The cold, tense air was shattered by an unexpected declaration:
"You are the leader of the Donquixote Family... Joker!"
"Heavenly Yaksha, Doflamingo!"
Moria and Abbot exchanged shocked glances as an imposing figure strode into view, the light catching the twisted grin on his face.
"Fufufu, do you actually know me?" Doflamingo's laughter was as sharp as the blades he wielded. With a flick of his fingers, the room stirred to life.
From the shadows behind him, ten figures leapt forward, charging at Abbot with ferocious intensity.
"My zombies!" Moria's eyes widened in disbelief. Rage boiled over, and he roared, "What have you done, Doflamingo?!"
Abbot, quick and precise, deflected each zombie with a flurry of blows. The sound of fists meeting rotted flesh echoed through the dim castle, punctuated by the crack and thud of bodies hitting the stone walls. But the zombies were relentless, rising again with unnatural determination.
"So, they're after my head," Abbot thought, his eyes narrowing. He had heard whispers of the Donquixote Family's exploits in North Blue, but seeing the infamous pirate in person raised urgent questions. Why was this feared pirate targeting him on the Grand Line?
Assessing the danger, Abbot knew fighting both Moria and Doflamingo simultaneously was a losing game. His instincts screamed for a strategic retreat.
"Hmph, seems you're in luck, Moria. We'll settle this another time." Abbot's voice was cold, but resolute. He produced a smoke bomb from his belt and hurled it to the ground.
The room erupted into chaos as thick clouds of smoke billowed, stinging eyes and clawing at throats.
"Damn it," Moria spat, waving away the acrid fog. His fury rose as he snapped at his minions. "You think you can just come and go as you please? Zombie soldiers, find him!"
Decayed hands clawed through the earth, summoning legions of zombies that stumbled forward into the smog. Yet Abbot had already vanished, a shadow swallowed by the dark.
Doflamingo smirked from his perch on the corridor wall, eyes glittering with amusement. "He's mine, Moria. Fufufufu. Let me show you how it's done."
His fingers splayed, weaving invisible threads that caught the light like gossamer wires. He raised his hand skyward, and with a chilling command, called out:
"Birdcage."
The castle groaned as countless razor-sharp threads soared into the sky, forming an impenetrable dome over Thriller Bark. It glistened like a deadly spider's web, a cage in which escape was futile.
Moria's eyes widened, a mix of shock and calculation crossing his face. "What do you want with that Shichibukai?"
Doflamingo's smile deepened, shadows dancing across his face. "His head, in exchange for my own seat among the Shichibukai—a ticket to plunder under the Marine's nose." He descended gracefully, swaggering with a predatory confidence.
Moria's mind raced. The man's audacity stung, but the idea sparked something within him. "If someone like Abbot can claim the title of Shichibukai, why not me?" The gears in his mind whirred, conjuring a vision of power and revenge—an eventual reckoning with Kaido.
"Hehehehe," Moria chuckled darkly. "Doflamingo, you've given me a lot to think about."
Before he could ponder further, a sharp sound interrupted. Doflamingo's grin faltered as he reached for his phone transponder.
"Doflamingo," came a voice, cool and commanding.
The effect was immediate. Doflamingo's smirk faded, and he straightened as though facing an emperor. "Doctor," he said, the hint of deference unmistakable.
Moria's eyes narrowed as he observed the change. Who could hold such power over this man?
"You're on Thriller Bark, I see," the voice continued. "There's a living skeleton onboard named brook. Bring me a piece of his bone."
Doflamingo's eyes glinted with intrigue. "Understood. I'll secure it."
The line clicked off, and Doflamingo tucked away the phone with a satisfied smile. Moria, watching him closely, sneered. "So, the great Joker is just another pawn of that scientist Edie, huh?"
Doflamingo's eyes turned cold, threads tightening at his fingers. "Keep talking, Moria, and I'll make sure you regret it."
"Relax, I'm not one to blab," Moria replied, his tone casual but edged. He turned to his minions. "We have a skeleton to catch."
Doflamingo let the tension ease, nodding once. "Good. Now, let's finish this."
Outside, the Birdcage's silken wires tightened. Within, Abbot's fate was sealed—trapped in a deadly game against two merciless foes. Half an hour later, Doflamingo's razor threads claimed their prize, and Abbot fell, lifeless, to the stone floor.
In a dark corner, unseen, a small bee buzzed, wings flickering as it transmitted everything back to the Hive.
Deep within the Hive Research Institute, Edie watched the live feed with a dispassionate stare. The display showed Doflamingo standing over Abbot's lifeless body.
"A Shichibukai with only a bounty of 200 million," Edie muttered, shaking his head in disappointment.
Behind him, Ginny leaned forward, eyes wide. "Edie, were you looking for a living skeleton?"
Edie's gaze shifted, a spark of interest flaring.
"Brook," he thought. "A relic of the Rumbar Pirates, animated by the Yomi Yomi no Mi. The perfect specimen."
