Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

Time passed slowly, and the Blackbeard Pirates' ship gradually emerged from the distant sea, eventually appearing before everyone. Under the guidance of the port staff, the ship stopped at the Dressrosa dock.

On deck, Blackbeard and the others were taken aback when they saw the entire Donquixote Family gathered at the dock. Van Augur unconsciously reached for his sniper rifle, while Shiryu of the Rain, with a cigar in his mouth, narrowed his eyes and his right hand quietly rested on the hilt of his sword.

The other crew members of the black gang also prepared for battle, and the atmosphere on the dock became unusually tense. Seeing the scene before them, they thought they had been ambushed.

Especially Teach, whose ever-present smile vanished, his sinister triangular eyes fixed sharply on the dock, his hands already poised to unleash his Devil Fruit power.

On the dock, the Donquixote Family's executives gathered around after seeing the Blackbeard Pirates' actions, all with serious expressions. After all, they had all heard of the Blackbeard Pirates' reputation recently and knew that they were an extremely powerful enemy.

Shen Qing, watching from below, clearly understood that if even one person were to accidentally fire a weapon, a major battle would immediately erupt.

"The Blackbeard Pirates welcome you to the Kingdom of Dressrosa. I, Doflamingo, on behalf of the Donquixote Family, welcome you." At that moment, Doflamingo stepped forward with a loud laugh, then waved behind him.

At Dover's signal, all the Donquixote Family executives lowered their attack stances and slowly retreated to the side, easing the tense atmosphere.

"Hahaha, Mr. Doflamingo's welcome is truly an honor for the Blackbeard Pirates." Teach's face returned to a hearty smile after realizing that Doflamingo meant no harm.

"Admiral, are we going to fight or not? Or should we just take over the Kingdom of Dressrosa?" said the big barrel Bacchus, letting out a burp. He had just chug down a lot of alcohol to get into a fighting stance.

Jote's words immediately made the atmosphere tense again. Doflamingo's smile froze, and Shen Qing quietly hid behind the old sword god to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

"Damn it, shut up! Lafayette, take this drunkard away. If he says another word, throw him into the sea to feed the fish!" Teach roared, veins bulging on his forehead, as he turned to look behind him, his face full of rage.

Blackbeard felt utterly deceived by Bacchus Jolt, the giant barrel-shaped bottle. He had assumed that any pirate imprisoned in Level 6 of Impel Down would be among the world's top fighters, but Jolt was nothing but a complete fraud, like a husky mixed into a wolf pack. He had no fighting ability whatsoever, was utterly mediocre, at best comparable to some pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million, and spent his days in a drunken stupor, doing nothing but drinking.

Therefore, Blackbeard boldly speculated that the reason Jott was imprisoned in Impel Down's sixth level was entirely due to his boasting. He must have been drunk and boasted about how powerful he was, then fabricated some glorious achievements to mislead others into believing that he was very powerful. The Navy, without verifying the facts, simply increased his bounty based on his boasting and ultimately imprisoned him in Impel Down's sixth level.

Shen Qing was unaware of Blackbeard's thoughts at this moment. If he had known, he would have largely agreed with his guess. In the original manga, Jott's performance was completely unworthy of his position in Level 6 of Impel Down. Look at the other powerful figures imprisoned in Level 6 of Impel Down, like Douglas Barrett and Bondi World; they all displayed formidable strength. Only Jott, this dud, acted completely out of character for his status.

Then Teach turned around with a smile and said to everyone, "Don't take a drunkard's words seriously. He's drunk and just talking nonsense."

Despite Teach's explanation, Jot's words had already displeased everyone, and even Doflamingo's expression became uncertain.

Shen Qing took in the scene before him, then stepped forward and said with a smile, "Mr. Teach, you're overthinking it. We certainly won't take the words of a drunkard seriously, Mr. Dover, wouldn't you agree?"

Shen Qing knew that Doflamingo needed a way out at this moment, and he was the best candidate. Otherwise, if the Blackbeard Pirates and the Donquixote Family were to fight, the outcome would be completely out of control, and there was a high probability that the Dressrosa Kingdom would be destroyed and the Donquixote Family would be defeated. This was an outcome that Shen Qing absolutely did not want to see.

