Chapter 315: C203
"The Seven Warlords of the Sea is a system created by the World Government to combat pirates. Neither the Marines nor the World Government want to see the Seven Warlords fighting each other."
Before Gion could finish speaking, Kain interrupted with a smile.
"Vice Admiral Gion, this is Alabasta. The Marines and the World Government would never expect me to just stand still and let my enemy kill me. If you truly want to prevent a war, you shouldn't be persuading me—you should be persuading him."
As he spoke, Kain shook the unconscious Doflamingo in his grasp. At that moment, Doflamingo's entire body was paralyzed by bioelectric control, rendering him unable to speak.
Kain was actively manipulating the bioelectricity within Doflamingo, suppressing his movements.
"I understand this isn't fair to Mr. Pent, but Doflamingo holds a special status. If possible, Marine Headquarters hopes that the fight between the two of you will end here," Gion said, a hint of awkwardness in her tone.
She knew the timing was terrible—she hadn't intervened before the battle began, and now that one side had already won, the Marines were stepping in to broker peace.
It felt hypocritical. Moreover, unlike the warlords who were simply businessmen, Kain's Shichibukai status had been granted with official recognition, making his presence more acceptable to Marine Headquarters.
"H-Husband, the Young Master…"
Tears welled up in Baby-5's eyes as she approached Kain. Though she had once wanted to kill Doflamingo, that anger stemmed from the loss of her fiancé.
Now, seeing Doflamingo's life hanging by a thread, she couldn't help but feel conflicted.
"I'm not going to kill him," Kain reassured her with a sigh.
Then, he shot a glance at Nico Robin, signaling her to take Baby-5 away quickly. He had a feeling Doflamingo was up to something—perhaps even letting himself be captured on purpose.
Hearing Kain's words, both Gion and Baby-5 sighed in relief. But before they could relax, Doflamingo suddenly spoke again, his voice sharp and strained.
"This time… I was wrong… Baby-5, and… Monet… From now on, you two are no longer part of the Donquixote Family. Stay with the Pent Chamber of Commerce… Apologize!"
"!?"
"??"
Both Baby-5 and Monet, who had just been rescued from the sea by members of the Clown Pirate Ship, were stunned. Their eyes nearly popped out in shock.
Especially Monet—she couldn't believe what she had just heard. With a face full of disbelief, she shouted, "Young Master, I don't want to leave the Donquixote Family! I want to—"
"Enough! Just do as I say!" Doflamingo barked.
His voice, though still sharp, had lost its earlier grating harshness.
"Dover!"
"Young Master!"
Diamante, Gladius, and the others couldn't believe their ears. Doflamingo had always valued his family above all else. But now, hearing his words so clearly, they had no choice but to accept it—this was his decision.
If not for his signature sunglasses, they might have noticed the almost imperceptible flicker in his eyes.
Once Doflamingo finished speaking, Kain cut off the bioelectric control, causing him to pass out instantly. With a smirk, Kain tossed him toward the Donquixote pirates.
"I appreciate the apology," Kain said. "If you come looking for trouble again, you won't be so lucky next time."
Diamante and the others caught Doflamingo as he landed on the broken deck floating on the sea. Then, they turned their gazes toward Kain, their family's enemy, gritting their teeth in frustration.
Kain didn't care about the looks others gave him. Unless someone had a heaven-defying opportunity—like apprenticing under a legendary figure such as Kaido—their future was set, and they posed no threat to him at all.
Then, Kain extended his finger, and the seawater near Monet responded to his magic. In an instant, it formed a massive three- or four-meter-wide hand, which grabbed Monet and brought her to his side.
"Controlling seawater? That's not an ability of the Thunder Fruit…"
Gion's face showed clear surprise at the scene. As far as she knew, no Devil Fruit could directly manipulate seawater—after all, seawater negated the power of Devil Fruits.
Diamante and the others shouted in panic, "Monet!"
"Why are you so surprised? Aren't you going to follow Doflamingo's orders?" Kain asked casually.
With that, he pushed Monet toward Nico Robin. Robin took out a Den Den Mushi and made a call, ensuring that the people coming over would bring a pair of Seastone handcuffs.
Seeing this, Diamante and the others could only grit their teeth and endure their frustration. With Doflamingo severely injured, no matter how unwilling they were, they could do nothing.
They could only wait until their young master recovered before asking for an explanation.
