Chapter 296

"Oh, I don't know either."

Lord Sima brushed it off, then glanced at the square packed full of toys.

Well then!

Doflamingo had really accumulated quite a bit of "family fortune" over the years.

Magic-Sealing Domain!

The toys enveloped within instantly reverted to their original human forms, and the crowd nearby immediately broke into an uproar.

"Oh my god! I actually forgot my Jack!"

"Lucy! My wife is Lucy! But why would I marry another one?"

"I'm done for! Locke is definitely going to kill me and my husband!"

Looks like the effect is pretty good.

Lord Sima directly used the Rabbit Talisman's ability, sweeping the Magic-Sealing Domain across the city square like wiping a blackboard, "wiping" it clean.

Watching the chaotic crowd, he nodded in great satisfaction.

Returning to his original spot,

Lord Sima pointed at Sakazuki and told Vika: "From now on he'll provide food, housing, and jobs. Go find him."

"Yay! Thank you, Lord Sima!"

"Lord Sima is really a good person!"

"Lord Sima is a hero just like Roland!"

Amid the sincere thanks of the little people, Lord Sima waved at Sakazuki, whose eyes were shooting fire.

Then he swaggered off with Robin and the four women, ready to leave.

But Sakazuki clearly wouldn't let him off so easily—whether personally or as a Marine.

"Great Eruption!!!"

Volcanic lava engulfed Lord Sima and his four companions, but Lord Sima didn't even bother to make a move.

"Prisoner Arrow!"

The lava was petrified over a wide area, then shattered by Vivi's Lei Shenzhichui; the large chunks of debris fell toward the ground, only to be pulverized by Nami's super-wide-area lightning, turning into powder that drifted down to the ground.

Before anyone realized it,

Lord Sima's women had already grown capable of neutralizing an Admiral's attack.

Sakazuki watched Lord Sima and his four companions leave, without pursuing further.

Because......

He was covered all over with little people!

"Lord Sakazuki, why did you attack Lord Sima?"

"Where are we going to live?"

"Can we have meat at every meal?"

"I want a tree hole for a home!"

Chirping and chattering,

they gave Sakazuki such a headache that his skull throbbed dully, especially since these cute little ones—Admiral Seeing Kuzan had just instructed—were important future Marine troops, and extremely pure-hearted.

They truly couldn't be hit or scolded!

While the Straw Hat Pirates enjoyed their private time after the battle.

Several hundred kilometers from Dressrosa, aboard a ship drifting in the middle of the sea.

"Creak—"

A spatial portal opened, and Trebol stepped out first, scanning his surroundings; only after confirming there was no problem did he step aside.

The towering Pica stared at a miniature Doflamingo, walking out of the spatial portal, followed by the Donquixote Family executives.

It was clearly evident,

that they still regarded the Doflamingo doll perched on Pica's head with the respect due to a king.

They had not lost their memories of Doflamingo.

"Nyah!" Trebol sighed: "Good thing Sugar's Devil Fruit is about to awaken, able to designate people to not have their memories erased. Otherwise, if we lost our memories of you, Doflamingo, I really don't know how I've gotten through these years."

Trebol had met Doflamingo as a child and was so awestruck that he pledged his life to him.

If that were to vanish for nothing......

That would truly be haunted.

"Fuffuffuffuffu—If Sugar couldn't manipulate space, I wouldn't have so rashly let myself be turned into a toy." Doflamingo said darkly: "I never expected the Straw Hat Pirates' combat power to be this strong, and even the Marines and Revolutionary Army helping them without scruple, forcing me to abandon my base...... Damn it!"

Dressrosa, built up painstakingly over a dozen years, handed over to others just like that—saying it didn't hurt would be a lie.

But fortunately,

although the territory he'd worked so hard to build was gone, his core crew remained.

Whether reassembling a pirate crew or joining another one, both were good options.

"Doflamingo, now that we're being watched by those three parties, if we want to restore your original body, reassembling our own crew is impossible." Trebol, acting as strategist, advised: "Choose between BIG? OM and Kaido—right now only the Four Emperors can protect us."

As for why the Red-Haired Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates weren't included......

The relationship those two have with the Straw Hat Pirates—does it need saying?

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!!!" Doflamingo raged helplessly....

But paired with his miniature appearance, it came across as unexpectedly a bit cute......

But after all, he was a man who possessed "the qualifications of a king."

Very quickly,

Doflamingo thought of a new option!

"Fuffi fuffi fuffi fuffi—"

"Straw Hat crew, I want you dead!!!"

"Yawn—"

Sima Di yawned as he climbed up from a pile of jade-white arms, then carefully lifted Hancock's long legs off him.

Only then could he get up.

He went out to the balcony,

and looked down at a group of girls in hot, specialized outfits, currently wielding knives and chasing men.

He took a contented sip of hot tea.

"What a country that truly dares to love and hate."

Last night's revelry had gone on too long, so he had simply found a nearby inn to stay at.

A News Coo flapped its wings and landed on the balcony railing, tilting its head at Sima Di in the familiar way.

Want a newspaper?

However......

Sima Di was quite certain this News Coo was not the one he knew!

Because its tail had a few feathers of mixed colors.

What was going on?

If this were some habit of News Coos, he had never seen it before.

【Mind Reading!】

After a quick search through this News Coo's memories, he finally found the culprit—it was the very same News Coo Sima Di had known before!

After getting a sweet deal twice,

it had gone back to its flock and spread the word far and wide: just tilt your head at a human, and you might get a big pile of extra treasure.

So after that, every News Coo Sima Di saw would tilt its head at him.

It wasn't until today that a "patchy-feathered" one appeared, finally letting him crack the case.

"Well, well!"

"I treated you as a fun friend, and you treated me like a sucker!"