Chapter 207: An Alliance?
"Buffalo!?"
Baby-5 let out a startled cry as she saw Ian knock Buffalo unconscious with a single punch. She rushed forward to check on Buffalo's condition.
Ian's goal was achieved once he knocked Buffalo out. Without Buffalo's flying ability, Baby-5 wouldn't be able to escape.
However, Ian still called Matthew over and had him touch Baby-5, directly putting her to sleep.
Margaret began to search Baby-5. Before long, she found a Den Den Mushi on her. The shell of this Den Den Mushi had no dial pad; it was the type used for direct contact with a specific phone number. Buffalo and Baby-5 had likely used this Den Den Mushi to contact Doflamingo.
Taking the Den Den Mushi, Ian began to consider how to deal with the two of them, Buffalo and Baby-5.
Although they were considered members of Doflamingo's family, they were at best ordinary executives. Due to their abilities and personalities, they didn't seem to be highly valued by Doflamingo. Especially Baby-5, a girl who, whenever someone made a request of her, would unconsciously feel needed and go all out to satisfy them. This kind of personality made her easy to be used by both allies and enemies. Within the Donquixote Family, her evaluation was indeed "a useful woman."
Looking up at the sky, Ian noticed there were quite a few clouds. Doflamingo's String-String Fruit ability allowed him to move by using the clouds in the sky. Even if his posture was strange, it could still be considered flying. In that case, his speed would likely be very fast.
Doflamingo was coming. Although there were still three hours, there was little wind at the moment, and Ian's ship probably wouldn't get far.
Because of Vergo, Doflamingo was targeting Ian, likely wanting to destroy his Dragon Hunter Pirates. If possible, he would capture Ian and hand him over to the Celestial Dragons in exchange for sufficient benefits for himself.
Ian had guessed this, but after learning that Kizaru and Zephyr had led Marines into the New World to pursue him, he had no interest in getting entangled with Doflamingo. Although Ian had Fujitora backing him up and wasn't afraid, once a fight broke out, his ship would likely be damaged. How would he evade the Marines' pursuit then?
So, Ian was considering the possibility of using Buffalo and Baby-5 as hostages. He just didn't know how much their lives were worth in Doflamingo's eyes.
Holding the Den Den Mushi in his hand, Ian thought for a moment and decided to pick up the receiver to try contacting Doflamingo.
The Den Den Mushi made a "Puu—Puu—" sound.
As Ian began to dial, hundreds of kilometers away on the sea surface, a figure was speeding through the air. This person was naturally Doflamingo, wearing his flamingo coat and sunglasses.
His movement posture was strange, like a dog paddling in the air with his hands and feet. But with each paddle, he could cover a large distance through the sky.
Doflamingo had left Dressrosa after receiving the call from Buffalo and Baby-5. In fact, he had been searching for Ian for a long time, ever since the Mary Geoise incident. But initially, he didn't know Ian's true identity, which led to little progress.
When Ian's true identity was exposed, the news of Vergo's death followed! At that time, Doflamingo was almost furious!
Since he knew the name and flag of the Dragon Hunter Pirates, Doflamingo had sent Buffalo and Baby-5 to find their ship. There had been no news for days, until just now when Buffalo and Baby-5 reported that they had finally found it.
When Doflamingo received this news, he didn't even give any instructions. He flew straight out of Dressrosa and headed toward the location Baby-5 had reported.
However, just as he had been traveling for a short while, the Den Den Mushi in his pocket rang again.
Doflamingo suddenly stopped, hanging in midair with one hand. The String-String Fruit could create invisible threads to latch onto the clouds in the sky.
It was a very unscientific ability, but to be honest, there were plenty of unscientific Devil Fruit abilities out there.
With his other free hand, Doflamingo took the Den Den Mushi from his pocket. He didn't think much of it, assuming Baby-5 had something else to contact him about.
But to his surprise, a strange man's voice came from the other end: "Donquixote Doflamingo?"
Doflamingo frowned and asked, "Who are you?"
"Ah, I'm Ian, captain of the Dragon Hunter Pirates. You should know me," Ian replied.
Doflamingo felt a sense of unease and asked, "How did you get Baby-5's Den Den Mushi?"
"Oh, she gave it to me!" Ian couldn't help teasing Doflamingo. "I made a simple request, and she handed it over!"
Hearing this, Doflamingo's smooth forehead above his sunglasses couldn't help but bulge with two veins. He knew that Buffalo and Baby-5 had been captured!
Those two idiots! He had told them earlier to just scout from a distance and not launch any attacks. This Dragon Hunter Pirates wasn't someone to mess with. And now... needless to say, they had taken the initiative to attack and ended up getting caught instead.
Doflamingo had no doubt about what Ian said, because he also understood Baby-5's personality. This Den Den Mushi might very well have been voluntarily handed over by Baby-5.
"You have my people?" Doflamingo asked calmly, though he was angry.
"Yeah!" Ian didn't deny it. "I've admired you for a long time, Warlord Heavenly Yaksha. To be honest, I never expected you to take the initiative to trouble a small fry like me."
When Ian said this, he was deliberately playing dumb. Vergo was a spy Doflamingo had placed in the Marines, and very few people knew about it. If Ian directly exposed this, Doflamingo would truly want him dead.
Sure enough, when Ian said this, Doflamingo suddenly let out a strange laugh. "Fufufufufu! This is a misunderstanding. I'm not trying to trouble you; it's just that my subordinates don't know their place! Besides, you're no small fry now!"
"Oh, thanks for the compliment. I'm honored!" Ian sneered inwardly but said with a smile, "I heard from Baby-5 that you, Heavenly Yaksha, are heading toward our location. Is that true?"
Ian's expression was naturally mimicked by the Den Den Mushi. Hearing this, Doflamingo's dissatisfaction with Baby-5 grew even more. That stupid woman had spilled everything!
"That's right!" Doflamingo thought for a moment and replied, "Because I have some matters I want to discuss with you in person."
"What matters require a face-to-face talk?" Ian said with a smile. "Don't blame me for being cautious. You must understand that I'm currently being pursued by the Marines. Two Marine Admirals and ten warships—that's no joke!"
"Fufufufufu!" Doflamingo laughed again. "What does it matter if it's Marine Admirals? You'll definitely be fine! I'm looking for you to discuss an alliance!"
This guy was lying through his teeth, and Ian naturally wouldn't fall for it. He pretended to be surprised and said, "An alliance? You're a Warlord, a big shot. Why would you think of allying with a small fry like me? That can't be true!"
"Of course it's true!" Doflamingo laughed heartily. "You injured Admiral Aokiji Kuzan and killed a Marine Vice Admiral. You're definitely qualified to become a Warlord. I'll be straightforward: I want the Celestial Dragon chip you have!"
"...!"
Ian was stunned. He never expected Doflamingo to say something like that.
Others might not understand, but Ian knew that Doflamingo was once a Celestial Dragon himself. However, because his family had voluntarily withdrawn, they were no longer recognized as Celestial Dragons!
This reason for an alliance might actually be true. So far, Ian hadn't figured out what that Celestial Dragon chip was for. What if... hypothetically, that Celestial Dragon identity chip could help Doflamingo return to the ranks of the Celestial Dragons?
So, Ian fell silent, and Doflamingo didn't rush him, waiting quietly for his response.