"C-Crazy... What exactly is going on? Can you protect me?" Caesar Clown finally couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke up.
Doflamingo’s face was livid.
All this time, he had maintained an imposing attitude, making everyone beneath him submit completely to his authority.
Now that someone had seen him in such a miserable state, it was even more unbearable than being killed.
What made matters worse was that, besides Caesar Clown, he had also encountered someone he had not seen in a long time—Trafalgar Law.
"Y-You damn Marines. How dare you treat me like this? Don’t think I’m really the same as the other Seven Warlords of the Sea."
Doflamingo’s expression twisted viciously. With great difficulty, he pulled a Den Den Mushi from beneath his feather coat and snarled, "This is a Den Den Mushi that can directly contact the Five Elders. Among the Seven Warlords, and even among all the pirates across this sea, I’m the only one who possesses one."
"I’d like to see how you’re going to explain yourself today."
As he spoke, Doflamingo hurriedly pressed the communication button.
Faced with this sudden trump card, it wasn’t just Caesar Clown and Trafalgar Law whose expressions changed. Everyone aboard the warship was visibly shaken.
The Marines were no strangers to dealing with the Fleet Admiral and the higher-ups.
But the Five Elders, who stood hidden behind the World Government, were an entirely different matter. This was the first time they had encountered them directly.
Now that Doflamingo had produced a Den Den Mushi supposedly capable of contacting the Five Elders, how could anyone possibly remain indifferent?
"Moshi moshi. This is the Heavenly Yaksha. Get Yamamoto on the line immediately. Otherwise, don’t blame me for exposing the secrets of the Celestial Dragons."
Feeling the gazes of everyone around him, the smugness on Doflamingo’s face became increasingly sinister.
When it came to having powerful connections backing him, he had never been afraid of anyone.
For a moment, everyone’s eyes were fixed on the Den Den Mushi.
They desperately wanted to know whether the person on the other end really was one of the Five Elders—and, if so, what he would say.
"Dof, shut your mouth. Stop using the Celestial Dragons’ secrets to threaten us Five Elders. Don’t forget that in our eyes, you’re nothing more than a relatively valuable pawn."
The call was finally answered, and a deep voice came from the other end.
"What is it? Weren’t you supposed to help us suppress the newly appointed Marine Admiral? Why are you calling me now? Are you planning to give us some good news?"
The moment these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned.
They had never expected that such blatant talk of suppressing a newly appointed Marine Admiral would actually come from one of the Five Elders.
At last, they understood where Doflamingo’s confidence had come from.
If the Five Elders really had instructed Doflamingo to cause trouble, then perhaps they really would step in and protect him.
For a moment, everyone instinctively turned toward Lucas.
They desperately wanted to know how he would respond.
"Good news? Then let me show you what good news looks like. Let me tell you this: if you don’t give me a satisfactory explanation today, I absolutely will not let this go!"
Doflamingo roared furiously.
The Den Den Mushi instantly switched into a visual communication mode.
On the other end, Yamamoto was initially stunned. The next moment, his expression changed drastically. Even the Den Den Mushi in his hand nearly cracked beneath his grip.
"Yamamoto, what’s wrong?" Yi Si, who was standing nearby, frowned. He clearly hadn’t expected Yamamoto to become so alarmed merely from answering a call.
But when their eyes fell upon the Den Den Mushi’s visual display and they saw the Seastone handcuffs locking Doflamingo’s wrists, their expressions instantly stiffened.
"You’ve fallen into that brat’s hands?" Yamamoto hurriedly asked.
At a time like this, the only person who would dare treat one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea as a prisoner was probably that newly appointed Marine Admiral whom they regarded as completely uncontrollable.
If so, then everything they had just said had been exposed to the public.
"Dof, you bastard!"
Yamamoto immediately flew into a rage.
Doflamingo gave a sinister laugh.
"Heh-heh. Yamamoto, you can’t blame me for this. Who told that brat to dare treat me like this?"
"Brat, I advise you to come over here and apologize immediately. Otherwise, don’t blame me for forcing the Five Elders to order you to come here yourself."
The moment those words were spoken, everyone’s expressions turned grim.
They stared at the Den Den Mushi in Doflamingo’s hand.
For an instant, they felt as though they had fallen into a hopeless situation.
What if the Five Elders really did force Lucas to apologize in order to protect some secret concerning the Celestial Dragons?
Once again, many people subconsciously looked toward Lucas, desperate to know how he would respond.
Sensing the change in atmosphere, the sinister smile on Doflamingo’s face grew even wider.
But the words that reached his ears the next moment caused that smile to freeze completely.
"Dof, these Five Elders are almost too convincing!"
"Too bad it’s 3:30 p.m. now. It’s tea time, so I’m going to have some tea first."
BOOM!
Lucas casually took a sip of his strong liquor.
Then the Conqueror’s Haki lying dormant within his body erupted with a thunderous roar.
In an instant, it merged with Armament Haki and crashed toward Doflamingo like a tsunami, sweeping across the battlefield.
The speed was astonishing. The mere hundred-meter distance between them was crossed in the blink of an eye.
Watching the Conqueror’s Haki rapidly expand within his pupils, Doflamingo had never imagined that after invoking the existence of the Five Elders, the only response he would receive was:
"These Five Elders are almost too convincing."
Nor had he expected Lucas to attack again without so much as another word and send him flying.
"Brat! I’m going to kill you!"
BOOM!
The immense impact slammed directly into Doflamingo.
He was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing heavily into the ruins hundreds of meters away.
After spitting out a mouthful of blood, he glared wide-eyed in fury before his head lolled to the side and he actually passed out from sheer anger.
The sudden turn of events left everyone present completely dumbfounded.
Caesar Clown’s face was especially filled with disbelief.
The person he had regarded as his backer had called upon an even greater backer.
And in the end, he had still been blasted away.
So, in front of this newly appointed Marine Admiral, having powerful connections really was useless?
If that was the case, what bargaining chip did Caesar have left?
"Admiral... Admiral of the Marines, I surrender!" Caesar hurriedly said. "I heard that you’re currently searching all across the sea for people with special combat abilities, and each one is worth a bounty of twenty million Beli."
"If you don’t mind, you can choose me! Among scientists, I’m actually pretty strong."
"Who knows? I might even exceed the twenty-million standard and reach thirty million."
Thirty million?
Lucas dispersed the Conqueror’s Haki surrounding his body, took another gulp of liquor, and looked toward the warship.
"Hahaha! As expected of this cunning bastard. He sold himself out again that quickly."
The Blue Ogre, Dorry, appeared on the bow of the ship and laughed heartily.
"But the guy asking for thirty million is still lying on the ground. It looks like our twenty million has been underestimated."
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