In the backstage of the auction venue, a weird smile with a slash across it appeared, which was the symbol of the Donquixote Family and also the pirate flag of the Donquixote Pirates.
Compared to the flags of other pirates, this symbol seemed much simpler.
Doflamingo hadn’t been in the Grand Line for long, but his prior arrangements in the North Blue eventually proved to be somewhat useful. As a kingpin of the North Blue’s Underworld, Doflamingo quickly gained a foothold for himself in the Grand Line’s underworld.
Both in terms of his own strength and connections, Doflamingo was completely different from the rookies.
After Rosinante was killed by him, the undercover agent in the Don Quixote Family disappeared, and Tsuru, who had been following him like a grim reaper, also disappeared. This allowed Doflamingo to gain a foothold for once, and he no longer had to move around every day.
At the same time, he began to expand his team of subordinates, no longer relying solely on a few family members like in the North Blue.
As for his success in establishing a position in the Grand Line’s underground market, it was closely related to the Beasts Pirates. The sacrifice of those two Devil Fruits back then yielded some results.
Beasts Pirates acts as a source in the Grand Line’s underworld. Besides their own sales, many black market traders sourced goods from here, and Doflamingo obtained certain items through this connection.
When people saw someone who had just entered the Grand Line able to produce such items, they mistakenly believed he had some relationship with the Beasts Pirates, thus helping him stabilize his position more quickly.
Combined with the secrets he knows, in just a few months, the word “Joker” had already spread to many people’s ears.
However, his foundation was still a bit lacking as the auction houses in the Sabaody Archipelago, which have already made a name for themselves, have regular “bigwigs” like the “Celestial Dragons”.
The ordinary goods are not bad, but they are not enough to attract some people to come here, so he threw out the Gol-Gol Fruit as an attraction.
This fruit was undoubtedly powerful, and Doflamingo wouldn’t let it go just like that.
At this moment, on the Donquixote Family’s ship, Doflamingo was chatting with Trebol.
“Trebol, who would be the best person to give this fruit to after this?”
In the original timeline, Doflamingo didn’t personally attend the auction because he needed to develop his own industry. But this time was different; by using the Devil Fruits, he made a connection with the Beasts Pirates, making his business development smoother.
So he had time to personally come here with the family’s officers. A fruit like this must be entrusted to a worthy and trusted individual.
The people he trusted the most were undoubtedly the four who had been loyal to him from the start. Thus, according to the suits of playing cards, he divided his subordinates into camps. Trebol led the Club Army, Pica commanded the Spade Army, and Diamante oversaw the Diamond Army.
As for the Heart Army, the former Corazon Vergo was now undercover in the Marines and successfully entered the G5 Branch to advance Doflamingo’s plans. The second-generation Heart “Corazon,” was killed for betraying him.
He had kept the position of the third generation Heart for Law. Not knowing that Law had already learned a lot of truths, he was actively looking for him, claiming him as his own younger brother, with the intention of coercing Law into performing the Immortality Operation voluntarily.
Now, except for Vergo, who was undercover in the Marine, the other three leaders all had their own Devil Fruit abilities. Even someone like Baby 5, a child, had her own devil fruit. Although there were still candidates, he needed to think carefully.
“Lao G’s style doesn’t suit it, and he is probably not that much interested in it either. Senor or Dellinger? The sisters Monet and Sugar seem suitable, but they’ve only recently joined us.”
“Hey, Doffy, this is something you’ll have to decide yourself.”
“Fuffuffuffu, then let’s discuss it later. Come on, let’s go to avoid any surprises later.”
“Don’t worry, Doffy. Diamante and Pica are already over there.”
Nevertheless, he still followed Doflamingo, but they were unaware that one invisible flag after another was planted on their backs. [ TN: Not sure if it’s metaphorical red flags or invisible flags were inserted into their backs for real. Will change it later if there is more context.]
……..
Time slowly passed, and the Donquixote Family’s auction finally began. As the auction started, the rowdy pirates below quieted down temporarily. Everyone stopped talking, and the majority of eyes were now fixed upon the center of the auction venue.
Some people had special ideas, but even if they wanted to use unconventional means, they had to wait for the auction to start. So, for now, they waited.
In the center of the auction stage, a young girl with pale green hair slowly walked out. She was Monet, a rookie who had joined the Donquixote Family last year, and due to her appearance, Doflamingo entrusted this task to her.
Then, Monet walked to the front of the auction stage and smiled, saying, “I’m sure all the guests can’t wait, right? The auction will officially start now. Because there are many items this time, I urge everyone to bid quickly. The starting bid for each item is 10 million Berries, with increments of no less than 1 million Berries each time. Now, let the auction begin!”
One item after another was brought up on stage, but Tesoro showed no interest in any of them. His only target was the Gol-Gol Fruit, the highlight of the auction.
“Baccarat, you can start now.”
As the highlight of the auction, Gol-Gol Fruit was brought out, Tesoro entrusted the bidding to Baccarat. The luck she had gathered earlier will be used here.
To showcase the high-end nature of the auction and to better manipulate the things, the bidding method for this auction was electronic. No need to shout; just press a button on the chair’s armrest.
In this way, through a few arranged proxies in place, the Gol-Gol Fruit would eventually fall into their own hands.
But as Baccarat activated her ability and pressed the button, something strange happened. The system suddenly malfunctioned, causing all the buttons in the hands of the people arranged by Doflamingo to fail.
Meanwhile, Monet received orders to ensure that the auction proceeded normally no matter what. The reputation of “Joker” could not afford to be tarnished at such a critical moment. So, the Gol-Gol Fruit easily ended up in Tesoro’s hands.
However, Monet had already secretly informed Diamante and the others, using a secret code to convey her message. The Donquixote Family was very familiar with secret codes; previously, Rosinante could communicate his thoughts simply by tapping stones, and Monet used the same method.
Apart from that, she did nothing else, even smiling as Tesoro left the place.
But as soon as Tesoro left, a group of people immediately rushed towards him, trying to snatch the Gol-Gol Fruit from his hands. At this moment, a green shell and sharp spikes appeared on Tesoro’s arm…
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