Chapter 378: Hoist by His Own Petard
"Charge!" Gaji commanded the Germa soldiers, shouting, "Once you charge in, head toward the center of the island! Destroy any Donquixote family property you see along the way!"
After hearing Reiju's analysis, Gaji finally understood.
Doflamingo's pirate crew was a highly influential force in the North Blue. Perhaps it was precisely because Gaji's desire to revive Germa clashed with Doflamingo's interests that led to Germa being set up this time.
On one hand, Gaji lamented Germa's unfavorable position of having enemies everywhere. On the other hand, he was grinding his teeth in hatred toward Doflamingo.
So now that Ian had deliberately driven Germa to Dressrosa, Gaji threw caution to the wind and decided to follow Ian's lead, planning to cause a massive uproar in Dressrosa.
As Germa's snail ships successfully charged into the harbor, the snails emerged from their shells again, carrying Germa's structures as they began crawling inland.
Doflamingo had underestimated Germa's military strength. His crew's lower-level combatants were no match for Germa's soldiers and couldn't stop their advance at all, allowing Gaji and his forces to land on the island smoothly.
Afterward, Gaji sent his three children with a portion of Germa's soldiers to spread out across various parts of Dressrosa.
Gaji was well aware that since this was Ian's destination, even if Germa tried to flee outward, they would likely be driven back. And Yonji had already reported that the B crew's rescue forces had set out and were heading toward Dressrosa. So now, Germa just needed to split up, buy as much time as possible, and wait for the B people to arrive, hoping to escape this ordeal.
At the same time, splitting up would force Ian and the other pursuers to scatter as well.
So by the time Doflamingo received news from the front lines and rushed over with his family's senior officers to intercept Germa, he found they had already ignited multiple fires across Dressrosa.
"Damn it!" Doflamingo stomped his foot in frustration. Those accompanying him now were the true elites of the Donquixote Pirates.
Besides Trebol, there were Jora (Art Fruit user), Senor Pink (Swim-Swim Fruit user), Dellinger (Fighting Fish Fish-Man), Lao G (physical combat and qigong), Gladius (Pam-Pam Fruit user), Diamante (Flutter-Flutte Fruit user), and Pica (Stone-Stone Fruit user). These were the family's main members.
"You! Split up immediately and hunt down Germa's people!" Doflamingo ordered them. "Don't let them run wild on the island. If they discover the secret, it'll be disastrous! And once you catch them, kill them without mercy!"
"Yes, Young Master!" The Donquixote family officers acknowledged and quickly dispersed in pairs and trios, chasing after Gaji, Reiju, Ichiji, and Niji in their respective directions.
As for Doflamingo, he stayed put because he saw Ian's ships also docking at that moment.
"So this is Dressrosa?" Ian said, stepping off the ship with Ace, Fujitora, and the others, taking in the scenery of the country.
Just then, he naturally spotted Doflamingo.
Doflamingo wore his pink flamingo coat, his chest bare, hands in his pockets, walking toward Ian step by step in his pointy shoes. Though his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, everyone could feel the heavy killing intent radiating from him. Veins were even visible bulging on his forehead.
"Hey, Ian! What exactly do you mean?" Doflamingo stopped in front of him, spreading his arms and grinding his teeth as he asked, "You chased Germa's people all the way to my country?!"
"No help for it!" Ian laughed it off, pretending to be helpless. "You know, Germa's people are too cunning and too good at escaping. We had already captured the Vinsmoke family, but they slipped away by accident! We had no choice but to chase them all the way here. I never expected them to flee to this place—it's really not what I wanted!"
"Bullshit!" Doflamingo roared. "Damn it, how could four Warlords let Germa's people escape so easily?!"
"It's true! Ask Admiral Aokiji—he saw it with his own eyes!" Ian pointed to his ship.
Doflamingo looked up and indeed saw Aokiji standing on Ian's deck. He froze for a moment, then forced himself to calm down.
