Jin and Stella followed Buffalo down the corridor to a private box.
Buffalo knocked. "Young Master, he's here."
Click.
The door swung open. Jin stepped in without hesitation; Stella slid in behind him, quiet and careful.
Two long sofas faced the auction floor. On the one nearest the glass sat Donquixote Doflamingo in a dark wine-red suit, pink feather coat draped over his shoulders, triangle shades hiding his eyes, a glass of red wine spinning in his gloved fingers.
To be fair, when he was young, the man really did look sharp. Not like the half-feral, unshaven thug he'd end up becoming later.
Behind him stood several of his core people:
Diamante, one of the top four executives of the Donquixote Family, "Hero of the Colosseum."
Machvise, a heavy hitter from Diamante's combat corps.
Monet, his secretary, all long green waves of hair, golden eyes, and a calm, gentle smile.
Sugar, the "child," holding a plate of grapes, big eyes shining with pretend innocence.
"Fuffuffuffu, you bastard finally showed up," Doflamingo drawled without looking back.
"Got held up on the way," Jin said, ignoring the jab. He dropped onto the sofa opposite. Stella stepped to his side and quietly poured him a drink, almost like it was instinct.
Doflamingo's eyes flicked to her for half a second, then back to his wine. No comment.
Sugar walked up, tray in hand, huge innocent smile.
"Big bro, you're so handsome. Have some grapes?"
Everyone in the room focused on Jin at once.
Most people would never guard themselves against a cute little girl. Unfortunately for Sugar, Jin was not most people.
Jin exhaled a lazy smoke ring and glanced at Doflamingo.
"If you don't want to see your beloved Dressrosa go up in flames," he said mildly, "don't play this kind of game with me.
Unless you're sure you can save her in the instant after I move."
His Observation Haki locked onto Sugar like a blade at her throat.
Sugar went rigid. Her whole body screamed danger all at once, like something was about to swallow her whole.
Shff—
Weapons slid free with a chorus of steel as Diamante and the others drew and tensed for a fight.
"Fuffuffuffu… You damned bastard," Doflamingo laughed, a vein throbbing on his forehead. "You even know about that? When did you plant someone in my crew? Come back here, Sugar."
The pressure vanished.
Sugar bolted back behind Monet and peeked out from behind her skirt, too shaken to act cute.
Jin took another drag, unbothered.
"Think whatever you like. I don't know that much. Outside of that woman…" he nodded at Sugar, "there's just that horn-headed guy left."
For one heartbeat, the entire room went still.
Every eye pinned Jin like a spear.
He knew too much.
Doflamingo's mind raced. No way it's Vergo. If Vergo had flipped, Marine HQ would have moved already, not sent me hints through him.
"Fuffuffuffu… you piece of trash," Doflamingo growled.
He took a box from Monet and set it on the table with a soft thunk.
"Talk. Besides this, what else will it take to make you shut up?"
"Smart," Jin said, and picked up the box.
He flipped the lid.
Inside sat a Devil Fruit with a strange, angular pattern on its rind.
A Paramecia: the Stone-Stone Fruit, Ishi Ishi no Mi—the so-called Fortress-Fortress Fruit that let its user merge with and control stone itself.
Doflamingo's fingers twitched, threads glimmering between them as he watched Jin.
"If I was sure I could kill you in under a second," he said, voice low, "you'd already be dead. So… what else do you want to keep that mouth of yours permanently shut?"
Jin closed the box again and took a sip of wine.
"There's a little something in Caesar's hands," he said. "A man-made Devil Fruit Vegapunk left behind."
Crack.
Doflamingo's wineglass shattered in his grip.
"You really do know everything, don't you?"
Jin smiled.
"Call it… professional curiosity. Add that fruit on top of your little prank just now, and I'll know nothing about you. I'm very trustworthy that way."
"Fuffuffuffu. From what I heard, that man-made fruit was a failure," Doflamingo said, staring him down. "You don't think that's a rip-off? Or is it not a failure?"
Jin rubbed his chin.
"To be honest, it's half a success. It works, but it has problems," he said, half-truth, half-lie.
"And you still want it?" Doflamingo frowned.