A smile, as chilling as it was calculating, curved his lips.
"Let's see what secrets the dead can tell."
Edie rose from his chair and walked out of the monitoring room, his expression unreadable. Once outside, he opened the system interface, his eyes scanning its holographic display.
[Simulation Project]: "Research on the Cloning of Logia Users and the Replication of Logia Fruits"
[Required Conditions]: Bloodline Factor Theory, a Logia Fruit or the Underworld Fruit
[Current Status]: Necessary Conditions Not Met!
Frustration welled up in Edie. Progress had stalled. A few days earlier, he had accumulated four simulation attempts in one burst, eager to tackle the riddle of cloning Logia abilities. But the project had hit a standstill.
Logia fruits were exceedingly rare, akin to winning the lottery twice over. Finding one by sheer chance was almost a delusion.
A more practical approach would be to start with the Underworld Fruit owned by Brook. By fate, Edie had crossed paths with Doflamingo at Thriller Bark that very day and instructed him to seek out Brook, obtain his bloodline factor, and begin with the Underworld Fruit.
Days later, Doflamingo returned to Beehive Island, presenting a skeletal hand. The shape and structure suggested it was Brook's left hand.
"Doctor, here is what you requested!"
One finger would have sufficed, Edie thought with a twinge of exasperation. Yet, Doflamingo had severed an entire arm. Edie sighed but dismissed the concern; Brook would likely recover by drinking more milk.
"You did well," Edie praised.
Doflamingo's grin widened. "Fufufufu, it's an honor to serve. Since you didn't order an outright elimination, I left that skeleton alive, though Moria took his shadow."
Edie nodded in acknowledgment, then changed the topic to the matter of the Shichibukai. Doflamingo, without hesitation, shared the details: he had taken Abbot's head to the Marine base at Sabaody Archipelago, bypassing Naval Headquarters altogether. The Seven Warlords of the Sea operated under the World Government, independent of Marine oversight, so this approach was appropriate.
The Five Elders had been furious at the news of Abbot's death, but ultimately, they acquiesced. Their anger was more directed at Abbot's incompetence—how easily he had been killed.
Doflamingo's leverage? The knowledge of Mariejois's National Treasure—a trump card that forced the Five Elders' hand.
"Most likely, tomorrow or the day after, news of my appointment as a Shichibukai will be in the papers," Doflamingo declared.
"Next, I need to go to Dressrosa," he added, eyeing Edie for approval. Edie offered a rare smile.
"Doffy, just try to minimize the casualties."
"Understood," Doflamingo replied, a thrill coursing through him.
With Doflamingo gone, Edie retreated to his underground laboratory, Brook's hand bone in tow. Hours passed as he meticulously extracted the bloodline factor and created a new ability ring. His collection of ability rings grew once more.
Currently, Edie possessed rings that granted the powers of the Pteranodon, Yamata no Orochi, Azure Dragon, Time, Imitation, Island, Giant Buddha, Phoenix, Diamond, Tremor, Mature, Soul, White Ape, Love (Purple), Surgery—and now, the Underworld. Seventeen rings in total, though he wore only ten at a time, one on each finger. Wearing more than one on a finger would mess up his "Aura".
Satisfied, Edie removed the ring representing the Buddha Fruit and replaced it with the Underworld ring. He opened the system interface and initiated a new simulation project.
This time, the conditions were met. A smile played on Edie's lips.
"Let's see with my own eyes what lies beyond—the true nature of the Underworld."
The simulation began.
[Year One]: Possessing the Underworld Fruit means holding a ticket to the underworld itself. A soul could reach this realm simply by stabbing oneself to death—a method Edie found unsuitable.
Instead, he extracted his bloodline factor, intent on creating a clone that would undertake the journey for him.
[Year Three]: The cloning attempt failed. To his astonishment, Edie discovered that with his current capabilities, he could not clone himself. His immortality factor rendered it impossible. Undeterred, he used a bee soldier as a stand-in, bestowing it with the Underworld ring and ordering it to end its own life. The bee soldier obeyed and was resurrected soon after.
Yet, the information it brought back was minimal. The clone's simple mind could only describe the underworld as a 'dreamlike world.' Frustration simmered within Edie.
[Year Five]: Using advanced technology from the resurrection lab, Edie copied his memories into a new clone. This clone, believing itself to be the original Edie, ended its life and ventured into the underworld. Days later, it returned, but its account was still unsatisfactory. Though it described bewildering phenomena, it lacked the insight Edie craved.
[Year Ten]: Thousands of clones were dispatched over the years, each attempt refining Edie's understanding. Finally, after meticulous data collection, he reached a conclusion: the underworld was not a physical realm but a sea of souls.
An epiphany struck. The essence of Devil Fruits and their mysterious powers had to be connected to this 'Sea of Souls.'
Edie's eyes gleamed with newfound determination.