78 Chapter 78

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"Vice Admiral Tsuru, as per your plan, we have indeed caught the Donquixote family off guard this time!"

A female naval officer spoke these words with almost worshipful reverence.

Or rather, all the female Navy personnel now regarded Tsuru as a symbol of the Navy.

Anyone who had ever served under Tsuru and knew of her past deeds would be captivated by her charisma.

Every year during recruitment, one could say that nine out of ten women joined because of Vice Admiral Tsuru.

"Do not be complacent, dealing with the Donquixote family is no easy feat, and this is just the beginning."

"Convey my orders, sink all the smuggling boats in the harbor."

"Additionally, dispatch two warships to circle the island in opposite directions from here. I suspect the Donquixote family has other ships hidden somewhere. Find and destroy them as soon as possible!"

"Yes, Vice Admiral!"

Then Tsuru turned to another woman beside her, a naval officer with cool, light pink hair parted down the middle, "Hina, I'm entrusting you with commanding the frontline battle from now on."

"Me? Hina is not ready, you should command it yourself, Vice Admiral."

Upon hearing this, Hina immediately waved her hands in refusal.

Tsuru looked at her with a mixture of encouragement and resignation, "Based on my understanding of Doflamingo's character, in the current situation, he will definitely try to sabotage the battleships we're on."

"Only by doing this can he delay our pursuit, or even completely hold us up on this island."

"So I must stay behind to anticipate their final counterattack and protect these battleships."

Hina quickly replied, "Hina can stay behind to protect the battleships!"

Tsuru simply shook her head, "Doflamingo is not easy to deal with. Right now, whether in terms of strength or maturity, you are still a little green. You need more experience. That's why I chose to hand over the command of the frontline to you."

Indeed, there was something else Tsuru didn't voice out loud.

The reason was Doflamingo's exceptional skill in manipulating people's hearts, coupled with the unique ability of his String-String Fruit. Many navy personnel had suffered mental breakdowns after witnessing or personally killing their comrades, eventually having to retire with heavy hearts, leaving the navy.

Thus, not allowing Hina to stay behind was also a way of protecting her.

"Alright then, Hina will do her best."

Watching Hina's departing figure, Tsuru felt reassured. Among this batch of female naval officers, she regarded Hina as the most promising, hence she boldly delegated power to her, just like she once did with Gion.

And perhaps this was why Zeff had recommended Hina to Tsuru, hoping Hina could learn from Tsuru's side.

"Five Color Strings!"

With Doflamingo's forceful downward grab, several transparent thin strings instantly sliced through the navy personnel in front of him.

Abel could tell that Doflamingo was indeed furious at this moment.

Otherwise, if it were the usual Doflamingo, he would be hiding in the shadows with a cat-and-mouse grin on his face, controlling these navy personnel with Parasite String to kill each other, then laughing uproariously.

However, the present Doflamingo chose the most unlike him action, stepping out and swinging his strings, slicing through all the enemies standing in his way.

Seeing this, Abel knew that these navy men were in deep trouble.

And as more and more regular navy personnel died at Doflamingo's hands, Corazon finally started to lose control of his expression.

He quickly took out a pen and paper, wrote something, and then grabbed Doflamingo, who was indulging in a killing spree.

"Don't stop me, Corazon."

'Cool down, Doffy! What you need to do now isn't vent your anger on these navy small fries!'

Reading the content on the paper, Doflamingo slightly calmed his emotions, "Don't worry, I understand. This is just a little gift for that old hag Tsuru."

'This side is on me, time is running short.'

"Corazon, I'm pleased to see you're willing to share the responsibility for me. You're right, I shouldn't waste more time on these worthless navy."

"I'll try to sabotage those battleships later, but most likely, that old hag Tsuru will be there waiting for me to 'walk into the trap'. So, I hope you and the others can kill more navy personnel, and preferably create a bit more commotion."

'I understand, go with confidence.'

"I trust you with this. I always believe that as long as we brothers work together, there's nothing we can't accomplish."

Doflamingo cast a deep look at his younger brother, then patted Corazon's shoulder, and proceeded to execute 'Sky Path'. Using strings too thin for the naked eye to see, he attached them to the clouds in the sky, creating a pulling effect, enabling him to move at high speed in mid-air.

Otherwise, by the time he reached Tsuru, it would be uncertain how many of his family officers would still be alive.

After all, the majority of those present were elite navy forces brought by Tsuru from the headquarters, not to be underestimated.

Furthermore, the strength of the current officers of the Donquixote family was still quite inferior compared to the power they would display 15 years later in the original story.

Seeing Doflamingo tricked away and no longer slaughtering navy men in front of him, Corazon finally looked somewhat relieved.

Then, looking at Law and the others beside him, Corazon made up his mind that as soon as Doflamingo's defeat was inevitable, he would immediately take them to the navy to reveal his undercover identity.

For now, of course, the best course of action was to find a place to hide.

He had no intention of listening to Doflamingo's command to kill the navy.

Because those were his real companions!

So, he immediately wrote down a note, 'Follow me, do not attack anyone without my command.'

"Wait, this seems to contradict the orders left by Captain Doffy before he left, doesn't it?"

Abel stepped forward.

He knew what Corazon was planning, he even suspected that Corazon might take them directly to the navy base.

While this was another possible path, it strayed from his original plan.

After all, if he wanted to become a naval admiral, let alone a fleet admiral, it was too difficult.

That position was not just about strength.

If he couldn't leverage the power of the navy to create advantageous conditions for his "Golden Finger," there would be no point in joining the navy at all.

So it was better to stay here, strive to become an officer soon, use the resources of the Donquixote family to fulfill more wish orders, and earn more positive rewards.

After all, he had no psychological pressure when it came to dealing with the navy.

Since he chose this path, there was no way back.

Different positions, that's all.

'Are you questioning my decision?'

Corazon's face darkened as he realized the situation might be slipping out of his control.

Abel shook his head, "I just have other things to do, so let's operate separately."