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Chapter 57: Mingo's Training Plan
Doflamingo's pupils constricted as his heart pounded wildly.
That Marine! That North Blue Admiral, Rogers Darren!
The recent memory of this brute savagely defeating everyone in the Don Quixote Pirates flashed through his mind, sending a wave of chilling fear up his spine.
"Don't be nervous; I mean no harm," Darren said, lounging comfortably on the sofa, legs crossed, and chuckling as he smoked.
He noticed the deep, hidden fear in Doflamingo's eyes and couldn't help but smile.
Sure enough, this disobedient kid needs a beating before he can understand.
Hell, no malice... Doflamingo's heart felt pierced by a sharp sword upon hearing those words. He stared at Darren with bloodshot eyes, gritting his teeth, and demanded, "What the hell do you want?"
He looked around the room.
It was a gloomy hall, with oil lamps casting eerie light and shadows on the gray walls, giving the room an extremely gloomy ambiance.
The hall's doors stood open, revealing a ramshackle courtyard outside.
The plaster on the arches leading to the courtyard was peeling off, exposing the damp masonry beneath.
Gloomy doors flanked the sides of the hall, darkness looming beyond where no light reached.
The four cadres – Torrepol, Diamanti, Virgo, and Pica – were lying unconscious in a corner, their wounds roughly bandaged, eyes shut.
Noticing his cadres were not in mortal danger, Doflamingo breathed a silent sigh of relief, raised his defiant face, and retorted coldly, "Why didn't you just kill me?"
"I am a pirate, and you're a Marine. Don't you Marines, who claim to uphold 'justice,' take pride in hunting pirates?"
"Kill you? No, no, no. As I said, I just want to talk to you. There's no malice," Darren replied with feigned helplessness. "You attacked me on sight; I was merely defending myself."
Doflamingo felt as though he would spit blood.
"Are you mocking me?" he roared, veins bulging on his forehead.
If not for the pain that nearly made him faint and the cold sweat drenching his body, he would fight this detestable Marine again, victory be damned.
"Believe it or not..." Darren shrugged. "As for your statement about 'Marines being justice and pirates being crimes,' that notion is obsolete."
He gazed at the young, pale figure in front of him, smirking.
"I'm the 'Marine's scum.' To me, the labels of justice, evil, or neutrality... they're all meaningless."
"Throughout history, this world has been governed by one primal law."
"Justice must prevail, of course..."
Darren leaned in, grinning as he came closer to Doflamingo.
"—Because the victor is justice!"
Stunned, Doflamingo went pale as he faced the crazed, ambitious eyes of the Marine before him, instinctively shrinking back.
But soon he caught himself, clenched his teeth, puffed out his chest, and met Darren's gaze fiercely.
"So what if you're the 'Marine's scum'? It changes nothing."
"You're still a Marine. If you want to kill, then kill. The weak don't even have the right to choose death."
He stared at Darren without flinching, and a cruel smile formed on the corner of his mouth. Darren smiled contentedly. "It is indeed a material that can be made," he thought. He admired the blond kid before him, only twelve or thirteen years old, with eyes full of desire and ambition to destroy everything.
Darren couldn't help but compare Doflamingo with Straw Hat, the protagonist of this world. "What is our destiny child, Straw Hat Luffy, doing at 12 years old?" he pondered. "He must be playing house with his two brothers, right? And Doflamingo? He's gathering a group of capable, loyal, and reliable subordinates to carve out his own territory in the chaotic waters of North Blue."
Doflamingo had otherworldly talent, the strength of the String-String Fruit, a natural king's aura, and the status of a Celestial Dragon. "If you can control him properly and add fuel to the fire, Doflamingo should become an extremely useful card in your hand," Darren mused. Doflamingo was like a rising meteor: bright and eye-catching — a little push, and he would undoubtedly set the world ablaze.
Darren had a clear plan for his future development. He couldn't abandon his Marine identity. He was establishing a powerful North Blue fleet that would answer only to him and visioned the enormous training resources he'd gain after joining the officer training camp. Power, status, strength, and subordinates—these were things being a pirate could not offer.
Even though the Celestial Dragons Hildes Saint incident had been resolved with his slick political skills, it served as a wake-up call for Darren. He knew it wouldn't be the last time he'd have to deal with the Celestial Dragons. A break with the world government was inevitable, and he couldn't place all his bets on the Marine. Zephyr's story in the original narrative served as a cautionary tale about a life dedicated to "justice," but in the end, his three proudest students betrayed him. Thus, Darren had to develop a trump card that could instill fear in the World Government and even the Naval Headquarters.
The answer now stood before him, and the most important detail was that Doflamingo was only 12 years old. His body was undeveloped, his concepts and understanding of the world unformed. If he were the future King of Dressrosa and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Darren would kill him without hesitation. But this Doflamingo was different, still malleable, capable of being shaped with the right amount of stimulation, whipping, and training.
A cunning smile spread across Darren's face, causing Doflamingo to feel a shiver of creepiness. That smile was one of intrigue, resembling that of a child who had found a new, interesting toy. Doflamingo shuddered at the sight.
"Thank you so much for everything," Darren thought with a sense of opportunity and manipulation.