Chapter 029 – A Joker's Dead End

[Kaienreki Calendar 1517, End of March]

It took Lupin only a few days to find the giant elephant and settle down on his back. He didn't visit the Minks and asked them about the Road Poneglyph, knowing them to be very stubborn.

They wouldn't tell him the location even if threatened, as they saw it as their duty to protect the Poneglyph. And while Lupin could try and tell them of his deeds in Wano Kuni to win them over, it wasn't necessary.

In comparison to Wano, Zou was very small and Lupin just decided to search for the cave with the Road Poneglyph with his Observation Haki.

And so he picked an abandoned cave to settle down for a few days, before directly starting his search.

It took him three weeks to locate the cave.

From there he simply read the text on the Obselisk, before directly setting off towards his next destination – Whole Cake Island.

…

As Lupin knew that Big Mom's Poneglyph was located in the Whole Cake Chateau, so as he arrived a few days later in Totto Land that was the place he visited first.

Through his mastery of Haki, he was able to block his own presence which made him easily overlooked, combined with his physical attributes, it was easy to infiltrate the cake-shaped tower.

His facial structure and hair style was also altered easily enough using Seimei Kikan, so even if someone would remember him, it would be of no use.

Though as he walked along the ceiling using his spiritual energy, he reached the fourth floor without problems.

And with enough patience, he even managed to sneak into the room, where the Poneglyphes were stored.

Lupin read both Poneglyphes, though he was more interested in the Road Poneglyph as the other only contained bits and pieces about the Void Century, which was useless without the rest of the information.

It was like someone ripped out a page from a French history book, then burned half the page and spilled ink onto the other half, before asking you about the Mayan history. Not only wouldn't you be able to answer, but even if you had the whole book in perfect condition, you would still be clueless.

This is what it felt like for Lupin as he read the Poneglyph. Without any prior knowledge and all the Poneglyphes, it was impossible to understand the Void Century for him even if he could read what was written on the ancient obelisks.

Leaving the premises was several times easier than infiltrating them, as Lupin simply used his Shockwave Step and ripped through the walls, before disappearing into the horizon.

Even those that reacted the fastest couldn't even catch a glimpse of his shadow, though this did nothing to quell Big Mom's rage, as a wrathful aura laid over Totto Land for the next few days.

…

[Kaienreki Calendar 1517, June]

"DRAGON LADY INA CLASHES WITH HEAVENLY YAKSHA DOFLAMINGO. A fight broke out in Dressrosa, territory of the Warlord of the Sea, Donquixote Doflamingo, where he and his subordinates clashed with the 'Dragon Lady' Ina, who is believed to have a connection with the Lone Emperor … intense battle at the end of which the 'Dragon Lady' lost and was captured by the Warlord's crew … "

Lupin's calm demeanor didn't change as he read the article, even though ripples appeared in his heart.

He was currently resting on an island in Shanks territory and waiting for the other Emperor. According to the locals, Shanks would visit the island every few months and they suspected his next visit wasn't far off.

Still, Lupin turned around and vanished from the shore without hesitation after finishing the article. He knew what awaited Ina, should she stay in Doflamingo's hands or be handed over to the World Government, would be anything but good.

Lupin couldn't not act to save her, no matter how important finding answers to his questions was to him. Ina was more important.

And so it seemed that it was time to show a certain puppet master that death came to all living beings – one way or the other.

…

[New World, Dressrosa]

Even though the burns on his side were stinging like crazy, Doflamingo was in a rather good mood.

He had been agonizing over how to make an alliance with an Emperor to expand his business in the New World.

The second half of the Grand Line was vastly different than the first and the Four Blues. Here, building an underworld-business Empire was basically doomed to fail without the protection of an Emperor.

Too many strong pirates were roaming this sea and none of them cared for retribution, as long as they didn't offend an Emperor.

In the Four Blues and even the first half of the Grand Line, his title as a Warlord and his crew's power was enough to ensure the safety of his business, but in the New World that wasn't the case.

