Donquixote Doflamingo announces his withdrawal from the Shichibukai.
Simultaneously, he relinquishes the throne of Dressrosa.
Having confirmed that Doflamingo, the target of the Pirate Alliance, had resigned from the Shichibukai as Law demanded, everyone began moving to advance their next operation.
There were two objectives: "Locate and destroy the SMILE Factory" and "Release Caesar."
To be more precise, rescuing Kanjuro, one of Kin'emon's Samurai companions, along the way was also an objective.
But nobody knew where Kanjuro was being held, nor where the target SMILE Factory was located. Even Law, it seemed, hadn't been able to investigate that much.
So the Factory Destruction Team needed to start by searching for the Factory's location, but trouble erupted one after another almost immediately upon entering the country, and the group was scattered.
During an altercation with a certain blind gambler, Zoro and Kin'emon had dashed off chasing the culprit who stole Shusui, with Sanji running after them to prevent them from getting lost.
Left behind, Luffy and Franky discovered some Donquixote Family underlings in a back alley and roughed up a few of them, trying to extract information about the Factory and the Samurai's whereabouts. But mere underlings didn't have any useful intelligence, and the two were left scratching their heads over how to proceed.
That said, it wasn't as though they'd come away with absolutely nothing.
"Underground beneath the Coliseum, huh..."
The Corrida Coliseum, the arena that could be called the blazing heart of Dressrosa's fervor. Beneath it, apparently, stretched a vast space even larger than what existed on the Surface, and the purpose of most of it had never been made public.
The Coliseum building itself, underground portions included, had been in continuous use since long ago, repaired and maintained since the very founding of Dressrosa. The underground spaces and the tunnels connecting them, also dating from that era, were so sprawling and labyrinthine that even the Family supposedly hadn't grasped their full extent.
Of course, all they'd gotten out of the underling was that "nobody knows what's down there," but Franky had a hunch that was exactly what made it suspicious.
'Given the scale of the Laboratory at Punk Hazard... manufacturing something like Artificial Devil Fruits would require equipment to match. Naturally, the Factory would have to be massive in every direction... If even Law couldn't find it after investigating, there's a good chance the location itself is somewhere you can't find through normal searching... In that case, that underground space is looking pretty damn suspicious.'
"So how do we get inside this Coliseum? Just sign up for a fight?"
"If it's just the General Area, anyone can get in by paying admission. The Gladiator-Exclusive Area deeper in, though, nobody gets in except gladiators competing in the matches... or so I hear. I'm not assigned to the Coliseum, so I don't know the detailed rules. They should explain everything when you get there, but... you guys are actually planning to fight? If you're just some punks who are a little tough in a brawl, all that's gonna happen is the Coliseum's hardened gladiators will slaughter you."
"What'd you say!? I'm a Pirate who mmph mmph..."
"Don't take the bait, don't take the bait," Franky whispered. "You'll blow our disguises. Fine by us. We'll enter your little tournament. We've got our own reasons."
"...Suit yourselves. I ain't gonna stop you. The Coliseum's events are this country's crown jewel. They'll take anyone, whether you're thugs, Outsiders, or hell, even Pirates. But if you're competing today, you'd better brace yourselves."
"Hm? Why, something different about today?"
"The Young Master's holding a special tournament today. Because of that, some seriously heavy hitters have come as participants, not just from this country but from other nations too."
Afterward, Luffy and Franky released the underling and headed for the Coliseum.
On their way out, they'd snatched a flyer about today's tournament from the thug.
"If this is for real, that's one hell of a prize... No wonder people are coming from all over."
"A Devil Fruit as the Merchandise... But what kind of Powers does it have? I can't really tell..."
Luffy tilted his head, peering over Franky's shoulder at the flyer in his hand.
"Logia, the Zuma-Zuma Fruit... the power to turn your body into Plasma."
"Franky, what's plasma? Can you eat it?"
"Thanks for the perfectly predictable response, Captain. No, it's obviously not food. It's a bit hard to explain, but... well, think of it like Flame or lightning. It hurts when it hits you. Same kind of thing as your Big Bro's Flame, basically."
