In the North Blue, the Donquixote Family's momentum was undeniable. They were deep in preparations for their next offensive, steadily encroaching upon the territories and businesses of the Five Families.
However, the Five Great Mafia Families were not easily provoked, nor easily defeated. Although they had initially underestimated the Donquixote Family, allowing them to gain traction and grow to the point where they now genuinely threatened the established order, the Five Families felt no fear. More importantly, they had no intention of letting this continue. The time had come for a comprehensive strategy to annihilate the Donquixote Family. If left unchecked, they would become an endless source of trouble. This was a young wolf cub, and a particularly ferocious one at that.
To demonstrate the gravity with which they viewed the Donquixote Family situation, the leaders of the Five Families convened for a unique, clandestine meeting.
Beneath an unassuming town somewhere in the North Blue, deep underground, lay a heavily guarded conference room. Outside, layers of bodyguards formed an impenetrable cordon. Inside, the five heads of the Mafia families gathered for their secret council. Though publicly they maintained a facade of non-interference – well water doesn't bother river water – behind the scenes, friction was constant. After all, who ever felt they had too much business or power? Talks between the families weren't uncommon, but this time, the subject matter fostered a rare unity among them. They had no desire to welcome another competitor onto the stage. The cake was only so big, and another mouth to feed was unacceptable.
The five Mafia bosses, clad in sharp black suits with meticulously tied neckties, each exuded a powerful aura. They sat in their designated seats, the room thick with silence.
"Everyone's aware of the recent developments, I presume?" It was the 'big brother' of the group, Foster Dol, who spoke first. As the head of the arms dealing family, his confidence was palpable.
"Their momentum is fierce. How should we respond?" Lucayge Warner, whose family controlled the pleasure districts, was the first to reply, a note of caution in his voice.
"Hmph, what else is there to do? Just crush them," Eitov McNeil spat, his words dripping with menace. Unsurprising, coming from the head of the assassin family; his every utterance betrayed a chilling disregard for life. Anyone daring to covet their power would undoubtedly find themselves on his hit list.
"Easier said than done," countered Dantay Buto. "The Donquixote Family isn't weak now. How do you propose we 'crush' them? Can your family's assassins kill them all? In my view, we must know our enemy and know ourselves to win. Does anyone actually have concrete information on this Donquixote Family?" Buto clearly despised the Eitov Family's methods – bloodthirsty savages, always resorting to violence without thinking. His family, renowned for pharmaceutical research, was above such barbarism.
"Heh, and that's your brilliant plan?" McNeil sneered, turning on Buto. "Took you long enough to squeeze out that load of nothing. You basically said nothing useful at all." He clearly couldn't stand Buto's smug face either and went straight for the attack.
"You... You bastard!"
"What about me?"
"Nothing good ever comes out of that filthy mouth!"
"Sitting with you is always unpleasant. Be careful you don't overdose on your own damn drugs!"
The two descended into a heated argument, trading barbs back and forth, throwing the meeting into disarray.
"Enough!" Lucifigus Koy interjected sternly, silencing the pair. "What's the point of arguing? We're here to solve a problem, not to squabble like children. If you want to fight, wait until this mess is handled."
"Fine. I'll let it go out of respect for Koy."
"Understood."
Both men deferred to Koy. After all, the Lucifigus Family controlled the most vital trade routes on the sea; offending him was unwise. Their own businesses relied heavily on his transportation network.
Seeing them back down, the others also settled.
"Regarding this emerging Donquixote Family, we do have some information," Foster Dol spoke up again. "They surfaced about a year and a half ago, rising rapidly from a port town. Since then, they've absorbed dozens of large and small gangs. For now, we've only identified two leaders: Diamante and Trebol. Beyond that, our intelligence gathering at the time yielded little of use."
The bosses mulled over Dol's words in silence.
"Any idea how strong those two are? They must be capable, building the Donquixote Family to this extent with just the two of them," Warner mused aloud, a flicker of fear in his eyes. His power base in gambling and vice, while substantial, lacked the raw military might of the other families.
"Who cares how strong they are?" McNeil scoffed, dismissive as ever. "You telling me the five of us combined can't take them down?"
