Doflamingo's Reaction

Chapter 134: Doflamingo's Reaction

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The most significant characteristic of the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags was their continuous explosions. Amidst the relentless blasts, the entire research base was razed to the ground, turning into a pile of rubble. The Black Pearl slowly sailed away from the harbor.

Rodney arrived in the sky and said softly, "Slug Sister, lock onto all the living humans on the island."

"Understood!"

Below, the massive Slug Sister sensed all the prisoners on the island from the beach and relayed the information to Rodney through their contract.

"I got it. Go ahead! Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!"

One after another, kunai with attached explosive tags fell onto the prisoners. With the sound of explosions, they were instantly killed, completely erasing all witnesses. Rodney's expression remained calm. After eliminating these prisoners, he returned to the ship and said, "Set sail for Dressrosa!"

"Set sail!!"

...

Dressrosa's Royal Palace

Doflamingo, wearing his sunglasses, crushed the red wine glass in his hand upon hearing the report from his subordinates. The beautiful woman beside him, resembling a Spanish dancer, glanced at him but chose to remain silent.

"Fufufu, can it be true that Caesar caused an explosion due to a failed experiment?" Doflamingo chuckled. 

"This isn't funny at all!"

Doflamingo believed Caesar's experiments could cause disasters, given the havoc Punk Hazard had witnessed due to Caesar's experiments. However, the only thing he found suspicious was Caesar's disappearance.

One of the major advantages of Logia Devil Fruit users like Caesar was their immunity to harm from elements other than Haki and elemental weaknesses. Such an explosion would hardly kill Caesar.

That's why he had tasked Monet, the only Logia user he had, to keep an eye on Caesar. Monet possessed the powers of the Snow-Snow Fruit and, like Caesar, was a Logia-type user. Even in an explosion, she could likely survive, and she had always been loyal to him. So, he had assigned her to monitor Caesar.

But this time, both Caesar and Monet had disappeared, which puzzled him.

Luckily, to ensure they wouldn't be beaten to death by the two Emperors for their failure, they hadn't made any promises. Otherwise, they would probably be visited by an Emperor by now.

Doflamingo was thinking about how to explain this situation to the two Emperors, especially Kaido, who had a penchant for violence. If they attributed the explosion solely to Caesar's failed experiment, Kaido would likely give him a good thrashing.

However, there was still some room for maneuvering, as they hadn't officially begun yet.

"Have any ships passed through Punk Hazard's waters recently?" he asked.

On the side, Viola, the former princess and user of the Giro-Giro Fruit (Glint-Glint Fruit), a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allowed her to see through all lies, responded, "Vice Admiral Tsuru, Captain of the Marines, Captain Zephyr of the Pirate Hunter Crew, former Admiral Zephyr, and the Shichibukai, the Magician Rodney!"

"Rodney? Has that guy entered the New World?" Doflamingo asked, intrigued. 

"Yes, just recently. It seems he will land on Dressrosa later today, but we're not sure of his purpose yet." Viola reported.

"Fufufu, he's here so soon! What's that guy doing now?" Doflamingo chuckled.

"He's sitting on a ship, not moving. Wait, no, there are several of him. Is that a clone ability?" Viola replied.

"Yes, intelligence reports say he has a cloning ability. However, his clones usually disappear when attacked," Doflamingo recalled from the existing information.

"But it seems there's something unusual about his clones this time. Each one of them seems slightly bloated, with strange liquid on their skin, sticky and disgusting," Viola said with a hint of nausea.

Reiju and the others remained at a distance from Rodney, and Leicester and Brook stood behind the clones and Rodney, ready to strike if any of them began to melt.

Some clones were also practicing the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Viola noticed this and reported it to Doflamingo.

Now, Doflamingo was utterly uncertain about Rodney's abilities.

"What exactly is his ability? Well, Rodney, you've come to my kingdom. What are you planning to do?" 

Doflamingo laughed heartily. Viola silently stood by his side. After giving her some instructions, she exited the palace, preparing to welcome Rodney's arrival.

Meanwhile, aboard the Black Pearl, Rodney concluded his training. His progress in learning the Sage Technique was rather slow, and having his Shadow Clones absorb too much natural energy made him feel as limp as a slug, with his body going all soft.

The training methods for the Sage Technique in the three Great Sages locations were all different and brought about varying consequences. The training in Mount Myōboku could turn someone into a frog statue, in Shikkotsu Forest, they could melt, but in Ryuuchi Cave, it was relatively straightforward. 

You would be bitten, have Sage Chakra injected into your body, and then wait. If you endured it, it meant you had succeeded. If not, you'd become the White Snake Sage's meal.

He could absorb some natural energy into his body, but he had to adapt slowly. Once he adapted, facial markings resembling those of the Sages would appear, indicating the success of the Sage Technique.

He hoped to perfect the Sage Technique without any drawbacks. After all, he didn't want his appearance to change too drastically during a battle. Facial appearance was important!

"Ah, this is quite tough to learn, but the time has come. I'll naturally learn it. But since we're about to reach Dressrosa, I should rest first."

What if the Doflamingo suddenly attacked him?