Chapter 7

"Sniff..."

"Endure it, who made you run around recklessly?"

Doflamingo handed over a wooden stick, and Rosi bit it tightly in his mouth.

It wasn't that he was afraid the sound would draw attention from others on the ship, but that he was afraid of biting his own tongue.

Crack,

"Ugh—!!!"

As Doflamingo used both hands to forcefully push Rosi's dislocated shoulder back into place, the veins on Rosi's slender neck suddenly bulged, and his teeth ground the wooden stick with a creaking sound!

"Huff~ Huff~~"

"Tsk, even getting a meal is so difficult..."

This world... No, any world is cruel to the weak.

For the strong, even if they don't eat for free, wild beasts in the mountains and fresh fish in the sea are all food.

Moreover, in this world, creatures several meters or ten meters long are only considered 'small animals,' and those several dozen meters or even a hundred meters long are common. For experts, food is not a problem.

But for Rosi and Doflamingo now, how to fill their bellies is the top priority.

Living on the edge of life and death for a single meal is their 'daily bread.'

"Did you get ambushed by the sailors?"

Rip,

Tearing the sleeve of the suit into strips, Doflamingo calmly asked while bandaging Rosi's back wound.

"I killed one too, how did you take care of them?"

Since Rosi could return, it meant he had killed the enemy.

Being caught and getting free meals in prison... Doflamingo had never even dreamed of such a thing.

"One I stabbed with a dagger under the jaw, one got shot twice... Tsk, this world is really messed up, isn't it?"

Just getting a meal is so difficult?

Traversing to this world just to fight for a meal, Rosi Nandi was speechless.

Growing up in such an environment, not being psychologically twisted is simply unbelievable.

"Very impressive,"

Doflamingo, wearing sunglasses, raised an eyebrow, automatically filtering out Rosi's complaints.

He found it difficult to deal with a lone sailor, but he never expected Rosi to silently take out two sailors?

Considering that the 'Silent Fruit' hardly enhanced any combat ability, even if it was through ambush and assassination, it was a very remarkable feat.

Especially since the 'former' Rosi was extremely afraid of fighting, and now Roman, although unwilling, was exceptionally decisive in his actions.

This made Doflamingo feel that his 'little brother had grown up' while also feeling a bit nervous inside.

"True to my brother,"

Patted Rosi's shoulder, and amidst the other's grimace, Doflamingo looked excitedly to the future.

"As long as we work together, we will surely stand at the top of the world and trample those Celestial Dragons underfoot!"

"Yeah, sure, sure..."

What else could Rosi do but nod at Doflamingo's words?

Trampling Celestial Dragons underfoot?

First, they need to get past the Marine Admirals and CP0!

Moreover, the sacred land has the mysterious 'Imu,' who has suppressed the pirate world for eight hundred years, making countless top-tier experts despair and wait passively for 'Joy Boy' to appear.

Just the two of them, kids, going head-to-head with the Celestial Dragons?

"Our current strength is at best that of ordinary marines,"

"Talking about overthrowing the Celestial Dragons is out of the question, you're not Monkey D. Luffy..."

Rosi moved his arm, and surprisingly, his shoulder could already move freely. This made Rosi marvel at the robust physique of people in this world... or perhaps the excellent potential of this body?

"Who is Luffy?"

Faced with Doflamingo's question, Rosi leaned against the wet cabin and closed his eyes.

"A big fool who always says 'I will become the Pirate King'..."

"Pirate King, huh..."

The young Doflamingo stroked his chin, deep in thought.

——

"Someone else is dead,"

The next day, the three top figures on the ship met again.

In front of them were three disfigured corpses.

"The murderer is not only extremely cruel but also knows how to cover their tracks—"

The refined navigator squatted next to the tall sailor with a flowered face, pointing to the sailor's melted right hand.

"Beni's right hand was splashed with a corrosive liquid, indicating that his right hand held key evidence that would reveal the murderer if we saw it. Unfortunately, it has been destroyed."

After saying this, the refined navigator stood up and walked to the other side.

