"Ara ara... I didn't expect the last distinguished guest to be of such high caliber!"
After the pirate ship docked and Doflamingo stepped off with his distinctive swagger, Robin, whose social skills surpassed both Carina's and Nami's, immediately stepped forward. With a smile that had been fixed on her face all day like a mask, she said, "Welcome to Gran Tesoro, King Doflamingo."
"Fuffuffuffuffu... I've long heard of your great name, the beautiful Miss Robin."
Although Doflamingo's walk was arrogant, his attitude was exceptionally polite. He praised Robin without mentioning her title or surname.
Carrying a case in one hand, Doflamingo, who had come alone, let his gaze under his sunglasses sweep over Carina and Nami standing behind Robin. He then smiled at the three women and said, "Three beautiful ladies, I wonder if I might be able to meet the renowned Lord Dragon Rider? I have a gift that I wish to present to him personally."
"Of course."
Robin nodded slightly and smiled. "Our captain saw your flag just now and instructed me to be sure to invite you to the hotel for a drink."
"King Doflamingo, please follow me."
"Thank you for your trouble!"
Unsure if any more distinguished guests would arrive, Robin personally led Doflamingo to the parking area. Carina and Nami remained at the Golden Port to wait for the day's end.
Riding in a turtle car, Doflamingo arrived at the tallest building in the City of Gold—the Golden Hotel.
This hotel, much like Gran Tesoro's reputation as the world's number one entertainment city, was the most luxurious hotel in the world.
When Gild Tesoro was in charge, this was the resting place for nobles, the wealthy, and even Celestial Dragons.
Now, it was still a resting place for nobles, the wealthy, and the rich.
But unlike before, the top three floors of the Golden Hotel were no longer open to the public; they had been renovated by Karl's crew to be their home.
The top floor, which had been destroyed during the battle with Gild Tesoro, had not only been repaired, but a bell tower had also been built on the rooftop, from which hung the legendary Golden Bell that had led to the death of the Celestial Dragons and the fall of the Buster Call.
Leading Doflamingo into the elevator that could reach the top three floors, Robin pressed the button for the very top floor.
When the golden elevator reached the top floor and its golden doors opened, the figure that Doflamingo had been watching for nearly a year—a figure that had transformed from an object of killing intent to one of appreciation, and now, unlike those other fools of his rank, a figure for whom he had set aside his pride and come alone just to gain his friendship—finally appeared before Doflamingo's eyes.
He was a youth who, in a few months, would be 16 years old.
He had short golden hair that matched his own, and emerald green eyes. Having seen the vastness of the world and ascended to the highest stage of the New World, the handsome face, now completely shed of its immaturity, wore a smile as bright as the sun. He didn't look at all like a dark king with a bounty as high as 2,011,000,000 berries.
His 1.91-meter-tall frame was, for a rare change, not clad in the knight's armor engraved with the pattern of a small dragon. He wore a pure white suit that Carina had custom-made for him years ago, now resized, with a blue tie at his chest. He exuded a charm that made even Robin's heart flutter.
"A pleasure to meet you. Welcome to my Gran Tesoro, Joker!"
Watching Doflamingo step out of the elevator, Karl extended a hand and, with a smile, addressed him by his underworld alias.
"Fuffuffuffuffu... A pleasure to meet you. I've long heard of your great name, Lord Dragon Rider."
Doflamingo, holding the case in one hand, shook Karl's hand with the other, like a merchant discussing business.
"...Please, have a seat!"
Leading Doflamingo to the golden living room, Karl first gestured for him to sit, then sat on the long sofa opposite him.
Robin, in turn, became Karl's secretary, taking out a bottle of aged red wine and beginning to decant it for Karl while listening to their conversation.
"Joker, about that batch of 'goods' I intercepted back then, I'm truly sorry."
Before Doflamingo could speak, Karl said with some embarrassment, "Back then, due to our opposing stances, I targeted one of your followers. I found those treasures in his villa and couldn't resist taking them all."
