sticky-Sticky Fruit? No thanks! I like being sticky!"
He then pointed a gloved, sticky finger at Pica.
"Why not just give the opportunity to Pica? He might actually be happy with it."
Hearing this, Pica's brows instantly furrowed.
Without hesitation, he waved his massive stone hand in a firm refusal, his high-pitched voice echoing strangely from his colossal form.
"No way. That doesn't suit me at all." He paused, then elaborated, his reasoning surprisingly sound.
"My power is the earth. I merge with the fortress, I become the island itself. My domain is the ground beneath our feet. The sky… is irrelevant to me. Give it to someone who needs to be in the air."
A silence fell over the executives.
The top officers, the most powerful members of the Family, had all refused.
Each for their own reasons, their fighting styles and personalities already set in stone, unwilling to risk what they had for a power that didn't suit them.
All eyes, one by one, began to turn.
They drifted past the main officers, past the other, lesser members.
They all settled on the one man who had remained completely, unnaturally silent.
The newcomer who was desperate to prove his worth.
Doflamingo's gaze slowly fell upon Bellamy.
A slow, wide, predatory smile spread across his face, a look that sent a shiver of both terror and hope down Bellamy's spine.