Diarmuid studied the state of the Birdcage for a while but made no attempt to destroy it, as there was no point.
Furthermore, being inside the Birdcage, he had a very simple way to dismantle it: just smash Doflamingo to pieces.
However, there was simply no need for that yet.
Diarmuid withdrew his finger and waved at Trebol, who had just hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Trebol's face stiffened slightly, but he quickly approached Diarmuid. He didn't dare to let his snot run or use his usual outlandish tone, speaking with extreme deference. "Admiral Diarmuid, I have already contacted my Young Master. He will be here to meet with you shortly."
"No need," Diarmuid waved his hand and said. "I came here specifically for him. There's a matter to attend to. Headquarters transferred the responsibility for this Op-Op Fruit transaction to me. And now Doflamingo has put up the Birdcage here. Heh, he's showing off, is he?"
Hearing Diarmuid's words, Trebol felt helpless. He knew his Young Master was no match for this powerhouse. Now that the Admiral was here in person for the Op-Op Fruit, even if no accident had occurred, the Young Master might not dare to keep it for himself.
Because the Op-Op Fruit was so important, if the Young Master dared to try and steal it, and Admiral Diarmuid killed him on the spot, the World Government probably wouldn't even hold him accountable. As long as he secured the Op-Op Fruit, regardless of the process or who died, it would be considered a tremendous merit for the Navy Admiral.
Therefore, the moment Diarmuid stood there, Trebol's heart sank by half.
"Admiral Diarmuid, this may sound incredible, but my Young Master actually hasn't acquired the Op-Op Fruit from Barrels. Before we arrived, the Devil Fruit was already lost—stolen by someone. However, we immediately sealed off the port upon arrival, and now the Young Master has deployed the Birdcage. That damned thief must be on the island right now and won't be allowed to escape. Please wait patiently here for a moment. My Young Master will come to see you immediately after dealing with this issue," Trebol quickly explained.
"Do you think I have a good temper?" Diarmuid suddenly smiled and asked Trebol.
Trebol's face instantly changed, and he replied, extremely nervous, "No, I wouldn't dare."
"I don't need you to tell me how to do my job," Diarmuid said softly.
If Trebol hadn't been covered in mucus, Diarmuid, given his temper, would have already slapped him across the face.
Before Trebol could speak, Diarmuid said, "Alright. Since there's a problem with the transaction and the Op-Op Fruit is lost, Doflamingo is no longer needed. Tell him to stop meddling. I'm taking over this island."
After speaking, Diarmuid turned to Vergo and Hina. "You two follow me onto the island. The rest of you seal the port. I want to see if the Donquixote Family dares to challenge our Navy!"
With that, Diarmuid completely ignored the grim-faced Trebol, walked past him, and stepped onto the island.
Vergo's expression was also very serious, his heart filled with anxiety, and he followed Diarmuid. As he passed Trebol, he glanced at him, but the executive gave no reaction, which only frustrated Vergo further—what should I do next?
Hina, however, followed Diarmuid nonchalantly, completely unbothered by the situation.
With the three of them heading inland, only Captain Shu was left guarding the warship. This young man was Diarmuid's dedicated ship handler and had recently accumulated enough merit to exchange for a Paramecia-type Rust-Rust Fruit from Marine Headquarters.
Despite that, his strength was still mediocre. If Trebol and his men had malicious intent, they could definitely take him out quickly.
But the problem was that Shu was under Diarmuid's protection, and Trebol truly didn't dare to attack. If he made a move now, he might defeat the Marines, but if his Young Master ended up in Diarmuid's hands, things would certainly go completely cold for them.
Diarmuid, Vergo, and Hina disembarked onto the island, walked straight through the port town, and emerged onto the outskirts of the settlement.
Simultaneously, Diarmuid took out a Den Den Mushi and dialed a number.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the dense forest covered in heavy snow, Rosinante looked up at the Birdcage that had sealed the entire island, his expression also quite grim. He had witnessed this technique from his brother, Doflamingo, and understood how powerful it was. Nothing could enter, nothing could leave, and all forms of communication, including Den Den Mushi, were severed.
This is trouble. I hope the Navy gets here soon.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi he carried rang. He pulled it out, looked at it with some hesitation, but answered the call. "Diarmuid-nii?"
"Rosinante, don't you dare tell me you're not on Minion Island!" Diarmuid's voice came through, filled with furious cursing.
Beside Diarmuid, Vergo froze. Rosinante?
It must be a coincidence. It must be someone with the same name, right?
It couldn't possibly be Donquixote Rosinante, could it?
Hahahaha, how could it be? That's the Young Master's own brother, after all!
"I am..." Rosinante quickly replied.
"Then you tell me, is the Op-Op Fruit that Doflamingo was after, the one Admiral Sengoku was going to buy, in your damn hands!?" Diarmuid angrily demanded.
Rosinante could certainly hear Diarmuid's rage, but falling into Diarmuid's hands was better than Doflamingo's. Therefore, he decisively admitted, "Yes, but I've already made Law eat the fruit..."
