Bloody Pinky

( Vanze POV )

After concluding our discussion about our next plan, we went our separate ways to pursue individual activities. Presently, I find myself back on the ship's deck, savoring the breeze drifting from the clouds while clutching the white piece of paper in my arm.

[ Recruiting a named character is always a challenge, isn't it, brother? ]

'Well, if we found him earlier or much later when the clown is already dead, it will be much simpler. Anyways, I've already set a plan.'

[ Doflamingo? Are you sure it'll be enough to convince them? ]

'I don't know... Maybe, who knows?' Shrugging, I reply. I don't want to think too much about the result for the moment because after we finished talking about Law and Rosinante matter back in the meeting room, a quest unexpectedly surfaces.

'Seele, please display the new quest that just popped up.

[ Alright, brother. ]

[ Ding!

Quest: Bloody Pinky

A pirate crew led by the notorious pink guy Donquixote Doflamingo is rampaging on the nearby island, venting their frustration because of their last failure.

Defeat the Donquixote family and their leader!

Rewards:

- ¢80,0000 coins

- Blue ticket 1×

- Blue summoning crystal 1×

Status: Ongoing ]

'Uhm, it's not that I want to complain or anything, but... the whole Doflamingo crew is supposed to be worth much more, right?' I comment while scratching my head. The rewards are all good, yet there's barely any difference from the previous one...

[ Well, the Doflamingo crew at this point in time is still weak compared to their future selves at the Dressrosa arc. So, the awards are more or less the same as when you beat up Judge. ]

'If you say it like that, then only Doflamingo himself is somehow capable of giving us some challenge currently.' There are five of us, but there is only one punching bag... Well, Yamato and Hancock will definitely make a fuss about it.

Looking at the island ahead that is not far away from our current location, I think it's time to call the others. I just hope the others will not be disappointed and make a fuss by fighting Doflamingo's cronies.

Oh, I suddenly have a headache...

.....

( 3rd POV )

In a desolate town on a certain island, a group of people were wantonly destroying and plundering things around them. Each of them already carried a lot of boxes containing everything valuable in this town.

One man with a huge body donned in a golden helmet looked around, trying to search for someone, but he clearly didn't find them.

"Oi, Lao G old man, where is the young master and everyone else?" He turned his attention toward the old man who was carrying a box in his hand.

"I don't know about the young master, but Diamante should be at the edge of the island trying to chase several survivors, and Trebol is already back at the dock guarding the ship. We are also going back to the ship, so I'll leave this place to you, Pica," the old man replied before departing, leaving Pica amidst the ruined town.

Pica observed as the old man and his other crewmates like Machvise and Gladius departed, heading towards their ship's location.

"Well, I hope Doffy should be done venting up his anger soon. It's really a loss for us that Vergo is gone now," he murmured, thinking about his young master before continuing to survey his surroundings while waiting for his young master return.

...

On the outskirts of the island, a tall figure with an unusual hat-like accessory wore a malevolent grin on his face while searching for something.

"Hehe, come out, kids. You guys like playing hide and seek, huh? Let this uncle play with you, and if you win, maybe I'll let you guys go..." He said with a teasing tone that didn't match his expression at all.

Even though the tall guy's voice was not loud, in the eerie silence, someone could hear it clearly. Because not far away from him, there were two people with almost similar green hair trying to hide from him underneath the dilapidated building.

Their eyes were shaking and showed panic when they heard his voice. At this time, they could only pray that the bad guy who destroyed their hometown would go away soon.

...

In a more secluded open area not far from the town, there was a blond-haired man standing on the ruined ground. There were so many cracks on the ground caused by a slashed kind of attack, and even the big boulder around it was not spared by the attack.

"Damn it, who dares to mess with me? Is it the Marine? Or the CP? Even after I asked a few of my informants in the Underworld, there isn't any news at all." The blond-haired man wearing red sunglasses grumbled.