"Oh, okay. Then I don't care. I can't eat it anyway. More importantly, we're entering the Coliseum and sneaking into the back while pretending to be contestants, right?"
"That's the plan, but..."
'Luffy is, to put it kindly, not exactly cut out for "infiltration"... But if I go, with this build of mine, they'd spot me as a Pirate, as one of the Straw Hat Pirates, in a heartbeat. Luffy's at least easier to disguise. If Sanji or Zoro were here, we could've managed somehow... No, wait, Zoro would just get lost, so that's no good... Then again, that guy sometimes gets lost and miraculously ends up in exactly the right incredible place all on his own...'
After thinking it through, Franky reached a conclusion.
"Luffy, you enter as a contestant. But don't let them figure out who you really are."
"Got it. What are you gonna do, Franky?"
"Long shot, but I'll wander around the Coliseum as a spectator and have a look around. I could pass for a Toy if you don't look too close. Also, Luffy, two things. First: even if you find something suspicious, don't investigate it."
"Huh? Why not? Aren't we trying to find out if the Factory's under the Coliseum?"
"Because we're all going to do the investigating together later, all at once. If you sneak in once and get caught, they'll tighten security. We'll link up with Zoro and Sanji later and storm the place all at once."
"Hmm... got it. And the other thing?"
"Right, take this."
Franky pulled a choker from his pocket and fastened it around Luffy's neck.
"What's this?"
"A good luck charm for victory... Just kidding. When you're wearing that, I can always tell where you are. In case something happens, it's better to have a way to find you so I can come running. Don't take it off."
"Oh, okay. Thanks."
"All right, let's go!" Luffy declared, striding off toward the Coliseum's reception desk with spirits high. Following behind him, Franky activated the device built into the choker.
Sure enough, just as he'd explained, in addition to Luffy's current position (right in front of him, granted), the view directly ahead of Luffy was being projected onto the sunglasses Franky was wearing.
'Signal's good. Glad I built that Dial-based miniature camera out of the materials I got from Dr. Sou. Telling Luffy to "remember the layout" would be asking a bit much of him.'
After that, the two happened to encounter a one-legged Tin Soldier, then infiltrated the Coliseum and began their respective investigations.
***
Meanwhile, the team handling Caesar's handover was on the move.
As forewarned to Doflamingo, they were heading to the designated location, Green Bit, in order to release Caesar "as a decoy."
Along the way, Usopp spoke up to Law as though something had just occurred to him.
"Hey... about what Robin was asking on the ship earlier."
"The rift between Miss and the Big Boss? Like I said before, it is a fact, but it's not a problem. Don't worry about it."
"That's exactly what I'm asking about, though. If the rift is real, isn't that a problem? Sure, maybe it doesn't directly affect this operation, but still..."
"Not necessarily. That kind of thing has apparently been there since the very beginning, when she became Second Generation."
Law answered the concerned question without missing a beat.
"Miss is from the Moderate Faction, and the Big Boss is from the Hardline Faction. Their stances as Pirates are fundamentally different. It'd be stranger if they had absolutely no disagreements."
"That's true. For Sue, the status of being a Pirate is practically an afterthought. She shows no sign of clinging to the name or the position. On the other hand, the Golden Lion is famous as a 'Pirate's Pirate,' someone who's been around since Roger's era... It makes sense that his way of thinking would be fundamentally incompatible with Sue's."
"And yet that organization runs smoothly. As Robin-ya said, Miss more or less fell into the role of Second Generation by the flow of events. She might appreciate having capable subordinates who handle things for her, but she hasn't given the slightest thought to using that power for any particular purpose. What matters to Miss is whether she can do what she wants to do. Nothing more. She has zero interest in anything beyond that. So in practice, the Big Boss is still the one steering the organization."
"Nothing has substantially changed from before and after his retirement. If anything, the only thing that changed was that the Marine and the Government could no longer touch them after Sue became a Shichibukai. In certain circles at the time, it was called a blunder on the Government's part, but..."
"In practice, at the very least the Golden Lion stopped openly targeting Affiliated Nations and Government-related institutions. Before long, the public accepted Miss as a 'good Pirate' too. She already had the name recognition. In the end, nobody lost out."
