Chapter 75

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In the hormone-charged atmosphere of Joy Street, few people can sit quietly and enjoy a cup of coffee, except perhaps those who have just vented their frustrations. Dak, however, is an exception.

Sitting at the entrance of a café on the street, he sips a hot chocolate, ignoring the calls of a lady across the street trying to get his attention. He's busy—busy keeping a discreet eye on the actions of the Donquixote family.

On the other hand, Doflamingo felt thirsty and decided to stop by a roadside café with his family. As they settled down for a relaxed coffee break, they noticed a man in a white cloak sitting next to them, staring intently at them.

"Pica, go ask that guy what he wants," Doflamingo instructed, pointing to the strangely dressed, rotund man beside him. Despite his odd attire, no one dared to laugh at Senor Pink in front of Doflamingo, as those who had ridiculed him in the past had met grisly ends.

To achieve his ambitions, he was a man who would stop at nothing, even sacrificing his own family if necessary. However, aside from that, no one could harm or even mock a Donquixote family officer, especially after the incident with Rosinante, which had profoundly changed Doflamingo.

"Hmm," Senor Pink responded, moving towards Dak with a pacifier in his mouth, a habit he adopted after the death of his wife and child.

"Senor."

Had he been discovered? Dak's eyes widened slightly; he hadn't expected his surveillance to be noticed.

Wasn't the most dangerous place supposed to be the safest?

Although discovered, Dak was not perturbed. To be honest, all of Saint Poplar combined wouldn't stand a chance against him and Darkrai if it came down to a fight.

"Hey, sir, why have you been staring at us?"

Senor Pink sat down opposite Dak, his sunglasses failing to hide the scrutiny in his eyes.

"I didn't expect to be noticed," Dak shook his head and removed his hood, "You are quite cautious."

"..."

Is this guy serious?! Sweat dripped down Senor Pink's forehead as he failed to detect any hint of jest in Dak's demeanor.

"Pica, let's go. No need to waste words with this one."

As Senor Pink prepared to say more, Diamante's voice reached them; they decided to leave. Just moments before, Doflamingo had laughed off Dak's comments and promptly left with his group.

"You're lucky."

Senor Pink gave Dak a final look before following his comrades. In his view, if this weren't Joy Street where Stussy forbade killing, Doflamingo would have surely eliminated this man.

"It seems I'm not the one who's lucky."

Dak finished his coffee and continued to follow the Donquixote family from a safe distance within the crowd, believing they wouldn't notice.

The Donquixote family, famously known to be intercepted by those who cross time.

Arriving in the world of One Piece, targeting the Donquixote family guaranteed high-quality gains.

Dak, in fact, had a business proposition specifically for Senor Pink and silently followed the family to see what they were up to.

At this time, Doflamingo was not yet the underworld's greatest ruler known as 'Joker'; he was only one of many. The Donquixote family would need to take over Dressrosa and establish the SMILE factory and arms production to achieve that status.

After about fifteen minutes, the Donquixote family entered a brothel.

"..."

Dak was puzzled.

Given the Donquixote family's usual style and wealth, why would they need to visit a brothel to find women?

"Darkrai, go take a look."

Knowing he might be discovered if he followed them inside, Dak sent Darkrai while he waited at a corner down the street.

Unbeknownst to him, various suspicious characters had started to appear at every corner of the street, all seemingly focusing on the brothel.

Dak, blending in, didn't seem out of place at all.

"It looks like the underworld is up to something big."

Dak muttered disinterestedly, not at all curious about their plans. He was far too busy to meddle in underworld affairs.

After about half an hour of standing and almost dozing off, Darkrai suddenly emerged from a nearby wall, grabbed Dak, and flew into the sky.

"What?"

Dak, barely awake, was shocked to find himself suddenly airborne.

His heart almost stopped.

Boom!

Before he could ask Darkrai what was happening, the brothel below them exploded.

Had Dak remained on the spot, he might have been caught in the blast.

"What's going on?"

Dak's eyes sparkled as he looked down at the now-roofless brothel. The scene below seemed far from peaceful, with the seven major underworld leaders apparently gathered there, and it didn't look like their negotiations had gone smoothly.

"Let's go down."

Dak patted Darkrai, signaling that it was too conspicuous to remain in the sky.

They returned to a secluded corner, and Darkrai went back to hiding in his shadow, watching over him.

Just when Dak thought the underworld leaders were just posturing and unlikely to fight, a sudden battle erupted.

Gunfire and explosions rang out, accompanied by screams and the chaos of fleeing people.

"Hm?"

Hidden in an alley, Dak was observing the situation when he noticed a dark cannonball headed towards two sisters trying to escape. The older sister quickly covered her younger sibling in an embrace.

"Darkrai, save those sisters."

Without hesitation, Dak decided to intervene.

If he hadn't seen it, or if the sisters had been villains, it might have been different. But witnessing such a scene, how could he not act?

Dak didn't consider himself the 'wise and cunning' protagonist of an apocalyptic tale.

With a gesture, Darkrai instantly darted out, absorbing the cannonball into a dark void.

"Eh?" x2

The sisters, stunned, looked at Darkrai, clearly shocked by their sudden rescuer.

"..."

Without saying much, Darkrai pointed towards Dak, who was standing in an alley and waved at the sisters.

After a moment's hesitation, the sisters ran towards him, knowing all too well how to survive on Joy Street.

"Go inside."

Dak casually opened a door beside him and ushered the sisters in.

Only as they approached did Dak realize that these were no 'strangers' but Monet and Sugar, who would have joined the Donquixote family in another year according to the original story.

Now, it seemed likely that the family had intended to recruit and utilize the sisters during this chaos, but Dak had now intercepted them.

Regrettably, the sisters appeared to be ordinary humans, having not consumed the Snow-Snow or Hobby-Hobby Fruits yet.

Presumably, those fruits were either still in the Donquixote family's possession or not yet obtained.

Regardless, Dak hadn't saved them to exploit their abilities. Even without their Devil Fruit powers, they could be trained for roles like Pokémon referees or coordinators for competitions—positions that didn't require special skills since everyone in this world would be starting from scratch with Pokémon contest rules.

"Let's find a safer place, Darkrai."

As the battlefield expanded, Dak had Darkrai move them away from the fray.

Two hours later, the conflict finally ended.

Joy Street was largely destroyed, with Stussy suffering the heaviest losses. After a bout of violent negotiations, it seemed Stussy had gained the most, given her control over the territory and numerous subordinates, including some from the World Government, scattered throughout the area.

The Donquixote family's losses were moderate; though the officers were somewhat injured, there were no casualties.

After concluding his business, Doflamingo didn't linger, quickly moving his group towards the shores of Saint Poplar.

But just as they were about to board their ship, an obstacle appeared.

"It's you?!"

Senor Pink instantly recognized the figure before him.

The man with the abysmally poor spying skills.

"Yes, it's me, the renowned 'King of Peeping' of the underworld."

Dak casually flicked his hair.

"..." 

The Donquixote family fell silent.

(End of Chapter)