He kept contemplating in his mind, ignoring that much time had passed while his crew was waiting for him. "Tsk, now the plan for Dressrosa is compromised. I already prepared a lot of things for it, but it looks like it needs to be revised."

"It'll take time, but it doesn't matter; I'll just need to replan a few things later and crush those people who are trying to mess with me..." He said before deciding to turn around and walk back to his crew.

"Oh... So scary... A weird pink guy is talking alone and hallucinating about conquering a kingdom..."

But suddenly, Doflamingo stopped in his tracks because of someone's voices. There shouldn't be anyone near him, but when he hears a voice responding to him, Doflamingo immediately turns his head toward the direction where the voice is coming from.

Not far away from him in ruined giant boulders, there is a man with white hair and purple eyes watching him with amusement on his face, accompanied by a tall black-haired woman that shows a hint of disdain toward him.

"... Who are you...!?" Doflamingo asks with a hint of caution.

He really doesn't think that someone could appear near him undetected, but the fact is right in front of him. While the man doesn't exude any kind of aura from what his Kenbunshoku Haki tells him, the woman beside is a dangerous person.

"Tsk, you trash! Don't you dare asking a question to my beloved!!!" The woman suddenly interjects while giving Doflamingo a glare.

"Calm down, babe. He's just curious about us, right, pinky?" The purple-eyed man tries to ease his partner's emotion now.

Doflamingo just watches this silently while keeping his distance from them, but from his face alone, we could see how annoyed he is at this moment.

"We are just a passing through, kamen ri... Ughm, I mean, a passing through adventurers. Please remember it," the man said with a hint of joking in his tone while smiling at him.

They just keep staring at each other for a while, making the surrounding atmosphere tense.

.....

( Vanze POV )

A few moments earlier,

As our ship neared the island where Doflamingo and his crew wreaked havoc, I summoned the core members of my guild back to the deck. Now that all the main combatants on the ship are present, it's time to start hunting the birdie.

"Are we finally arrived, Vanze?" Yamato asked excitedly while looking down at the island below our ship.

"Yes, Doflamingo and his crew are already rampaging just beneath us. It seems he's frustrated from the failure on the previous island, so he's venting here," I explained the situation to the others.

"As expected from a ruthless man like him," Hancock commented from my side, her eyes holding a hint of contempt. She truly despises men outside from our group, huh.

"Well, what are we waiting for then!? Let's beat them up!" As Yamato finished talking, she almost directly jumped out from the ship and headed toward the island if not for Robin restraining her.

"Be patient, Yamato. Vanze called us here first, which means he needs to tell us something. And did you forget that it's not your turn to fight Doflamingo? Fufufu." Robin reminded Yamato. Yamato stopped in her tracks and just pouted after hearing that.

When we discussed our plan at the meeting room, we concluded that only one person should fight Doflamingo in a duel. If we gang up on him, it'll be an overkill after all. I decided to give the opportunity to the others, so I'm just going to be a spectator this time.

I want to push them to their limit by fighting Doflamingo; maybe Robin or Hancock could awaken their devil fruits this time. Oh, the fight could also provide them with a real battle experience because sparring with each other, compared to fighting against enemies, will be much more challenging and will squeeze out our potential more.

So, I suggested we decide who fights Doflamingo through a lottery, without cheating using Kenbunshoku Haki. I prepared four chopsticks, one marked with red. Ultimately, Hancock won the opportunity, leaving Yamato sulking at the result.

"Did you want to rob Hancock of fighting Doflamingo, Yamato?" Azel said, teasing the still sulking Yamato.

"Huh? We already agreed that it was me who will fight against that guy. Don't be naughty again this time around, Yamato." Hancock suddenly left my side and turned her attention to the white-haired girl on the railings. Well, just as I expected, they're still going to make a fuss about it.