"Haha, spoken like a true old killer! For once, your words resonate with me," Buto chuckled, surprisingly siding with McNeil.
"Damn right! No matter how strong they are, can they possibly withstand the combined might of all five families?"
"I agree, but isn't mobilizing all five families massive overkill for just one group?"
"We don't need all five! Two families' forces at most would be enough to wipe them out completely."
"I concur with that assessment."
"Don't be so complacent. The Donquixote Family isn't as simple as you think," Koy cut in sharply, dousing their premature confidence with cold water.
An immediate chill fell over the room.
"What's this, Koy? Don't tell me you lack faith in us?" Dol questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Koy, is there something else we don't know?" Warner asked tentatively.
The other two, McNeil and Buto, said nothing, but their gazes were fixed intently on Koy, waiting for his explanation.
"Correct," Koy confirmed gravely. "The Donquixote Family is, in fact, the Donquixote Pirates. They are a pirate crew."
"Pirates? So what if they're pirates? You think we're afraid of them?"
"We're not exactly easy targets ourselves!"
"Idiots!" Koy snapped, losing patience. "They aren't just any pirates. They returned from the Grand Line! Have none of you even seen their bounty posters?"
"That uh... I can't say I paid much attention."
"We're not pirates. Why would we track that stuff?"
"I have enough trouble managing my own business. No time to worry about pirates."
"So what if they came back from the Grand Line? Just means they're a bunch of failures! Cowards who couldn't hack it, now running back here to steal our territory! Tch, worthless scum."
Deciding it was useless to argue further with these fools, Koy simply pulled out a stack of bounty posters and spread them across the table for all to see.
"Hah! Is that all? I thought they'd be tougher! Only 30 million? 60 million? 90 million Beri? My men aren't afraid of them."
"This one, though... 160 million Beri. He looks like trouble. A real tough nut. He must be the actual leader, right?"
"Listen," Dol interjected, addressing the others seriously. "I don't care how we usually feud. We have a major enemy invading our turf now. It's time to put aside the backstabbing. This Doflamingo is clearly dangerous, but I believe if all five families unite against them, they won't gain anything."
"Does anyone here have someone capable of dealing with this Doflamingo?" Warner voiced his concern. "I fear no one among our current forces is his match."
"Hmph! Don't build them up by tearing us down!" McNeil grumbled impatiently. "So what if it's 160 million Beri? It's not like we don't have aces up our sleeves. Just some coward who ran from the Grand Line. Tell me, which one of you hasn't taken in a few strong strays like that over the years?"
"Haha, that's true enough," Warner laughed, though conceding, "but our people might still fall short compared to him. I've never seen a bounty that high before."
"Alright," Koy cut in, bringing them back to the point. "Doflamingo is indeed the heart of our problem. The others are secondary concerns. It's time we discuss troop contributions. Let's ensure this 'Great Encirclement Plan' concludes successfully and decisively. The North Blue can only be controlled by us; no one else is qualified."
"The Great Encirclement... I like the sound of it! The Foster Family commits 1,000 men. We will annihilate the Donquixote Family!"
"Then the Lucayge Family also pledges 1,000 men! Total annihilation!" Warner quickly followed his 'big brother's' lead.
"The Dantay Family, 1,000 men! Annihilation!"
"The Eitov Family, 1,000 men! Annihilation!"
"Since you're all committing 1,000, I can hardly do less. The Lucifigus Family will also dispatch 1,000 men to the operation," Koy stated, matching their declarations.
"Hahaha! Five thousand men! Surely that's enough to crush this damn Donquixote Family?"
"Then we just sit back and wait for the show!"
"Let them dance a little longer!"
"Hahaha..."
Despite Doflamingo's high bounty and implied strength, the thought of deploying a massive force of five thousand men filled them with confidence. They wouldn't fear the likes of the Donquixote Family.
The five leaders reached a consensus, laughter echoing in the underground room as they envisioned the bright future promised by their Great Encirclement Plan.
Meanwhile, the members of the Donquixote Family remained oblivious to the Five Families' conspiracy. Not that it would matter much if they knew. As the old saying goes: when soldiers come, generals block; when water comes, earth dams. They would face whatever came their way.
Besides, who would ultimately devour whom... that remained to be seen. Let's wait and watch!
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