Chapter Thirty-One: Lies, Lies, and More Lies

What Qiubai needed to do now was, in essence, quite simple—his actions were nothing less than what legend called “following the ship’s current.” Yet, who boards whose ship, and who brings misfortune upon whom, that is truly impossible to judge.

Drawing closer to Doflamingo, what was Qiubai truly aiming for? Heaven only knows his intentions, for April is a season especially suited for lies.

Still, the Caesar, the Kongō, the Vikramaditya, and the Sorakumo might have some inkling regarding his actions.

Qiubai himself did not dwell too much on it now. Apart from Doflamingo himself, the composition of the “Doflamingo Family” could be simply divided into several strata: top officers, officers, combatants, and minor underlings.

Generally speaking, becoming a peripheral member was hardly difficult, but that could not be Qiubai’s goal—otherwise, he would not insist on meeting Doflamingo in person.

During Qiubai’s conversation with Doflamingo, several other officers appeared behind Doflamingo, but Qiubai kept his gaze steady, ignoring those who came later. He knew perfectly well who held authority here.

In matters of worldview alone, for Doflamingo, though their exchange had been brief, Qiubai unmistakably possessed the awareness required to join the Doflamingo Family—if all his words could be taken as truth.

“No pirate crew ever feels its fighting force is absolutely sufficient, so recruiting fresh blood is a constant occurrence. The Doflamingo Family is no exception. However... the premise is that you must truly be ‘combat power’,” Doflamingo said.

The words were nicely put, but he had seen far too many whose abilities were utterly useless.

Given the age of Qiubai and his companion, if they wanted to join Doflamingo’s group at least as “reserve officers,” they ought to possess a certain level of strength. Otherwise, they held no value worthy of the boss’s attention.

If deemed worthless, Qiubai would have no choice but to become a low-level underling. Coupled with his crisp, clean lie upon their first meeting, if he were seen as merely a performer, his fate would be even worse—he wouldn’t even get the chance to be a small fry, but might be dragged behind the ship and sunk into the North Sea.

But... did he have value?

“Ain,” Qiubai called Ain by name.

In short, it was time to show their abilities.

In fact, once Doflamingo had spoken those words, Qiubai’s purpose was essentially fulfilled. Few pirate crews would reject someone with a Devil Fruit ability, especially one as rare and valuable as Ain’s.

Upon hearing Qiubai’s words, Ain, who had been standing behind him, finally stepped forward.

Her sudden movement drew a reaction from Doflamingo’s subordinates, but Doflamingo simply waved his hand, signaling them not to act rashly.

Ain approached, placing the tip of her right index finger on an upright slab of rock before her. Almost immediately, those present seemed to sense heat radiating from the rock’s surface, and then it began to liquefy, dripping with a hissing sound.

The rock had become magma.

Unlike with the Sea Kings earlier, if Ain wanted to revert something far enough back in time, she needed sustained contact with the target. Instantly reverting something over a long period was beyond her current ability.

“A Devil Fruit user?” Doflamingo inquired.

“Ain possesses the Regression Fruit, which allows her to revert living or nonliving objects by twelve-year increments, theoretically with no time limit,” Qiubai explained. The rock’s transformation to magma was not due to heat, but the effect of Ain’s power.

“Living beings?” Doflamingo instantly seized upon the crucial point.

“Yes, as long as the power is maintained, a thirty-six-year-old can remain perpetually at twenty-four,” Qiubai illustrated, employing a high standard of mathematics for an unrivaled, vivid example.

“Or, if any of you would like to try it yourselves?”

“No need for now. I’ve seen enough from your companion. And what about you?” Doflamingo replied.

Of course, it would be a joke to risk himself or his “family” members with a stranger they’d just met, reverting time—what if someone vanished altogether? Who would take responsibility?

Thankfully, the underlings had already been chased off, or there would have been plenty of guinea pigs.

Though Doflamingo’s tone remained unchanged, and his eyes hidden beneath sunglasses made his expression unreadable, just from this demonstration alone, he had already decided upon Ain.

Or more precisely, he had “chosen without reservation”—such a Devil Fruit user was not to be let go for any reason... the fruit that could revert age, Doflamingo saw no reason to discard her.

After Ain’s display, Doflamingo also began to expect something from Qiubai, since it was clear that these two were led by Qiubai; if he was the one in charge, he ought to be remarkable as well.

Qiubai was fully aware of this.

After Ain stepped back, Qiubai turned away from Doflamingo and his group, opening his thumbs and index fingers to form a frame, squinting one eye as he gazed into the distance... He knew well that preemptively aiming would help his accuracy.

Thus, to fully display his ability, Qiubai took aim for a full... one... two, three, four, five minutes.

Doflamingo’s group had no idea what he was doing, thinking perhaps he was conducting some kind of survey, so they waited dryly.

“You may not believe it, but I’m actually a sniper,” Qiubai declared once he felt confident with his aim.

As he spoke, he drew his bow, then a Thousand Blade to use as an arrow, nocked it, and began his splendid live demonstration.

With the bowstring taut and his fingers suddenly relaxing, the arrow shot forth, swift and powerful.

It whistled past the edge of a garbage mountain and struck the midsection of a distant, abandoned lighthouse.

Brilliant blue light burst forth instantly, the lower half of the lighthouse swept away, the upper half blasted skyward by immense force, and after this spectacle, the thunderous explosion finally reached their ears.

Qiubai nodded in satisfaction, as if he had finally achieved his goal.

Where there is ambition, there is achievement—he had proven he could do it... or so it seemed! His actual target had been the nearby garbage mountain, but somehow, he missed that large target and, by sheer luck, struck the more prominent landmark in the distance.

All that aiming had been futile; fortune’s wheel had spun again—no matter how much ill luck one suffers, there are always moments when fortune turns.

As the saying goes... luck is also a part of strength.

Now Qiubai had vindicated himself: “I really am a sniper.”