Reselling

After thinking it over for a long time, Yota ultimately decided to release Zephyr and his group.

Of course, their warships, weapons, and the like were all confiscated by Yota, then resold to Doflamingo. With Doflamingo’s connections, taking in a batch of stolen goods was nothing at all.

Doflamingo could even claim later that Yota had forced him into it. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, Doflamingo had completely surrendered after getting beaten senseless by Yota. When the time came, he could just say Yota had forced the sale on him. What could the Navy do to him?

The dignity of a Shichibukai? Even Four Emperors and a former Naval Admiral had been knocked flat. What dignity did a mere Shichibukai need?

As for the warship Zephyr himself had been using, Yota naturally kept it. Navy warships might not have been made from any legendary premium timber, but they were still carefully constructed. Even after founding the so-called Neo-Navy, a former Naval Admiral like Zephyr was still sailing the ship he had used back when he was an admiral.

Built to the standards of a Naval Admiral, his ship was not necessarily inferior to those of the Four Emperors. In any case, it was more than enough for Yota.

Still, even if they were going to be released, Yota did not need to handle it himself. When he left, he could simply leave the matter to the Donquixote Family.

Yes, Yota was already preparing to leave Dressrosa. He had originally planned to stay for a few more days, but he had recently received word that the Big Mom Pirates were holding a birthday party.

Naturally, Yota had to get involved in something like that. Big Mom was said to possess the greatest innate talent in the Pirate World. Without using Haki or having a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, she possessed the defensive power of an iron balloon. Yota had long been drooling over her body.

But considering what Big Mom looked like now, was saying he had been drooling over her body a little too much? It would be easy for people to mistake him for a pervert.

That was the general idea, anyway. And Yota also had considerable interest in the Soul-Soul Fruit. He just did not know whether the Homies would die if the Soul-Soul Fruit were extracted.

If the Soul-Soul Fruit user died, the Homies naturally could not survive. But extracting a Devil Fruit alone had never happened before, so Yota did not know what exactly would happen.

Of course, Yota hoped the Homies would continue to exist. That way, he could use the Soul-Soul Fruit whenever he wanted to create Homies.

Moreover, many underworld bigwigs would be attending Big Mom’s birthday party to offer congratulations—Yota had not forgotten his grudge against that mangy bird who spread fake news!

Three days later, Yota boarded Zephyr’s warship with Violet, Kyros, and the siblings Ulti and Page One. Eating hot pot and singing songs, they departed Dressrosa.

As for a certain pitiful former Naval Admiral, after being released by Doflamingo, the pirate he despised most, he saw that every warship in the harbor had been refitted, and his face turned red with rage.

"Doflamingo, explain this to me. Why have all my warships become your pirate ships?"

Doflamingo wore a broad grin. "I’m sure Admiral Zephyr knows that, as a Shichibukai, I also run a few small businesses. Those Navy warships were sold to me by that Great Pirate from the Whitebeard Pirates."

"Bastard! They’re warships! How dare you accept them?" Zephyr glared at Doflamingo.

Doflamingo snapped irritably, "You should be saying that to Yota! How could I dare refuse a monster like that!?"

"Let me tell you, I spent more than eight billion Beli on all these warships. If you want them back, fine! But you cannot short me by a single Beli."

Zephyr was so furious smoke seemed ready to pour from all seven orifices, his fists clenched tight. Doflamingo held his head high and chest out, showing no sign of backing down.

"You’re nothing but a mere pirate!" Seeing his teacher being manipulated by a pirate like Doflamingo, Ain flew into a rage. Drawing her short swords, she charged forward.

Doflamingo sneered. With a slight twitch of his five fingers, Ain cried out as her two short swords suddenly crossed and stabbed toward her.

Fortunately, she was a battle-hardened swordswoman. She immediately stopped applying force, and the sword tips only pierced shallowly into her shoulders. Only then did she notice the transparent threads wrapped around her arms.

"Enough!" Zephyr threw a punch, releasing Armament Haki outward. Doflamingo’s expression shifted slightly as he raised a hand. Threads wove into layer after layer of spiderwebs, immensely resilient as they used softness to overcome strength.

Even so, Doflamingo was ultimately forced back several steps. Clearly, even though former Naval Admiral Zephyr had declined greatly in strength, he was still far beyond Doflamingo’s match.

A trace of surprise also flashed through Zephyr’s eyes. This Shichibukai, Doflamingo, was not that much weaker than him, which surprised him greatly.

"Fuffuffuffuffu! Admiral Zephyr truly is powerful, but surely you aren’t planning to directly rob me, a Shichibukai?"

Zephyr’s expression darkened. In truth, if he were still within the Navy system, then robbing him would have been no big deal. Doflamingo could at most complain, but there would be nothing he could do.

But the Pirate Guerrilla Squad he had established could only nominally be considered part of the Navy. In terms of actual administration, it had long since gone its separate way from the Navy.

Perhaps his old face could still earn him some respect within the Navy, but he was no longer one of the Navy’s own.

Doflamingo might not have much contact with the Navy, but he had no small network of connections within the World Government. If Zephyr truly provoked him, Doflamingo might use the World Government to make things difficult for him. At the very least, he could ensure that the Pirate Guerrilla Squad could no longer receive Navy supplies.

For Zephyr’s Pirate Guerrilla Squad as it was now, that would undoubtedly be fatal.

"Hmph! You’d better be careful. Pray that your crimes are never exposed."

In the end, Zephyr could only snort and throw out a few threats.

Afterward, the group could only stare blankly out at the sea. With no ships left, they could not exactly make Zephyr and his people work jobs to buy new ones, could they?

Fortunately, besides Zephyr’s Pirate Guerrilla Squad, Vergo from G-5 Base and reinforcements from headquarters had also come. Doflamingo did not dare embezzle those people’s ships, and in the end, the Navy gave the Pirate Guerrilla Squad several vessels.

Zephyr looked at the massive fleet of dozens of ships he had arrived with, now reduced to four or five small warships, with several hundred people crammed onto a single vessel. He could not help feeling desolate.

Then he looked at his two surviving students. Though they had not suffered any serious injuries, their Devil Fruit abilities had been extracted, and they now looked utterly dispirited. His hatred for both Yota and Doflamingo immediately made his teeth grind.

"Just wait. One day, I’ll send every last one of you to Impel Down!"