Chapter 206
Chapter 206
"I didn’t expect you to actually convince King Neptune, Rorschach-kun."
"King Neptune is quite stubborn, after all."
Jinbe looked slightly surprised.
He knew Neptune’s personality better than anyone. When it came to his daughter, he was extremely protective. Even though Jinbe had promised Shirahoshi earlier that he would help persuade Neptune, he hadn’t been very confident about it.
Yet Rorschach had managed to convince Neptune in such a short time that he directly agreed to let Shirahoshi board the ship.
Jinbe couldn’t help but wonder what kind of conditions Rorschach had offered.
"Well, I just gave him a choice."
"And King Neptune made his own decision — he placed his bet on me."
Rorschach shrugged casually.
He deliberately avoided mentioning the key points of their conversation and simply said it was Neptune’s choice.
"I see. I understand."
Jinbe didn’t press further and simply nodded, letting the matter drop.
Shirahoshi, on the other hand, looked at the two of them with a confused expression, unable to understand their cryptic conversation. Still, she held back her curiosity and didn’t ask any more questions.
...
Time passed quickly. Five days had already gone by.
They had originally planned to stay for more than ten days, but an unexpected event disrupted their plans.
Just moments ago, Monet — who had been relatively low-key on the ship — received a call.
Bruu bruu bruu...
While everyone was chatting and laughing inside the Mermaid Café, the sound of a Den Den Mushi rang out.
All eyes turned toward Monet.
She looked somewhat bewildered, then reached into her chest and pulled out a small, delicate Den Den Mushi.
At this point, Rorschach had long since given up trying to figure out what kind of things the girls stored in their personal space.
Monet hesitated, unsure whether she should answer the call.
Under everyone’s encouraging gazes, she finally picked up.
"Hello? Is this Monet?"
The Den Den Mushi immediately transformed into the image of a man wearing sunglasses, a pink feathered coat draped over his shoulders, grinning widely.
The voice on the other end sounded somewhat familiar to Monet, but she couldn’t quite place who it was.
However, since the person had directly called her by name, it was clear they had some kind of connection to her before she lost her memories — possibly even an acquaintance.
Unsure of what to do, she turned to Rorschach with a pleading look. Right now, Rorschach was everything to her, her pillar of support.
Whenever she didn’t know what to do, she could only seek his help.
Seeing this, Rorschach took the Den Den Mushi from her.
He had already recognized who was on the other end.
"Hello? Doflamingo?"
Rorschach directly called out the other party’s name.
That’s right — it was none other than the famous Warlord "Heavenly Yaksha" Donquixote Doflamingo. He had many nicknames, but the one he was most well-known for in the underworld was the infamous "Joker."
"Hm? Who are you? You even know about me... Where’s Monet? Is she still alive?"
On the other end, Doflamingo frowned, a bad feeling rising in his chest.
According to Monet’s usual habits, she would report to him about Caesar’s situation at regular intervals.
However, she hadn’t contacted him for quite some time. He had assumed she was either too busy with Caesar’s affairs or that Caesar was keeping a close eye on her, forcing her to stay silent to protect her cover as a spy.
After waiting a few more days without any word, Doflamingo, who was still unclear about the situation, decided to call Monet directly using his private Den Den Mushi.
When someone finally picked up on Monet’s end, Doflamingo had felt relieved. At least it meant she was still alive.
But the next thing he heard was a man’s voice — and one that accurately knew his name. This immediately made him tense up again.
Caesar was a crucial part of his cooperation with Kaido. He couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong.
So he immediately questioned the person on the other end in a heavy, oppressive tone.
"Heh heh. Whether she’s alive or dead has nothing to do with you anymore."
"As for my name, you’re not qualified to know it."
Rorschach replied with a light laugh to Doflamingo’s somewhat anxious questioning.
To him, Doflamingo was no longer someone on his level. Facing someone weaker than himself, Rorschach felt no real reaction — he simply found it somewhat amusing.