The Donquixote Family quickly gathered their things and prepared to leave. Their first priority would be to head to the nearest town, buy a ship, and then return to Dressrosa once Doflamingo regained consciousness.
Meanwhile, Kain turned to Gion with a smile.
"Now that this matter is settled, Vice Admiral Gion, what do you plan to do with those pirates in the distance?"
The Marines had only brought two warships, but there were at least seven or eight different pirate crews lingering nearby. One group, in particular, stood out—they had fifty pirate ships, occupying a vast stretch of the sea.
Gion frowned. "This is a bit troublesome. Capturing them all is unrealistic, and even if we take down some, it wouldn't make much of a difference. Can I ask for your help, Mr. Pent?"
She chuckled, her voice carrying a hint of charm. Paired with her stunning appearance and slender figure, it was as if she had eaten the Devil Fruit of seduction itself.
"In that case, I won't hold back. The Kain Chamber of Commerce could use some laborers," Kain replied with a grin.
Without hesitation, he created multiple Shadow Clones.
The sight left Gion and the others astonished once again.
At this point, she realized how little she truly knew about Kain. He wasn't just a suspected Thunder Fruit user—he also seemed unaffected by Seastone, could control fire and even seawater, and now displayed a unique cloning ability.
Gion suddenly felt that Marine Headquarters should exercise greater caution when dealing with this new Warlord. He had already defeated two Shichibukai in a row, and his attitude toward hunting pirates aligned with the Marines' own goals.
"Robin, King Cobra, I'll leave these pirate slaves in your hands. Any troublemakers will be sent to me—the rest are yours to handle."
As Kain spoke, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and thunderstorms erupted over the sea a few kilometers away.
None of the pirates watching from a distance dared to flee. Among them, the one with the highest bounty was only in the tens of millions of Berries—hardly worth worrying about.
Once their usefulness was exhausted, the Marines' bounty stations would be their final destination.
"Yes, boss," Nico Robin responded weakly.
She had a feeling this was Kain's way of getting back at her for not keeping a close enough eye on Baby-5. Now, he was dumping all these tasks on her.
There were thousands of pirates spread across those distant ships—just organizing them all would keep her busy for at least a month.
After assigning Robin her task, Kain turned to Gion again.
"Vice Admiral Gion, would you like to visit Rainbase for a while?"
"Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Pent. I've always been curious about the special products of Sky Island, so I'll gladly take you up on the offer. Hehehe," Gion replied, her soft smile carrying a mature and seductive charm.
Baby-5, standing nearby, tensed up. 'Could it be that the fiancé I just found is already being seduced by this big-shot woman!?'
"It's an honor for the Kain Chamber of Commerce to have you visit, Vice Admiral Gion," Kain said with a smile. "However, I have some matters to attend to, so my deputy will be your guide. She knows everything about Rainbase."
With that, he took Baby-5 and Monet and vanished using Apparition.
Watching Kain disappear so suddenly, Gion immediately recognized it as a space-related ability, similar to what Smoker had once described.
'This magician is becoming more and more unpredictable…' she thought, shaking her head.
'This will definitely be a headache for Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the others.'
Deciding not to dwell on it, she relaxed and prepared to take a stroll through Rainbase.
"Then I'll be in your care, Miss Robin," she said.
"It's no problem," Robin replied with a smile.
But in her mind, she cursed Kain multiple times. 'Making me escort a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral… This petty boss is definitely getting back at me!'
Breaking News!
"Shichibukai War! The Magician Claims a Landslide Victory!"
"Sweeping Through 'Paradise'! The Shichibukai Who Hates Pirates the Most!"
News of Kain's battle with Doflamingo spread across the Grand Line in an instant, and Doflamingo's defeat shocked countless people.
On the front page of the World Economic News, a large photograph captured Kain holding a scorched and unconscious Doflamingo with one hand. A Seagull reporter, who had observed the battle from a distance, documented the fight in meticulous detail.
Although Doflamingo was still alive, his reputation and influence had taken a significant hit. The underground world of North Blue was bound to experience chaos, but for the Marines, this was excellent news.
Marine Headquarters welcomed the idea of dark forces clashing with one another. The Donquixote Family had long exploited Doflamingo's Shichibukai status to expand their power and support pirates—something that had been a constant headache for the higher-ups.
Thanks to his Warlord privileges, the Marines had been powerless against him. But now, with someone else delivering him a crushing defeat, it was the perfect outcome.
