Free Web NovelChapter 1302: Chapter 13: Sea Rascal and the Plan
"Where is the Young Master?"
Pika gave Sugar a look, meaning that this guy is not easy to deal with and is a big trouble, so even if you dislike him, don’t say it outright.
"The Young Master told me to wait here for you, come with me."
Sugar was chewing on grapes, heaven knows why she’s so fond of them, could it be for beauty reasons?
Sugar walked towards the villa, followed by Pika, whose expression wasn’t good, while Su Xiao surveyed the situation within the villa area.
"Bai Ye, come with me to see the Young Master."
The Young Master in Pika’s mouth is Doflamingo.
Compared to Doflamingo, Su Xiao was more wary of Sugar. This little girl looked harmless, but her Devil Fruit ability was terrifying.
Sugar is a Hobby-Hobby Fruit User; she can turn anyone she touches into a toy. Once turned into a toy, they are forgotten by everyone except Sugar and cannot disobey her orders.
In the past decade, Sugar has turned almost half of Dressrosa’s residents into toys. Most toys serve as laborers in the underground port, while some live on the surface of Dressrosa.
Therefore, seeing talking and mobile toys on the streets of Dressrosa is not strange—it’s one of Dressrosa’s ’wonders.’
These toys still possess their original consciousness, but they are imprisoned within the toy shell and forgotten by the people, so even if they come into contact with civilians, there won’t be any issues.
Most toys hate the Donquixote Family. Imagine a man turned into a toy, his wife and daughter will forget him. If this man performs well in the underground port, he may get a chance to reunite with his family.
Reuniting with family is good, but unfortunately, his wife and daughter have already forgotten him. Driven by loneliness, the wife might find someone new, and scarier still, having forgotten her husband, she won’t feel guilty.
Seeing his wife with another man, the toy man’s heart would surely break. The Donquixote Family’s solution is to destroy some toys after a certain period.
Just being touched can turn one into a toy by Sugar—once transformed, there’s no chance of resistance. Naturally, Su Xiao is vigilant towards Sugar.
Bubu Wang and A Mu don’t need to worry about this problem. Even if turned into toys by Sugar, Su Xiao can notice. Even if Bubu Wang or A Mu vanish from Su Xiao’s memory, he will suspect what’s going on when he sees his Servants as toys.
The disappearance of memory isn’t permanent. If Bubu Wang were turned into a toy dog and Sugar’s ability was undone, memory of Bubu Wang would re-emerge.
Sugar led the way ahead, and the group entered the villa.
Inside the villa’s living room, a man nearly three meters tall with blond hair and sunglasses sat on the sofa.
Though nearly three meters tall, the man didn’t give off a giant’s impression. His body proportions were very balanced, or rather, the average height in the Pirate World ranged from around 1.70 to 3.20 meters, some even reaching 6.7 meters.
The man is Doflamingo, the leader of the Donquixote Family, sitting with his legs crossed and a newspaper in hand.
With a squeak, the living room’s door was pushed open.
"Young Master, Lord Pika is back."
From Sugar’s adorable childlike voice, Doflamingo put down the newspaper and first set his gaze on Pika.
"Looks like you’re uninjured."
Doflamingo tossed aside the newspaper, picked up a glass of red wine from the table, and leaned back on the sofa.
"Yes, Young Master."
Pika approached; normally, he wouldn’t have this kind of demeanor.
"The naval battle..."
Pika just started speaking when Doflamingo interrupted, "I already know the situation, I will handle things with Jack."
Hearing Doflamingo’s words, Pika opened and closed his mouth, then nodded after a moment.
"Pika, is this the guest you brought?"
Doflamingo drained the wine in his glass and turned the cup over on the coffee table, a gesture with unclear meaning.
"Young Master, he is..."
As Pika spoke, Su Xiao gestured to A Mu, who immediately understood and tossed Speiro’s head to Su Xiao.
With Speiro’s head in hand, Su Xiao approached Doflamingo, placed it on the table, and sat on the sofa opposite Doflamingo.
Doflamingo smiled, and those who knew him understood that he was not very happy.
