Chapter 490: Meiser’s Explanation; in the New World, the Marines’ Influence Is Far Inferior to the Four Emperors!

Chapter 490: Chapter 490: Meiser’s Explanation; in the New World, the Marines’ Influence Is Far Inferior to the Four Emperors!

"I didn’t expect that you never intended to return Caesar to Doflamingo from the very beginning," Franky said, stroking his chin. "If Doflamingo finds out about this, won’t he be half-dead with rage?"

As if imagining the scene, a strange smile appeared on Franky’s face.

"Naturally."

A faint smile also appeared on Law’s face as he said, "That guy will definitely be half-dead with rage."

Once he loses Caesar as a bargaining chip, Doflamingo will lose his chance to ever make a comeback!

Therefore... that guy would definitely be fuming!

"You don’t plan to take revenge personally?" Meiser asked.

Law fell silent for a moment upon hearing this. Personal revenge?

If he could, he certainly wanted to kill Doflamingo with his own hands, but the risk of doing so was simply too great.

Therefore... it was more reliable to use the Marines and Kaido to kill Doflamingo.

Thinking of this, Law said, "Let’s stick to the safest method."

Although Law didn’t explicitly say whether he wanted to or not, Meiser understood his meaning.

If there’s no opportunity, he’ll just kill Doflamingo by someone else’s hand... Meiser thought to himself.

Since Law didn’t have that intention, Meiser wouldn’t say anything more.

Afterward, Meiser said, "Then the operation plan is settled."

"Law will attract Doflamingo’s attention, while we will sneak into Dressrosa to deal with the Artificial Devil Fruit factory."

"Is that okay, Luffy?"

"No problem."

Luffy nodded with a smile, but looking at him, it was clear he didn’t fully grasp the entirety of the operation plan.

Meiser: ...

Forget it, he didn’t expect this idiot to understand the whole picture anyway.

After shaking his head, Meiser glanced at the others and said, "How about we don’t bring Luffy along for this infiltration mission?"

"No way!"

Luffy immediately wore a dissatisfied expression and said, "Why won’t you let me go?"

He was the captain of this pirate crew; how could he not go ashore?

Besides, he was really looking forward to this adventure!

Meiser glanced at Luffy, his expression saying: Don’t you have any self-awareness?

Nami, on the other hand, spoke up, "The reason he doesn’t want you to go is probably because he’s afraid you’ll blow things out of proportion."

She knew Luffy’s personality all too well, so keeping this guy on the ship was the most appropriate choice.

"I agree!!"

Usopp was the first to raise his hand in agreement, then cleared his throat and said, "And... I can stay behind to watch over Luffy."

As soon as these words were spoken, Perona immediately showed a look of disdain.

"You’re just scared, aren’t you?" Perona said, curling her lip.

Talking about staying to watch Luffy—clearly, he just wanted to stay behind himself!

Besides... it would be a miracle if Usopp could actually keep an eye on Luffy.

"How could I be afraid?!" Usopp insisted stubbornly. "I am the greatest Sea Warrior; it’s impossible for me to fear Doflamingo!"

"Then what do you mean?"

Perona shot him a sidelong glance, her eyes as if saying: Keep talking, let’s see what else you can make up.

"Ahem, didn’t I say it?" Usopp cleared his throat and said, "I’m doing this to look after Luffy."

"Also..."

At this point, Usopp paused, his eyes darting around before he said, "I’ve actually caught a ’can’t-go-to-Dressrosa-itis’..."

Unfortunately, at this point, even Merry wouldn’t fall for such a line.

"There’s actually such a strange illness?!"

Kin’emon, who had been silent, looked at Usopp in shock and said, "Lord Usopp, you..."

"Don’t listen to his nonsense," Zoro said. "This guy just doesn’t want to go."

"I see!"

Kin’emon suddenly looked enlightened. So this guy really just didn’t want to go to the island?

Then why didn’t he just say he’d stay to guard the ship? Why make up such a reason?

"Anyway, there’s no way I’m staying on the ship," Luffy said, looking like he was sulking. "I’m going ashore!"

"I don’t care, I want to go ashore!"

By the end, Luffy even lay down on the deck and started rolling around.

Meiser: ...

This was just like a child throwing a tantrum.

Law, meanwhile, looked at Luffy with a face full of question marks. Was this guy really the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates?

Could he have been replaced by some Ability User?