Naval Headquarters
Gion spent three days exploring Rainbase, and by the end, she was somewhat reluctant to leave. To hasten the Vice Admiral's departure, Nico Robin gifted her a large number of Sky Island specialties before sending her off.
Having her around for even one more day would have driven Robin crazy.
After returning to Marine Headquarters, Gion was immediately summoned by Sengoku. Present in the meeting were Vice Admiral Tsuru and Kuzan, while Garp had been kicked out by Sengoku for being "useless."
After listening to Gion's full report, Sengoku spoke.
"While there's plenty of evidence that the Magician dislikes pirates, the Marines still can't afford to take him lightly."
Hearing this, Kuzan couldn't help but interject.
"Ah la la… Marshal Sengoku, do we really need to keep monitoring him? He hasn't done anything illegal."
From the side, Tsuru calmly added, "Kuzan, this isn't Sengoku's decision."
"That's right," Sengoku nodded. "This is an order from the World Government—specifically, the Five Elders."
Sengoku himself wasn't entirely pleased with the decision, but orders from the Five Elders were absolute. Marine Headquarters had no choice but to comply.
"That said," he continued, "we don't need to go overboard. From our analysis, aside from his interest in rare items and Devil Fruits, the Magician seems primarily focused on hunting pirates. In that sense, his goals align closely with Marine ideology.
"Let the World Government decide what to do with him. Either way, we don't have extra troops to waste on closely monitoring a single Shichibukai."
After Sengoku finished, Tsuru shifted the conversation.
"For now, let's turn our attention to the underworld forces in the New World. The Donquixote Family's reputation has taken a major hit, but it also exposed something concerning—they seem to be engaged in trade with the Beasts Pirates, one of the Four Emperors."
At this, Sengoku turned to Aokiji.
"Kuzan, I'm putting you in charge of this matter. I'll assign you a team, but proceed with caution. The Beasts Pirates are not to be taken lightly—especially their leader."
Kaido was a lunatic obsessed with suicide. The Marines had captured him before, but it was ultimately pointless. Now, it seemed the Beasts Pirates were far more complex than they appeared on the surface.
Hearing Sengoku's orders, Kuzan immediately regretted not leaving with Garp earlier.
Monitoring both the Donquixote Family and the Beasts Pirates… so much for his brief moment of rest.
Alabasta
The sudden influx of thousands of pirates into Alabasta posed no small challenge for the kingdom.
However, after some discussion, Kain and Cobra reached a mutually beneficial agreement. More than 2,000 captured pirates were assigned to labor projects—planting trees and building roads for Alabasta. In return, the kingdom deployed 30,000 soldiers to oversee them.
Everyone was satisfied.
Hard labor in the desert was no easy task. Alabasta had long lacked a sufficient workforce, and such grueling work had often fallen upon its own citizens. Now, the pirates would take on that burden instead.
Since Kain had captured the pirates for hard labor, most of Alabasta's citizens were liberated from such grueling tasks. They now had easier jobs and no longer had to endure the physically demanding work that once burdened them.
Of course, some pirates resisted, but the strongest and most dangerous ones had already been taken away by Kain. As for those who dared to cause trouble, Alabasta's standing army handled them swiftly—machine guns for minor disturbances, and in serious cases, rocket launchers to wipe them out entirely.
After three rounds of executions, the remaining pirates quickly fell in line.
During this period, the one who suffered the most was Nico Robin. Kain had dumped a mountain of responsibilities on her before retreating to the basement of the Chamber of Commerce headquarters, completely avoiding any work.
Every day was exhausting for Robin. She not only had to establish an intelligence department but also track down rare resources at Kain's request—things like Sea Kings and Treasure Tree Adam. On top of that, she was responsible for managing the Chamber of Commerce's business operations.
"Even if someone has Devil Fruit powers, you can't exploit them like this. I need to have a talk with that scumbag boss—either he gives me the location of a Poneglyph, or I'm cutting back on work."
Having made up her mind, Robin grabbed a plate of breakfast and leisurely walked toward Kain's room. It wasn't for him—it was her own breakfast. She planned to discuss her grievances while eating.
However, as soon as she reached the door, she heard Baby-5's voice from inside—sometimes sharp, sometimes low—accompanied by the unmistakable sounds of… physical activity. It didn't take much thought to figure out what was happening.
Robin stood there with a calm expression, listening for a moment. Judging by the pace, it would go on for a while.
Silently, she turned around and left with her breakfast.
….
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