One Piece: Crown of Darkness

"Smoothie." Doflamingo snapped out of his daze after standing still for a long time, reaching out his hand to Smoothie.

Having spent a considerable time together, Smoothie no longer felt overly shy about this. She gracefully stepped forward and took Doflamingo's hand. "What's wrong, Doffy?"

"Let's go home," Doflamingo said, touching his forehead to Smoothie's.

Smoothie's mood was a bit downcast. "I know, you said so before! We've both prepared for it, according to your agreement with Mama..."

"Tomorrow!" Doflamingo interrupted Smoothie, cupping her face. "Tomorrow, Daifuku will come to collect Arinland's funds and transport them back to the New World. You can go home with him then."

"To...mo...rrow...?" Smoothie froze. She had thought there would be more time. Reluctance, sadness, bewilderment... an indescribable mix of emotions instantly welled up.

Doflamingo gently patted her back, smiling. "Wait for me patiently. It won't be many years before we can be truly together! The New World is treacherous; you must protect yourself and absolutely avoid getting hurt. It would break my heart, fufufufu~ Don't always think about wearing revealing clothes; you're only allowed to wear them for me!"

"Also, don't keep making strange concoctions with your Devil Fruit and drinking them! Especially people. Discard that thought. Humans may be the most savage beasts, but we aren't truly beasts. We can kill, but we can't drink people's insides..." Doflamingo rambled on, a rare occurrence. "I'll make sure to write often..."

"Mmff~~~"

Doflamingo couldn't speak anymore, because Smoothie...

After a moment.

Smoothie buried her face, her eyes red-rimmed, sobbing almost imperceptibly. After all, she was still a young girl. Even though she had mentally prepared herself, the sudden farewell made her incredibly sad. She had never experienced such a cruel blow.

"Be strong, my love," Doflamingo comforted her, his lips curving upwards as he looked up at the sky, smiling inscrutably.

After an unknown period, Smoothie seemed to remember something and abruptly straightened up, glancing left and right. But Giolla, sensing the moment, had already discreetly led Vergo and Pica away, leaving them alone.

Not being seen in such a vulnerable state didn't quite ease Smoothie's mind. She became exceptionally quiet, holding onto Doflamingo's hand, unwilling to let go, even during dinner.

After dinner.

Having enjoyed the sea breeze and fully admired the sunset and the rising stars...

"Still not letting go?" Doflamingo was already at the bedroom doorway. "Fufufufu~ Hey, hey, you're a pirate's child, a born pirate! Smoothie, be open-minded, open-minded."

Smoothie looked up, simply gazing at Doflamingo.

The next day.

Dawn was just breaking.

Doflamingo, who hadn't slept much last night, was still energetic, waking up according to his strict biological clock. He shrugged and muttered, "This is madness."

After quickly washing and changing, Doflamingo, Vergo, and Pica continued their training.

"Doffy? Now that Smoothie's gone, are we sailing off?" Vergo couldn't help but ask.

Doflamingo replied while running, "No, and yes. Soon! I intend to train without distractions for a while longer. Also, our crew is too small... Just follow my orders."

"By the way, Doffy, what about the Devil Fruits and treasure from yesterday? I put them in the storage room," Pica said.

Doflamingo slapped his forehead. "Did the 'Golden Lion' label what those Devil Fruits were specifically?"

"No," Pica said briefly. He still didn't like talking much, even feared it.

Doflamingo raised an eyebrow, pondering. "Looks like we'll have to collect a Devil Fruit encyclopedia."

When the training concluded, the sun was high in the sky.

"I'm a ship~~~ I'm a ship~~~"

The singing ship arrived.

Doflamingo waved goodbye to Smoothie.

Daifuku, however, delivered a message from Big Mom—

"A man of the Three-Eye Tribe?" As he watched the singing ship sail away, Doflamingo mused with an amused tone. "Fufufufu~ Seeing Roger about to become the 'Pirate King,' Big Mom is getting restless too? The Three-Eye Tribe, is that legend true or false? Never mind, helping her find one will clear things up."

————————

~ Access 100+ advance chapters —— patreon(.)com/EmperorGarus [remove the parentheses ( )]