The Great Voyage Begins with the Celestial Dragons

If it weren't for the joint order from Moria and the person above, he wouldn't have bothered to even meet them.

Even in terms of bounty, he is much higher than Doflamingo is now.

"Foo, okay, okay. This time, the person who specifically sent you to find me probably didn't just do it for that piece of trash, Barrelz."

Doflamingo narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Absalom. He didn't believe that someone would send an officer to find him just because of a minor pirate.

Just as Absalom looked down on him, Doflamingo was also self-aware.

Even though he felt that he would not be worse than Moria in the future, he was still in the early stages of his career and was far behind in every aspect.

He won't be qualified to compete with Moria until at least a few years later when he ventures into the New World.

However, that was only Moria; he didn't even consider Absalom a threat.

"Hmph, foolish!"

After Absalom rebuked him, before Doflamingo could react, he spoke sharply:

"You might think that Barrels's acquisition of the Op-Op Fruit was a lucky accident, but it was actually a game between us and the Navy."

"I'm not afraid to tell you that we have cooperation with the World Government and even the Five Elders. Otherwise, why do you think we are the only ones among the emperors who can get involved in the underground forces across the world?"

"Fufufufufu, is this a game of strategy...?"

Doflamingo seemed to be deep in thought.

He was somewhat aware of the cooperation between the World Government and Moria.

Wano Country is the largest producer of Seastone, and it is currently dominated by Moria.

However, during the transactions between the two parties, Seastone was always sold to the World Government at market price, which is not in line with the style of pirates.

In Doflamingo's view, most of those foolish pirates were greedy and insatiable, wanting to sell their monopolized goods at exorbitant prices.

It seems that the World Government made concessions on certain issues behind the scenes, which aligns with Doflamingo's speculation.

"Then I'd like to know what the content of your game was, so I can compensate that person for their losses."

Doflamingo grinned slightly, his eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, gleaming with curiosity.

Compared to knowing some inside information, he could still afford to lose the price of a single surgical fruit.

Besides, the fruits of this surgery may not necessarily go to anyone else.

"Game content..."

Absalom glanced at Doflamingo, his expression flickering.

He had no idea what the game was about, and the big shots hadn't even written it out yet; he was just there to make up the numbers.

In fact, he had arrived near Mignon Island quite some time ago and almost witnessed Rosinante's car overturn.

His purpose in coming here was always Doflamingo, not any struggle against the Navy.

He couldn't very well say that Luther was the one who was playing against the navy, and that he was secretly plotting against Sengoku.

However, he doesn't need to make up reasons now.

Absalom suddenly changed color and looked into the distance.

"Joker! You're carrying a rat on your back?"

His words were filled with shock, anger, and a hint of annoyance.

"The rat behind me?"

Doflamingo looked suspicious; he had no idea there was a rat behind him.

However, considering Absalom's fruits and strength, he could only suppress his doubts.

After all, no matter how you look at it, Absalom had no reason to expose himself.

He could sense the newcomers at this moment: Barrett and Smoothie, a pair that seemed incredibly strange.

"Bigmom's daughter plus CP0's Barrett, tsk tsk tsk, have the two forces cooperated?"

The moment Doflamingo saw the two people, a variety of thoughts flashed through his mind.

He glanced sideways at Absalom, his tone slightly mocking:

"Looks like it's not the rat behind me. I'm not worth these two big shots coming here in person."

After he finished speaking, Absalom's complexion visibly worsened.

In the New World, Big Mom is on par with Moria, and Smoothie is the third-ranking member of the Big Mom Pirates, which corresponds to Absalom in Moria's crew.

No matter how you look at it, the other party is after Absalom.

As for how he knew Absalom was here, Doflamingo knew without a doubt that it was his good cousin who had interfered.

Barrett is that guy's exclusive CP0. Although we don't know how Luther did it, it has become a well-known fact.

Doflamingo watched Absalom with a leisurely air, eager to know what secret lay behind this matter.

