I guarded Impel Down for a hundred years in the pirate world.

……

After hearing Urik's explanation, Ipolito had lost all hope.

He didn't take Ulik's investigations and preparations in secret seriously. These were routine operations for them to fight for sea territory and lamplight. Even if they didn't usually deal with each other, they would still decisively join forces when something important happened.

Sure enough, after learning that the other party might be Figo, Urik immediately came to inform him.

"This King of the Stars really does things unexpectedly. Most people thought he wouldn't descend upon Lampfire until it reconnected with the starry sky, but he did anyway. And instead of coming directly to Capri to greet us, he chose such a remote place to establish a trading company?"

"And now, is this a way of giving us a warning, using me as a pawn?" Ipolito said calmly, "Really, why me?"

Urik could see through Ipolito's attempt to conceal his anger with his three eyes, and said, "What's done is done, and there's no going back. We can only think about what to do next. That King of the Stars has formed a merchant guild, and he's been helping with the lighting ceremony by giving away lamp wicks, attracting neighboring merchant guilds, and trying to entice you to attack him. He probably wants a share of the lamp wicks and lights in the Hilo Sea."

He chose a path we can't really comment on, and now you've even handed him the knife... Ugh, this is troublesome. Anyway, let's go find the Emperor first. How to deal with that Star King is a decision the Emperor must make."

Ipolito nodded, his anger finally showing as he clenched his fists.

"Wait for me a little longer!"

He picked up the Den Den Mushi and dialed.

The target is Doflamingo.

……

Meanwhile, Doflamingo was also sitting in his office, staring at the Den Den Mushi.

Everything went according to his plan, and he seized the opportunity to triple the size of the merchant group in one go. However, as the moment approached, his unease began to fester.

The Den Den Mushi (snail phone) rang.

Doflamingo licked his slightly dry lips and answered the Den Den Mushi.

"Doflamingo, you did well. I really underestimated you." The voice coming from the other end of the Den Den Mushi was filled with extreme killing intent. Even though they were thousands of miles apart, it seemed to freeze his body!

"I'll remember you, kid!"

The Den Den Mushi (a type of electric scooter) beeps and hangs up.

Doflamingo looked bewildered.

He considered countless possibilities, including the possibility of losses and defeats suffered by the Ipolito faction, but he could not have anticipated Ipolito's reaction.

What do you mean? What did I do well?

"So it was you who led the Lunarias here." Suddenly, another voice echoed in his office.

Doflamingo's expression changed instantly. He jumped onto the chair and crouched down, looking warily in the direction from which the sound came. A tall, unfamiliar man appeared in his line of sight, carrying an unconscious man in black... How did he get in?

Wait, this guy seems to be... the president of the Lynch Merchant Guild?!

His heart sank, but he remained calm on the surface, chuckling softly, "Who are you? What are you saying? Why can't I understand you? This is the headquarters of our Don Quixote Merchant Guild. Wandering around like this is..."

"Oh, I almost forgot I disguised myself a little." Figo smiled, his expression changing before quickly returning to his original appearance.

"That Lunaria clan member thought I was making you and me act together to play him, and that I was so cunning. I'm a bit wronged to take the blame for this."

As for you… you're in trouble. He can't do anything to me, but he definitely hates you.

Doflamingo slowly widened his eyes.

His expression was blank, but his pupils dilated.

He understood everything instantly, and said with difficulty.

"Lord Figo..."

Chapter 306 The Skeleton Emperor

Capri, the royal capital.

Wearing a cloak of justice and a neat naval uniform, Dowena hurried across the square surrounded by a solemn golden fence and entered a magnificent cube-shaped building.

This building, named Albita Palace, is located in the very center of the royal capital, covering an area of ​​over 15 square meters. It is the royal palace of the human kingdom of Capri.

After entering the royal palace through the main gate, Dowuna paused briefly before continuing on her way.

There were three people waiting for her in the main hall, which surprised her and made her a little uneasy.

Seated on either side directly in front were King Urik of the Three-Eyed Clan and King Ipolito of the Lunaria Clan, while seated on the enormous throne in the very center, which occupied dozens of square meters, was none other than Emperor Capri, one of the strongest beings on Mars—the Skeleton Emperor Sauti Bareru!

This formal lineup, along with the presence of Ippolito, inevitably reminded Doflamingo of Doflamingo. Had he done something?

Without showing any change in expression, she first bowed slightly to greet Urik and Ipolito, and then bowed deeply to the throne.

Seated on the throne in front was a giant skeleton over 20 meters tall. It wore a wide golden robe, and its exposed bones were a mixture of red and black. Between its eyes, two balls of burning black flame seemed to be constantly flickering!

Unlike others, even though she represents the Qinghai Navy, Doowuna must show sufficient respect to the Skeleton Emperor.

The Skeleton Emperor is to the Stars of Light what Figo is to the Blue Sea. Three thousand years ago, it was he who led the alliance of humans and half-demons to land, giving humans a place to live. His existence represents the history of the human kingdom of Capri!

He was the founding emperor of Capri, and after reigning for several centuries, he justly passed the throne to the second emperor.

He fought countless battles against powerful demons and had a record of killing five-lamp kings on several occasions.

His physical body decayed and he disappeared for a time, leading the people of the Lampfire Star race to believe that he had passed away. However, six hundred years ago, when the Holy Demon King lit the six lamps and the human and half-demon races were terrified, he, now a skeleton, once again stood up, regained power, and led the human race to prepare for a desperate battle.

Of course, at that time, no one in the human race could have imagined that the Holy Demon King would cause such a scene.

The Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan type, Skull form, allows him to survive even after his physical body decays, and further enhances his strength.

There has been speculation that the Skeleton Emperor Sawuti Bareru may have lit the sixth lamp during these six hundred years!

"Your Majesty, you summoned me?"

"Major General Dowuna." The giant skull opened and closed its mouth, but the voice it emitted was not cold; it sounded like that of a gentle middle-aged man.

"Sir Gaston Figo, have you arrived at Lightfire Star yet?"

Dowuna was taken aback and looked up in surprise: "Lord Figo? No, Your Majesty, I did not receive any news of Lord Figo's arrival."

"Is that so? Perhaps His Excellency Figo hasn't had a chance to inform you yet, or perhaps the information I received is incorrect? Major General Doowena, please confirm with your brother when you return."

Doflamingo? Doflamingo's eyes twitched slightly as a name suddenly flashed through her mind—Michael, the powerful king of the angel race, suddenly appeared.

She grew up listening to the legend of Figo: the fish-man king Fizz, the fur king Fickel, and the giant king Fisher. Figo's three identities—the disguise he wore for the peace of the Qinghai tribes—had long become anecdotes, widely circulated in Qinghai.

This certainly does look like something Figo would do.

The destroyed Serau Merchant Guild was located in the nearby waters of the Doflamingo Merchant Guild, and she had paid special attention to it before.

There's no mistake, it's Lord Figo!

A sense of joy welled up in her heart, and she bowed slightly to the Skeleton Emperor: "Yes, Your Majesty."

"If it is indeed Lord Figo descending upon Mars, I hope he can confirm a time and place so I can personally pay him a visit. I have long heard of the King of the Stars."

After carefully considering her words, Dooyuna finally said, "I will convey your message."

Gently tap the skull.

Duowuna bowed and took her leave.

After she left the hall, the Skeleton Emperor said to the other two, "A clever girl, it seems she didn't know beforehand."

Ipolito said, "Of course, if she knew, she wouldn't have been able to fool me when she contacted me on behalf of Doflamingo."

Ulric said, "The truth may not be as we see it. The King of the Stars is rumored to be not a treacherous person, and he has no reason to plot against you. Perhaps... just like that girl, he discovered his arrival faster than we did because he was familiar with Gaston Figo."

Her brother, Doflamingo, took advantage of this and did some things on his own.

Ipolito turned to look at the Skeleton Emperor.

The Skeleton King remained silent.

Ipolito stood up and nodded: "That makes sense. Perhaps it was just Doflamingo acting on his own. I'll head back now."

With the King of the Stars standing behind them, the rise of the Lynch Merchant Guild in the Hilo Sea is unstoppable. Those special events, like the lighting ceremony and the free shopping spree, will likely have some impact on my guild. I need to prepare them.”

Urik hissed softly, then remembered the matter of helping to light the lamps. He stood up and said to the Skeleton Emperor, "In that case, I won't suppress those news reports about the Lynch Merchant Guild anymore?"

“Lucifer’s resurgence is imminent, and the final battle is about to begin. It’s good to get the merchant groups, big and small, moving things up first,” said the Skeleton Emperor.

"I understand."

……

Oh no...

On the other side, Doflamingo watched Figo's figure, connecting everything together, and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This time I've really offended Queen Lunaria, Ipolito!"

The other party might not dare to retaliate against Figo, but they would certainly dare to deal with him. The wrath of a human of the highest rank, a king who lit five lamps, was something his body could not withstand.

At the same time, Figo, who was like a god to the people of Qinghai, suddenly appeared before him, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. After quickly assessing his situation and determining that apart from this 'using someone else to do his dirty work', there didn't seem to be any major problems, Doflamingo jumped off the chair.

“Lord Figo, it turns out that you are behind the Lynch Merchant Guild. No wonder you created those ingenious events.” He bowed slightly and said, “As expected of you, it took me ten years to figure out the rules of this world, but you established your own merchant guild not long after you arrived.”

These two sentences are compliments, yet they come from the heart, especially the second half.

Just a few days ago, he was telling Lucilia that the best way to integrate was to join them, and today he discovered that Figo has already joined.

“I suppose you wouldn’t want to get bogged down in the minutiae of the merchant guild, and I happen to have over five years of experience managing merchant guilds…” He then proceeded to 'recommend himself' to Figo.

Figo looked at him, tossed the prisoner onto the sofa, and laughed.

Chapter 307 Arrest

Doflamingo is a smart man.

Just like Teach, knowing he had no chance against Figo, he chose to cooperate.

Doflamingo chose to make amends, knowing his purpose.

"The Lynch Business Group's own 81 islands and sea areas are not yet stable, and it is about to expand to 485 islands. I really need a vice president to handle the trivial matters for me."

A glint of excitement flashed in Doflamingo's eyes. Yes, Lord Figo's arrival is actually a good thing for me!

He had been enthusiastically planning his strategy of "the snake swallowing the elephant" before daring to set his sights on expanding the merchant group's sea area threefold and occupying 170 or 180 islands.

His strength limited his desires.

But with Figo on the team, it's a completely different story.

With Figo's power, it wouldn't be unreasonable for the merchant guild to occupy the entire Hilo Sea, one of the six major sea areas of the human race, right? Back then...

“Lord Figo, I will quickly get the Don Quixote Merchant Guild ready, weed out the redundant personnel, and bring them into your guild. Fu fu fu... It’s really lucky for those guys.”

"Ming-ge, Lady Doo-na is calling for you." At that moment, the door was pushed open, and Lucilia walked in with a Den Den Mushi.