"Ahem."

Standing beside Law, Sanji cleared his throat and said, "Luffy is just like this. You’ll get used to it."

Luffy was like this sometimes, acting like a child; Sanji had long since grown accustomed to it.

Law: ...

It might be true, but getting used to this kind of thing... was a bit difficult.

If I had known these guys were like this, I wouldn’t have sought them out for a collaboration! Law thought, feeling a bit of a headache.

He didn’t even know how many times he had had this thought.

But things had already come to this, and he could only grit his teeth and continue the collaboration.

Thinking of this, Law sighed silently.

"I’m really fed up with you," Meiser said, looking at Luffy who was rolling around near him and grabbing his leg. "Fine, I’ll take you."

"Hehe, that’s good~"

Even if Meiser hadn’t agreed, he would have gone anyway, but he still liked the feeling of being acknowledged by his partner.

Seeing Luffy scramble up happily, Meiser reached out and pinched his face, saying, "Don’t get ahead of yourself, kid."

"Although I promised to take you, you must follow our lead and stay with us, got it!"

"I’ll be watching you!"

"Got it, got it."

Luffy agreed readily, acting as if he would do exactly as told.

Seeing this, a trace of suspicion appeared in Meiser’s eyes. Would this kid really be so obedient?

Whatever, once they were on the island, he would just keep a personal eye on the guy.

"Since the operation plan has been confirmed, let’s carry it out accordingly," Sanji said.

"Mm..."

Law nodded, then looked up at the distant sun and said, "Next, we just need to wait for tomorrow’s newspaper."

"As soon as we see the news of Doflamingo resigning from the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, we will act immediately!"

"But what if Doflamingo doesn’t resign from the Seven Warlords?" Merry asked.

Having lived on Kuja Island for two years, Merry knew very well what the title of a Seven Warlord meant to a pirate.

It could be said that once that title was lost, the Marines would dispatch an Admiral to suppress them!

When that happened, what awaited the pirate crew was total destruction!

Therefore, there was a high probability that Doflamingo wouldn’t do it.

"No, he definitely will," Law said seriously. "Because Kaido is far more terrifying than the Marines!"

In a place like the New World, the influence of the Four Emperors is clearly greater than that of the Marines. He believed Doflamingo was very aware of this.

Moreover, Doflamingo made his fortune by relying on those in the underworld, so it was impossible for him to be willing to give up Caesar, his greatest bargaining chip!

And the only way to preserve Caesar was to resign from the Seven Warlords!

There was no other way!

So, he believed Doflamingo would make the right choice.

"Law is right," Meiser said. "Based on what I know, the influence of pirates in the New World is indeed greater than that of the Marines."

"So, it’s very logical for Doflamingo to fear the Four Emperors."

According to the intelligence gathered over the last two years, the influence of pirates in the New World far exceeded that of the Marines, which was also why those islands were willing to pay for the flags of the Four Emperors.

After all... those things were actually useful!!

"I see."

Little Merry nodded thoughtfully and said, "In that case, Doflamingo will definitely resign from his position as a Seven Warlord."

"Yes," Law nodded.

"But we can’t place all our hopes on the enemy," Kin’emon, now focused, spoke up. "So we need to be prepared for the possibility of the opponent being driven to desperation."

"What do you mean?"

Merry looked at Kin’emon in confusion. What did he mean by being prepared for the opponent being driven to desperation?

Could Doflamingo actually dare to come and find trouble with them directly?

"For example... that man named Doflamingo might be leading his men to search for us right now."

Kin’emon glanced at the surrounding waters and said, "If we meet on the open sea, we will need to fight them ahead of schedule."

If that happened, Caesar’s utility as a bargaining chip wouldn’t be as great as imagined.

"Although the probability isn’t high, it’s not impossible," Law said. "So we need to stay alert during this time."

Thinking carefully, there was a possibility that Doflamingo was making double preparations.

So they indeed had to be on guard.

"Don’t worry, I’m here," Merry said with a giggle. "He won’t be able to catch us."

With her speed in controlling the pirate ship, it was basically impossible for the opponent to catch up with them by boat!

So Merry wasn’t worried about this problem at all.

The other members of the Straw Hat Pirates smiled, clearly not caring much about such things.

After all... for sea battles, they had Meiser!

With someone like Meiser around, why would they need to worry about Doflamingo?

