Chapter 1320 - 31: Schemes Within Schemes

Chapter 1320: Chapter 31: Schemes Within Schemes

"The developer of the artificial Devil Fruit is Dr. Vegapunk."

This time, Jack understood what’s going on.

"So, besides Caesar Clown, do we have other channels for artificial Devil Fruits?"

Jack’s attitude softened considerably.

"Not exactly. Bai Ye is an expert in weapons and can’t produce SAD materials, but he can determine if Caesar Clown is deceiving us financially, and his combat effectiveness is strong."

Jack directly ignored the part where Doflamingo mentioned strong combat effectiveness.

"Sounds good. Caesar Clown has long demanded significant funds from both our sides, and it’s said he also deceived Charlotte Lingling for a substantial sum, seemingly to research human gigantification."

Caesar Clown, as the supplier of raw materials for artificial Devil Fruits, holds considerable status within the Donquixote Family and the Beast Pirates. As long as both sides need his technology, they won’t do anything to him.

But Jack is very dissatisfied with Caesar Clown. From what he knows, the large research funds Caesar Clown demands are basically used for extravagance.

Even knowing this, Jack can’t do anything about Caesar Clown. If they met face-to-face, Caesar Clown would definitely act submissively before Jack, but secretly he doesn’t take Jack seriously at all.

Caesar Clown even dared to deceive Charlotte Lingling for funds. Now, Beast Kaido needs him, and as long as Caesar Clown doesn’t fall into Charlotte Lingling’s hands, the opponent won’t come seeking him out.

"Jack, don’t confuse Bai Ye with Caesar Clown. If a direct conflict occurred and we joined forces to kill him, we would suffer greater losses. How do you think I repelled Katakuri?"

"..."

Jack remained silent for a moment. He wasn’t as reckless as he appeared, and during the brief conversation, he detected various implications in Doflamingo’s words.

"At least during the conflict with Big Mom, we very much need him. Even after the conflict ends, he’s someone worth recruiting."

Doflamingo pulled out a small piece of alchemy bomb from his pocket and tossed it to Jack.

"Is this stuff... obtained from the Navy?"

Jack’s eyes widened with rage. He wasn’t surprised but recalled some unpleasant memories—an incident where he clashed with the Navy in the New World Sea Areas, and after a muffled explosion under his ship, the vessel sank.

Jack is also a Devil Fruit Ability User, but he doesn’t fear seawater. Or rather, he fundamentally can’t drown due to his Fishmen bloodline, which allows him to breathe underwater.

Even so, it took Jack, completely weakened, a long time to be rescued from the seabed.

Afterward, Jack learned that a few of these things were attached beneath his ship, which left a deep impression of alchemy bombs on him.

"This stuff is what he helped the World Government make."

"Hmm?"

Jack clenched the alchemy bomb in his hand. As a war fanatic, he had long understood the significance of alchemy bombs for naval battles.

"Where is he?"

"..."

Doflamingo didn’t respond immediately, knowing Jack’s temperament very well. Because of this, before Jack and Su Xiao met, he described Su Xiao’s significance to the war to Jack to prevent any clashes. After all, the threat from the Big Mom Pirate Group still exists, and if internal conflicts arise, the war won’t be able to continue.

"He should have already returned to the King’s Highland. Let me rest for a while, and then we’ll go see him."

Doflamingo’s forehead veins twitched violently as he had been seriously injured in his fight with Katakuri. Damage to his organs was minor, but the strike Su Xiao dealt with a seastone stick left his brain buzzing ever since.

After sitting in the pile of rubble for a few more minutes, Doflamingo led the impatient Jack to the King’s Highland.

Two hours later, at the King’s Highland, inside the villa’s banquet hall.

In the center of the banquet hall was a round dining table, surrounded by people—Doflamingo, Pika, Sugar, Trebol, and others were present.

Doflamingo, being the host, naturally sat at the head, while Su Xiao was diagonally from him, not far from Jack, forming a triangle among the three.

The atmosphere at the table was not great. Pika silently ate his steak, while Sugar stirred a plate of seafood noodles. She held a basket of grapes every day, hardly having any appetite for a main meal.

Those qualified to dine around the table were only the top executives of the Donquixote Family and Sugar. Sugar’s status within the family was special and not inferior to the top executives.

Sugar glanced around, then shrank her neck and continued stirring her seafood noodles.

"Now we face the Big Mom Pirate Group together, and if internal conflicts arise..."

Before Doflamingo could finish, a cracking sound echoed—Jack had crushed the oversized wine glass in his hand, splattering wine all over Sugar, who looked innocent.

The atmosphere at the table nearly solidified, with Su Xiao staring at Jack, and Jack staring at Su Xiao, seemingly wanting to kill each other.

Why did this situation occur? Well, let’s roll back time to one and a half hours ago.

As Doflamingo brought Jack back to the King’s Highland, they happened to encounter Bubu Wang basking in the sun in the courtyard. In the Derivative World, Bubu Wang habitually blended into the environment during its naps.

As a result, Bubu Wang faced a ’tragedy,’ as Jack stepped onto him, causing Bubu Wang to howl in pain.

Hearing Bubu Wang’s shrieks, Su Xiao jumped out from the fourth-floor window of the villa, just in time to see Jack stepping on Bubu Wang.

The result was obvious: Su Xiao drew his sword, and Jack, not recognizing Su Xiao, engaged in a fight.

Through Doflamingo’s armed intervention, the two stopped. However, what Doflamingo found headache-inducing was that neither of them was actually at fault; it was purely coincidental.

Was it truly a coincidence? Did Bubu Wang happen to nap right on Jack’s path? The answer is, of course not. Bubu Wang waited there for a long time, adjusting its position several times before being stepped on. This was all a setup for future negotiations; although Bubu Wang could act foolishly, it sometimes came up with pretty good ideas, like this ’coincidental’ incident of being stepped on by Jack.

Returning to the table, Su Xiao and Jack continued their staring contest.

"Woof."

Bubu Wang barked, clearly indicating: "This dog isn’t petty; let’s keep the bigger picture in mind, and forget the past."

"It says, let the past go."

Of course, Su Xiao wasn’t intimidated by Jack; dealing with pirates is like that, hard punches speak the truth.

Jack accepted a new wine glass handed by Baby-5, filled it, and downed it, noticeably easing the tension at the table.

With Su Xiao’s disposition, interacting with the Justice Camp is difficult, given his inherently negative reputation. But there are pros and cons to everything—his aura of blood energy allows him to establish a foothold in the Evil Camp.

Take Jack, for instance, this great pirate who has killed countless people—he’s unmistakably of the Evil Camp, capable of scaring even civilians with just a glare.

"Cooperating with Joker means cooperating with the Beast Pirates."

Jack no longer seemed as confrontational as before; ultimately, he sought to acquire alchemy bombs from Su Xiao.

"Given the current situation, the bombs Bai Ye makes are only sufficient for wartime use. This matter can be discussed post-war."

Doflamingo placed a special level alchemy bomb on the table. Seeing the bomb, Sugar’s face fell; seeing bombs during a meal meant she practically had no appetite left.