OP: My Aircraft Carrier Evolves#144+145: A Warlord Meeting, Sengoku's Secret Delight, and Doflamingo—The Paramecia String-String Fruit!

BOOM!

Before the stunned eyes of Van Augur, Mont Blanc Cricket, and the others, a searing bolt of white lightning tore through the thunderclouds.

The power was terrifying to behold.

"Thunder God's Judgment: The Five-Coiled Serpent!"

Wielding the storm, Jin was like a god of thunder—incinerating Machvise and his men where they stood.

———————————

Marineford.

Sengoku had convened a meeting of the Seven Warlords. They were on a short recess.

Inside the waiting room, Jinbe sat ramrod straight.

Hancock, the picture of boredom, was draped languidly over her chair.

Mihawk sat with his arms crossed, his head bowed. Beneath the wide brim of his hat, it was impossible to tell if he was asleep or merely feigning it.

"That flamingo actually showing up for a meeting," Hanafuda mused, holding a cup of coffee. "Now that's a surprise."

Jinbe glanced at him. "Your presence is just as surprising."

Hancock shot him a sidelong glance. "He's likely worried about being stripped of his title after that pathetic defeat."

Hanafuda let out an awkward cough.

So much for tact.

His defeat at the hands of Jin had dealt a significant blow to the reputation of the Warlords. And while their ranks were currently full, Hanafuda was genuinely worried the World Government would discard him now that he'd served his purpose.

Not only had his reputation plummeted, but he was also being ostracized within the Beasts Pirates back in Wano. Even the new recruits dared to mock him behind his back. The loss of his arm was a painful and constant reminder of his diminished strength.

Under these circumstances, the Warlord title he had once scorned had suddenly become something precious. He couldn't afford to lose it.

In truth, the Five Elders had indeed discussed revoking his title—and even the possibility of eliminating him. However, Ace had refused their offer to become a Warlord. For the sake of maintaining the balance of power, they had allowed him to remain.

Jinbe turned his attention to Mihawk. "Hawkeye, your attendance is also quite the surprise."

Since the inception of the Warlord system, had they ever had perfect attendance?

Mihawk tilted his head up slightly, revealing the piercing, hawk-like eyes beneath the brim of his hat.

"I am merely here to inquire about someone," he said.

"Oh?"

"That king who has been making a name for himself in Paradise. I wish to know the details."

A flicker of interest lit up Hancock's beautiful eyes. "Even the World's Greatest Swordsman concerns himself with such matters?"

She sat up a little straighter.

'So, that man is already attracting this level of attention?' A swell of pride rose in her chest.

"Hmph."

In truth, Mihawk was asking on behalf of Shanks. The redhead had come all the way from the New World, stopping by Kuraigana Island first to catch up. Then he had asked Mihawk to see if he could dig up any unique intelligence on this new player—another card to hold in his hand.

Hanafuda's face soured. "Hey, you're not talking about..."

"If I am not mistaken," Jinbe interjected, "it is the same man who defeated you. And..." He glanced outside.

"He is the reason that other one is here, is he not?"

Jinbe had heard that the king, under the pretext of "assistance," had taken control of several islands belonging to member nations. One of them had ties to Doflamingo. Was Doflamingo here to put pressure on the Marines and the World Government?

———————————

In the adjacent room.

Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru were discussing the meeting.

The Fleet Admiral had two objectives for this summit.

First, to collect the "protection money" the Warlords were required to pay.

Second, to address the issue of Ace. His refusal of the Warlord title was a slap in the face to the Five Elders. He was given an opportunity and had thrown it back in their faces. He had to be dealt with.

"The Five Elders' position is that Ace has insulted the Warlords," Sengoku said. "They want the Warlords to be the ones to eliminate him. It would also serve to restore their prestige after Hanafuda's defeat and Ace's refusal."

"Ideally, Hanafuda should be the one to accept the mission," he added.

"He will," Tsuru said, her tone concise, her hand propping up her chin.

Currently, the Seven Warlords were: Jinbe, Hancock, Mihawk, Doflamingo, Hanafuda, Crocodile, and Gekko Moria.

The latter two were absent. One was a shut-in on Thriller Bark. The other... was busy setting up a bounty hunter's guild. Who knew what he was thinking...

"Hanafuda needs a victory to prove his worth," Tsuru stated.

