Chapter 226

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On this day, Abel took a rare day off for himself, leisurely enjoying afternoon tea.

Then, he received a call from Doflamingo.

To be honest, receiving a call from him at this time was quite surprising.

However, what was even more astonishing came afterwards.

"Abel, put aside the matters of the Grand Line for now, and come back to the North Blue as soon as you can. There's news about the Ope-Ope Fruit."

Doflamingo's first sentence was packed with information!

Taken aback, Abel asked, "Has the news been confirmed? It's not going to be like last time, is it?"

"It's been confirmed. The seller has reached an agreement with the World Government. They've sold it to the Celestial Dragons for a staggering 5 billion Beli."

"Now we're just waiting for the Navy to escort the World Government's envoys for the trade."

Doflamingo spoke gravely, "Our family is still trying to find out the exact location and time of the trade from the seller. We need to get our hands on that Ope-Ope Fruit before the trade happens. Then, both you and Law's disease can be cured."

Unmoved on the inside, Abel still forced out an excited tone, "Alright, I'm coming back now. By the way, do we wait for Trebol to join us?"

"There's no need to wait for Trebol, he has other important matters to attend to."

This response felt slightly off to Abel, but he didn't think much of it. After all, having one more or one less person didn't make a huge difference.

Then Doflamingo changed the subject, saying, "According to the original rules and considering the contributions you've made to the family recently, it should be your turn to eat the Ope-Ope Fruit. However, I think that this fruit won't be able to fully unleash your potential. What really suits you is a Devil Fruit that significantly enhances your combat abilities."

"So, after some thought, I've decided to let Corazon consume the Ope-Ope Fruit and then have Corazon cure you and Law of your Lead Disease."

"This way, both of you can be free of any worries and freely choose the Devil Fruit powers you like without being limited to this one Ope-Ope Fruit. What do you think?"

What do I think? I think whatever!

Abel was already rolling his eyes.

Doflamingo had a track record of distributing Devil Fruits that were not yet in hand, and so far, it had never failed.

Clearly, he already considered the Ope-Ope Fruit to be in his pocket.

The reason he didn't let Abel eat it but chose Corazon instead was nowhere near what Doflamingo made it out to be.

The main reason was because Corazon was his younger brother!

Doflamingo was more confident that Corazon, once consuming the Ope-Ope Fruit, would perform the perpetual youth operation for himself in the future, hence gaining eternal life!

That was the crux of the matter!

He was also worried that if Abel consumed the Ope-Ope Fruit, he might grow beyond his control in the future.

Abel saw through all of these things as if they were crystal clear.

Unfortunately for Doflamingo, he didn't know that his younger brother had already consumed a Devil Fruit and was a deep-cover spy sent by the Navy.

Therefore, Corazon was doomed to miss out on the Ope-Ope Fruit.

"I have no objections. In any case, the Devil Fruit doesn't sound very powerful just by its name."

When it came to playing the fool, Abel was quite the master.

Doflamingo didn't notice anything else and was even happy that Abel thought this way.

Afterward, Abel mentioned some matters about the Baroque Works.

Doflamingo didn't really care, or rather, his entire focus was on the Ope-Ope Fruit. Even if Crocodile himself showed up, he wouldn't bother with him.He wasn't trying to cause conflicts without reason; it's not like he was afraid of anyone.

After ending the call, Abel quickly arranged everything for after his departure and then prepared to head back to the North Blue with Baby-5 to witness Law's rebirth.

It had already been a year since they last saw each other.

Several days later, Doflamingo, having finally located the group selling the Ope Ope no Mi, managed to get in touch with the long-absent Corazon.

He planned to feed Corazon the Ope Ope no Mi – a piece of 'good news' that he conveyed to him, and the two set a time and place to meet.

Don't ask how Corazon, a 'mute,' could use a Den Den Mushi to communicate—he could knock on it using Morse code or something of the sort.

Corazon, both shocked and happy, quickly got in touch with Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

When Sengoku heard that even Corazon was aware of the Ope Ope no Mi, he was immensely shocked!

The matter was supposed to be highly confidential and not supposed to leak out.

After dispatching a warship, he hadn't even informed Tsuru, who was in the North Blue.

But now that the Donquixote family was intervening, it could lead to significant upheaval.

After repeatedly warning Corazon not to get involved, Sengoku hurriedly contacted Tsuru, hoping to employ her help in stopping Doflamingo and possibly capturing the entire Donquixote family.

What Sengoku and Tsuru specifically discussed, no one knows.

All that was known was that after the call ended, Tsuru sighed and began to mobilize her forces, preparing to depart.

Corazon, having received confirmation of the truth from Fleet Admiral Sengoku, was extremely excited.

"Law, your sickness can finally be cured!"

"The Ope Ope no Mi can heal all diseases; it's the most suitable Devil Fruit for you."

Watching Corazon's excited demeanor, Law hesitated, "But didn't Doflamingo tell you to eat it? It would be the same if you ate it."

"It's different; a person can only eat one Devil Fruit. Eating a second one would lead to death."

"And I have already consumed the Nagi Nagi no Mi (Calm-Calm Fruit)."

"So you understand, right? There's no turning back for us. If Doflamingo finds out I've betrayed him, he'll never let me go."

Corazon's expression turned solemn.

"But it's okay; we just need to get the Ope Ope no Mi before everyone else and have you eat it. Then we can run far away and never have to come back."

"But what about Abel? If I eat the Ope Ope no Mi and escape, won't he die?"

Suddenly, with that question from Law, Corazon felt stunned. He had been considering Law's situation so intently that he had neglected the other boy with a similar fate, as well as the bond between Abel and Law.

"It's fine; we can sneak back sometime, and you can cure his Lead Disease, right?"

"Yeah, you're right."

Law knew Corazon was intentionally making it sound easy to relieve him of any burden.

So he didn't say anything more.

But he had already made a decision in his heart.

Thus, the two of them took a small boat and began to valiantly navigate through the storm, as if it were the darkest time just before dawn.

And a bright future awaited them.

But would such a dream truly come to pass?