On Fish-Man Island, Doflamingo stepped onto the port and looked at Gladius, asking, "Did you find him?"
The Donquixote Family was, naturally, also fully dedicated to tracking Rob Lucci. Doflamingo had many businesses, and his cadres were scattered throughout the New World and even the entire world. Gladius had arrived at Fish-Man Island two days earlier than Doflamingo.
Gladius first nodded, then shook his head. "Young Master, he is no longer on Fish-Man Island."
"Did that damned bastard escape the New World after all?" Doflamingo said, sounding slightly displeased.
Beside him, Teach immediately asked, "You nodded and then shook your head. What exactly do you mean?"
Gladius glanced at Teach without speaking. Only then did Doflamuid ask, "What's the new intelligence?"
"Rumor has it that Rob Lucci left Fish-Man Island with the Warlord of the Sea, 'Knight of the Sea' Jinbe," Gladius explained.
"Warlord of the Sea? Jinbe?" Doflamingo frowned, seeming to have realized something.
Teach's eyes also changed slightly. Was that bastard Lucci telling the truth? Is he really a Marine?
Why else would he leave with a Warlord of the Sea? Did he request the Warlord of the Sea's protection?
Then, what was his next destination? Marineford? Judging by the time, if he truly went to Marine Headquarters in Marineford, he would probably have arrived by now and be living in luxury... Moreover, once the Dark-Dark Fruit was delivered to Marine Headquarters...
Thinking of this, Teach felt a sense of despair. Damn it, across the entire ocean, who can rob something from Marine Headquarters right now? Does he think everyone is Shiki? To be that desperate?
Doflamingo and Teach each had their own guesses. Glancing at Teach, Doflamingo chose not to discuss the matter with Gladius right here. Instead, he asked again, "Where did they go?"
"According to the intelligence from our trading post on the Sabaody Archipelago, Jinbe's ship never reached the Sabaody Archipelago. The latest sighting report, which we received this morning, shows Jinbe's ship heading toward the Water 7 sea area. The final destination is not yet confirmed, but no one seems to have disembarked along the way. In other words, that Rob Lucci should also be en route to Water 7," Gladius quickly reported.
At this point, Doflamingo's eyes held a look of understanding. He nodded. "I know. We've been chasing them for so long. Let's rest for a while today. Prepare the fastest ship. We leave Fish-Man Island tomorrow!"
Gladius naturally had no objections, as he was Doflamingo's subordinate, with his Young Master's decisions as his primary focus.
Teach, however, was dissatisfied. "We can rest on the ship just the same, can't we?"
"If you're in such a hurry, why don't you chase them ahead? I'm waiting for intelligence reporting their destination. Perhaps Jinbe won't even stop at Water 7," Doflamingo glanced at Teach dismissively, then added, "Are you telling me how to do my job?"
"Hmph!" Teach sneered, ignoring Doflamingo, and turned to leave. He knew that this bastard Doflamingo had definitely figured something out but didn't want to tell him. This was normal. After all, he also hadn't told Doflamingo many things, such as Rob Lucci claiming to be a Marine.
Ultimately, they were only in a partnership, lacking significant mutual trust. It was normal for each to hold something back. They were only barely able to cooperate because their goals currently aligned.
After Teach left, Gladius spoke again. "Young Master, we actually suspect that both Jinbe and Rob Lucci are heading to Alabasta."
The corner of Doflamingo's mouth curled into an evil smile. "That aligns with my thoughts. If not for this mess, I should also be heading to Alabasta right now. Jinbe was likely called upon by the summons, correct... But... Forget it. I need to contact the bigshots. There might be a misunderstanding here."
Earlier in the New World, Doflamingo hadn't overthought anything, only intending to relentlessly pursue Lucci, capture him, and retrieve the Dark-Dark Fruit. But now, the latest intelligence showed that Lucci had joined up with Jinbe and was very likely heading to the desert kingdom of Alabasta. That made him highly suspicious.
Long ago, Doflamingo had suspected that Jinbe, like himself, was a 'true' Warlord of the Sea, likely a contact of Diarmuid. Now, this Rob Lucci was mixed up with Jinbe, and he was holding the Dark-Dark Fruit. Coincidentally, the bigshot who had been commissioning him to find the Dark-Dark Fruit was Admiral Diarmuid.
Given Doflamingo's intelligence, how could he fail to connect the dots?
At this moment, he was starting to suspect that the one behind the scheme, the one who stole his cargo, betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates, and was now on the run, Rob Lucci, was very likely a Marine, and very likely Diarmuid's subordinate.
Perhaps many of Diarmuid's subordinates had received commissions regarding the Dark-Dark Fruit. Rob Lucci was initially just a high-level spy lurking in the Whitebeard Pirates, but now, the Dark-Dark Fruit's value in Diarmuid's eyes should be higher than the Whitebeard Pirates, thus shifting the mission's priority.
Lucci, who should have been executing a long-term undercover mission, was forced to make a series of consequential actions because of the Dark-Dark Fruit.
"Just how many deep-cover agents has that guy planted in various forces? Rob Lucci... If I recall correctly, he joined the Whitebeard Pirates over ten years ago, right? Has Admiral Diarmuid been planning this for so many years?" Doflamingo walked into his ship's cabin and whispered softly.
