Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Family Completion Plan (Part One)

On the day of the Lakai Shu operation, Doflamingo had his own agenda. He even left the island by boat; at that time, Akebai naturally had no idea what he was up to, and as a newly joined member who had yet to earn much trust, he didn’t go poking his nose into secret matters. That had nothing to do with caution—anyone with a sound mind and a bit of intelligence would know that there are times and things that should not be inquired about.

Moreover, Doflamingo’s operation came after Akebai’s group. Their own mission had lasted barely a single day, but it was not until five days later that Doflamingo finally returned.

Upon his return, Gladius immediately reported the previous events to him. The Lakai Shu business had been relatively straightforward; the only reason Akebai and Ain, both newcomers, had been included was so they could be observed up close.

“I understand the situation,” Doflamingo said, tossing a stack of documents onto the table—an investigative report on Akebai. The details were not exhaustive, but sufficient to corroborate Akebai’s account.

Indeed, there had recently been sightings of ships suspected to have crossed from the New World to the North Sea.

“But, Young Master…”

“Gladius, you must realize that some things in a person are innate and unchangeable, while others can be improved with practice. All he needs is proficiency.”

For this newly recruited sniper who couldn’t hit his mark, Doflamingo seemed to have a remarkable degree of patience.

“With someone Akebai’s age, it’s often impossible to have both power and precision in attack. It’s perfectly reasonable that he values force over accuracy; that’s the folly of youth.”

Given the choice between a more explosive shot and a more accurate one, the young almost always choose the former, as it showcases their strength. The principle of achieving the greatest effect with the least force is not something they necessarily grasp.

What’s more, Akebai was such a rare talent—a true eccentric. But even Doflamingo could not see through everything. After all, Akebai was not simply a young man.

“As for his necessary or unnecessary thoughts, there’s nothing wrong with them either. People change with time and environment, and they also need to be trained.”

When he said this, Doflamingo was probably not thinking only of Akebai; compared to him, there were others who needed far more discipline.

That was the person Doflamingo was closest to by blood, the one most likely to die for him—and, indeed, the one who most ought to.

In short, it came down to a single conclusion: for now, it did not matter if Akebai’s aim was off. Doflamingo believed that, in time, his aim would improve.

With someone of Akebai’s destructive potential, could anyone truly discard him over such a “minor flaw”? In fact, even setting aside swordsmanship, his ranged attacks were not limited to that alone. Most simply, he could not only shoot arrows but also swords; launching blades directly out of his inherent barrier was no issue for him at all.

He could strike with pinpoint accuracy or unleash a barrage over an area. Could he miss at fifty meters? That was far too simplistic.

But Akebai did not pursue that style of attack. Against ordinary targets, such methods were certainly effective, but in certain decisive duels, sheer volume would not decide the outcome.

Due to certain psychological factors, Akebai stubbornly refused to admit he had lost anything, but in truth, his “Unlimited Blade Works” could not compare with the “Treasury of the King” in some respects. When it came to launching weapons directly... simply put, no matter how he tried, the speed of the hurled swords could not match that of his arrows. Otherwise, what would be the point of using a bow?

And in terms of the speed of area saturation attacks—by his own estimation, to give an example, he would be unable to hit an opponent as fast as Jet Luffy.

There was no concrete basis for this judgment—just a feeling.

More importantly, for certain reasons, he would never reveal all his abilities at once. He had his own reasons for joining the Donquixote family, but his future path remained uncertain.

Of course, Doflamingo himself was remarkable in many ways. His wealth of life experience allowed him a profound perspective on many matters.

“Are pirates evil? Are the navy just? Such things can always be rewritten! A child who knows nothing of peace and one who knows nothing of war—they see the world differently. Those at the top can rewrite good and evil; only there does true neutrality exist. Justice always wins? Of course—because only the victor is justice.”

Doflamingo had spoken these words in a certain war, and Akebai remembered them word for word. They closely mirrored his own views.

The navy’s advantage over pirates did not lie in good or evil, nor even in justice, but simply in that the navy made and maintained order, while pirates destroyed it—that was all.

While Doflamingo and Gladius engaged in such discussions, Akebai was standing atop a garbage heap, unconcerned, surveying the scene of devastation before him.

Beside him stood the most unusual of all the “family” officers—Trebol. The twisted character and deviant behavior of the Donquixote family, and their future path toward utter destruction, marked them unmistakably as “monsters.” And the four “top officers” who first followed Doflamingo were the very ones who had fostered and shaped this monster.

Among them, Trebol was the most unique. He had always fancied himself the family’s tactician and intellectual pillar. He revered Doflamingo as “king,” yet, paradoxically, considered himself his “godfather,” believing himself indispensable.

Yet he failed to realize that, including himself, all of them had been manipulated by the very pupil they had trained for years.

“So, what do you think?” Trebol asked Akebai.

Everything about him—his appearance, his very manner of speaking—was sticky and viscous, making anyone want to keep as far away as possible. After all, he was the user of the Sticky-Sticky Fruit.

But Akebai didn’t seem at all bothered to stand beside him.

“Nothing special,” Akebai replied.

In truth, he found many of their actions entirely unnecessary.

By now, he knew what Doflamingo and the other top officers had been doing for the past five days. From his vantage point, he could see a relatively open space in the garbage dump, packed full of children.

Most of them were clearly less than ten years old.

Akebai often regarded his own eccentricity as an act—but that was understandable, for self-knowledge is always elusive. Yet compared to himself, the so-called “family” was far more unhinged, and far more extreme.