"I'll be damned!" Diarmuid cursed, then said, "Did you do the undercover job so long you became an idiot? Did you forget if you're a good guy or a bad guy, a pirate or a Marine? Is there something wrong with your brain? If you hadn't asked Admiral Sengoku for the intelligence, I wouldn't care, but what the hell is the meaning of this move after you got the info? What do you take your old man for? What do you take the Navy for? You enjoy being a swindler so much? Fine, I'll delete your records right now. You can be a pirate for the rest of your life, and I won't have to be annoyed anymore, got it? I'm going to kill you today, believe me!"
Vergo was stunned speechless. Undercover agent?!
Just then, he heard another bombshell announcement.
"I'm telling you, Donquixote Rosinante, you're finished as a Marine, so get ready to die! I'm on Minion Island right now. Tell me your location, and I'll come over and chop off your bastard dog head!" Diarmuid roared.
Donquixote Rosinante?!
Vergo was completely dumbfounded. Isn't that the Young Master's own brother? Seriously, he was a Marine?!
However, Vergo quickly masked his shocked expression. The Young Master's own brother was a Marine. This guy tricked the Donquixote Family, then played the Navy, stole the Op-Op Fruit, and made a boy named Law eat it. Who is Law?
Hina glanced meaningfully at Vergo from the side but remained silent.
Meanwhile, on the other end, after hearing Diarmuid's furious scolding and his threat to chop off his dog head, Rosinante wasn't nervous; instead, he felt relieved. He quickly stated, "I'm in the dense forest about two kilometers southeast of the port."
"Got it. Stay put and don't move," Diarmuid's anger seemed to have subsided this time.
He hung up the Den Den Mushi, then, without another word, he and Vergo and Hina began heading toward Rosinante's location.
Minion Island was a winter island, covered in snow year-round. Diarmuid, Hina, and Vergo were all wearing thick winter coats.
Vergo followed behind Diarmuid and Hina, his fingers constantly fiddling with something beneath his heavy cotton coat. If one looked closely, they would see he was holding a black Den Den Mushi.
On the other side, Doflamingo was holding a black Den Den Mushi, listening to the tapping sounds coming from within—tap, tap, ta-da, tap, da-da-tap...
The Donquixote Family must have used some kind of code, but Doflamingo's face quickly became extremely dark. Vergo had transmitted all the information he had received to Doflamingo.
Rosinante is a Navy undercover agent?
The Op-Op Fruit was stolen by Rosinante and eaten by someone named Law.
Diarmuid is heading toward Rosinante, who is in the dense forest about two kilometers southeast of the port.
Doflamingo was boiling with rage. He looked up and calculated the distance. Isn't that just around the next corner?!
Thinking this, Doflamingo didn't hesitate. He had to rush over and find a way to take Law away! With Law, there was still room to salvage the situation.
Meanwhile, Rosinante was squatting behind a snowdrift, chatting casually with the shivering Law.
"Hahaha, don't worry, my big brother is here. We're safe now. Once we see him, no one can touch us," Rosinante said cheerfully.
Law looked at Rosinante with some concern and said, "Cora-san, I heard the Den Den Mushi, too, okay? Admiral Diarmuid clearly said he was coming to chop off your dog head..."
"Hahaha..." Rosinante laughed awkwardly, then patted Law's head. "Don't worry. My big brother has a terrible temper, but he's very good to me. The fact that he asked for my location right after saying he'd chop off my dog head means he has no intention of actually killing me. But he might beat me up a bit, sigh..."
He wasn't lying to Trafalgar Law about this part; Rosinante genuinely trusted Diarmuid.
"Oh? Is that so? You have another older brother besides me?"
A cold, malicious voice, barely suppressing intense fury, came from behind the snowdrift where Rosinante was hiding.
The expressions of both Rosinante and Law froze.
They both recognized the voice: it was Donquixote Doflamingo.
"That truly breaks my heart, Corazón. I always thought you couldn't speak. Was it just that you had nothing to say to me?" Doflamingo repeated.
Rosinante and Law slowly emerged from behind the snowdrift.
After all, there was no longer any escaping.
Doflamingo stood behind the snowdrift, accompanied by a group of Donquixote Family executives. The heavy snow had slightly dusted his pink feather coat and his golden-blond hair, and white steam billowed from his breath, suggesting the cold.
But the truly cold part of Doflamingo right now was his heart.
"Donquixote... Doflamingo..." Rosinante raised his pistol, aiming it at Doflamingo's chest. "Don't come any closer. You should know you don't want to mess with Diarmuid!"
Doflamingo watched Rosinante with a deeply sinister gaze. "Perhaps..."
Afterward, he looked at Law and said in a low voice, "How long are you going to follow this traitor? Get over here, now!"
"No, I'm staying with Cora-san!" Law said without hesitation.
But the moment he finished speaking, he felt his body moving involuntarily, like a marionette, walking toward Doflamingo.
Rosinante noticed Doflamingo's fingers twitching and immediately fired his pistol at Doflamingo's hand.
The next second, a bullet was clamped between Doflamingo's fingertips.
"You shot at me?" Doflamingo looked at Rosinante, killing intent flaring in his eyes.
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