Sure enough, the Den Den Mushi’s face clearly showed veins bulging on Doflamingo’s forehead. He looked furious.
"Hey, hey. You dare provoke me, yet you won’t even give your name?"
"Do you think I won’t be able to find out who you are just because you won’t say it?"
Doflamingo sat up straight from his comfortable lounge chair, his face filled with anger.
But his rationality told him he couldn’t afford to lose his temper. Rorschach’s relaxed tone — as if he didn’t take Doflamingo seriously at all — also made him wary.
The fact that this person knew his identity yet remained completely unfazed... did he have some kind of backing?
All Doflamingo could do was try to provoke the other party with words, hoping to extract more information.
"Heh heh. I hope you’ll still have this kind of courage when I come knocking on your door."
Rorschach didn’t get angry. Instead, he laughed.
Doflamingo, who had held a high position for so long, had apparently lost his sense of caution toward unknown enemies.
"How bold. You even dare to come find me? I’d like to see just who you are, daring to provoke me. There’s only one path left for you — death!"
"I’ll return those same words to you. I hope you’ll still have this kind of courage to talk to me when we finally meet."
Rorschach’s words completely ignited Doflamingo’s rage. After saying this, Doflamingo hung up the call.
Monet’s Den Den Mushi was with him, and there was also Caesar, whose life or death was unknown. On top of that, this person had provoked him so arrogantly.
This person really didn’t know what was good for him.
"Heh... Interesting. This Doflamingo actually dares to talk to you like that."
Nami smiled as she spoke lightly.
This was the first time she had seen someone provoke Rorschach so directly — even though the other party didn’t even know who Rorschach was.
"What should we do now? It doesn’t look like he’s going to let this go."
"What else can we do? He already came looking for trouble and was this arrogant about it. We might as well let him experience just how strong we are."
Nami and Kalifa spoke in perfect harmony, clearly not taking Doflamingo seriously.
A Warlord? Rorschach had already defeated two of them since his debut.
And in both cases, he had come out almost completely unscathed. Even two years ago, when he was still relatively unknown, Crocodile had been completely crushed by him. As for Moria two years later, Rorschach hadn’t even needed to use much strength before the man went down.
Everyone had a relaxed attitude, chatting and laughing as they discussed Doflamingo.
Only one person didn’t fit in with their mood — and that was Monet.
She looked somewhat uneasy. Several times she opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then hesitated and stayed silent.
"What’s wrong, Monet?"
Rorschach noticed her strange behavior. He walked over and pulled her into his arms, asking softly.
He already knew why she was acting like this. It was obviously because of Doflamingo.
To him, this wasn’t a big deal. Since she was already his woman, there was nothing a round of intimate time couldn’t solve.
Monet closed her eyes and leaned against Rorschach’s chest. After a long while, she finally spoke in a quiet voice.
"That person... was someone I knew before I lost my memories, right? Then... who exactly am I now? What if I regain my memories someday? Will I end up hurting all of you? I don’t even know what kind of person I was before I lost my memories."
Only when she was lying in Rorschach’s embrace did she feel a little more at ease. At the same time, a series of questions poured out of her mouth, revealing the source of her anxiety.
"Listen to me. No matter what your identity was before, right now you’re my crew member — and also my woman. I’m never going to let you go."
Rorschach gently turned her face so she was looking at him, staring straight into her eyes.
Monet was stunned by his words. She stared at him with her mouth slightly open, unable to speak.
After a long moment, the corners of her lips curved into a warm smile.
Yeah... who I was before doesn’t matter to who I am now. Whether I regain my memories or someone from my past recognizes me... I will never hurt Rorschach and the others. Never.
With that thought, Monet’s gaze became firm. She had made up her mind — she would completely leave her past self behind.
She would only live for the present.
"You two really are lovey-dovey. Is this really the same reserved and gentle Monet from before? She’s being so bold now."
The girls had noticed the situation and Nami walked over, teasing Monet while covering her mouth.