Jin's eyes glowed gold as he met Doffy's stare.
"These eyes of mine can see all sorts of things. I can see what's hidden inside. That fruit is a copy of Kaido's power. I want to study it. See if I can fix it… and perfect it."
Doflamingo snorted.
"Fuffuffuffu… You. A Mythical Zoan, they say—a dragon. And yet no one's ever seen you transform. You want that junk fruit? Fine. I don't care what you're scheming. I just want to know if your mouth can stay shut."
"It can. Once the fruit's in my hands, I know nothing," Jin nodded.
The two men simply stared at each other, Haki crackling in the air between them. Diamante and the others shifted their grips, ready to turn the room into a slaughterhouse if a single spark caught.
Stella stood behind Jin, hands trembling, overwhelmed by the killing intent circling the room.
At last, Doflamingo leaned back and looked away, eyes sliding toward the auction floor.
"I'll trust you once," he said.
The pressure broke. Monet, Diamante, Sugar, Buffalo, Machvise—all of them reined their auras back.
"I'll have it sent over. When it arrives, you'll hold up your end."
"As long as it's not a fake, I don't know a thing about you," Jin replied, also turning his gaze to the stage.
"Fuffuffuffu. Don't look down on us, you filthy Marine," Doflamingo said.
Jin lit a fresh cigar.
"I'll take that as a compliment. And when you send it, use someone reliable. Would be a shame if it got 'lost' on the way."
"Don't insult the Donquixote Family," Diamante snapped.
"Yeah, yeah," Jin said. "If it never shows up, it just means I don't have to bother forgetting anything. Saves us both the trouble."
Doflamingo waved Diamante down and turned back to Jin.
"You're still not leaving. What else do you want?"
Jin swirled his wine lazily.
"Business," he said. "I want to talk about business."
"Fuffuffuffu. A Marine wants to do business with me?" Doflamingo laughed outright. "If Sengoku hears that, he'll be first in line to have your head."
Out of the corner of his eye, Jin saw Stella stiffen.
Does she think I'm just like the others now?
He nodded toward the stage, where a skinny, half-starved slave shuffled out in chains.
"Don't you think," Jin said softly, "that some of these people are far too weak to be slaves?"
"Mm?" Doflamingo considered that. "So that's it. You're feeling soft-hearted? Fuffuffuffu… You, of all people, getting sentimental?"
The others were lost, watching the two talk in riddles.
Jin kept his eyes on the thin man on the stage.
"Every day, ordinary people die," he said. "In war, under pirates' blades, in the hands of slavers. You can't save them all. The world is already broken—I'm no saint, I'm not here to 'fix' it."
He smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
"I just think weak slaves are boring. Don't you?"
"Fuffuffuffu… So what do you have in mind?" Doflamingo asked.
Jin pointed at the auction hall.
"We take this place," he said. "We go high-end. Those nobles like their slaves strong, don't they? Let's give them what they want… and make money while we're at it."
"Right in front of me you're proposing to put pirates on the block and sell them off." Doflamingo tilted his head. "And you're a Marine, hmm? You think that fits?"
"You don't like it?" Jin's grin widened. "Thought it'd be your style."
"Fuffuffuffu!! I love it," Doflamingo burst out laughing. "That's how the world should be. Survival of the fittest. Turn the seas into a meat grinder—bounty hunters killing pirates, pirates killing pirates, war everywhere. Why would I say no?"
Jin chuckled.
"Exactly. And if we cut the bounty hunters in on the profit—say, ten percent of whatever their catch sells for? Add that to the bounty money and see how wild they get."
On stage, a five-million-berry pirate was sold off for forty million. Even Jin couldn't help whistling.
Doflamingo's lips curled.
"You and I as partners… Sengoku won't suspect anything?"
Jin shook his head.
"No. Because on paper this auction house belongs to Mjosgard. I'm just 'helping' him manage it."
"Fuffuffu… You scheming bastard," Doflamingo said. "I want half."
Jin snorted.
"You and I each take thirty percent. The rest goes to him. You know what those people are like. If the numbers aren't big, they lose interest."
Doflamingo thought about that, then slowly started to laugh again.
This Marine really was his kind of monster.
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