One Piece: Crown of Darkness

"Your Float-Float Fruit allows you to make yourself and non-living objects you touch defy gravity, permanently. This effect lasts as long as you're not dead or unconscious," Doflamingo said slowly, deliberately. "As everyone knows, stamina is the only power source for Devil Fruit abilities! While granting permanent flotation to non-living objects might not consume stamina, making them float through touch definitely consumes a lot of stamina. And controlling permanently floating non-living objects to move also does, right?"

Then he gestured to the incredibly vast Golden Lion Grand Fleet formation and posed his question: "How did you achieve that? Even looking back through history, those exceptionally talented Logia-type Devil Fruit users, renowned for their large-scale abilities and low stamina consumption, can't do what you do... It's so exaggerated! It's as if your ability has no stamina cost or upper limit constraints at all! Is it 'Devil Fruit Awakening'? Or...?"

"You've collected quite a bit of intel, Jihahahaha~" Shiki praised, then stated frankly, "I don't know."

Doflamingo was stunned.

"I don't know," Shiki repeated, patting the two swords at his waist. He said confidently and arrogantly, "I've never specifically studied the Float-Float Fruit. My unparalleled swordsmanship is the foundation of my standing! Jihahahaha!"

Doflamingo fell silent.

"Don't be disappointed, brat! Let me think... Hmm..." Shiki rested his chin on his hand, supporting his knee, and after a moment of recollection, he chuckled. "Jihahahaha~ It's ambition, isn't it? The greater your ambition, the greater your power!"

Doflamingo: "..." What a load of inspiring nonsense.

He silently scoffed at Shiki's bullsh*t, but Doflamingo also gained a bit of understanding. If Shiki wasn't lying, then what was the reason he unknowingly developed his Devil Fruit ability to such a monstrous degree?

Was it his genius?

Perhaps not, for this world never lacked geniuses, but how many dared to rival Shiki?

Very few!

Even those slightly inferior to him were rare!

So, Shiki's vast ambition to conquer the four seas might indeed be the key.

"It's time for my information," Shiki interrupted Doflamingo's contemplation.

Doflamingo took a deep breath. "One Piece truly exists."

"Huh?!"

"You brat, don't talk nonsense!"

Shiki looked at him as if to say, Are you f*ing kidding me? The cigar in his mouth even spat.

His reaction wasn't surprising; after all, the legendary great treasure had always been just that—a legend. Even though countless people over hundreds of years believed it existed until their dying breath, no one had proven its existence to this day. So, it remained a legend.

Doflamingo said calmly, "It's still about the Poneglyphs. Four of them record the route to Laugh Tale. These four Poneglyphs are crimson, and they're called 'Road Poneglyphs'."

"..." Shiki couldn't sit still. He stood up and paced back and forth on the bow of the Golden Lion, agitated like a mad lion. "Does Laugh Tale also contain a power that can overthrow the World Government?"

Doflamingo shook his head. "I haven't been to Laugh Tale myself. I only know the way to Laugh Tale, fufufufu~ Roger seems to have already gathered rubbings of the four 'Road Poneglyphs.' His dream of becoming the 'Pirate King' isn't some baseless joke."

"What other information do you have?" Shiki leaned forward, his eyes wide.

Doflamingo said leisurely, "Business is business."

"Tsk~" Shiki clicked his tongue, forcefully calmed himself, then reached into his chest pocket for a box of cigars, lit one, and offered Doflamingo another. He urged, "Ask, hurry up and ask!"

Doflamingo expertly smoked the cigar, though he didn't smoke often. "I've finished asking what I wanted. Now I want goods, fufufufu~ Devil Fruits, gold, diamonds, jewels, weapons... all hard currency!"

"You troublesome little brat!" Shiki was greatly annoyed. He turned and roared, "Go open the treasury for me, and bring everything here!"

Doflamingo clapped his hands. "As expected of the 'Golden Lion,' generous!" He paused slightly, then added, "Actually, besides the Ancient Weapons, there's another thing with destructive power no less than the Ancient Weapons, called 'Dyna Stone.' It's held by the World Government, and everything else about it is unknown."

"Hmm? Jihahahaha~" Shiki's anger turned to joy, and he laughed loudly. "Very good, very good!"

"That's all I've thought of related to you for now. How about we exchange contact information, my esteemed major client, fufufufu~" Doflamingo clearly held back some information. He knew Shiki's rogue personality; if he made himself seem worthless, he wouldn't just lose out on the hard currency payment, he'd probably be thrown directly from high altitude.

Shiki scrutinized Doflamingo, as if seeing him anew. He grinned. "An interesting brat."

"At your service, my esteemed major client," Doflamingo also stood up, smiling as he bowed. "Oh, right! A suggestion for you: as I said before, it was Whitebeard who personally arranged for his Second Division Commander, Kozuki Oden, to defect to the Roger Pirates. The relationship between Whitebeard and Roger is quite ambiguous. If you move against the Roger Pirates, try to stay away from the latter half of the New World to prevent Whitebeard's interference."

Shiki raised an eyebrow. "Where's Roger?"

"I don't know. He's left the Grand Line and is preparing for his second complete voyage of the Grand Line... I think you can start consolidating your forces, set up an ambush in the first half of the New World, and wait patiently," Doflamingo said.

Shiki exhaled a puff of smoke, filled with doubt. "Listening to you for so long, I can't help but feel like you're trying to incite a war between me and Roger?"

"Am I? Fufufufu~" Doflamingo spread his hands, feigning innocence.

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