Monet’s face turned bright red. She buried her head in Rorschach’s chest, completely lacking the mature, elegant aura she used to have.
Right now, she was just a girl in love.
"Rorschach, what should we do now? Should we stay here a bit longer, or go deal with him directly?"
Nami also became serious, asking with a solemn expression.
They could joke around all they wanted, but they still took every enemy seriously.
From what they had just heard, it was clear Doflamingo wouldn’t let this go. He would definitely send people to investigate. Ignoring it would only cause more trouble later.
But in the end, the decision rested with Rorschach.
"Do we even need to think about it? Since that clown already said something like that, how could I possibly not go?"
"Besides, I’m actually looking forward to it. I wonder what kind of expression Doflamingo will make when he sees me. Hahaha... I can’t wait."
Rorschach laughed as he spoke.
"We’re setting sail right away?"
"Yeah, right away. We can come back to Fish-Man Island anytime we want, but opportunities to have someone come knocking on our door asking to die don’t come often."
"Woohoo~~~ Target — Dressrosa! The ’Country of Love, Passion, and Toys,’ huh? Sounds exciting."
Everyone raised their hands and cheered with anticipation.
Rorschach watched them with a smile.
...
On the other side.
After hanging up on Rorschach, Doflamingo smashed several decorations in his room in a fit of rage. Tables and chairs were all destroyed in his anger.
"Huff... Huff..."
After taking a few deep breaths and calming down slightly through destruction, Doflamingo regained some of his rationality.
His sunglasses flashed with a glint of light. Then, with a dark expression, he picked up another Den Den Mushi and made a call.
The other side picked up quickly.
"Young Master, is there something important?"
The Den Den Mushi’s nose dripped with snot as a lazy, somewhat slurred voice came through. It sounded like a slovenly middle-aged man.
This was one of the top executives of the Donquixote Family — Trebol, the user of the Stick-Stick Fruit.
"Trebol. Do you still have Monet’s Life Card? Has anything happened to her?"
Doflamingo asked in an icy tone.
"Ah? Wait a second, let me check... She’s still alive, Young Master. Did something happen to Monet? Why are you suddenly asking about her?"
Hearing the unusual tone in Doflamingo’s voice, Trebol quickly pulled out a stack of Life Cards from his coat and found Monet’s card before replying.
"She’s still alive? That’s good."
Doflamingo let out a small sigh of relief.
"Immediately send Buffalo and Baby 5 along with Violet to Monet’s location. Monet has probably been captured and imprisoned. We still don’t know her current situation."
"Have Baby 5 and the others locate both Monet and Caesar. Then have Violet observe the situation first. Don’t alert the other side yet. Once you figure out who captured them, report back to me."
After thinking for a moment, Doflamingo gave his orders in a calm, cold voice.
"Understood, Young Master. I’ll have Baby 5 and the others depart right away to gather information."
Hearing this, Trebol quickly hung up and contacted the three of them.
"Heh heh... To have this kind of confidence... You’ve really made me curious about your identity. In that case, let me see just what gives you the courage to challenge me."
Doflamingo revealed a cold smile and let out a sinister laugh inside the room.
At this moment, Rorschach had no idea that Doflamingo had already sent people to investigate them first.
If he knew who Doflamingo had dispatched, he would probably clap his hands in praise.
Before even meeting, the other side was already sending him two big gifts. There was no greater show of sincerity than this. When they finally met, he would go a little easier on them — he wouldn’t make it too painful.
...
After making his decision, Rorschach also informed Jinbe and Neptune that they would be leaving.
This surprised Jinbe, while Neptune let out a wail of despair. He had thought he still had over ten days left with Shirahoshi, but now she was leaving immediately.
How could this father not feel heartbroken? Still, after saying goodbye to Shirahoshi, he chose to let her go.
Everyone gathered at Fish-Man Island’s port — the only exit point from the island, heavily guarded.
However, because of Rorschach and Jinbe’s presence, a large area around them had been cleared out.
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