If that guy really dared to come here and look for trouble, the Straw Hat Pirates wouldn’t mind beating Doflamingo to death early!!

Hearing this, Law glanced at Merry while recalling the other’s abilities, then nodded and said, "Then I’ll leave it to you, Miss Merry."

"Miss... or something..."

Merry’s face turned red. Could she also have such a title?

Chopper: ??

Why was Merry blushing?

Meiser, who understood Merry’s personality, smiled. This little one really liked these kinds of words that sounded like praise.

After a laugh, Meiser said, "Regardless, we need to be prepared to go to war with Doflamingo’s pirate crew."

Sometimes plans can’t keep up with changes, so Meiser felt they had to have two sets of preparations ready.

This time, the others just nodded and didn’t say anything more.

Just as Meiser said, they had to be ready for battle so they wouldn’t be caught off guard by sudden situations.

"I wonder if they have any powerful Sword Masters there," Zoro said with a grin.

Clearly, this man’s hands were already itching for action.

After all... the sparring matches Kin’emon and Law promised him had yet to be fulfilled, so he could only go and slash others first.

Kin’emon and Law clearly saw Zoro’s thoughts, but there was no helping it; now was indeed not the time for sparring.

At the same time... they weren’t in the mood for it.

Then, Law said, "In Doflamingo’s Donquixote Family, there are indeed two high-ranking officers who use swords."

As soon as he said this, Zoro’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Then one of them belongs to me."

He had to leave some meat for his partners, so he only needed one.

"It’s not like a fight is guaranteed to break out. Why are you being so proactive?" Nami said, rolling her eyes at Zoro.

Was this guy’s head filled with nothing but muscles?

"Exactly, exactly," Sanji echoed. "And... Moss Head, don’t you dare go getting lost as soon as we land~"

"Who are you calling Moss Head?!"

Zoro snapped angrily, "And who would get lost, you damn erotic cook!"

"Who are you calling an erotic cook, you bastard!"

Clang! Bang! Boom!

Just like that, the two started fighting on the deck again, leaving Law speechless.

No wonder the Straw Hat Crew had said this was their daily activity earlier; looking at it now, it really was.

"Both of you, quiet down!" Nami yelled.

Thump!

Thump!

Clenching her fists, Nami appeared beside the two in a flash, knocking them both down with a punch each.

"Yes... Miss Nami..."

Sanji, who had been pummeled, wasn’t angry; instead, he was smiling very happily.

Zoro gave a somewhat displeased huff but didn’t say anything more.

Hearing that, Nami glared at Zoro. Was this bastard still not satisfied?

Zoro fell silent for a moment, then turned his head away to avoid Nami’s gaze, clearly backing down.

Seeing this, Nami nodded in satisfaction. That’s more like it.

Her title as the Great Demon Queen Nami was no joke!

Kin’emon: ...

Kin’emon, who had watched the entire scene, was stunned into silence.

So, the most powerful person in the Straw Hat Pirates was actually this woman?

"What a terrifying woman," Kin’emon whispered under his breath.

The women of their Land of Wano were much better—gentle in speech and not aggressive at all, many times better than this person!

"Hmm?"

"Ahem."

Noticing Nami’s gaze, Kin’emon choked on his own saliva, then cleared his throat and looked away, not daring to look at Nami again.

Nami looked at Kin’emon with some suspicion. Had this guy just said something?

Whatever, if she didn’t hear it, then forget it.

After shaking her head, Nami looked at Law and said, "So, where are we going to meet up after the operation succeeds?"

If they were operating in separate groups, it was very likely they wouldn’t be able to regroup, so this had to be cleared up in advance.

Hearing Nami’s words, the others also turned their gaze toward Law, waiting to see what kind of plan he had.

"To Zou!"

Law took out a Vivrecard from his coat, tore off a small piece, and handed it to Nami, saying, "This is a Vivrecard; it will guide you there."

"Zou?!"

Upon hearing the word "Zou," Kin’emon practically jumped up, looking at Law with excitement, "Is the goal you set... to go to Zou?!"

Great, this was truly great!

"That’s right, my partners are already waiting for us there," Law explained first, then looked at Kin’emon with some confusion. "But why are you so excited?"

Could it be that this guy was also heading to Zou?

The others also looked at Kin’emon with inquisitive eyes. Although they didn’t know where that place was, Kin’emon was acting a bit strange.

"Because one of my partners is there!!"