Was it his cousin who coveted the interests of Wano Country, or did the Big Mom Pirates want to take action against Moria's crew, or did Moria's attempt to steal something backfire, failing to gain control of the Marines under Luther's command and ultimately suffering the consequences?

Thinking this, Doflamingo's eyes couldn't help but gleam with anticipation:

"Fufufufufu, things are getting more and more interesting!"

Chapter 249 Finding a Way to Survive

Absalom snorted coldly, seemingly displeased at being teased by Doflamingo.

But in reality, his eyes held a deep sense of sarcasm.

Although he didn't know why Barrett was with Smoothie, he had heard that Barrett had recently caused trouble for the Big Mom Pirates.

However, considering Kaido's past treatment, he couldn't help but wonder if Big Mom had already submitted to that prince.

With this mindset, he looked down on people like Doflamingo even more.

It is said that Doflamingo's background is similar to that of that prince, but the two are completely different, which makes Absalom look down on him even more.

However, he didn't delve into Doflamingo's affairs, and he maintained his usual respectful but distant attitude towards the Celestial Dragons' family matters.

He would never delve into the matter unless His Highness requested it.

In Doflamingo's eyes, Absalos pondered for a moment with a gloomy expression, and then went to greet the two approaching people.

"interesting."

Seeing through Absalom's thoughts, Doflamingo stood beside him, slightly behind him.

If it were someone else, or if it were just Smoothie alone, there was still a possibility that he would defect.

But it was CP0, who was by Luther's side, who came; he would never side with them, even if it meant his death.

He had sworn in the Holy Land to return every insult he had ever received.

"Absalom, as a member of the Moriah organization, why are you here?"

As Barrett and his companion approached, Smoothie immediately confronted them.

Although she was willing to work for Luther, her heart still belonged to the Big Mom Pirates.

They left early this time to teach Doflamingo a lesson on Luther's orders. Now that they saw Absalom appear, her first reaction was to use Luther's name to eliminate him.

It only said that Doflamingo couldn't be killed, but it didn't say that Absalom couldn't be killed.

"A user of the Clear-Clear Fruit, I wonder if he can dodge my attack."

Barrett smiled at Absalom; he seemed quite familiar with the man.

During his two years in the New World, he relied heavily on Moria's intelligence system, which was managed by Absalom.

The two belonged to the same camp and were fairly familiar with each other, so they both knew what the situation was today.

Barrett also supports Luther's playful nature.

As the strong, you should treat the weak as toys and fool them.

He is not yet a strongman, but he is willing to become a pawn or a toy in Luther's hands.

“‘Pirate Traitor’ Barrett, ‘Juice Minister’ Smoothie, it’s quite unexpected that the two of you are together.”

Absalom looked at the two of them and said in a deep voice.

Barrett was once known as the Devil's Son, a name implying his monstrous physique.

However, because he went through Impel Down, went from being a pirate to joining CP0, and wreaked havoc in the New World, he was given the new title of 'pirate traitor'.

"No need for words. Since you are willing to provide Doflamingo with protection, it seems you intend to become his enemy."

Smoothie drew her longsword from her back and charged forward without hesitation.

An opportunity to deal with cadres from hostile forces was presented to her, and she had no intention of missing it.

"boom!!!"

Smoothie's longsword did not strike Absalom; instead, it was blocked by the string pulled out by Doflamingo.

"Fufufufufu, I think I heard my name."

Doflamingo squinted and stepped forward.

If it didn't involve him, he would be happy to be a spectator supporting Absalom.

But he immediately gave his name, and Smoothie practically asked for his name.

In this situation, he couldn't just sit idly by.

"His strength is not bad."

Smoothie severed the line blocking her path with a single sword stroke, offered a brief comment, and then retreated to the side.

The warning glances from behind made her realize that she had missed a hard-won opportunity because of Doflamingo's interference.

She didn't really have much desire to fight Doflamingo.

She only did things for Luther out of desperation.

Actually, if it weren't for Barrett watching over her, and with Ruth threatening to destroy the Big Mom Pirates, she would have already taken the opportunity to escape.

Since Luther hasn't given any specific orders, she naturally won't put in any extra effort.