Though Su Xiao joined Doflamingo’s force, it didn’t mean he would blindly obey Doflamingo.
Firstly, with Demonic Hunt Time activated, Su Xiao was not afraid of Doflamingo, and in a direct confrontation, the outcome was uncertain.
Moreover, Su Xiao isn’t bound by the Main Task. He still has one Main Task exemption. Dealing with a Sea Rascal like Doflamingo with a servile attitude would only lead to being exploited, which wouldn’t end well, just like Hyena Bellamy.
Rather than being used, Su Xiao preferred straightforward negotiations with Doflamingo. If talks broke down, his greatest loss would be promotion/Main Task failure. Promotion isn’t a one-time opportunity; Main Task failure can be exempted.
With these conditions, Su Xiao was naturally able to negotiate face-to-face with Doflamingo.
"This is a meeting gift."
"..."
Doflamingo’s smile grew wider, as he always wore sunglasses apart from sleeping, primarily to prevent anyone from seeing his eyes, as they are the window to the mind. Covering his eyes prevented others from guessing his thoughts.
Like now, Su Xiao temporarily couldn’t figure out Doflamingo’s thoughts.
Doflamingo sat upright, glanced at the head on the coffee table, and remained silent.
A deathly silence filled the room, even Sugar stopped chewing her grapes.
"Very sincere,"
Doflamingo broke the silence, his smile fading slightly from his face.
"I also saved your subordinate by the way."
"..."
Doflamingo remained silent again, evidencing Su Xiao’s mediocre negotiation skills.
"A debt of gratitude for saving a life."
Hearing Su Xiao’s additions, a vein popped on Doflamingo’s forehead, while Pika’s expression was extremely ugly, as that life debt was now being held over by Su Xiao.
"Then I should thank you."
Doflamingo suppressed his urge to kill Su Xiao, although he wasn’t clear on Su Xiao’s power, he could sense the thick blood energy on Su Xiao.
"Gratitude isn’t necessary. To be frank, I originally intended to pledge allegiance to you, but now it seems cooperation with you is also a good choice."
Pledging allegiance in Su Xiao’s mouth was basically using, meaning using Doflamingo as a shield. However, Doflamingo was much harder to deal with than expected, so cooperation was a clearer choice.
"You’re alone, why should I cooperate with you? Don’t forget, you’re currently a researcher hunted by the Navy and the CP Department."
Doflamingo actually felt the intel from the World Government wasn’t reliable; personally, he had never seen a researcher full of blood energy like this.
"Why? Because I can help you win the war."
When choosing a faction, a plan emerged in Su Xiao’s mind, which is why he chose the relatively weaker Donquixote Family.
"Fuhahahaha..."
Doflamingo let out his unique laugh.
At this moment, an Apollo appeared in Su Xiao’s hand, causing Doflamingo’s laugh to abruptly stop.
Su Xiao’s plan is roughly as follows: First, he would help the Donquixote Family manufacture Alchemy Bombs and Apollo-like explosives, and he would negotiate the ownership of these items with Doflamingo, provided the Donquixote Family could supply most of the manufacturing materials.
The ownership of the explosives lies with Su Xiao, while the Donquixote Family holds usage and requisition rights. This makes things interesting; even though the explosives belong to Su Xiao, the Donquixote Family could use them and requisition them forcibly. Essentially, these explosives were to counter the Big Mom Pirate Group.
Once Su Xiao owns the Alchemy Bombs, when the explosives kill enemy pirates, there is a high possibility of Su Xiao gaining some Pirate Reputation.
This was just Su Xiao’s hypothesis. If realized, even the top-ranking Kudu couldn’t compete with Su Xiao in Pirate Reputation.
Kudu might be an individual or an adventure group, but Su Xiao has the entire Donquixote Family to help him gain Pirate Reputation.
Knowledge is indeed wealth. Su Xiao’s expertise in Alchemy might bring him great wealth, which is why he negotiates with Doflamingo with the current attitude—he has bargaining chips to talk.
P.S.: (Today, two Chapters; four Chapters tomorrow.)