Of course, this was all his reasonable speculation. In reality, he probably couldn't have guessed that Diarmuid's goal in sending Lucci to the Whitebeard Pirates was never to gather intelligence on them. For all those years, the only targets were Teach and the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Evidently, such a truth wouldn't fit the logic, so Doflamingo never considered that possibility. Conversely, based on his 'correct' logical deduction, if his suspicions were true—that Lucci was Diarmuid's subordinate and a Marine—then the importance of the Dark-Dark Fruit had been severely underestimated by him.
"You better not be his subordinate, or wouldn't I have done all this for nothing?" Doflamingo grumbled, sounding helpless.
If Lucci truly was Diarmuid's subordinate, then he had worked for nothing, and he had even refused the Warlord of the Sea summons because of it. What a colossal loss!
After all, Diarmuid had promised him that once he delivered the Dark-Dark Fruit, Diarmuid would grant him one reasonable request. If Lucci was the one who delivered the Dark-Dark Fruit to Diarmuid, then Doflamingo would gain absolutely nothing!
Therefore, Doflamingo was secretly praying that Lucci was not Diarmuid's man. That way, even if the pursuit of the Dark-Dark Fruit failed, he might still have a chance to salvage the situation. Failure would simply result in the same outcome as the present—he would still gain nothing.
Sitting on a sofa, Doflamingo took out a Den Den Mushi, took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, adjusted his mood, and then fiddled with the Den Den Mushi to send out the signal.
A short while later, the call was answered.
A slightly cheerful, seemingly good-humored voice came through the Den Den Mushi. "Oh, is that Doflamingo? Ah, right. You also received the Warlord of the Sea summons, didn't you? Preparing to come to Alabasta?"
Doflamingo's face twitched slightly. With just one sentence, he had gathered a lot of information. He asked, somewhat resignedly, "Admiral Diarmuid, if I'm not mistaken, are you currently in Alabasta?"
"Hmm, yes, I am. I'm in Alubarna. This is truly a wonderful place. The world's most ancient kingdom lives up to its name. It has many unique characteristics passed down through history that you can't experience anywhere else. Hahahaha, the Alabastan people are so passionate. Truly worthy of the Desert Kingdom..." Diarmuid said, laughing loudly.
At this moment, Diarmuid was heavily indulging in roasted lizard, even holding a skewer of roasted scorpions. Sitting across from him was Vergo, who also held skewers of strange-looking roasted desert animals. The two were having a blast, eating the skewers and drinking the innkeeper's homebrewed beer.
Hina, however, looked disgusted by the sight of the two gluttons eating these strange things. She sat far away, as if afraid of catching a virus from them, eating the desert's special pastries in the corner.
Before Doflamingo could speak, Diarmuid suddenly interjected, "Ah, right. I'm on vacation in Alabasta, so if you're going to ask me about the situation and intelligence in Alabasta, I genuinely don't know."
Doflamingo had no intention of asking about Alabasta's situation. Instead, his tone was slightly aggrieved. "No, I contacted you this time, Admiral, just to confirm one thing..."
Diarmuid swallowed the lizard leg in one bite, skillfully spitting out the bones, and then asked calmly, "What is it?"
"Is that 'Killing Machine,' Rob Lucci, the member of the Whitebeard Pirates with a bounty of over 700 million Berrie, your subordinate?" Doflamingo asked directly.
Diarmuid was momentarily stunned. Then he put down his skewer, picked up his beer, and took a long gulp. During this time, he seemed to have understood something. He asked, his tone slightly odd, "Hey, hey. Don't tell me that the merchant fleet Lucci and them robbed was yours, Doflamingo? The Dark-Dark Fruit was stolen from your hands?"
Doflamingo nearly swore out loud. Damn it, so he is your man!? Holy shit!
"Yes, that Dark-Dark Fruit was stolen from me. It seems he truly is your subordinate, Admiral?" Doflamingo asked, defeated.
He still held onto a final sliver of hope that Diarmuid had only heard of some guy named Lucci who stole the Dark-Dark Fruit.
But Diarmuid quickly shattered his hope. "Yes, that guy took the mission when he was still a child over ten years ago, to go undercover in the Whitebeard Pirates... Well, that certainly complicates things. It was your cargo. I wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble if I'd known."
Doflamingo sank into helpless silence. So, all this time, I really have been completely working for nothing.
Just as Doflamingo's mood started to dip, Diarmuid suddenly laughed. "I apologize for the trouble this time, and I made you suffer such a huge loss. How about this? Although Lucci ultimately acquired the Dark-Dark Fruit, you must have spent a lot of energy searching for it over the years, right? My previous words still stand. Consider it a promise I owe you, or a request."
Doflamingo's previously low spirits instantly lifted. What had he been working so hard for, chasing this Dark-Dark Fruit? Was it for the fruit itself? Of course not. He wasn't going to eat the Dark-Dark Fruit. He was after Diarmuid's promise—a request he could cash in! His goal had now been achieved!
However, Doflamingo still pretended to be embarrassed. "Ah, well, I don't know what to say..."