Sengoku nodded. "The real headache is the Tyrant, Kuma. Still no leads. He's vanished without a trace." He sighed. "Thankfully, enough time has passed that the initial storm has died down. But the Levely is next year. If we can't capture him by then, the Marines will be the target of everyone's condemnation."

Tsuru frowned, shaking her head. The whole affair was bizarre. A man like Kuma... disappearing just like that.

"Could he be hiding in the Calm Belt?" she wondered.

Sengoku's eyes lit up. "It's possible. I'll have Sakazuki conduct a search."

———————————

Outside, Doflamingo stood on a balcony, admiring the view of the base.

Purupurupuru...

The Den Den Mushi in his pocket rang. He answered it.

"What is it, Diamante?"

"Doffy... Machvise is dead."

The smile on Doflamingo's face froze. A vein pulsed on his forehead. "What happened?"

Doflamingo's organization was the Donquixote Family. His codename in the underworld was "Joker." His top executives were named after the four suits of a deck of cards. Diamante was the executive of the Diamond army, and Machvise was a member of that army. Without a chain of command, the whole family would fall into chaos.

"It was that Black Dragon King," Diamante said, his voice thick with anger. "He entered Mock Town on the pretext of searching for a missing crewman and had his men tear the place apart."

Jin's official title was the King of the Winter Blossom Kingdom. But because of his flag and his actions, he had earned many other names: the Black Dragon King, the Lord of the Bloody Black Dragon, the Butcher of Hannabal, the Pirate Slayer...

"Machvise went to stop him, to keep him from discovering... the trade," Diamante explained. "And he was killed."

Machvise had a bounty of 11,000,000 Berries. But that was from eleven years ago; it had been frozen when Doflamingo became a Warlord. He was one of the "old guard," one of the first to join the family. Doflamingo didn't have any particular affection for him, but he wasn't about to let one of his own be killed without consequence.

"Mock Town, you say?"

"Yes."

"I see." Doflamingo hung up.

"I haven't even dealt with you for that swan incident," he hissed, "and you're already getting bolder. Fuffuffuffu... I hope you're still there." He placed a hand on the railing, his rage twisting into a wide, manic grin.

Suddenly, he vaulted over the railing and soared through the air, disappearing into the clouds.

"Doflamingo??" a Marine soldier exclaimed in shock. "Where is he going? Report this immediately!"

When Sengoku and Tsuru heard that Doflamingo had taken a call and left in a hurry, they were baffled.

"Did something happen? Intelligence, get me a situation report, now!"

<><><><><><><><>

Mock Town.

The sky had cleared.

After the elimination of Machvise and his associates, the Germa clones had taken control of the town.

In the basement of Machvise's hideout, they had found a cache of weapons and six kidnapped children.

It wasn't surprising. Jin knew that Doflamingo had his hands in everything, that he was a major player in the arms trade, with influence all over the world. He also ran an illegal auction house, supplying slaves to the Celestial Dragons and other wealthy nobles.

Jin suspected that Doflamingo was already in business with Kaido, selling weapons for him. Doflamingo was just a broker, after all, not a manufacturer. So who was the manufacturer?

Not a hard guess.

Kaido's three top commanders were King, Queen, and Jack.

Doflamingo was Joker.

Put them all together, and you've got a full house.

It would be stranger if they 'weren't' connected.

"You sell weapons? So do I," Jin mused, sipping his tea and reading a newspaper. The front page was about the Warlord meeting. "You deal in Devil Fruits? So do I. What a tangled web we weave."

Cricket had said that Doflamingo had been here. Jin deduced that he was still in Paradise.

The call to Diamante... Jin had let it go through. He was deliberately provoking him.

With evidence in hand, he was curious to see how Doflamingo would try to deny it.

———————————

"King Jin of the Winter Blossom Kingdom has appeared in Mock Town and has killed one of Doflamingo's top executives."

After a long morning of waiting, this was the latest intelligence report that reached Sengoku and Tsuru.

"Is this confirmed?" Sengoku asked, stunned.

"It is," Tsuru replied. "The report came from a Cipher Pol agent embedded in Mock Town. It happened this morning."

Sengoku frowned. "That king is too reckless. Just because he has the favor of the Celestial Dragons... he thinks he can just ignore a Warlord and kill one of his men. No wonder Doflamingo left in such a hurry."

Sengoku said the words, but a flicker of a smile played at the corner of his eye.

