Chapter 98: The Costa Doctrine and the Open Sea

EXTRA!

EXTRA!

THE JOKER’S CROWN SHATTERS!

Millions of News Coos soared across the globe, their saddlebags bursting with the morning edition of the World Economy News Paper.

Morgans had entirely outdone himself.

The front page featured a massive, high-definition photograph of the ruined King’s Plateau, alongside a headline that sent a paralyzing shockwave through the global underworld.

THE CELESTIAL ELIXIR HOAX!

DONQUIXOTE EMPIRE DISMANTLED!

DRUG FACTORY DESTROYED!

The article didn’t just expose the fake auction, it meticulously detailed the total, catastrophic destruction of the subterranean SMILE factory and the liberation of the toy slaves.

The underworld brokers reading the paper dropped their cigars in absolute horror.

The delicate balance of the New World had been violently tipped.

Rumors were already spreading like wildfire that Kaido of the Beasts had completely leveled a mountain on Onigashima in a drunken rage upon hearing the news.

Back on Dressrosa, the morning sun was finally shining on a free kingdom.

Citizens were already in the streets, sweeping away the rubble and embracing their newly returned families.

King Riku stood on the balcony of the ruined palace, wearing his royal crown once more, looking out over his people with profound, quiet gratitude.

Down at the harbor, a massive fleet of Marine battleships had finally dropped anchor.

They were entirely too late.

Admiral Kizaru stepped off the boarding ramp of his flagship, his yellow pinstripe suit perfectly pressed, his hands resting casually in his pockets.

He looked around at the obliterated docks, the cratered streets, and the terrified, battered pirate crews who had failed to escape the island in time.

“Moshi moshi…” Kizaru drawled slowly, peering through his tinted sunglasses at the sheer scale of the destruction.

“This is quite the mess, isn’t it?

Is the SMILE factory really completely gone…

and the Joker’s kingdom is turned upside down.

Ooooh…

the new Warlord is truly scary.”

He casually raised a glowing, light-infused finger, firing a laser that instantly incapacitated a fleeing pirate captain with a fifty-million Berry bounty.

“Round up the trash, Marines,” Kizaru ordered lazily.

“It seems Warlord Victor already did all the heavy lifting for us.”

Deep in the treacherous waters of the New World, far from the light of Dressrosa, a dingy, unmarked smuggling vessel was desperately riding the waves.

Inside the dark, cramped, and filthy cabin, Donquixote Doflamingo was drowning in despair.

He was heavily bandaged, his chest wrapped tightly to hold his cracked ribs together.

He sat on a wooden crate, violently coughing up blood.

Around him lay the broken remnants of his empire, Trebol, sliced into pieces and barely stitched back together, Diamante, his chest caved in, and Pica, his stone armor completely pulverized.

They were unconscious or groaning in agony.

Doflamingo held the morning newspaper in his trembling, bloodstained hands.

His eyes darted frantically across the headlines.

Hoax.

Dismantled.

Cut.

The sheer, suffocating reality of his situation violently crashed down on him.

He had absolutely nothing left.

The Warlord title wouldn’t protect him anymore.

His underworld influence was entirely gone, replaced by the mockery by every broker in the sea.

He had no kingdom to hide in.

He had no merchandise to sell.

And Kaido was coming.

Doflamingo’s fingers dug into the paper, tearing it to shreds.

The god-complex that had defined his entire existence shattered into a million irreparable pieces.

He wasn’t the puppet master of the era anymore.

He wasn’t a king anymore.

He was just a hunted, terrified rat, trapped in the dark, waiting for a monster to rip his head off.

He buried his face in his hands, a jagged, miserable sob tearing from his throat as the Joker finally broke.

Aboard the Titan’s Glory, the atmosphere was completely different.

The morning sun warmed the pristine wooden deck.

Instead of flying or relying entirely on the wind, the ship was gliding effortlessly across the New World waters, pulled by a magnificent, ethereal summon.

The Unicorn, a massive, pearlescent construct radiating pure arcane energy galloped gracefully over the ocean’s surface.

Its glowing, ethereal reins were tethered to the ship’s prow, pulling us forward at a blinding, perfectly smooth speed that left no wake.

Gammamon was napping on a sun lounger, a half-eaten chocolate bar resting on his belly.

Brook was playing a cheerful, upbeat tune on his violin, while Baby 5 aggressively polished the ship’s cannons, declaring that nobody would ever scratch her new family’s hull.

I walked over to where Baby 5 was furiously scrubbing a brass fitting.

“Take a break, Baby 5.

The cannons are practically glowing,” I said gently.

She immediately snapped to attention, dropping her rag.

“Yes, Captain!

Do you need me to clean the deck?

I can turn my hands into mops!

I’m very useful!”

“No mops needed,” I chuckled, reaching into my coat pocket.

I pulled out a sleek, golden band.

“Hold out your hand.”

She blinked, confused, but obediently extended her hand.

I dropped the golden ring into her palm.

“That’s a Nega-Ring,” I explained, tapping my own golden bands.