So when one of his subordinates told him that the 'Dragon Lady' was in Dressrosa, Doflamingo saw his chance to make a connection with the rumoured Lone Emperor, whose powers were believed to exceed even those of the other Emperors by a large margin.

Doflamingo wasn't sure he believed all that, but having an in with a Emperor and even having leverage over one, in the form of a hostage, just seemed like a perfect opportunity to him.

"The girl?", he asked his subordinates, as he was currently relaxing on a couch placed on the palace's balcony.

"Injured, but alive and restrained. She won't be making any trouble, Young Master.", the former princess of Dressrosa answered him.

Looking at the black-haired beauty, a devilish grin spread on Doflamingo's face.

He knew that she wanted to see him dead and this was what made remembering all the times he forced Viola to submit to him sexually all the more arousing. Knowing that all her struggles and hopes were useless in front of his power.

Doflamingo really couldn't understand how his father could have ever voluntarily given up this kind of power.

*BOOOOOOM*

His musing though were cut short though, as the atmosphere started to tremble and wail under the enormous pressure that had suddenly descended on the surroundings.

His own Conquerer's Haki tried to fight off the pressure, but it felt like an ant trying to move a giant.

A man had suddenly appeared before him without Doflamingo even realising it, staring directly at him.

Doflamingo could hardly react to the changes happening around him, before his world went dark a moment later.

…

After killing Joker with a precise Hand Blade, Lupin didn't show mercy to the rest of his Elite Commanders and crewmembers that were present, besides Viola. A simple swing of his hand was enough to leave them all without their head.

The only other Elite Commanders that weren't present were Diamante and Vergo, while Lupin didn't even bother to think about the lesser ranked crewmembers.

Turning to Viola, who was still frozen due to his Conquerer's Haki, Lupin said, while placing down a piece of paper on the table: "You will free Ina, give her this and provide her with everything she might ask of you, afterwards you can do with this Kingdom what you want. Don't fail me, Viola."

With that Lupin vanished and re-appeared above the Corrida Colosseum, a long strand of his own hair in hand. A moment later this sinlge hair transformed onto a deadly lightning spear and Lupin threw it at Diamante, who he sensed with his Observation Haki.

Faster than a real lightning bolt, the spear cut through the atmosphere and any obstacles in its way, before piercing straight through the Elite Commanders heart, without giving him a chance to even react.

When Diamante's body hit the ground a moment later, Lupin was already gone.

…

[Kaienreki Calendar 1517, June]

Taking care of Doflamingo thankfully didn't take long, so Lupin managed to come back to the paradise-like island to meet Shanks in time.

He would have loved to see Ina and take her with him, but his search for answers was not over yet and Lupin didn't know what dangers he might face when he finally reached Laugh Tale.

Even confronting Shanks wasn't without risk, as Lupin wasn't sure how stubborn the man planned to act. Maybe he would have to fight him and his crew, if Shanks refused to let him see the last Road Poneglyph.

Reappearing back at the shore, Lupin could already feel Shanks' presence on the island, along with his crew.

Approaching them on foot, it took only a few minutes before Lupin neared their camp on the beach and spotted their ship near the shore.

The red-haired Emperor seemed to have sensed him coming and was sitting alone on the beach, a short distance from the camp.

Lupin recognized it as the invitation it was and took a seat next to Shanks.

"Rayleigh told you I was coming?", Lupin asked after a enjoying the silence between them for a bit.

"Mhm."

"Will you let me see it?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Of course you have. You could chose not to show me the Poneglyph, in which case I will turn the Red Hair Pirates to dust. And I won't spare the rubber boy either.", Lupin answered lightly, his tone soft and distant.

"I believe you.", Shanks said in a dark tone after a moment of silence, before he threw an Eternal Log Pose at Lupin.

"You will find what you are looking for in a cave near the western shore."

"I would thank you, but I know that you would have never given me the Log Pose, if I had asked nicely. Take care, Shanks.", Lupin voiced out with a sigh, after taking hold of the Eternal Log Pose.

A moment later, he vanished from the beach, leaving the red-head behind, a complicated look in his eyes.