Did the top brass of the Marines not know what Doflamingo was up to?

Of course they did.

There were many in the Marines who despised the Warlord system.

But the Warlords were an institution created by the World Government. Theoretically, they were on equal footing with Marine Headquarters. They were even a check on the Marines' power.

The top brass could only turn a blind eye.

And now, hearing that Doflamingo had been taken down a peg, Sengoku was secretly pleased. But he couldn't say it. He couldn't even smile.

"Indeed," Tsuru said. "A very willful king. I hope he knows what he's doing."

Sengoku put on a pained expression. "Yes," he sighed. "Why must he go out of his way to antagonize the Warlords? Ah, well. Let's get back to the meeting. By the way, Captain Hina on Asuka has his contact information, doesn't she? Have her send him a message. 'Marine Headquarters strongly condemns this action.'"

"Of course," Tsuru said. "We must protest."

Playing their parts perfectly, they made the arrangements.

When they returned to the meeting room, Hanafuda asked, "Where's that flamingo? I heard he took off."

"There was an incident," Sengoku explained. "One of his executives offended a king and was killed."

"Offended a king and was killed?" Jinbe said, surprised. What king would dare to kill a Warlord's subordinate? And Doflamingo wasn't just any Warlord. He was also the king of Dressrosa, a member nation of the World Government.

"Hey, hey," Hanafuda said. "It's not him, is it?"

"It is," Tsuru replied.

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Hanafuda was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, a laugh filled with undisguised schadenfreude.

Jinbe, Hancock, and Mihawk all exchanged surprised looks.

———————————

Afternoon.

The sun hung low in the sky.

A figure swung through the air, like a spider, and landed on the docks with incredible speed.

He had blond hair, sunglasses, and a pink feather coat over capri pants and pointed shoes.

He was a stylish, flamboyant man, the very picture of a flamingo.

His gaze swept over the town. It was quiet, the streets empty. In the distance, a young man was sitting at a table.

With a single glance, Doflamingo matched his face to the picture in the newspaper. This was his target.

It was clear that the man hadn't run. He had killed one of his executives and was now waiting for him.

Such audacity.

Such nerve.

He was a man of substance.

Doflamingo's rage slowly transformed into a smile. In that moment, he felt a strange sense of admiration for the man.

If he had run away, Doflamingo would have been disappointed.

Doflamingo was arrogant, cold-blooded, and ruthless. He would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He would abandon anyone who got in his way, even his own family.

But in some ways, he possessed a certain kingly air. He was a unique kind of villain.

"Fuffuffuffuffu!" Doflamingo laughed. "You're really not afraid to die."

"Afraid to die?" Jin said, closing the book he had taken from the underground library of Elegia. He looked at Doflamingo.

He swaggered forward in that unmistakable, bow-legged gait of his, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"There are consequences for killing a member of my family," Doflamingo said, his eyes fixed on Jin. "It is an unforgivable offense."

"You have two choices. One, you hand over those things now, and you give me one of your subordinates to kill. Then we'll be even. For example... that sniper on the roof, or perhaps... the lady sitting across from me. Or... should I just kill one of them right now?"

Doflamingo spread his hands, his fingers twitching up and down, like a puppet master pulling his strings.

On the roof, Van Augur's rifle, against his will, turned toward Robin. He was horrified. His body... was not his own.

'That guy... when did he get me?'

He hadn't even noticed.

So this was the power of a Warlord.

Robin, too, was bound to her chair by an invisible force, unable to move.

A Devil Fruit ability?

She tried to release her awakened Armament Haki, but it was no use.

Haki can counter Devil Fruit abilities, but Robin's Haki wasn't strong enough.

Doflamingo's mastery of the Paramecia String-String Fruit was at the level of an awakening. He was incredibly powerful. And the fact that he had been able to control both Van Augur and Robin the moment he arrived was a testament to his exceptional control and perception.

"A magnificent performance," Jin said, applauding. "But... I'm not a fan."

He threw a punch.

His arm turned to candy, suddenly stretching out like rubber, growing larger in Doflamingo's eyes.

Doflamingo tried to dodge, but he found that his feet were stuck to the ground, covered in candy.

WHAM!

The punch landed squarely on his face. The force of the blow sent him, and his chair, flying, crashing onto the pier.

The chair shattered, and the pier buckled.

With Doflamingo's control broken, the strings on Van Augur and Robin were released. They quickly moved away, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.