On a remote island, Donquixote Doflamingo lounged in a chair, a promotional poster for the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament dangling from his fingertips. A sinister smile played on his lips. Below him stood Lao G, an assassin from the Donquixote Family's combat division. And behind Lao G stood a small, thin figure who seemed utterly out of place.
He was a boy of about ten, dressed in black and wearing a plush, spotted hat. His skin was an unhealthy, pale white, and his tiny face was set in a mask of deathly stillness that was completely at odds with his age. This was Trafalgar D. Water Law, the newest recruit to the Donquixote Family.
Law stared blankly at the strangely smiling man on the throne. "Doflamingo," he asked, his voice devoid of any emotion, "why did you bring me here? I can't be of any use in a boring tournament like this."
"Fufufu... Fufufufufu!" Doflamingo let out his signature, unsettling laugh. He tossed the poster aside and fixed his gaze on Law. "No, no, no, Law. Lao G is the one participating in the competition. That's just a distraction. For you..." The corners of his mouth stretched into a wide grin. "...I have a very important mission."
He paused, letting the words sink in. "I need you to infiltrate the Golden Group and earn their trust. In other words... I need you to become an undercover agent."
Law's dead eyes showed no reaction. "What do I have to do?"
"It's simple," Doflamingo explained, leaning forward. "My intelligence indicates that the Golden Group runs a massive orphan care system. They take in children displaced by war and disaster from all over the world. I need you to blend in with them at one of their orphanages."
"I don't want to," Law refused instantly. "Not interested."
"Fufufu... Don't be so quick to refuse, Law," Doflamingo purred, clearly having anticipated this. "Do you really think that's just an ordinary orphanage? They teach those children all sorts of knowledge and martial arts. The Golden Group then selects the most promising ones and absorbs them into its core organization."
He let that thought linger before continuing his seductive pitch. "And the technology within the Golden Group... especially their medical standards... is said to be the most advanced in the world. That man, Takero, can even produce a 'miracle drug' that heals the most grievous injuries in an instant." Doflamingo looked straight at Law, slowly delivering the one piece of bait he knew the boy couldn't possibly refuse.
"Your Amber Lead Syndrome... perhaps, within the Golden Group, you might just find a cure."
For the briefest of moments, a flicker of light—something that could almost be called hope—flashed in Law's perpetually gray eyes. He had long since made peace with his own death after the tragedy of Flevance. But... to live? To have a chance to personally take revenge on the corrupt world that had taken everything from him?
"...Alright," he finally agreed. He didn't ask what Doflamingo wanted him to do after he got in; he knew the man would tell him when the time was right.
"Fufufufufu! Excellent!" Doflamingo cackled with satisfaction. Undercover operations were a specialty of his. Ever since that monster Takero had dealt with him in the most humiliating way imaginable, Doflamingo had been treading carefully, no longer daring to provoke that terrifying creature directly. But the Heavenly Yaksha was far too ambitious to remain under another's thumb for long. If he couldn't win with brute force... he would use other means.
Sending Lao G to the tournament was merely a smokescreen. The true plan was to embed this one chess piece, a boy filled with hatred and potential, deep within the enemy's ranks. Doflamingo couldn't wait to discover the secrets hidden within the Golden Group. His intuition screamed that beneath the prosperous commercial empire lay profits vast enough to drive the entire world mad.
As Doflamingo schemed, a man with clown makeup sitting beside him remained silent, his complex gaze fixed on the small, broken boy.
Elsewhere on Ambri Island, within a highly secret temporary base, a group of agents in black suits from Cipher Pol No. 9 were conducting their final mission briefing. Rob Lucci, the supreme commander of the operation, stood before them.
"Is the objective clear to everyone?" his cold, emotionless voice echoed in the sterile room. "I will enter the tournament venue as a participant, along with a 'special operative' from Marineford. Our goal is to get as close to the core as possible. The rest of you will disperse throughout the island under the cover of being tourists. Your primary task is to gather any and all intelligence related to the Poneglyphs and the 'Saiyan Legion' plan."
Their mission came from the very top. The Five Elders in Mary Geoise were losing sleep over the fact that a monster as unpredictable as Takero, along with the "Demon Child" Nico Robin, was digging into the history of the Void Century. That knowledge was the one secret that could shatter the very foundation of the World Government's rule. After the catastrophic failure of the Buster Call, they had sent smaller teams of elite agents to infiltrate Ambri Island, but every single one had vanished without a trace, like stones sinking into the sea.
This time was different. The World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament provided the perfect opportunity, with the island overflowing with outsiders. It was their best chance to fish in troubled waters.
"Officer Lucci," one of the agents asked, "who exactly has Marineford sent to assist us in this operation?"
Lucci was about to answer when the door to the base creaked open.
A tall, slender figure approaching three meters in height strolled in. He was dressed in a white suit vest and black trousers, with one hand casually tucked into his pocket. With the other, he scratched at his messy black curls, a lazy, half-asleep look on his face as if he'd just woken up from a nap. His relaxed, utterly disinterested demeanor was a stark contrast to the tense, predatory aura of the CP9 agents.
It was one of Marineford's Admiral candidates.
"Yo..." 'Aokiji' Kuzan drawled.
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