Chapter Fifty: A Gift for You (Part One)

The messenger from the Komodo Pirates ultimately enjoyed treatment fit for a palace—how blissful it was to be tormented by a little girl and then cast aside... Ahem, but that matter ended there. Once Doflamingo had sent the man away, he dismissed the farce from his mind, for he never truly considered the other pirate crews of the North Sea worthy of attention. The Komodo Pirates—what nonsense.

Yet, it would be unfair to call him arrogant, for the pirate crews of the North Sea genuinely seemed beneath notice. Compared to those reckless adversaries, Doflamingo held a certain regard for baby-5, who dared to step forward and fight directly. This girl made him realize that among those hundred candidates, there were indeed some promising ones—perhaps even more than he had expected. The family might well be on the verge of a bountiful harvest.

Thus, Doflamingo suddenly felt he had been neglectful and decided to inspect the training progress of the children. But at that moment, trouble arrived.

"Pica, what is going on here?"

He questioned the highest-ranking officer in charge, his tone tinged with reproach. The training grounds were deserted—there should have been a hundred people here, but where were they?

No, that was not precise. He ought to be asking where the zeros after the one hundred had gone.

There was still a solitary figure left on the grounds, confirming to Doflamingo that he had come to the right place. At this point, Rosinante's plan could be said to have succeeded: apart from baby-5, the hundred had become a firm one.

Baby-5 and Buffalo were the mere two percent left of the original plan. Even so, Rosinante was not fully satisfied—he did not consider this a complete success, as there were still two loose ends remaining.

"Doflamingo, I reported this to you earlier. It was Rosinante's mistreatment that led to the dispersal of the children," Pica argued, his voice still as sharp and raspy as ever, reminiscent of a nightingale who had played too many deep-throat games.

He was not wrong; he had indeed reported this earlier, but Doflamingo had not paid much attention. Who could have predicted Rosinante's cruelty would reach such extremes? When had his brother awakened such a penchant?

"Besides, anyone who cannot withstand this ordeal lacks the capacity for growth. They could never become the kind of talent our family requires," Pica added. This statement revealed his own stance—he was likely dissatisfied with being assigned to babysit or with the idea of grooming officers from childhood, which might explain his leniency toward Rosinante's actions and indirectly contributed to the present situation.

Doflamingo naturally caught the implication in Pica's words, but found himself unable to say much in response. If blame were to be assigned, it would be his own misjudgment in employing the wrong person. Would he need to hand this task over to Trebol in the future? But Trebol...

Such matters, which might affect the control and management of future officers, Doflamingo was reluctant to entrust to Trebol. The reason was simple: his own authority must not be undermined by anyone.

In truth, when Pica reported this, he had a similar view. It was impossible for all one hundred to become officers, so he saw Rosinante's actions as a kind of filtering mechanism—never expecting that everyone would be filtered out.

This was excessive, so Doflamingo resolved to question Rosinante about it. For those interested in gossip, perhaps a fairy quarrel between brothers would ensue, but such a quarrel was impossible, since Rosinante simply "couldn't" speak.

He would merely write "I dislike children" on a slip of paper, and Doflamingo would be forced to retreat, with little recourse. Annoyed though he might be, he could hardly punish his brother for such a thing.

It was unreasonable to force someone who dislikes children to love them—much like compelling a gay man to like women. It simply defied common sense.

Nonetheless, at least two children had passed the organization's rigorous test, so Doflamingo's efforts were not entirely in vain.

At this moment, his regard for baby-5 and Buffalo was anything but ordinary. The logic was clear: the fewer who survived elimination, the more precious those who remained became.

To endure Rosinante's abuse—if applied to adults, such resilience would be called "tenacity" of character.

From this evening's dinner onward, baby-5 and Buffalo were granted the privilege of sitting at the table, a testament to Doflamingo's esteem for them. In terms of rank, they now stood alongside Qiubai and Ain.

Yet, there was little cause for complaint, since Qiubai himself had only arrived a few days before these two.

At the table, the officers sat in a row. Ain sat to Qiubai's left, baby-5 to his right, and finally Buffalo. The newcomers all occupied the far end of the table.

From the seating arrangement, one could see that there were indeed distinctions of rank within the "family," else why have the highest officers at all?

Rosinante's seat was right beside Doflamingo's, though he was the last to enter the dining hall. As he passed Buffalo, he habitually reached out...

Not because there was any further need to torment Buffalo, but because he could hardly go from despising children one moment to acting like a child-lover the next. Even a fool would sense something amiss.

But his action was halted.

"Corazon, you must understand that from the moment baby-5 and Buffalo sit at this table, they are family officers," Doflamingo said. "The blood code of the family must be respected; you need to restrain yourself."

Some matters cannot be excused, even between brothers. Previously, it was fine to bully them since they were not officers, but now Rosinante could no longer lay a hand on them—rules are rules.

Rosinante's expression was blank as he reluctantly withdrew his hand.

Because Doflamingo was in a poor mood, the meal was a bit subdued. With the boss silent, the others dared not converse freely.

This had little to do with Qiubai, who ate and drank as usual. Though a chatterbox, he could survive the occasional "silent meal," and the Donquixote family's cuisine still satisfied him.

Beside him, baby-5 mimicked Qiubai's manner of dining.

Without the usual banter, dinner was swift. Yet, just as everyone finished and prepared to leave, Doflamingo stopped them.

Was there some important matter? Qiubai was slightly puzzled.