Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

On the high seas, an ordinary Devil Fruit is worth around 10 million Berries, but Doflamingo is offering a staggering 1 billion Berries. Even Teach is finding it hard to resist such a huge price difference.

"I wonder what kind of Devil Fruit Brother Doflamingo wants?" Teach asked, suppressing a smile. He had already made up his mind that as long as Doflamingo's target wasn't too difficult, he would do the deal.

10 billion Berries is enough to cover half a year's revenue for the Blackbeard Pirates. With this money, their current financial crisis could be greatly alleviated.

Doflamingo, like a patient fisherman, finally got a response from Teach after his previous preparations. He wore a smug smile on his face. The Donquixote Family had no shortage of money. Any problem that could be solved with money was not a problem.

"I want the Paramecia-type Door-Door Fruit. I wonder if you can make it?" Doflamingo no longer hid his intentions and directly stated his request, which was the Space-type Devil Fruit that Shen Qing wanted.

"Door-Door Fruit?" Blackbeard carefully recalled the information about this Devil Fruit, looking for anything special about it. He even took out the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia to compare it, but he only found that it was a fruit that was good for saving his life, and there was nothing special about it.

"How's it going, Brother Teach? Can you do it?" Doflamingo asked hesitantly after a few minutes of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Brother Doflamingo, I can do it, but I don't know where the current user of the Door-Door Fruit is," Teach said, slightly embarrassed.

Although the Blackbeard Pirates are quite strong, they are far from good at intelligence gathering. Therefore, although he was interested in doing this business, he had no choice but to give up if he couldn't find the right people.

“That was my oversight. The current user of the Door-Door Fruit is CP9 member Bruno. If you’re willing to do this business, my Donquixote Family will provide you with his details.” Doflamingo slapped his forehead upon hearing this, and said with a sudden realization.

In terms of intelligence capabilities on this high seas, only the World Government, the Navy, and the World Economic News can surpass the Donquixote Family. Apart from them, no other force, not even the Four Emperors' crews, can match them in intelligence.

Blackbeard was overjoyed upon hearing this. Since the Donquixote Family was providing information, obtaining a Devil Fruit would be a piece of cake. This deal was on the table.

However, upon realizing his identity as a member of CP9, a glint flashed in Blackbeard's eyes, and his smile grew even brighter. As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and since he had encountered such a good opportunity, he naturally couldn't let it go. He had to make Doflamingo pay even more in return.

Teach immediately said with a hint of difficulty, "Brother Doflamingo, the Door-Door Fruit belongs to a member of the World Government's intelligence agency CP9, so things are going to be difficult. You know my Blackbeard Pirates are still relatively new and our strength is quite weak..."

"15 billion Berries." Doflamingo understood that Teach was trying to raise the price by complaining about being poor, but for Doflamingo, money was no problem, so he simply and decisively raised the price.

When Teach heard the voice coming from the other end of the Den Den Mushi, his breathing became heavy, and his eyes were filled with money symbols. He also gained a deeper understanding of the Don Quixote family's wealth.

"Brother Doflamingo, it's not that I don't want to help, it's just that my strength is too weak. I can't even afford to mess with the Navy, let alone the World Government..." Teach continued to feign difficulty, seeing that his trick was working.

"20 billion Berries." Doflamingo covered his forehead with his right hand, his eyes behind his sunglasses flashing, and his tone turned cold and sharp.

When Teach heard that the price had increased by another 5 million, he was overjoyed, and his greed was immediately aroused.

However, just as he was about to find a reason, Doflamingo's cold words were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, immediately sobering Teach up: "Teach, this is my final price. If you are still not satisfied, I don't mind sending someone to kill the Door-Door Fruit ability user and putting a new bounty on the sea."

Doflamingo may be rich, but he's not a fool, and he doesn't like being played repeatedly. He won't give up until Blackbeard is greedy enough.

"Brother Doflamingo, don't overthink it. I absolutely didn't mean it that way. I'm very satisfied with this price. It's just CP9, right? My Blackbeard Pirates will fight tooth and nail to get the Door-Door Fruit." Teach sensed Doflamingo's dissatisfaction, was immediately startled, regained his composure, and readily agreed.

He didn't want to let the big fat sheep he had finally found get away; it was worth 20 billion Berries, enough to double the size of the Blackbeard Pirates.

Just as Blackbeard accepted the job, Bruno, who was on a mission, suddenly sneezed several times, almost revealing his identity.

----

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, several days have passed, and the day of the martial arts examination has finally arrived.

Early in the morning, countless martial arts enthusiasts gathered near the arena outside Kuaiji City. More than 20,000 martial artists gathered together, and the noise echoed all around.

To ensure the smooth conduct of the martial arts examination, Shen Qing mobilized all 3000 local militiamen in the city to maintain order around the arena. He also had Hong Biao and the Xuanyuan family's retainers act as referees on the arena, and finally, he had Han Shengxuan and the Old Sword God stand on the high platform to oversee the proceedings and prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

On the high platform, Zhao Kai, dressed in a bright yellow Yue King's python robe, sat upright in the main seat, taking in the view below. Today, he was the pillar of the martial arts examination, using his status as the Yue King to guarantee the examination and let the people of the martial arts world see the sincerity of the Yue King's Mansion.

To his left, Shen Qing was wearing the red fourth-rank official robe of the Prince's Palace Chief Secretary, which he found rather unsettling. The bright red robe, along with the hat on his head, made him look like a groom, except for the large red flower on his chest.

Shen Qing's attire drew frequent, silent chuckles from Xuan Yuan Qingfeng, who sat opposite him. Shen Qing felt somewhat embarrassed and awkward. If it weren't for the formal occasion of the martial arts examination, Shen Qing would probably have changed out of his official robes immediately. He preferred a more relaxed style of dress.

The martial arts practitioners below watched as the Yue Prince's Mansion and others arrived, and then silently waited for the martial arts examination to begin.