Chapter 1203: Drive the Tiger to Devour the Wolf? Young Man, You Might Not Be Able to Handle It

Diamante has been mixing in the New World for quite a few years now. Although he likes being flattered by others, Diamante is not just a rookie entering the New World; he is very aware of his own strength.

The leaders of ordinary forces are nothing, like Chinjao the Drill, Elizabello II, some mercenary brothers with a bit of skill, but that’s about it. The rest, however, are all deadly threats.

Three captains from Whitebeard Pirates, the leading Three Generals of BIG MOM Pirates, Minister of Flour Katakuri and his siblings, even if Doflamingo himself stepped in, he’d get beaten up.

This is just based on everyone respecting it’s an arena and not going all out.

If it came to a death match, Diamante would most likely be wiped out by these monsters.

Protecting the Quake-Quake Fruit in front of these monsters takes a lot of courage, not to mention Diamante thinks he simply doesn’t have that ability.

The Whitebeard Pirates are no longer as glorious as they once were, but that’s in reference to Kaidou, Charlotte Linlin, and Shanks. Without Whitebeard, they can’t contend with the Emperor crews, but that doesn’t mean they’re useless.

A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse; they could still take him down.

As for Katakuri, he’s a bigger headache. Whitebeard is dead, but Charlotte Linlin isn’t. Katakuri boasts a record of only one defeat.

The true monster Charlotte Linlin will take action herself. At this level, Katakuri is undeniably top-notch strength.

Someone like that seems destined to reach the finals. When the time comes, facing them, should I surrender, admit defeat, or get beaten? Diamante was already starting to struggle with this decision.

“Dof, this kind of scene…”

“What’s the matter, Diamante, scared already? I have a lot of faith in you.”

“Eh… Although I really appreciate your trust, Dof, my abilities…aren’t enough to pull this off.”

Thankfully, Diamante isn’t an undercover agent, otherwise, with this setup, he would suspect he has been exposed, and Doflamingo intends for him to die openly.

“Fufufufu, Diamante, you’ve only seen part of it. Whitebeard, BIG MOM, besides them, many forces have sprung into action. The Navy and World Government won’t ignore this, and you need not worry; you’re an important family member to me. I won’t send you to deal with those monsters. Don’t forget, the Hundred Beasts haven’t acted yet. They certainly won’t miss such a grand event.”

“Eh… Dof, what do you mean?”

“Monsters will be handled by monsters. While we can’t decide the specifics of the battles, we can allocate different areas. The purpose of this activity is also to give Sugar more manpower. The number of contestants attracted by the Quake-Quake Fruit is countless. Distributing those monsters into different areas leads to only one outcome for those sharing the stage with them: defeat. Sugar can take the opportunity to convert more people. Just pay attention to your own safety during the finals, and they’ll naturally determine a winner. Compared to them, you’re a minor character and won’t catch their attention.”

Before the news was released, Doflamingo already anticipated this fruit attracting significant attention. Although this time it’s a bit excessive, he still believes everything is under his control, especially since he has a bigger backup here.

“But… what if those monsters, worried about being taken advantage of, unite to clear out the weak first?”

Diamante doesn’t want to admit he’s weak, but he has to accept the reality.

“Then there’s no choice; the Quake-Quake Fruit is bait. I don’t want to lose this bait, but if necessary, exchanging this bait for more benefits is acceptable.”

As a straightforward person, Doflamingo won’t leave bait empty or fake. If he does, once discovered, he could first be torn apart by united contestants.

In the roaring waves, he needs a steady backup. In thriving in the Underworld, his abilities are one aspect, but without the Hundred Beasts, his position would fall drastically.

If the fruit truly ends up in the Hundred Beasts’ hands, he can accept it, though it would hurt for a while.

After all, the Gol-Gol Fruit was lost like this; losing the Quake-Quake too is not unacceptable.

Keeping it is naturally good, but if it can’t be kept, it should at least be used for the maximum value.

After soothing Diamante a bit, Doflamingo analyzed the contestants, knowing which people can and can’t be moved.

Turning ordinary people into toys is one thing, but those with world-famous reputations and huge backups; turning them into toys leaves countless traces. If it invites revenge from those monsters, it would be a loss.

The situation has progressed far beyond his expectations, yet Doflamingo still believes he can manipulate everything from behind the scenes. As long as he can balance power relations well, he can be the fisherman in the shadows.

In this respect, Doflamingo always has a mysterious confidence, but often, things don’t develop as he envisions.

…

In Wano Kuni, Ghost Island, the Hundred Beasts certainly wouldn’t miss such news.

“Miss, it’s the Quake-Quake Fruit, huh. That Dof has such good luck.”

“Luck is one thing, but if the Governor orders him to hand over the fruit, he should obediently comply.”

Speed and Mizerka didn’t regard Doflamingo as an equal. In their eyes, Doflamingo is nothing but a subordinate reliant on the Hundred Beasts. Equal collaboration?

