Although he had already instructed Ian to send a reply, the more Luo Lan thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
Something wasn't right.
And then—he suddenly thought of someone.
He swiftly picked up the Den Den Mushi on the table.
Brrr... Brrr... Brrr...
"This is Morgans!"
"Morgans, it's me!"
The moment he heard that voice, Morgans immediately put down his pen.
That voice—he knew it all too well.
"What is it this time? Got some juicy intel for me?"
"On the contrary, I'm here to ask you for information."
"You're asking me for information?"
Morgans was momentarily stunned.
Something he didn't know?
Now that was interesting.
He was immediately intrigued.
"What do you want to know?"
"That piece of Seastone that recently surfaced on the black market—you're one of the underground world's kingpins. You must know something others don't, right?"
"Don't tell me... you've taken an interest in that Seastone too?"
Morgans was surprised.
"Is there a problem with that?"
"There is a problem. I suggest you stay out of this."
"Hmm?"
Luo Lan frowned.
Just as he suspected—there was something fishy going on.
"Explain. In detail."
"Ah, why don't you ever listen to advice..." Morgans sighed deeply before slowly beginning to speak.
"First of all, there's nothing wrong with the Seastone itself—it's genuine."
"But... it's bait. A trap laid by one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Donquixote Doflamingo."
"To explain this, we have to go back to the shipment of slaves he sent to the East Blue..."
Several minutes later, Luo Lan finally understood the full story.
To summarize: Luo Lan had intercepted a slave ship and, in doing so, not only ruined one of Doflamingo's operations but also poached one of his subordinates—Baby 5.
And knowing Doflamingo's nature, there was no way he'd let that slide.
So, he mobilized all his informants across East Blue to uncover who was responsible.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find anything.
Still, while they didn't find the culprit, they did uncover something else.
A new, mysterious faction had recently emerged in East Blue. Not only were they regularly exchanging bounties with the Bounty Guild for large sums of money, but they were also making significant deals with the black market.
Aside from this strange, seemingly well-connected force, Doflamingo couldn't imagine anyone else in East Blue capable of such a bold act.
After all, just Baby 5 alone was strong enough to dominate the entire region.
Naturally, Doflamingo locked onto this mysterious group.
But how to flush them out?
He tried pressing both the Bounty Guild and the black market for information, but neither would give anything up.
On one hand, revealing client info would ruin their credibility. On the other...
They genuinely didn't know anything.
Luo Lan had been extremely cautious during all his transactions. He never exposed his identity.
Eventually, under Doflamingo's pressure, the black market made a slight concession and shared one detail:
This mysterious group had inquired multiple times about the procurement of Seastone.
And thus, this "auction" was born.
Doflamingo supplied a real piece of Seastone and instructed the black market to hold a public sale.
The black market, of course, understood what this really was: a trap to draw out the hidden faction.
But that wasn't their concern.
They simply needed to proceed with business as usual.
After all, with genuine Seastone in hand, there was money to be made.
What Doflamingo planned afterward had nothing to do with them.
"Wait... you're not saying that the group Doflamingo is targeting... is your 'Jun Lin'?"
Morgans suddenly realized the implication.
"What do you think?"
"...Got it. Thanks for the heads-up. I'll have someone deliver three very interesting pieces of intel to our usual drop-off."
Luo Lan didn't expect free favors. In return for Morgans' information, he offered a reward that, for Morgans, was extremely generous—three exclusive and fascinating news items.
After ending the call, Luo Lan walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the 157th Branch under his command.
"Doflamingo, huh..."
"I was planning to deal with you after I returned from Skypiea... but since you've come knocking..."
"Then maybe it's time... we settle the matter of my brother once and for all."
A memory flashed through Luo Lan's mind again.
The moment that awakened his Conqueror's Haki.
His eyes reddened with veins of fury.
---
Alabasta Kingdom — Rainbase, "Rain Dinners" Casino
"Miss All Sunday, any news from the fishmen?"
"Yes, Mr. 0. But it's not good—they lost the trail."
Crocodile frowned.
"Those fishmen... useless as expected."
"Now, now, Mr. 0, that's not entirely fair. The target entered the Calm Belt. If those fishmen had followed... they'd be dead."
"The Calm Belt? Could they be from East Blue?"
"Unclear. Possibly... or they could just be trying to mislead us."
Robin shook her head.
She had witnessed the masked woman clash with Crocodile firsthand.
And she had to admit—that woman was strong.
Had the warship not intervened and posed a threat to their submarine...
It would've been hard to say who would've come out on top in that fight.
Robin didn't believe such a powerful group could come from the so-called "weakest sea."
"Should I take a trip to East Blue?"
"No. You're staying here."
Crocodile didn't hesitate.
Robin was a crucial part of his plan—there was no way he'd let her go that far unsupervised.
What if she ran?
"Fine, you're the boss. By the way, there's something else."
"What is it?"
"Word just came from the black market—they're auctioning off a 27-kilogram block of Seastone. Mr. 0... interested?"
Seastone.
To be honest, it was a strategic resource... and also the bane of Logia-type Devil Fruit users like himself.
But as much as he disliked it, Crocodile couldn't deny—it was exactly what he needed.
Only with a substantial stockpile of Seastone could a ship freely cross the Calm Belt.
Though the technique was originally developed by Vegapunk and known only to the Navy and the World Government...
Nowadays, any faction with the right connections could get their hands on it.
"Alright. Send a reply to the black market."
Robin nodded and took out a Den Den Mushi, dialing a number.
---
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