Hancod her sisters were enjoying their meal.

  Cudius, however, had already finished eating earlier. inally, he had po dih them to build rapport, but he realized that rushing things might not be the best approach. It was better to let them get used to the p their own for a bit, so he had been giving them space for the past couple of days.

  The m had been a whirlwind for Cudius. The phone calls from the transponder snail seemed endless.

  First, there was a call fron. The revolutionary leader reminded Cudius about the promise of lending him an old tome. Cudius had casually agreed to this a while back, and now he felt a bit embarrassed for not following through sooner. Despite thinking that Dragon's endeavors were bound to fail, Cudius appreciated that the man ersistent. Thus, they arranged a time fon to e by and borrow the book.

  Not long after, Dofmingo reached out. The fmboyant pirate had seen Crocodile bee one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and was clearly eager to cim such a title for himself. His voice over the transponder snail was animated as he inquired, "Hey, cousin, what's the pn? When do I get my turn as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"

  Cudius could hear the impatien Dofmingo's tone. He knew his cousin had vested is in the underworld and hat legitimacy to keep the Wover off his back. Despite wearing the uniform of a CP agent, Dofmingo was heavily involved in arms dealing and other illicit trades. This made the title of Warlord even more valuable.

  "Don't rush, Doffy," Cudius said, sipping his juice. "Are you really pnning to head to Dressrosa this early?"

  Dofmingo chuckled. "I hadn't inteo go so soon, but seg the Warlord title earlier would speed up my pns and expand the influence of the Donquixote pirates. So, cousin, you make it happen?"

  Cudius smiled, uanding the urgency. "It'll happen soon enough. But we o let the world process the ret ges. Be patient."

  There was a brief silen the line before Dofmingo spoke again. "If anyone else told me to wait, I'd demand an expnation. But si's you, cousin, I'll trust you. I wait."

  "Hahaha, good. It won't be too long," Cudius assured him.

  "By the way…" Dofmingo's voice trailed off, as though he was hesitating.

  "What is it?" Cudius asked, intrigued.

  "Rosinante has e back," Dofmingo said, his voice wavering. "He's joined up with me. I've made him a senior officer of the Donquixote family."

  "Rosinante?" Cudius was surprised. "And what about Uncle Homing?"

  "The old man's dream was always to wahe world and experience life. He's been doing just that, sending us the occasional letter. Rosinante and I send him money when we , so there's o worry about him," Dofmingo replied, his tone growing softer.

  Cudius listened carefully. He khat Dofmingo once harbored deep reseoward their father, who had cast them out from the privilege of the Celestial Dragons' world into the harsh reality of ordinary life. But it seemed time had eroded some of that bitterness, leaving behind only a trace of nostalgia.

  Cudius chose not to ent on their father. It was better to leave some things unsaid.

  "So, how's Rosinante?" Cudius asked, trying to steer the versation to safer ground.

  Dofmingo sighed, the sound heavy aful. "Even though he's my brother, I'm starting to doubt him. I think he might not be as trustworthy as he once was…"

  "What do you mean?" Cudius asked, an uneasy suspi f in his mind.

  "I've found traces of informatioried to hide from me. If my hunch is correct, Rosinante has bee a Mari some point. Now, he's rejoined me as a pirate. You uand what that implies, right, cousin?" Dofmingo's voice had a bitter edge.

  Cudius's eyes narrowed. "A Marine, huh?"

  "Cudius's tone grew colder as the pieces fell into pce. He had a cordial retionship with Sengoku and shared mutual respect with Marshal Kong, so the notion that they'd send ao infiltrate Dofmingo's ranks felt off. They wouldn't take such a risk uheir hands were forced.

  The only ones who could override their judgmehe Five Elders.

  "Five Elders," Cudius whispered, his voice filled with realization.

  "So you think the same, cousin?" Dofmingo said, letting out a hollow ugh. "The Five Elders must have pushed for this. I 't see Sengoku or Kong taking such a step willingly. They wouldn't want to jeopardize their standing with you."

  Cudius agreed. "Yes, if Rosinante is indeed w for the Marines, it's likely that Sengoku and Kong were pressured into it. If it were purely up to them, they'd never risk damaging our retionship. They'd have no way to expin it if I found out."

  Their theory was accurate. Sengoku and Kong hadn't wanted any part in sending Rosinante as an undercover operative. But the Five Elders had insisted, f them to ply. The choice had beeween disobeying the highest authority or risking Cudius's wrath. In the end, they'd choseh with the least immediate sequence.

  "I've been careful and low-profile," Dofmingo said with a hint of sarcasm. "But the Five Elders are still wary of me, even though I'm a Celestial Dragon. They must think I'm plotting something against them."

  Cudius gave a thoughtful hum. "If I were in their shoes, I might be cautious too."

  "Still, they bypassed you, cousin. They didn't want you to know. They're probably afraid you'd be deceived by me," Dofmingo said with a wry smile.

  "But they don't know that we've always been on the same side," Cudius said, his voice carrying a note of amusement.

  The Five Elders' suspi of Dofmingo made sense, but they hadn't anticipated Cudius being involved. After all, as an upper-ranked Celestial Dragon, it seemed inceivable that he would align himself so closely with Dofmingo's ambitions. This operation was meant to protect Cudius, not to undermine him.

  "This will need some patience," Cudius finally said.

  "Uood," Dofmingo replied, the tension easing from his voice.

  Cudius k wasn't his pce to suggest Dofmingo take drastic measures against his own brother, no matter the circumstances. For now, it was enough for Dofmingo to keep an eye on Rosinante and not take any public a against the Wover.

  Besides, Cudius was fident that while Rosinante might be the perfect spy to infiltrate the Donquixote family, he was also too passiohe Wover might find that their clever pn would backfire one day.

  And when that day came, Cudius would be waiting, ready to watch the Five Elders grapple with their miscalcuted scheme.

  ***

  Support me on patreon to read 45+ advanced chapters: patreon./Blownleaves.