RNP Chapter 282 Treaty Signed, Berserker Joins
Chapter 282 Treaty Signed, Berserker Joins
Chapter 282 Treaty Signed, Berserker Joins
In the reception room of King's Heroes, Doflamingo listened to Trebol and Lao G's reports. His smile remained unchanged, but the frequency of his fingers tapping on the armrest increased slightly.
"Foo hoo ...
Hawkeye sat calmly in front of him, sipping his black tea.
"That girl's qualifications are troublesome." Hawkeye put down his teacup.
"Forcibly taking it will inevitably provoke a desperate resistance from her and her heroic spirit."
"Spartacus—Shakespeare said he was a man who would burn everything in rebellion. To fight him in Dressrosa would be far more costly than rewarding."
"So what's your suggestion?" Doflamingo raised an eyebrow.
"Temporary cooperation," Hawkeye stated bluntly. "The Crusades' goal is to accumulate strength to fight against the World Government and Blackbeard. Having one more controllable Heroic Spirit is better than having one more bomb."
"That girl's wish is simply to be free and protect her father, which doesn't entirely conflict with your core interests."
"No conflict?" Doflamingo laughed. "She is a descendant of the Riku royal family."
"A descendant who only wants to take his father away." Hawkeye looked at him.
"You're keeping her around simply as leverage to control Cyrus and to prevent the resurgence of the old royal family's power."
.
"But if Cyrus is no longer a toy, regains his freedom, takes her away from Dressrosa, and never sets foot there again, wouldn't you have achieved the same goal?"
Doflamingo paused for a moment, then his smile turned playful: "Restore Cyrus's freedom? Fuh—do you know what that means?"
"I understand. The lifting of the Toy Curse, and the risk of Sugar, the user of the Toy-Toy Fruit, going out of control." Hawkeye nodded.
"But that's your problem. The Crusades can offer other solutions, such as—"
"Let Shakespeare use his magic weapon to weave a cognitive illusion for Cyrus and Rebecca that they have left and are living happily ever after, and implant it into the minds of the people of Dressrosa."
"As long as they truly leave and never return, your rule will not be shaken."
Doflamingo leaned back in his chair, his eyes behind his sunglasses gleaming with calculation.
After a long while, he shrugged.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck—okay, you win. We'll do it your way."
He stood up.
"However, I need to see that girl and her heroic spirit. There are some things that need to be said in person."
In the secret room, Rebecca sat nervously in a chair, with Spartacus standing behind her like an iron tower.
Cyrus was temporarily placed next door, and Caesar carried out emergency maintenance.
The door opened.
Doflamingo walked in, followed by Hawkeye and Shakespeare.
Rebecca tensed, fear and hatred flashing in her eyes. Spartacus's hand gripped the hilt of his sword.
"Relax, little girl." Doflamingo casually sat down opposite him. "I'm not here to fight."
He crossed his legs and looked at Rebecca.
"I agree to Hawkeye's proposal in principle. I can lift your father's toy curse and let you leave Dressrosa, never to return."
Rebecca's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Conditions," Spartacus said coldly.
"There are three conditions," Doflamingo said, holding up three fingers.
"First, after you leave, you must never return to Dressrosa in any form, nor contact the old forces to restore the old order."
"Secondly, before you leave, your heroic spirits will need to be temporarily deployed by the Crusades to assist in the fight against our common enemies, such as Blackbeard or the World Government."
"Third—" he looked at Spartacus.
"Control your rebellious impulses. While in Dressrosa, you are not allowed to lay a hand on my men or my country."
Rebecca bit her lip.
She can accept the first condition.
The second point—she looked at Spartacus. Would the Heroic Spirit agree?
Spartacus and Doflamingo locked eyes, flames flickering in their gazes.
"—Only for the greater oppressors," he finally said in a deep voice.
"Furthermore, you must not order me to harm the innocent."
"Deal." Doflamingo grinned. "Then, Shakespeare."
"Yes, Master." Shakespeare stepped forward gracefully, the quill in his hand gleaming.
"Noble Phantasm ready! The performance has begun, let's give a thunderous cheer (First Folio)."
Magic enveloped the entire room.
"Next, let's solve the first problem—"
He went to the next room.
"Let a father—restore his true self."
Radiance, in full bloom.
The quill in Shakespeare's hand radiated a soft yet powerful magical glow, a glow unlike the scorching heat of Spartacus's rebellion or the coldness of ordinary magic, but rather carrying a narrative quality.
It was as if countless phantoms of words, lines, and scripts were flowing and recombinating in the light.
He walked gracefully to the door of the next room, but instead of pushing it open, he drew a complex symbol in the air with the tip of his pen.