"Fuffuffuffuffu... It's no matter. I never cared about that treasure from the beginning. Consider it a gift from me to you."
Doflamingo hadn't expected Karl to lower himself and apologize. He had thought that, as a user of the Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit, his personality would be as domineering as lightning.
Immediately, Doflamingo realized that the other party had noticed he had come alone and with goodwill, and was intentionally giving him an easy way to build rapport.
At this, a hint of joy appeared in Doflamingo's heart. He couldn't help but grin, revealing the smile that Karl remembered so well, a smile that defined the word "devilishly charming." He said, "Today, to congratulate you on the reopening of your Gran Tesoro, I have specially prepared two gifts for you."
After speaking, Doflamingo placed the case he was holding on the table in front of Karl.
"Oh?"
Hearing this, a look of anticipation appeared on Karl's face.
This anticipation was not feigned. He was genuinely looking forward to Doflamingo's gifts.
Why had Karl wanted to get to know Doflamingo in the first place?
Because Doflamingo's existence could save him a great deal of trouble on his dream path.
As a former Celestial Dragon, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, an underworld broker, and the king of Dressrosa, Doflamingo possessed all the qualifications of a major figure, except for strength that was at the very pinnacle.
And he was indeed a major figure, second only to the four rulers.
His arms trade could influence countries all over the world. Without his arms, some kingdoms couldn't even wage war. Even Mariejois had to buy arms from him.
Besides arms, his industries were also spread all over the world.
With close cooperative ties to Mariejois and the Beasts Pirates, and being one of the Seven Warlords himself, Doflamingo, who held the secret of the national treasure, was definitely one of the most well-connected and powerful figures in the world.
If he possessed the strength of a ruler, then it wouldn't be him visiting Karl now; Karl would have had to hide from his pursuit upon entering the New World.
But there were no "ifs" in this world.
One's own strength determined the size of one's fist.
Doflamingo's fist was smaller, so to gain Karl's friendship, he had to lower his stance.
Clearly... Doflamingo was a sincere man.
This could be seen from how he had genuinely placed the Flame-Flame Fruit in the box for the competition in the original story.
What Karl valued in Doflamingo was this sincerity.
People like this were often very generous, very willing to give.
So, Karl was indeed full of anticipation for Doflamingo's two gifts.
A gift that he would bring and deliver personally to Karl had to be something very precious.
And indeed...
When Doflamingo opened the case and took out the first gift, Karl couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. "..."
"These are the industry shares I've acquired over the past month."
Doflamingo took out a stack of documents, placed them on the table, and said with a smile, "They were a small part of Gild Tesoro's original industries, nothing important, just some shares in entertainment companies."
"Your Gran Tesoro has only just reopened. I believe that grand stage of yours hasn't been used yet, has it? With these shares, you can call upon those world-famous bands at any time to help liven things up."
"...A good thing!"
Hearing this, Karl's eyes lit up.
It was just as Doflamingo had said.
The grand stage at the Golden Port was currently closed because the band that Gild Tesoro had cultivated had fled.
Without music and dance, it was definitely a great regret for Gran Tesoro, the world's number one entertainment city.
Karl had been thinking that once Gran Tesoro's operations stabilized, he would have Baccarat hire some bands.
He hadn't expected Doflamingo to help him solve the problem.
On a side note...
Because Carina had a beautiful singing voice and was a natural songstress, she had volunteered a few days ago to recruit a temporary band to liven up the atmosphere.
But she had been rejected by Karl.
The reason being that he could listen to such a beautiful voice for a lifetime and would never share it with others.
This had caused a blushing Carina to give him an elbow, and then later that night, she had brought Nami and Perona along to properly reward Karl.
But back to the matter at hand...
"Fuffuffuffuffu... It's just a trivial meeting gift. I'm glad you like it."
Doflamingo, seeing the change in Karl's expression, said with a devilish smile, "What comes next is the real gift I've brought for you."
After speaking, Doflamingo took out two more items from the case.
A sheepskin scroll, and a special... Den Den Mushi.
"..."
Looking
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