"What should we do, Young Master?" Gladius asked.
Doflamingo frowned, visibly hesitant.
With the slow speed of information transmission across the sea, especially from an isolated country like Wano, Doflamingo only knew that Kaido had suffered a significant defeat. However, he hadn't received news that Queen had left the Beast Pirates.
At that moment, the phone on Doflamingo's desk began to ring. Seeing this, he picked it up, and the receiver quickly transformed to show a woman's face.
"Violet, what's going on?" Doflamingo asked quietly.
"So, Gladius has already told you about Queen's arrival." The phone continued, "But there's more information."
"Huh? What's the situation?"
"Do you remember the recent alliance between the Beast Pirates and Big Mom Pirates? They still lost to the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Of course I remember," Doflamingo replied impatiently. "During that battle, a so-called super rookie emerged, reportedly triggering a massive tsunami and tipping the scales against the allied forces."
"What does that have to do with our situation now? Don't tell me that super rookie has come to Dressrosa?"
"Yes, you guessed it, Doffy."
"That member of the Whitebeard Pirates, Shin, is now in Dressrosa!"
Upon hearing this, Doflamingo's expression changed, believing he had pieced it together. "So, that's it—they're here to hunt down Whitebeard's new powerhouse?"
Queen sat on the deck, grumbling as he tinkered with his mechanical arm.
Back in the day, Queen had plenty of underlings who could have handled minor repairs for him. Now, he had to do it himself, and it grated on him.
"I shouldn't have surrendered so quickly," he muttered to himself.
Just then, his own phone began to chirp.
"Doflamingo? What's he calling me for? Could it be that Ulti and Page One have caused trouble again?"
Perplexed, Queen picked up the phone.
"Fu fu fu fu! Why does the infamous Queen the Plague come to Dressrosa unannounced? Is Kaido in such urgent need of more artificial Devil Fruits?" Doflamingo's voice rang out.
Hearing this, Queen felt a surge of irritation. Had he not known that Doflamingo couldn't afford to antagonize him, he might've thought the pirate was deliberately provoking him.
Queen quickly realized that Doflamingo still believed he was affiliated with the Beast Pirates and was unaware of recent developments in Wano.
Annoyed, Queen was on the verge of hanging up when Doflamingo's next words caught his attention.
"You must be here for that supernova, Shin, from the Whitebeard Pirates."
"After the failed alliance with Big Mom, you want revenge on Whitebeard's crew, so you're hunting him here. Did I guess correctly?"
Queen froze, stunned. 'Hunt Shin? Do you think I have a death wish?'
Doflamingo, taking Queen's silence as agreement, continued, "I see. You arrived in Dressrosa without notice because you're determined to eliminate Whitebeard's new recruit. He's like a son to Whitebeard."
"I'm telling you, I won't take the fall for this. If Whitebeard comes looking, I'll have to let him know the truth!"
Queen could only think, 'Are you serious right now?'
Doflamingo, meanwhile, was more convinced he had figured Queen's plan out.
"However…if the Beast Pirates allow some time for the development of new artificial Devil Fruits, I have an idea. You could take down Shin without facing Whitebeard's wrath."
Queen hesitated but ultimately asked, "What's your plan?"
He mused, 'Doflamingo, Doflamingo… you're practically offering yourself up for trouble. Well, you can't blame me for taking advantage of it. I'll make sure to burn incense for you during the holidays.'
Doflamingo was oblivious to Queen's thoughts, sensing that he'd seized the perfect opportunity. "Dressrosa is known as the country of toys and love. But do you know where these living toys come from?"
Queen frowned. "Just get to the point."
Annoyed by Queen's abruptness but unwilling to show it, Doflamingo took a deep breath and spoke in a firm tone.
"All of Dressrosa's toys are the result of my crew member Sugar's devil fruit ability, the Hobby-Hobby fruit!"
"With the Hobby-Hobby fruit, Sugar can turn anyone she touches into a toy and erase all memories of them from the minds of their friends and family, as well as remove any written or photographic evidence!"
"So, here's my plan. Once we capture Shin, we'll have Sugar turn him into a toy. With him erased from everyone's memory, we can avoid any retaliation from Whitebeard."
Queen's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't expected Doflamingo's crew to possess such an unusual ability.
Seeing so many toys around, Dressrosa had hinted at some dark secret behind the cheerful atmosphere. If the truth were ever exposed, Doflamingo's status, even as a former Celestial Dragon and one of the Seven Warlords, wouldn't be enough to protect him.
Clearly, Doflamingo was backed into a corner if he was willing to divulge such a high-level secret.
"It's a decent plan... but can you guarantee the Hobby-Hobby fruit will work?"
"Absolutely. Sugar's ability has been tested thoroughly. Though some powers can block it, once someone is turned into a toy, they cannot escape it, no matter how powerful they are," Doflamingo affirmed.
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Chapter 224: Ghostly Encounters is now available.