"Gentlemen, please watch with quiet contemplation." Shakespeare's voice, with its dramatic, theatrical intonation, was captivating.
The symbols were printed on the door panel, and then spread out like ripples, enveloping the entire room.
Inside the room, Caesar was fiddling with various instruments in front of the badly damaged toy soldier Cyrus.
As the magical ripples swept across, Caesar yelled and jumped back: "Mururu! What is that?!"
The toy soldier Cyrus's body began to tremble violently in the magical light.
It is not a physical vibration, but a fluctuation at the conceptual level.
Rebecca gripped the armrests of her chair nervously, Spartacus's hand rested on the hilt of his sword, Hawkeye observed silently, and Doflamingo wore an enigmatic smile.
"The ability of the Hobby Fruit is essentially to transform human concepts into toy concepts and implant cognitive modifications."
As Shakespeare wrote, he spoke as if he were giving a commentary.
"To undo it, you can't forcibly erase it, as that would harm the soul of the person affected. Instead, you need to use a stronger, more plausible narrative to overwrite the original premise."
The quill pen flew through the air, and the golden, magical words flowed as if they were alive.
[Character: Cyrus.]
[Original setting: A toy soldier from the Dressrosa Colosseum, a loyal doll with no past memories.]
[Covering Narrative: A warrior severely wounded in his resistance against Doflamingo's tyranny, who sealed his memories to conceal his identity.]
[Trigger condition: The call and repentance of the daughter, Rebecca.]
[Conversion Process: Beginning]
The words transformed into specks of light, flowing into the toy soldier's body.
"Ughhhhhh!!!"
Cyrus let out a painful and suppressed roar!
That was no longer the dull sound of a toy, but a cry from a human male, full of vicissitudes and pain!
The light of flesh and blood bursts forth from the cracks on the surface of the toy's body!
The plastic and cotton fillings receded and disappeared like the tide.
Instead, real muscles, bones, and skin are rapidly growing and remodeling!
Head, torso, limbs —
The silhouette of a tall, strong, and scarred human male gradually became clear in the light!
Rebecca covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face.
"Father—Father—"
It's been ten years.
The towering warrior father in her memory, the legendary gladiator who fought three thousand undefeated battles in the arena to protect her and her country, the soldier who silently guarded her even after being turned into a toy—
Are they finally coming back?
Doflamingo's smile faded slightly, and his eyes behind his sunglasses narrowed a little.
Lifting the toy curse means that Sugar's abilities are temporarily overridden, although it won't directly cause her to fall into a coma and trigger a chain reaction that restores toys nationwide.
But this was still a tentative attempt to shake the foundations of his rule.
However—he glanced at the calm Hawkeye beside him, and at the Spartacus O. who exuded a dangerous aura.
Well then—trading this little risk for a controllable fighting force and the elimination of internal threats is still a worthwhile trade.
The light reached its peak, then suddenly subsided.
The toy soldier disappeared from the room.
Instead, a tall man was kneeling on one knee, breathing heavily.
He had short, dark blue hair, a resolute face, a short beard on his chin, and his bare upper body was covered with a mix of old and new scars.
The most striking feature is a massive slash that cuts diagonally from the left shoulder to the right waist and abdomen.
Below his right calf was a simple yet sturdy metal prosthesis.
Cyrus.
The captain of the Riku royal guard, Rebecca's father, and a former hero of Dressrosa, has returned.
He looked up, his human eyes still somewhat dazed, but quickly focused and landed on Rebecca, who was in tears.
Time seemed to stand still for a second.
Then-
"Rei—Becca—"
A hoarse, trembling voice, a memory suppressed for ten years by a mysterious force, squeezed out of Cyrus's throat.
"Father!!!!"
Rebecca could no longer control herself and rushed over like a fledgling bird returning to its nest, crashing hard into her father's arms!
Cyrus held his daughter with all his might, and the real, warm touch brought tears to the eyes of this tough warrior.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I've made you wait so long... I've made you suffer so much..." Cyrus's voice choked with emotion.
"No—it's not hard—it's good that Father is back—it's good that he's back—" Rebecca stammered.
The father and daughter embraced tightly, as if trying to make up for the lost time of the past ten years.
The room was filled with a touching atmosphere; even Caesar touched his nose, and Perona secretly wiped the corner of her eye.
Shakespeare bowed gracefully, like an actor taking a curtain call: "Act One, a perfect end."
Spartacus looked at the father and daughter embracing, and the flames burning in his eyes softened slightly.
Although he believed in resisting oppression, the bonds and protection between family members were also a form of love.
A form he is willing to accept.
Hawkeye nodded slightly and looked at Doflamingo.
