Chapter 13: Doflamingo's Help!

North Sea, Spider Miles Island.

This is a port town filled with stone buildings, slate paths, and chimneys, perpetually shrouded in gray-white smoke. The island's inhabitants primarily make a living through heavy industry, which is why the sandy beaches along the coast are piled high with industrial waste.

Years ago, Doflamingo chose this location and brought Vergo, Trebol, Pica, and Diamante to station themselves here.

Because the island possessed ready-made equipment and workers, they could mass-produce the firearms, grenades, and other thermal weapons they needed, which were then sold to various kingdoms across the North Sea.

Over the past year, as the family's reputation has grown, their business and influence have begun to tentatively spread toward the Grand Line.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but today, Doflamingo, who had just turned seventeen, received news that annoyed him.

Vergo, also seventeen this year, walked into the room and said in a deep voice to Doflamingo, who was sitting on a red sofa: "Doffy, something happened on Black Island!"

"Some idiots causing trouble again?"

"Aren't Jelm and Elro over there? Just have them handle it," Doflamingo replied softly, lying on the sofa with his eyes closed.

"The person causing trouble is Douglas Bullet, a former crew member of the Pirate King Roger's pirate crew, nicknamed 'Demon Heir'," Vergo continued, his expression unchanged. "As for Jelm and the others, they have likely been killed. I just tried calling them on the Den Den Mushi, but no one answered."

"Hmm?!"

Hearing the name Bullet, Doflamingo suddenly opened his eyes, his sharp gaze piercing forward as he said: "It’s actually him. I didn't expect us to be so unlucky to run into such a jinx. It seems Black Island is completely finished."

He had, of course, heard about Bullet’s recent rampage and killing spree in the Grand Line, but now that he had actually encountered it, to be honest, it was very frustrating.

Black Island was the first business hub he had established in the Grand Line. He had originally intended to use it as a transit point to expand the family's trade and influence.

Now that this had happened, he knew that their advance into the Grand Line would have to be delayed for a few years, because in the underworld, losers are rarely respected.

Since Black Island flew the Donquixote Family flag, its destruction was a failure. Therefore, they would have to wait for the impact of this incident to fade over time, while simultaneously strengthening their own power.

"Do you want me to take some men there?" Vergo asked.

In his view, although Bullet was a former member of the Roger Pirates, he was only twenty-one years old. Even though he was four years older than him, as long as he brought a few executives along, they should be able to work together to take him down.

"No."

Doflamingo shook his head, rejecting the proposal, and laughed wickedly: "We don't need to make a move. This monster has made too much of a scene; someone else will deal with him. We just need to provide a little help, fufufufufu."

Vergo listened to Doflamingo’s incessant laughter, not quite understanding.

Grand Line, near the middle section of Route 4, a warship decorated with a dog-head figurehead led four standard warships in formation, sailing slowly across the sea.

A series of rapid footsteps rang out. A colonel wearing a "Justice" coat stepped quickly out of the cabin, stood at attention, saluted, and then, under the gaze of his adjutant, Vice Admiral Bogard, reported loudly to the tall figure standing with his back to him.

"Reporting to Vice Admiral Garp, we have just received intelligence from CP5. Douglas Bullet's location has been confirmed!"

Upon hearing this, Garp turned around, his face beaming with joy as he laughed.

"Hahahaha, is that so? Finally found him? The brats at CIPHER POL have done well recently!"

He had been tracking Bullet for the past few days, but every time he arrived at the scene of an attack, the man was nowhere to be seen. After all, Bullet was acting alone, and his mobility was certainly faster than a fleet.

Now, however, CP5 was surely tracking Bullet, which gave them a chance to intercept him!

"What are we waiting for? Full speed ahead!" Garp ordered loudly.

"Yes, Vice Admiral!" The colonel heard the order, turned around, and hurried back into the cabin.

Not long after, the entire fleet turned in unison and sped toward Route 4. It took about two and a half days to reach Black Island.

"What does CP5 say? Is that brat still there?" Garp asked, looking at the black dot gradually appearing on the horizon. The colonel behind him replied: "Yes, after Bullet killed everyone on the island, he seems to be resting there for a few days."

"Resting?"

Garp curled his lip.

"I think he's waiting for us on purpose. He knows he's gone too far lately and that the Navy is bound to deal with him, so he found an island to recover his strength. But that brat certainly didn't expect me to come personally. I'll have to give him a few hard punches later; consider it teaching that bastard crew member a lesson on behalf of Roger!"

He was right. On Black Island, Bullet was standing on a small hillside, looking out at the five approaching Navy Headquarters warships.

Beneath his feet were ruined buildings and corpses with miserable deaths. Large pools of blood flowed everywhere, and the smell of scorched earth and blood was thick in the air, which even the sea breeze from the broken port could not clear away.

His keen sixth sense made him feel a bit uneasy, but he had fully recovered, and his physical strength was back to its peak state.

As he was now, he would dare to charge head-on even if he encountered a Navy Admiral!

Ever since he saw Gol D. Roger publicly executed at Marineford, Bullet felt that his life had no goal, no pursuit. There was no one left in this world worth challenging for a lifetime. With his own terrifying talent, apart from Roger, all those other big shots were incompetent people who would be surpassed by him in a few years.

And this time, he was specifically waiting for the Navy to arrive. Since Roger died at the hands of the Navy, he should at least sink a few warships and slaughter tens of thousands of Navy soldiers!

If he really encountered a Navy Admiral, hmph, he felt he might even have a chance to defeat them.

"Since the order is for me to face him one-on-one, you all are responsible for surrounding the island and forbidding anyone else from interfering!"

Garp looked at the small island less than a kilometer away. Unable to hold back any longer, he gave the instruction with great enthusiasm, then stomped his foot heavily on the deck, causing the entire dog-head warship to shake on the sea surface.

He shot out like a human cannonball, breaking the sound barrier, accompanied by a blast of air, leaving behind Vice Admiral Bogard, who was used to this, standing steadily while clutching his long sword.

[Whoosh————]

On the island, Bullet noticed the sharp sound of something piercing the air from the sky in the distance. He blinked, and with a loud boom, the town below shook as if it had been shelled, sending up clouds of smoke. Several nearby damaged houses could no longer hold up and collapsed.

A moment later, a dark shadow stepped out of the thick smoke.

"Yo, little Bullet, long time no see~" Garp stared at Bullet on the dirt slope with a playful, brilliant smile.

On the other side, seeing that the person who arrived was Garp, Bullet frowned deeply. His expression subconsciously turned serious to the extreme, his muscles tensed, and his internal guard was raised to the maximum.

He knew that this fight would be difficult!

I am Im, King of the World Government, Lord of the Empty Throne, and the planetary leader of the entire Pirate world. I now have the authority to open a star gate for you readers, allowing you to come to my world.

But, it is not without conditions: collections, recommendations, comments, and future subscriptions—the moment this book becomes a "premium" work is the moment you shall transmigrate.

The more recommendations, subscriptions, and comments you readers accumulate before then, the better identity and treatment you will have upon arriving in this world, such as being the King of a nation!

(End of chapter)