"It's boring! It's not fun! I also want to fight that guy; I don't want to fight his lackeys at all. Please, Hancock nee-sama~" Now Yamato is trying to act cutely like an obedient little sister just to get Hancock to agree with her. I don't know where she learned this kind of trick, but too bad you used it on Hancock, Yamato.

Hancock looks at the weird girl who throw a wink at her while pleading and acting cute with a hint of helplessness. "It'll be nice if you are acting like this from now on, but I know you only do this if you want something. So, I refuse!"

"Noooo!!! It should've been me, not her!!!" Yamato very quickly changes her attitude again and wailing for the injustice she felt. Me and the others just watch her antics with a hint of amusement in our eyes. Heh, cute.

"Okay, okay, didn't I already say I'll give you another big guy to be your punching bag? Go and find him later." I said while coaxing and petting her head at the same time.

"The guy named Pica right? But, he is not even the captain..."

"It'll be enough for you, Yamato. That guy is a devil fruit user of a Stone-Stone fruit, so he should be the second powerful person beside Doflamingo." I hope this Pica can satisfy Yamato's thirst for battle. I mean, the dude can become a giant made of stone in Dressrosa, so it should be enough.

"Anyway, why are you asking us to gather here, Vanze-san?" Azel said, inquiring the reason. Because of his question, we are starting to focus on this topic again.

"Just like we already planned before, but this time I also plan to let the others in the cabin watch our battles by using this thing." As I explain my purpose by calling them, I also pull out a drone from my inventory.

I got this thing from a gacha years ago with another set of a highly advanced camera. This has cloaking technology in it, so it'll make it invisible to the naked eye and also capable of live broadcasting things. Oh, I can also control it with my mind as long as I register my fingerprint on it. Talk about being convenient. I planned to use this for Uta's idol activity later but who know I'll used it now.

As I explained its capabilities to the others, they marveled at the device, especially Robin and Yamato, who seemed fascinated like they were seeing a new toy.

"Okay, that's awesome..."

"Hey Vanze, could you lend it to me later? Please~?"

"It's useful for surveillance..."

"So, I guess you want to use this thing to show the newcomer our fight later, right?"

"Yes, I already connect it to the TV in the recreation room. So, could one of you inform them to stay there and watch our show later." If you are asking why there is a TV on the ship, well, it's because the TV is already included the moment I got the Pearl, including the kitchen set, pool, and any other things.

"I'll inform Reiju then." Robin took the initiative to go inside.

"Okay, thanks Robin. We'll be waiting for you." As Robin entered the cabin, I began briefing my team on our opponents' locations. With their current strength, I doubted the enemies could pose a threat to us.

.....

( 3rd POV )

"We are just a passing through Kamen Ri... Ughm, I mean a passing-through adventurers. Please remember it," the man said with a hint of joking in his tone, smiling at him.

As Vanze finished talking, Doflamingo continued to shoot them a glare of annoyance, the tension in the air escalating into an unbearable silence. Unable to endure it any longer, Hancock decided to initiate the battle.

"You mongrel! Who gave you the courage to look at my beloved with your disgusting eyes? I'll kill you!" Hancock charged forward from her position beside Vanze, her gaze filled with murderous intent as she approached her enemy.

Noticing that a somewhat crazy woman suddenly lunged at him with murderous eyes, Doflamingo also started implementing a defense with Busoshoku Haki while putting up both of his hands. However, Hancock was just too fast, and suddenly she was already in front of him with her attack.

"Perfume Femur!" She delivered a kick to Doflamingo, covered with her Busoshoku Haki as well as her Devil Fruit power.

'So heavy?' Doflamingo sensed the immense strength behind the woman's kick, feeling a genuine threat. He also detected a transformation occurring; his clothes and a portion of his skin turned to stone, despite his use of Haki for defense.

Even though Doflamingo had prepared himself, the force of her kick sent him hurtling backward, crashing into the boulders and trees behind him, shattering them.

Boom!

.....