Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

Just as Xie Guanying was happy, Zhao Kai, inside the prefectural governor's mansion, was sulking. He had received a letter from Shen Qing early that morning, which read, "Go and invite someone, return tomorrow morning."

Upon seeing the note, Zhao Kai immediately understood that Shen Qing had once again secretly taken the Old Sword God and Xuan Yuan Qingfeng to the One Piece world. This left Zhao Kai, who had always wanted to go there, feeling depressed and in no good mood.

However, after a short while, Zhao Kai's anger subsided considerably. He knew that Yuezhou was currently dealing with a huge mess, and it was necessary to leave someone in charge. With Shen Qing absent, only he could stay behind; otherwise, if an unexpected situation arose, no one else would be able to take charge.

Zhao Kai quickly composed himself and threw himself back into handling state affairs. He awaited Shen Qing's return the next day to hold another selection for martial arts scholars.

Port of Dressrosa.

Upon receiving news of Blackbeard's impending arrival, Doflamingo immediately dispatched his family executives to clear the port, temporarily prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving the docks, in preparation for the arrival of the Blackbeard Pirates.

However, what Dover didn't know was that just five minutes before he ordered the docks to be cleared, Lucci stepped off a merchant ship and onto the land of the Kingdom of Dressrosa.

Originally, after finding out about Blackbeard, Lucci planned to infiltrate the Dressrosa Kingdom ahead of time to assassinate members of the Blackbeard Pirates. However, after seeing the Donquixote Family begin to impose martial law on the docks, Lucci's curiosity was piqued.

It wasn't until he saw Blackbeard carrying a wooden box and receiving a warm welcome from Doflamingo at the port that Lucci suddenly remembered that in Bruno's last phone call before his death, he seemed to hear Blackbeard say that someone had paid a high price to buy the Door-Door Fruit, which was why Bruno suffered an undeserved disaster. Therefore, Blackbeard could only be called a tool for committing the crime, and the mastermind was the one behind it all.

"Could it be Doflamingo, the mastermind behind all this?" Lucci clenched his fists, a surge of killing intent welling up within him. But the next second, his expression changed, and he quickly suppressed his aura, ducking into a nearby alley and disappearing from sight.

Just as Lucci's murderous intent arose in his rage, Blackbeard and Doflamingo almost simultaneously sensed this malice. They immediately used their Observation Haki to look in the direction from which the murderous intent came, but Lucci had already disappeared, leaving them empty-handed. They thought they had imagined it, until Doflamingo and Blackbeard disappeared. Only then did Lucci emerge from another direction, looking at the dock that had returned to order, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

"Doflamingo, you'd better hope you're not the mastermind behind this, or I will destroy the Donquixote Family at all costs." Lucci coldly looked in the direction of the Dressrosa Kingdom.

He then turned his gaze to the white dove in the white suit perched on his shoulder and said, "Hadori, keep an eye on their position from high above, then come back and tell me to be careful not to get spotted."

Upon hearing this, White Dove Hadori extended its wings in salute, then took to the sky, keeping a close watch on Blackbeard's group from afar.

Not long after Hadori took to the skies, Van Augur, who was traveling, suddenly stopped, looked up at the sky, and unconsciously gripped his sniper rifle. His actions immediately caught Blackbeard's attention.

"What's wrong with Van Augur?" Blackbeard asked, puzzled.

"Captain, there seems to be a white dove watching us from high above," Van Augur said, frowning. As the Black Organization's ace sniper, Van Augur possessed not only precise marksmanship but also an extremely keen sense of touch. He could instinctively detect being stared at by any intelligent being for even a few seconds. Therefore, upon sensing the gaze from high above, he immediately used his Observation Haki to discover that it was a white dove.

"What's wrong, Brother Teach?" Doflamingo, who was walking ahead, immediately asked after noticing that Blackbeard had stopped.

“Brother Doflamingo, it’s alright, I’ll be going now.” Blackbeard replied with a smile, then said to Van Augur, “Maybe you’re being too sensitive. You know this is the Kingdom of Dressrosa, home to 100,000 people. A pigeon is nothing to worry about. Relax. Besides, even if we think about the worst-case scenario, this isn’t our territory, and that pigeon could very well be spying on the Donquixote Family.”

Upon hearing this, Van Augur thought it made sense. Dressrosa Island was the territory of Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Even if they were being monitored, it was very likely that someone was trying to cause trouble for Doflamingo. What did it have to do with them?

His and Captain Blackbeard's purpose in coming here was simply to trade the Door-Door Fruit and then take the money and leave. Anything else was none of their business with the Blackbeard Pirates. Van Augur, realizing this, immediately looked away and followed Blackbeard again.

Inside the palace, Blackbeard sat down at Doflamingo's invitation.

"Brother Doflamingo, this mission has been accomplished. This is the Door-Door Fruit." After Blackbeard sat down, he placed the box he had been carrying on the table in front of him and opened it. Inside was the Devil Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit with spatial attributes.

"Fufufu, Brother Teach, you've really gone to a lot of trouble. This is exactly the Door-Door Fruit I wanted." Doflamingo was overjoyed upon seeing the Door-Door Fruit, his face beaming with barely suppressed joy.

Obtaining the Door-Door Fruit is equivalent to gaining Shen Qing's favor, which will be of great benefit to the Don Quixote family in the future.

"Brother Doflamingo, the Door-Door Fruit has arrived. How about we settle the accounts for the supplies? It's not that I don't trust you, but I don't want to waste your precious time." Blackbeard smiled at the very satisfied Doflamingo and immediately began discussing the supplies for the trade. This fruit, which he hadn't valued highly, represented supplies worth 20 billion Berries, enough to equal the Blackbeard Pirates' earnings over half a year.

“This is easy to arrange. I wonder if Brother Teach has prepared a list of items, or perhaps I should have Trebol bring over a price list. Brother Teach can choose to buy whatever catches his eye.” Doflamingo readily agreed, seeing Blackbeard’s eagerness. He secretly thought to himself, “He’s just a nouveau riche, acting like he’s never seen the world.”

However, these thoughts only crossed Doflamingo's mind. Given the potential shown by the Blackbeard Pirates, Doflamingo had already listed them as key targets for support, intending to help them become one of the Four Emperors and, in the future, make them an important member of the Donquixote Family's network of connections.

Blackbeard quickly selected 20 billion worth of supplies and couldn't wait to get up and leave.

"Brother Teach, don't rush off. Brother Shen Qing will be here soon. How about we all have dinner together before you go?" Doflamingo hurriedly tried to persuade Blackbeard to stay, seeing that he was about to leave. Shen Qing had already told him when he called earlier that he should treat Blackbeard and his group well, and that he and Hawkeye would be arriving soon after. Doflamingo naturally couldn't let Blackbeard leave early.

“Shen Qing, it’s him.” Blackbeard was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then immediately thought of the young man whom Doc Q had treated last time. At the time, he was very curious about the young man’s identity, as he seemed to have a very special relationship with Doflamingo.

Upon hearing that the mysterious young man was coming, Blackbeard narrowed his eyes, secretly considering whether or not he should meet him.

Seeing this, Doflamingo continued, "Brother Teach, I bought the Door-Door Fruit for Brother Shen Qing. You've done us such a big favor, so Brother Shen Qing would like to invite you to a meal to properly express his gratitude. I wonder if Brother Teach would agree?"