In just an instant, Trebol guessed the identity of the person in question.

There were plenty of villains in the North Blue, and no shortage of people involved in the slave trade.

Moreover, less than six kilometers from where Pica died, there was a slave trafficking hub on a nearby island.

Even that slave operation center was larger than the one Pica was guarding, yet it wasn't attacked at all.

From this alone, it was clear that Pica's death wasn't an accident—it was premeditated revenge!

Trebol knew Pica well.

He was a steady, quiet man who rarely spoke and spent most of his time among rocks.

Apart from missions assigned by Doffy, he hardly interacted with others or moved around.

It would've been difficult for him to make personal enemies.

The only possible way Pica could have offended someone was while carrying out tasks for Doflamingo, crossing the wrong person.

Combined with the earlier news about the Marine's top forces gathering, the identity of this person was practically obvious—wasn't it the Marine's future who was recently captured by the Whitebeard Pirates because of their young master?!

At the time, they thought that once Jake was taken by the Whitebeard Pirates, given his intense hatred for Pirates, there was no way he could get along with anyone on Whitebeard's crew.

In fact, because of that hatred and loathing for Pirates, there was a high probability Whitebeard would have killed Jake!

But what if Jake wasn't killed by Whitebeard and instead befriended him?

No, no! That's impossible!

Jake must have escaped from Whitebeard's ship.

The reason the Marine's top brass appeared here was to prevent the Whitebeard Pirates from still pursuing Jake.

Yes, that must be it.

As for Pica's death, while it was most likely Jake's doing, now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

He had to call Doflamingo back immediately!

Rising anger, hatred—these emotions were like ashes before the Marine Headquarters' elite forces, scattered by the wind in an instant.

"Brrring Brrring!"

The ringing continued, but no one answered on the other end.

Trebol was going insane.

Right now, the North Sea was crawling with monsters!

If Doflamingo accidentally ran into any one of them, he'd be in deep trouble.

There was even a chance he might encounter the Marine's top forces, resist and end up killed by their high-ranking officers.

If that really happened, what would all his years of planning amount to?

He couldn't bear the thought of such a scenario.

To salvage the situation, he frantically kept calling Doflamingo.

One call, then another, then another!

He even ordered his subordinates to start dialing Doflamingo's Den Den Mushi nonstop.

In no time, the entire beach was filled with the incessant "Brrring Brrring" of Den Den Mushi.

*****

Meanwhile, not far away, four figures stood on the turbulent sea.

Aokiji sat casually on his bike, his feet lightly resting on ice, as he eyed the flamboyantly dressed man before him and muttered.

"Your outfit's pretty weird, pal. But hey, looks like you're trying to pick a fight with my friend here, right?" Aokiji spoke while glancing at Jake nearby and Monet, who stood behind Jake and waved at him.

"Well, how should I put it? Although I haven't spent much time with these two youngsters, coincidentally, both of them really suit my taste. You could say they're my friends despite the age difference. If you try to bully them, I might have to make things difficult for you."

Kuzan shook his head helplessly as he spoke, his eyes carrying a trace of laziness.

Yet upon closer inspection, the ice beneath his feet was visibly expanding forward at an astonishing rate.

Within just a few seconds, the frozen surface beneath everyone had already extended hundreds of meters.

The piercing cold seeped through the ice into Doflamingo's clothes.

Despite his usually formal attire, most of his outfits were thin, with pants that exposed his ankles.

In such frigid air, his ankles had already turned purplish from the cold.

Kuzan looked at Doflamingo and said slowly.

"I know a thing or two about your identity, Doflamingo. But what happens here next is no longer within your control. If I were you, I'd leave now. Once everyone arrives, I doubt you'll be able to escape even if you want to."

Aokiji's words made Doflamingo frown slightly.

He stared at the admiral, his voice laced with confusion and faint anger.

"What the hell do you mean by that? What 'everyone arriving'? And you're telling me to just walk away when my family was murdered?!"

Aokiji scratched his head in frustration at Doflamingo's response.

Before he could formulate a reply, a Den Den Mushi wriggled out from Doflamingo's coat.

Watching the ringing snail, Doflamingo answered the call, only to be met with a panicked shriek.

"Doffy! Doffy! You haven't caught up with those guys yet, right?"

"Which guys? Who am I supposed to catch up with?"

Trebol's words only deepened Doflamingo's confusion while amplifying his unease.

"Jake! The one who killed Pica was Jake! Have you caught up with him yet? And—"

But Doflamingo stopped listening.

The moment he confirmed Jake as Pica's killer, his rationality burned away completely.

Truthfully, he'd known who killed Pica the instant he saw Jake.

The golden specks remaining in the stone debris and the terrifying lightning-like marks around the area had only reinforced his suspicion.

Seeing his family's murderer standing right before him, Doflamingo's fury peaked.

Even facing one of the Marine Headquarters' top fighters, he seemed to have lost all reason.

Veins bulged across his forehead like coiled green snakes.

He turned to Kuzan, his voice dripping with menace.

"Fufufufufu... I'm afraid I can't let your friend leave today. Your friend killed my family. As a Marine, you should understand right from wrong. You should know what price killers must pay, don't you?"

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