Doflamingo shrugged, his cynical smile returning to his face.
"Fufufu—a touching reunion. Now, let's get down to business."
Half an hour later, Cyrus changed into simple clothes in the renovated reception room. Although his face was still a little pale, he stood up straight, like a spear that would never bend.
He held Rebecca's hand tightly, protecting her by his side, and watched Doflamingo warily.
Spartacus stood behind them like a silent guardian deity.
Doflamingo sat in the main seat, with Hawkeye and Shakespeare on either side.
"The terms have been agreed upon," Hawkeye said, acting as the intermediary.
Cyrus regained his freedom and left Dressrosa with Rebecca, never to return.
"In exchange, before leaving and under certain circumstances in the future, Spartacus shall be subject to the reasonable deployment of the Crusaders to assist in the fight against the common enemy."
Cyrus asked in a deep voice, "How can I guarantee you will keep your promise? Will you pursue us after we leave?"
"I can assure you," Hawkeye said calmly, "the Crusades need allies, not slaves."
"Pursuing you will do us no good; on the contrary, it will break our promises to potential partners."
Shakespeare smiled and added, "Moreover, my Noble Phantasm has already left a cognitive anchor on you two. As long as you keep your promise not to return, the people of Dressrosa will remember that you have left and are well."
"Conversely, if you breach the agreement and return, the anchor point will be triggered, and the people will see that you are imposters. At that time, there will be no need to hunt you down, and you will be unable to shake the rule."
Kyros's pupils trembled—this is far more exaggerated than the rules of Devil Fruit abilities—
As expected, this is the Heroic Spirit that everyone covets—Doflamingo truly possesses this power—
This is a mild threat, and also a form of insurance.
Cyrus looked at Rebecca, and the girl nodded to him. She then looked at Spartacus, and the Heroic Spirit grinned at her, indicating that she should make her decision.
"—Alright." Cyrus finally nodded. "We accept."
"A wise choice." Doflamingo stood up. "Well then, before you leave, there's one more thing to take care of."
He walked to the window and pointed to the distant sea.
"Just received intelligence: Fire Fist Ace and Sun Child Karna are heading to the Grand Line at full speed, most likely to meet up with the Straw Hat Pirates from Fishman Island."
Everyone's expression tightened.
"At the same time, Blackbeard seems to have made some new moves; his fleet is sailing towards the front half."
"Doflamingo continued."
"It seems those guys also have the ability to detect those who are participating in the war—"
"The Marine Headquarters is also assembling on a large scale. Kizaru and Fujitora have already been deployed. Their target is unknown, but they are likely trying to take advantage of the chaos to achieve their goals."
He turned and looked at Spartacus.
"Berserker, your first assignment has arrived."
Spartacus's eyes blazed with fury: "What is the target?"
"A small island north of Dressrosa, an island that still retains a system of slavery." Doflamingo grinned.
"According to our reconnaissance, there seem to be new participants in this war up there—it's the closest place to us. Let's go see if we can win them over."
"If all else fails, we can either snatch the qualification or bring that person back."
He looked at Hawkeye.
Hawkeye nodded: "I have a contractual relationship with Kojiro. He's currently with the Straw Hat crew on Fishman Island." Spartacus's wild smile appeared: "A place where slaves still exist—a cage for imprisoning rebels—hmm, certainly a place suitable for rebellion to breed."
"My true love will illuminate that place!!!"
"Father—" Rebecca looked at Cyrus with concern.
Cyrus hesitated for a moment, then looked at Spartacus: "Mr. Spartacus, you—"
"My contractor," Spartacus said, looking down at Rebecca.
"Your wish is for freedom and protection. My purpose in being is to resist oppression."
"Going to that oppressive place will buy you both the time and space to leave safely, and it will also fulfill my beliefs. Furthermore..."
He looked at Doflamingo with a defiant gaze.
"If there is greater oppression there, I will ignite an even greater fire. Would that be a good thing for you too?"
Fufufu————”
Doflamingo smiled noncommittally.
"Then it's settled." Hawkeye made the decision.
"Spartacus can decide on his own course of action. Cyrus and Rebecca will be secretly transported to a safe location by us, with their ships and identities arranged. We suggest going to an island controlled by the Revolutionary Army, where Sabo can provide support."
Cyrus was taken aback: "The Revolutionary Army?"
"Ah, I almost forgot." Doflamingo seemed to remember something.
"It's normal that you don't know this after being turned into a toy for ten years. That kid Sabo is the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army and one of the Red Team participants in the Holy Grail War. The Heroic Spirit he summoned is Napoleon."
A complex light flashed in Cyrus's eyes.
----good."
He finally nodded, "I'll go to the revolutionary army."