"What's going on? The intel said Aokiji was monitoring their movements. Why is he with them now?" Doflamingo thought. "Did something special happen in between?"
Regardless of why Aokiji was appearing with Ian and the others, Doflamingo grew wary. His island hid too many unspeakable things, and Aokiji represented the Marines. If the island's secrets were discovered, Aokiji would likely report them to Marine Headquarters. At that point, Doflamingo might lose his position as a Warlord.
Though he had connections with the World Government and, due to his former Celestial Dragon status, close ties with the Celestial Dragons, allowing him to leverage the World Government's intelligence network when needed, all of this was based on him posing no threat to the World Government. If the Marines and World Government discovered he was secretly researching Artificial Devil Fruits, he could imagine the catastrophe awaiting him.
So, forcing himself to calm down, he suddenly changed his expression, spread his arms, and laughed, "Fufufufufu! So that's how it is. Alright, since Admiral Aokiji can vouch for you, I'll believe you!"
Then he said to Ian, "But this is still my territory, my country. Since Germa has come to cause trouble here, I have the right to intervene. As friends, I can help you take them out. As for you Warlords... just wait here for my good news!"
Doflamingo now wanted to keep this matter under his control. He couldn't let Ian and the others freely hunt Germa across the island. So, even though he felt like vomiting blood, he had to take over the situation.
What a noble sentiment! Doflamingo was practically the embodiment of One Piece's Lei Feng spirit. But Ian... didn't accept this free help and selfless friendship.
"Don't get it wrong, Doffy! Germa destroyed my crew's base!" Ian raised his right wrist, shaking the bell on his curse-marked bandage, producing a crisp sound. His expression turned serious as he said, "Even if they fled to your territory, I have to deal with them myself. Otherwise, how can I survive in the New World?"
"If you try to stop me, then you're my enemy!" Ian lowered his wrist, resting his hand on the sword at his waist, staring coldly at Doflamingo, as if ready to draw and strike if Doflamingo dared say "no."
Behind Ian stood Sea Knight Jinbe, Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, Fire Fist Ace, and Fujitora Issho, all backing him up.
Even Doflamingo had to weigh the consequences of turning against Ian with such a lineup.
"Fine!" Doflamingo thought it over and finally gritted his teeth in agreement. He could only hope that Ian and the others were truly just hunting Germa and that they wouldn't discover his secrets during the chase. He now felt like he had hoist himself by his own petard...
Doflamingo stepped aside, and Ian led the way forward. The big shots walked in front, followed by members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates, the Fish-Man Pirates, and the Kuja Pirates. The group marched in force toward the city of Dressrosa.
As for Doflamingo, he left after Ian's group departed, needing to hurry back and make arrangements.
"Captain, are we really going to cause such a commotion on this island?" Fujitora asked Ian as they walked. "It will cause many innocent casualties."
"Trust me, Uncle Fujitora!" Ian said quietly. "This country hides darkness far beyond your imagination! Maybe using this opportunity to expose it isn't a bad thing."
Fujitora said nothing more, knowing Ian wouldn't speak without reason. He would wait and see. "Alright then, I'll go after Vinsmoke Gaji."
"Then I'll take the one called Ichiji!" Jinbe said, crossing his arms.
"The one called Niji is for me and Sabo!" Ace grinned, slapping Sabo's shoulder. He finally had a chance to fight alongside Sabo again. Since Aokiji wasn't following, Sabo could act freely.
As for Crocodile, he stayed on the ship, responsible for protecting it and the remaining crew.
That left only Reiju. Ian had fought her before, so it was the same this time. But just then, Boa Hancock clutched her chest nervously and said, "Th-then I'll go with you!"
Ian glanced at her and smiled. "Alright!"
Ian knew that once they caused a big enough stir in Dressrosa, Doflamingo would likely step in eventually. With Boa Hancock by his side, their chances against Doflamingo were high enough.
And so, the group split up to take action.