When Teach saw Shen Qing speak, a glint flashed in his eyes, but he remained impassive, observing everything before him. Before coming, he had already investigated the Donquixote Family, gathering information on all the officers. This ordinary-looking young man was someone missing from his records, and the one-armed old man behind him also gave him a subtle but palpable sense of danger. Therefore, he chose to observe quietly, intending to see how Doflamingo would react to Shen Qing's words, thus determining the young man's position within the Donquixote Family and making a informed decision.

The next second, Doflamingo heard Shen Qing's words and smiled again, saying, "Brother Shen is right. It's not worth making a fuss over a drunkard. Mr. Teach, come with me to the palace for a banquet. I have already ordered a lavish feast to be prepared."

Upon hearing Doflamingo's address, Teach looked at Shen Qing in surprise. He hadn't expected the other party's status to be even higher than he had imagined. It seemed that the Donquixote Family was hiding a considerable secret.

Teach then arranged for the massive warship San Juan Wolf to watch over the drunkard Jote and the ship, before leading everyone to follow in the footsteps of the Don Quixote family to the palace for a banquet.

Teach was confident that the Donquixote Family was no match for the Blackbeard Pirates, so he acted fearlessly along the way and instead enjoyed the local customs and culture of the Dressrosa Kingdom.

Inside the palace, tables were laden with delicious dishes. After a few brief greetings, everyone immersed themselves in enjoying the food.

Especially the Blackbeard Pirates, although the entire crew is quite strong, there is no cook on the ship for the time being. The cooking job is currently done by Doc Q on a part-time basis, so don't expect a doctor to be able to make any delicious food.

So, having gotten used to unpalatable food, the members of the Blackbeard gang ate and drank heartily without any regard for appearances when faced with these tempting dishes. Even Blackbeard was no exception, grabbing chunks of meat in one hand and holding a wine glass in the other, drinking and eating heartily.

However, without realizing it, Blackbeard's gaze would always sweep over everyone's positions in the arena, and occasionally linger on Shen Qing.

As a powerful figure of his time, Blackbeard was both shrewd and cunning. Beneath his seemingly bold exterior lay a sensitive heart, and his ability to read people was unparalleled.

Finally, after everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Doflamingo had the banquet cleared away and replaced with some light fruit juice drinks.

"Mr. Teach, as long as you agree to one condition, purchasing weapons at 30% below market price is no problem at all." After everyone sat down again, Doflamingo began to talk about the main business of the day, which was the purpose of the Blackbeard Pirates' trip.

"Hahaha... No problem, whatever the conditions, as long as I can do it, I'll definitely agree." Blackbeard patted his chest and said boldly.

In maritime battles, weapons are a crucial factor. Having weapons on one side and not having them on the other makes all the difference. Of course, this refers to ordinary pirate clashes, excluding top-tier powerhouses.

For the Blackbeard Pirates to rise rapidly, weapons, manpower, and food are indispensable. Manpower is relatively easy to obtain, as there is no shortage of risk-taking pirates on the high seas. Even if food is scarce, they can catch fish to fill their stomachs. However, the source of weapons requires a stable channel, from ore to forging, and for firearms, gunpowder is also needed. Such complex logistics cannot be handled quickly without a certain amount of power and connections.

The Blackbeard Pirates rose to prominence in such a short time that they hadn't even resolved the problems with the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates. Therefore, they couldn't even think about producing their own weapons. They didn't have a stable channel for purchasing weapons either. Not only were the weapons available on the black market extremely limited, but it was also impossible to find weapons that met their needs. Even so, having money often didn't guarantee that they could buy them.

This is why Teach values ​​the Doflamingo connection so much. Under Doflamingo's management, the Donquixote Family's network spans the entire world. They can get any kind of resources they want with just a word. As long as the money is right, the Donquixote Family can even buy Devil Fruits, treasures from the sea.