Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

Doflamingo immediately understood and turned to Trebol, who was following him, and said, "Trebol, you take Kuzan to rest yourself. Your Sticky-Sticky Fruit can create a soundproof barrier, which will help him sleep better. You heard what Brother Shen Qing said. Make sure to ensure Kuzan's sleep quality. I think you should stay outside Kuzan's room and make sure no one disturbs him."

"Young Master, rest assured, Lord Shen Qing, I guarantee I will handle things clearly and thoroughly." Torrebol chuckled, then sniffed and said to Kuzan, "Mr. Kuzan, please come with me."

"Well, well, everyone, excuse me, I'll go and rest now." Kuzan had only intended to make an excuse to cover up his distraction, but he didn't expect that Shen Qing and Doflamingo would trap him in their own trap with just a few words.

Kuzan lingered, clearly unwilling to leave. Anyone with eyes could see that Shen Qing had arrived with a group of powerful swordsmen, obviously to discuss something.

He was caught off guard by the other party's words, and leaving the banquet meant he would be temporarily unable to obtain the specific information.

A moment later, after Kuzan and Torrepol had walked away, Doflamingo smiled and gave Shen Qing a thumbs up, saying, "Brother Shen, what a skill! Kuzan is in a bind now."

Hawkeye, Crocodile, and the others also cast admiring glances, finding it somewhat unbelievable that Kuzan could be taken away so easily.

In fact, everyone present knew that Kuzan had clearly come with a purpose, so everyone was intentionally or unintentionally avoiding him, and only when they couldn't avoid him would they exchange a few pleasantries with a smile.

Of course, Kuzan himself knew this, but as long as he could stay in Shen Qing's camp, he would always have the opportunity to learn about their hidden secrets.

As Kuzan left, the banquet continued. Shen Qing ate his food at a leisurely pace. It wasn't time to discuss matters yet; the person he was waiting for hadn't arrived.

About an hour later, Festa reappeared in the banquet hall, and Shen Qing's face lit up with a long-awaited smile.

With Festa's arrival, Shen Qing gave the order to clear the area, "Alright, everyone except the core members of the Don Quixote family, please leave."

Soon, besides the remaining Don Quixote family members, the only people in the hall were the old swordsman, Wu Jian, Hawkeye, Old Sand, and Dazbonis who had been with Shen Qing.

"Festa, what are your arrangements for Barrett? Do you need our help?" Doflamingo asked Festa curiously again.

Barrett's flamboyant and domineering personality was unlikable, and few people present enjoyed associating with him.

“If he doesn’t know what’s good for him, we can make an example of him.” Old Sha took a puff of his cigar, his chilling gaze fixed on the hook in his left hand.

Festa smiled calmly at everyone's words, "Thank you all for your kind intentions, but my thought is that having more friends means having more options, and having more enemies means having more obstacles."

"Barrett may act eccentrically, but his strength is undeniable. No one should dare say they can easily defeat him, so I..."

"Festa, what do you mean?" Doflamingo interrupted Festa before he could finish speaking.

Crocodile also looked at him with displeasure.

"Alright, you two, stop interrupting each other. Wait until Mr. Festa finishes speaking before giving your opinions," Shen Qing said, stopping Dover and Old Shah from interrupting Festa.

With Shen Qing speaking, Doflamingo and Old Sand both chose to remain silent, letting Festa finish what he had to say.

Festa first thanked Shen Qing, then said, "So my idea is that instead of looking at Barrett with hostility, we should change our approach and make him an ally of ours."

"Great idea, great thought! Let's all share our opinions. I think Mr. Festa's idea is quite good," Shen Qing said with admiration.

He had no grudge against Barrett; at most, he just disliked Barrett's way of doing things and couldn't stand it. There was really no need to escalate the situation to the point of life and death.

Moreover, Barrett is indeed quite strong. If a fight were to break out and injuries were to occur, it would ultimately be a case of more harm than good.

"Since Brother Shen says so, I have no objection. I just don't like that guy," Doflamingo stated his position first, and Hawkeye nodded in agreement.

Shen Qing then looked at Lao Sha, whose expression changed slightly, but he still chose to go with the flow and said, "I have no objection either."

“Alright, since no one has any objections, let’s proceed with Mr. Festa’s suggestion regarding Barrett.” Shen Qing made the final decision, setting the tone.

Festa, standing to the side, secretly breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that everyone had agreed to his request.

He had just rashly agreed to join Shen Qing and the others, and urgently needed to stabilize his foundation. Barrett was a powerful ally for him. As long as he could persuade Barrett to help him, he wouldn't be a rootless duckweed in the alliance's power.

"Alright, let's put everything else aside for now and get back to the main topic. I've come here with only one purpose: to obtain at least 10,000 tons of each of the five metals: gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin. I hope we can discuss how we should proceed and who our targets should be." Shen Qing stated the purpose of his trip directly.

Before losing the anchor, Shen Qing had not noticed the inconvenience, but after losing the anchor, he immediately felt the difference. Therefore, he was eager to rebuild the anchor to facilitate the stable crossing point between the two worlds.

"Brother Shen Qing, are you serious? I thought you were just joking." Doflamingo said with a look of shock on his face after hearing Shen Qing's words.

Everyone else present looked over in shock.

“Mr. Festa, tell me your thoughts.” Shen Qing did not answer Dover’s question, but instead showed his intentions through his actions.

Upon hearing this, Festa swallowed hard and asked uncertainly, "Brother Shen Qing, I want to ask, you wouldn't really be thinking of making a move against the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, would you?"

As Festa spoke, the scene fell silent. Everyone stared nervously at Shen Qing. Mary Geoise was the holy land of the Celestial Dragons. If they disturbed it, they would inevitably be hunted down by the World Government.

At that time, not only will the Navy be mobilized, but the CP organization will also go all out, and even the coalition forces of many member states of the World Government will be mobilized to help hunt them down, which is like stirring up a hornet's nest.

So even though Festa mentioned before that the Holy Land of Mary Geoise had plenty of gold and silver, it was just a casual remark; he never really paid any attention to it.