“Every member of the Verdant Abyss wears one.

It’s designed to convert your mental energy, your Haki, into raw physical energy, giving you a massive physical boost in combat.

It also grants you the ability to generate protective forcefields, achieve limited flight, and perform short-range teleportation up to ten meters.

More importantly, it acts as a permanent beacon.

If you’re ever in trouble, we will always know exactly where you are.”

Baby 5 stared at the golden ring.

Her hands began to tremble.

“You’re not just a weapon here, Baby 5,” I told her, my voice firm but warm.

“You’re crew.

This ring means you belong to us, and we belong to you.

We protect our own.”

A massive, choked sob tore from her throat.

She slid the ring onto her finger, completely overwhelmed by the absolute, unconditional acceptance.

“I’m…

I’m one of you!

I’ll never take it off!

I’ll protect this family with my life!” she wailed happily, diving to hug Brook, who yohoho’d and awkwardly patted her back.

I smiled, turning away from the heartwarming scene to walk toward the helm.

Waiting for me, visibly agitated, was Trafalgar Law.

He gripped the hilt of his Nodachi tightly, pacing back and forth before finally turning to confront me.

“Why did you let him go?” Law demanded, his voice sharp and low to keep the others from hearing.

“You had him completely at your mercy, Victor.

You defeated him.

He was lying in a crater unable to defend himself.

You could have taken his head and finished it right there.

Why let him walk away?”

I leaned against the railing, watching the Unicorn’s arcane hooves strike the water.

I took a slow sip of my coffee, entirely unfazed by his anger.

“Killing him on that plateau would have been a mercy, Law,” I answered, my voice dropping to an ice-cold, pragmatic register.

“If I killed him, he dies a Warlord.

He dies a king fighting for his throne.”

I turned to look Law dead in the eye, the sheer, ruthless calculation of my strategy laid completely bare.

“I didn’t want him to just die,” I explained smoothly.

“I wanted to strip him of his pride.

I wanted to burn his empire, destroy his safety nets, and leave him with absolutely nothing but pure, unadulterated paranoia.

Right now, Doflamingo is sitting in the dark, looking over his shoulder for Kaido’s shadow, knowing he is entirely powerless.”

I took a step forward, the temperature on the deck seeming to drop.

“We don’t just defeat our enemies, Law.

We tear down everything they love first.

You don’t get a clean death when you mess with the Costa family.”

Law stared at me.

The anger completely vanished from his eyes, replaced by a profound, chilling realization.

He had wanted Corazon to be avenged with a sword strike.

I had avenged Corazon by forcing Doflamingo to live through his own personal, inescapable hell.

Law slowly exhaled, his grip on his Nodachi relaxing.

A faint, dark smirk touched his lips.

“You’re a terrifying man to have as an enemy, Victor.”

“I try my best,” I smiled, the coldness vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

I clapped my hands together, projecting my voice across the deck.

“Alright, everyone!

Gather around!”

Robin closed her book.

Gwen and Laura hopped down from the rigging.

Brook stopped playing his violin, and Baby 5 stood proudly at attention, showing off her new ring, and everyone else also stopped what they were doing and gathered around the deck.

“Dressrosa is behind us, and the underworld is officially scrambling,” I announced to the crew.

“Our primary mission objective in this sector is complete.

But yesterday, we received an open invitation.

Marco the Phoenix offered us a seat at their table.”

I looked over at Law, a wide grin spreading across my face.

“And according to Marco, there’s a certain fire-wielding cousin of ours currently waiting for us on their flagship.”

Law’s eyes widened, his stoic demeanor breaking.

“Wait…

Ace?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, laughing at his surprised expression.

“It will be the first time we see him face to face.

Set a course.

Next stop the Moby Dick.”

An hour later, the Titan’s Glory sailed out of the lingering fog banks, entirely leaving Dressrosa’s waters behind.

Waiting for us in the open sea was a massive, legendary sight.

The paddle-wheel battleship of the Whitebeard Pirates sat anchored in the deep blue waters, its colossal whale-shaped prow gleaming in the morning sun.

As our black-and-gold ship pulled up alongside the Emperor’s vessel, a massive roar of cheers erupted from the Whitebeard crew.

The pirates lined the railings, raising their mugs of rum to the Warlord crew that had just flawlessly scammed the entire global underworld and broken the Joker’s empire.

Standing on the railing of the Moby Dick, his arms crossed and a relaxed smile on his face, was Marco the Phoenix.

I stood on the bow of the Titan’s Glory, returning the smile.

I offered him a sharp, respectful nod.

“Welcome to the fleet, Warlord!” Marco called out over the crashing waves.

“The old man is eager to meet the pirate who burned the Bird!”

“Lead the way, Commander!” I called back.

The Titan’s Glory, guided by the elegant stride of the Mage Unicorn, smoothly fell into formation beside the colossal Emperor ship.

Together, the two vessels cut through the waves, sailing directly into the heart of the most dangerous ocean in the world.

The era was violently shifting, and the Verdant Abyss was finally taking its place on the absolute summit of the seas.

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