"I see. So what looked like a 'blunder' at the time turned out to be a 'great success' before anyone realized it. And the 'rift' has been there since the start, but it was never the kind of thing that caused real trouble. The Golden Lion retired in name only and keeps holding real power over the Pirate Crew, but Sue has no interest in running the Crew, so she says nothing, and they stay out of each other's way."
"Exactly. Now that you understand, let's pick up the pace."
With that, Law cut off the conversation, addressing Usopp, who seemed more or less satisfied.
As for Caesar, who had been watching the three of them from the sidelines:
'Shurororororo... What a bunch of naive fools. They think they understand, but they don't understand a damn thing.'
He kept it off his face, or tried to, as he inwardly mocked the three of them. No, not just the three. He was laughing at the entire Alliance that was foolish enough to seriously pick a fight with Joker.
'They don't interfere with each other, they don't even take an interest in each other... Which means they have no idea what anyone's doing when they're not looking. You people are far too naive... You don't understand how ruthless Pirates can be, and you can't even imagine the worst-case scenario that ruthlessness brings. Enjoy feeling good about yourselves while you still can. Shurororororo...!'
"...Hey, Caesar's making a weird face. Or more like, an Evil-looking face."
"I think 'repulsive' might be the word."
"Probably scheming something. Ignore him."
"You sure about that? What if he tries to pull some dirty trick during the handover?"
"That's exactly why we're holding his Heart. As long as we don't show any openings, there won't be a problem."
Unfortunately, the "keeping it off his face" part had not been a success.
Each carrying their own calculations in their gut, Law and the others pressed on toward Green Bit.
...With no idea that Doflamingo was lying in wait there, having set a trap that would overturn not just their assumptions, but the very premise of their plan.
***
Dressrosa, a certain back alley.
One of the thugs who had just been cornered by Franky and Luffy was staggering unsteadily, making his way deeper and deeper into a back street where nobody would notice him.
After walking for a while, he plopped himself down heavily on a wooden crate sitting by the roadside and let out a sigh.
At the same moment, something slithered out from around the man's waist.
It was pointed at the tip like a spear. It resembled, in fact, a Devil's tail.
Appearance aside, it actually was a "tail."
That pointed tip plunged into the man's body with a thud.
In that instant, the man's body began to transform. His large, burly frame rapidly shrank. His dry, flaky skin changed to something soft and dewy, like a young girl's. His disheveled hair became long, glossy, and straight.
And from the sides of his head, equally lustrous horns were growing.
In the blink of an eye, where a man had been mere seconds before, a beautiful girl now stood, with nothing remaining of her former male appearance save for the clothes.
The girl then pulled a Small Den Den Mushi from inside her clothes and began dialing somewhere.
Ring ring ring... ring ring ring... click.
"It's me."
"Hellooo, this is Tantal. I guided Mugiwara-san to the Coliseum like you instructed, but... he only had two companions with him. Is that okay?"
"That's enough. We already know the whereabouts of most of the others... As long as we've more or less split up the heavy hitters who could cause problems if we lost track of them, and we have their positions, that's all we need. Sorry for the trouble."
"The trouble isn't a problem at all, but... you will follow through on your end, right? Our Boss was in a pretty foul mood."
"Yeah, sorry about that. Even if it is orders from above, making you play such an unpleasant role. I'll make it up to you, so tell your Boss that... heh heh heh."
"You'd better... I mean, even if it doesn't actually hurt us, making us keep secrets from Lady Sue and practically betray her, you know? Well, I'll help out this time since one of our own was partly responsible for starting this whole mess, but still... our Boss is seriously scary when angry, you hear me? I'm expecting proper compensation!"
"Oh, you can count on it. Not just for your Boss, but I'll send a top-notch gift that even the Big Boss will be pleased with, carried by a few beautiful women. Feel free to keep the women too."
"...Beautiful women are nice, but could you throw in some pretty boys with delicate features as well?"
"...If that's what you want, I'll arrange it."
"Looking forward to it! Well then, bye!"
"...Right. Later."
Click. Beep, beep, beep...
To be continued...