"From the surrounding marks, the murderer and Beni fought for a few rounds,"

"Then the murderer shot Beni in the chest from this position and followed up with another shot."

"Add to that Gic, who was stabbed through the jaw, the murderer is likely a quick and agile person, skilled with both knives and fire guns..."

Unfortunately, the three corpses had been damaged to varying degrees by corrosive liquids, and since they were merchants... well, a half-merchant, half-pirate armed merchant ship, not professional forensic examiners, they couldn't extract more information from the bodies.

"Three more died silently... Damn it!"

The boatswain, a bald man, scratched his head in frustration. The only thing to be grateful for was:

Two of the three dead were the captain's men, and one was the navigator's subordinate. His own core team was not affected.

Thank goodness, thank goodness~~

...

After much discussion, the three only came to the conclusion of 'no one should be alone' and 'everyone should be on high alert.' After the bald boatswain left, the refined navigator looked at the pale-faced noble captain.

"Captain, it's time to make a decision."

The refined navigator pointed to the sailor 'Gic' who was killed with a single stab, and asked in a serious tone:

"Gic, though just a newly promoted sailor, was not an easy man to kill."

"Let alone Beni, who was skilled with both fists and curved swords, he was one of the best on the ship."

"Is there anyone on this ship who can kill them in a short time and still need to hide the details of the bodies, Captain, do you have no suspects?"

"You mean..."

The captain, wearing a tall hat, moved his lips, and a cold name came out from under his fine mustache.

"Alec?"

The first person who could easily kill two sailors on this ship would naturally be the bald boatswain!

But—

"Why?"

Faced with the noble captain's counter-question, the refined navigator spread his hands.

"How should I know?"

"But I know that the dead these past two days have all been my men and yours. If this continues—"

When the number of sailors belonging to the captain and the navigator drops to a dangerous level, who will be in charge of this ship is a serious question.

"Let me think about it,"

Although the noble captain did not immediately respond, the refined navigator knew his goal had been achieved.

"Please make a decision quickly, Captain."

"For everyone's safety and your dream of revitalizing your family... I'll take my leave now."

After adding a bit more 'weight' to the captain's mind, the refined navigator turned and left, preparing to gather his truly brave and daring core team!

This ship will soon have a new master.

However,

That boy with the sunglasses is quite capable. I only asked him to kill the 'subordinates' I arranged, but he unexpectedly also killed two of the captain's men.

It increased my cleanup work, so I'll give him a few more pieces of bread later.

The refined navigator touched the dagger at his waist, which looked like a mere decoration.

Eat well, and be on your way!

——

"Here,"

Handing Rosi two pieces of bread, Doflamingo looked seriously at his brother.

"Rosi, be careful from now on."

?

"I see,"

Looking at the 'abundant' food in his hand, Rosi nodded.

When does a stingy employer suddenly become 'generous'?

The answer is when they are about to abandon the other, like a 'last meal.' Before slaughtering livestock, humans instinctively let them have a full meal.

It's a kind of condescending 'pity.'

"It seems your plan is very successful,"

After swallowing a few bites of bread, Rosi stood up.

"This ship is about to face a dark and greedy struggle. Let's see who will laugh last."

"Fufufu, of course it will be us brothers!"

Thinking about how smoothly his plan was going, the 10-year-old Doflamingo couldn't help but laugh excitedly, his laughter becoming eerie, reminiscent of the later 'Flamingo.'

"...I'm glad you're happy,"

Faced with the confident Doflamingo, Rosi couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Maybe the strong in the pirate world are all like this, overly confident in their schemes and strength.

"Don't be careless, I feel that the three leaders on this ship are not easy to deal with."

This world is accustomed to settling matters with lead bullets and swords, let alone a merchant ship daring to transport goods from the Grand Line to the North Sea.

The three men in the positions of boatswain, navigator, and captain are likely not as weak as they appear, both in intelligence and combat ability.

So it's time for me to take action—

Picking up the bucket and mop, Rosi headed towards the cabin where the passengers were.