One Piece: King of the World

Chapter 172: Sengoku: Your Highness, Are You Doing This on Purpose?

Finding a Devil Fruit, especially targeting a specific one, is not an easy task. While the World Government has vast resources and a large inventory of Devil Fruits, it is still a challenging endeavor. For example, CP9 in the future can provide several Devil Fruits to its agents, and even the Marines have their stockpile. However, when it comes to the coveted Logia Devil Fruits, they remain highly sought after.

But having an inventory is one thing; finding the right fruit is another challenge entirely. First, you need access to a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.

The Devil Fruit Encyclopedia is an incredibly rare and valuable resource. Only a handful of long-standing and powerful organizations across the seas possess it. This alone rules out most individuals and groups.

In this regard, Claudius holds a natural advantage. Not only does he possess a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, but it's also the most comprehensive one available.

On top of this, he has another edge—he has professionals working for him. One such person is his cousin, Doflamingo.

Doflamingo has deep connections within the dark underworld and an uncanny talent for acquiring rare and powerful Devil Fruits.

His track record speaks for itself. His subordinates, whom he trained personally, are all exceptional in their abilities, with not a single one being considered weak.

Doflamingo's skills in locating Devil Fruits are well-proven. For instance, he was responsible for finding the Gold Gold Fruit, though it was later stolen by Tesoro. In the original story, he also managed to acquire the Mera-Mera Fruit following Ace's death, even though it was eventually lost again.

By that point, Doflamingo had gone beyond merely finding Devil Fruits, he had begun "creating" them, elevating himself to another level altogether.

With the most complete Devil Fruit Encyclopedia in hand, a resourceful ally like Doflamingo, and plenty of manpower at his disposal, Claudius was confident it wouldn't be too difficult to locate the Mera-Mera Fruit for Ace ahead of time.

"Once the World Summit is over, I'll start making arrangements for this," Claudius murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Before he could discuss the matter further with Nia, the phone snail in Claudius's hand rang again.

Seeing the caller, Claudius smiled. "It's Sengoku."

Understanding the need for privacy, Nia tactfully stepped aside and quietly poured tea for Claudius while he answered the call.

"Sengoku, how's our little project coming along?" Claudius asked casually, his tone carrying a hint of humor.

"That's right," Sengoku confirmed.

"I'm curious about the place, but I'll have to pass this time," Claudius said.

Dressrosa, the birthplace of the Donquixote family, certainly piqued Claudius's interest. However, he decided to let it go for now. After the World Summit, Doflamingo was set to officially become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a plan Claudius had orchestrated.

Doflamingo was eager to secure his position among the Warlords, as he lacked a proper base of operations in the New World. His eyes were set on Dressrosa, the family's ancestral land. Once established there, Doflamingo's influence and power would grow exponentially.

With this in mind, Claudius suspected that this summit would likely be the last one attended by the Riku royal family of Dressrosa. He had no intention of letting his cousin's plans fall apart, it simply wouldn't benefit him.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Claudius turned his attention back to Sengoku. "By the way, Sengoku, there's a small favor I'd like to ask of the Marines."

"A favor? What do you need, Your Highness?" Sengoku asked without hesitation.

"I need you to help me locate a Logia-type Devil Fruit—the Mera-Mera Fruit," Claudius said with a smile.

At this request, Sengoku groaned in mock exasperation. "Your Highness, you really know how to assign difficult tasks. Are you doing this on purpose?"

The Marines had been obsessively searching for powerful Logia-type Devil Fruits for years. Now Claudius was asking them to help him find one, it felt like he was rubbing salt in the wound.

"Hahaha, what can I say? My adopted son Ace has his heart set on the Mera-Mera Fruit. How can I refuse him? I'm counting on you," Claudius said, casually shifting the blame onto Ace.

Sengoku laughed as well. To outsiders, Ace's existence remained a mystery, with only Garp knowing the full story. Rumors abounded, the most popular being that Ace was Claudius's illegitimate child.

Sengoku didn't know if this was true, but Claudius had never denied the rumors, so perhaps there was some truth to them.

"Your Highness has made a request, so how can we refuse? Alright, we'll keep an eye out for the Mera-Mera Fruit," Sengoku finally agreed, albeit reluctantly.

"Hahaha, I'll leave it to you then," Claudius said with a laugh.