Willing to trade is the Hundred Beasts giving him face; a mere member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea has no right to stand on equal footing with the Hundred Beasts.

As the personal guards to the young lady, effectively escort and entourage, their perspective exceeds some higher-ups’, as for the young lady herself…

“Quake-Quake Fruit? Is there anything special about it?”

As she spoke, Yamato stomped her foot on the ground, triggering a small-scale earthquake.

“Earthquakes and seaquakes aren’t hard, but airquakes are indeed beyond me. Well, that fruit is not bad.”

Most of the bigger Pokémon can already learn earthquake abilities, but triggering them depends on a medium. At least for now, no one has developed the skill to unleash an earthquake in the air, Yamato included.

Earthquake is just something to fill her skill pool. She doesn’t use it often and has no interest in developing it. The power of the Three Dragons of the Way is enough to occupy her, so there’s no need to waste time on irrelevant matters.

A small earthquake didn’t cause much of a stir on Ghost Island; people here seemed used to it. Only Page One, by the shore, was in a bad mood.

“Yamato Sis! Why are you causing earthquakes for no reason? All the fish have swum away!”

“Huh? Sorry, sorry, I didn’t see you were fishing. Didn’t I stun one? Just pick it up and make do.”

As she spoke, she even helped him hook the fish onto the fishing line. Page One looked at the dazed sea fish on the hook, deeply puzzled whether this was an aerial attack or a catch.

It was about this time that Ulti, looking disheveled, walked over, her eyes filled with anger.

“Do you have some kind of problem?! Why are you triggering earthquakes for no reason? All that stuff fell on my head, you know?!”

“It was just an accident… Wait, what fell on your head?”

“They’re doing renovations on the outer wall over there. Those people from Wano Kuni must be nuts, saying they want to celebrate Lord Mingwang’s 20th anniversary residency and are renovating. You made things easier, just helped them tear down the wall.”

Yamato’s passive ability seemed to have been triggered, her brain began to work at high speed.

It’s known that Kaidou is currently fighting Rayquaza and could fall at any time.

It’s also known that Arceus is still not on Ghost Island, and her earthquake collapsed the wall under demolition.

If you round it up, she essentially destroyed the house; if Kaidou happened to fall at this time, a couple of simple blows would be enough to frame others, so she needed to make an emergency escape.

“Speed, didn’t you say the Quake-Quake Fruit is important?”

“Uh, no, Miss, I don’t think I said that…”

“No, you did say it, and I think you’re right. Such an important fruit can’t fall into the hands of outsiders. We have some ties with Doflamingo, so let’s not take it forcefully. We’ll participate in the contest instead. Decided, target Dressrosa, go and snatch the Quake-Quake Fruit! No, win it back!”

Grabbing a Devil Fruit always needs a reason, but the Hundred Beasts’ reason is undoubtedly the most absurd. Before Page One and Ulti could figure out what was going on, Yamato had dragged them away by the collars.

They were eyewitnesses on the scene and couldn’t be left behind; they had to be taken along.

“Hey hey! What are you doing? Let go of me!”

“Yamato Sis, is it necessary to drag us along for something like this?!”

“We’re leaving, just consider it a little outing. Staying on Ghost Island all the time would bore you to death.”

No matter what the siblings said, Yamato had no intention of letting go, dragging them onto her Pokemon Ship.

“Sorlithia! Set sail immediately, target Dressrosa, we’ll worry about supplies on the way, let’s go!”

“But Miss…”

“No buts, set sail!”

The Pokemon Ship was a living battleship, and under Yamato’s command, the vessel quickly moved. In her rush to escape, Yamato didn’t even check the ship’s condition. It wasn’t until it left Ghost Island that she noticed something amiss.

“Robin? Why are you on my ship? When did you get on?”

“I’ve been here all along. The coffee machine on your ship is different from the one in the canteen, the coffee tastes better, so I often come here to read. You knew that, didn’t you?”

“Oh, right, you told me… Then why are you on my ship! I’m not that close with you!”

“Don’t be so cold. I caught a ride back with you; it’s just that the lookout’s nap spot here is more comfortable.”

From above the ship, Kuzan leaned against the lookout tower’s railing, explaining his reason to Yamato.

“Just my luck, I was planning to visit an old friend, so I didn’t get off. Since we’re already here, give me a lift.”

Yamato looked back toward Wano Kuni and vaguely saw something falling from the sky; she could be sure it was definitely Kaidou.

Going back to Wano Kuni now would be walking into a trap; she’s not about to return now, so she decided to take Kuzan and Robin with her to their destination, planning to find a place to drop off Kuzan on the way.

Kuzan proved his sincerity, so naturally, no one would restrict his freedom or keep him on Ghost Island as a mascot.

During the journey, Yamato also raised a very serious question.

“Robin, do you think tearing down something that was already going to be demolished counts as property damage?”