One Piece: Silent-Silent Fruit

Chapter 388 - 39: There’s Only One Thing They Need to Remember - Don’t Make Things Difficult for Me

Hearing Doflamingo's words, Rosinante lifted his head and glanced at him, then swept his gaze across several of the Donquixote Family's top officers.

That single glance alone was enough to make cold sweat pour down the backs of the family's highest-ranking officers.

In the end, Rosinante's eyes stopped on an unfamiliar face.

"Heh, there's a new face here. A newly recruited subordinate, I assume? If he's allowed to stand here, then he must be one of your top officers. Not bad, not bad. So young, yet already one of your elite. Looks like you trust him quite a lot," Rosinante said, casually changing the subject instead of answering Doflamingo directly.

Everyone present was among the Donquixote Family's top officers.

Within the Donquixote Family, there had always only been four top officers, each commanding one of the family's four major divisions.

Those divisions were named after the suits of playing cards: Spades, Clubs, Diamonds, and Hearts. Spades was led by Pica, Clubs was led by Trebol. Diamonds was led by Diamante and Hearts was led by Vergo

But Vergo wasn't here right now.

Instead, there was a young man Rosinante had never seen before.

Still, Rosinante recognized him at a glance.

It was Law—Trafalgar Law.

So without Rosinante's interference, Law had still ended up becoming one of Doflamingo's trusted subordinates.

Which probably meant he had already eaten the Op-Op Fruit and cured himself of Amber Lead Syndrome.

"Fufufufu... this one is my most beloved subordinate. Law. The second Corazon... and also our ship's doctor," Doflamingo said with a grin.

Rosinante looked at Law calmly.

That single glance was enough to make a chill rise in Law's heart.

With Doflamingo's talent for luring in children and twisting them to his side, Law would probably one day willingly perform the Perennial Youth Operation for him.

But what did any of that have to do with Rosinante now?

"Doffy, ten years ago, the World Government used a user of the Expulsion Fruit to cast my soul into another dimension. Though only ten years passed in this world, in that other world I lived through decades. In that world, I lived an entire life under another identity. I built a nation there, ruled as emperor for decades, and fought wars for decades as well," Rosinante said, only glancing at Law once before turning to speak of his own experiences instead.

Even with Doflamingo's knowledge and broad horizons, he was stunned by those words.

He had never imagined Rosinante had gone through something so bizarre.

Another world...

The idea itself was unbelievable.

"You want to ask me whether I intend to rebuild the Gray Kingdom. Then I'll give you a clear answer: I have no such intention. First, I no longer need a power structure to shield me from the wind and rain. Second, all of you have developed in your own ways. You may not be the absolute strongest, but each of you has become a hegemon in your own right, and more importantly, you have freedom. What's scattered is scattered. There's no need to force everyone back together. And I have no intention of digging into the matter of you all establishing your own factions. In the situation back then, none of you could truly be called traitors to me," Rosinante said calmly.

Hearing that, Trebol and the others all let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Fufufufu... you're still as foolishly sentimental as ever, Rosinante," Doflamingo sneered. "Do you even know how powerful your former Five Divisions have become? Right now, they're the five strongest pirate crews in the New World beneath the Four Emperors. And unlike the Yonko, they don't just have pirate strength. They also control the power of many nations. After all, they once held influence over many countries in the Four Seas. Their crews are filled with elites from those nations. Just by sending some of those people back, they can easily control those countries again. That gives them an endless stream of fresh manpower and resources. If you brought them all back together, the Gray Kingdom could instantly return to what it once was... or even surpass it. And yet you're saying you want to give up such an enormous power? Tell me, if that isn't foolish, then what is?"

"Oh? So they've developed quite well. Looks like they followed the emergency contingency plan properly," Rosinante said lightly. "But so what? Unite them all and create a regime no weaker than the World Government? Or overthrow the current World Government? If I had wanted to, the World Government would have ceased to exist a month ago."

As those words fell, an overwhelming pressure erupted from Rosinante's body.

The sheer force of his presence made Trebol and the others stumble backward three full steps.

Cracks spread across the floor and even along the decorative furnishings in the hall.

Even Doflamingo himself couldn't stop cold sweat from breaking out.

That aura was simply too overwhelming.

Even for someone like Doflamingo, who possessed Conqueror's Haki, it was hard to withstand.

So strong... This is the Dragon King, Rosinante? Just his aura alone is enough to pin me in place!

Law's face was pale, his forehead covered in sweat as shock roared through his mind.

This pressure is absurdly strong... even stronger than it was ten years ago!

Trebol and Diamante exchanged looks, both seeing the same stunned disbelief in each other's eyes.

"Young Master!" Pica cried out in concern.

"Hey, hey, Rosinante... don't just release your Haki whenever you feel like it. My flower vases are cracking from your pressure," Doflamingo said after taking a deep breath.

"Relax. I'm only making a point. I'm not testing you, so there's no need for you to worry. And don't test me anymore, either," Rosinante said calmly. "Also, pass along a message for me. If they still acknowledge me as their old captain, then when they have time, they can come and gather. We'll have a drink together. But if they no longer acknowledge me as their captain, then we'll be strangers from now on."

Rosinante's gaze landed squarely on Doflamingo.

"There's only one thing they need to remember..."

"Don't make things difficult for me."

There was no Haki this time.

No visible aura.

No surge of killing intent.

And yet that one look felt even more terrifying to Doflamingo than the overwhelming Haki from moments earlier.

His heart began pounding wildly in his chest.

It felt as though if he dared say a single word of refusal...

then what awaited him would be absolute destruction.