Nagato in One Piece - Chapter 42
Nagato controlled the sand platform, carrying Doflamingo’s corpse, along with Cyrus, Law, Lucci, Kaku, Jabra, and Blueno, heading back to Dressrosa.
The advantage of flying with sand manipulation was that it consumed far less chakra than the power of the Deva Path. However, the downside was that it was slower. It took Nagato only a few minutes to fly from the palace to the edge of the island, but now, it had taken the same amount of time to cover only one-third of the distance on the return trip.
“Gladius! Machvise!” Law suddenly exclaimed from the sand platform.
They had entered the outskirts of Dressrosa, and after finishing treating Nagato’s shoulder injury, Law had been looking around and spotted two familiar figures below.
Nagato and the others also noticed the two figures on the ground, along with three unfamiliar faces.
One was a muscular man over five meters tall, clearly a formidable fighter. The second man, over two meters tall, had a golden hook for a right hand and a fierce look on his face. The third, around 1.6 meters tall, wore a suit and a white armband with a skull emblem, appearing more noble than any noble.
Law had identified Gladius and Machvise among them, lying in pools of blood.
As Nagato’s sand platform approached, the three unfamiliar faces looked up. The massive man with a thunderous voice shouted, “Hey—! Red hair and gray eyes! Are you the one who saved us?”
“Anderson, you’re being rude,” the suited man scolded the giant before bowing respectfully to Nagato. “I am Joe Thompson. These two are Anderson Doug, captain of the Shield Pirates, known as ‘Iron Shield,’ and Craig Smith, a fighter from the Gold and Silver Pirates, known as ‘Gold Grabber.’ We were all turned into toys by Doflamingo and owe you our deepest gratitude for freeing us.”
As the sand platform descended, Lucci instinctively reacted, hearing Joe’s introduction, “Pirates?”
Having received treatment from Law, Kaku had also woken up and added, “They aren’t small-time—’Iron Shield’ Anderson Doug, with the Shield-Shape Fruit ability, captain of the Shield Pirates, bounty of 200 million berries; ‘Gold Grabber’ Craig Smith, bounty of 170 million berries;”
Kaku’s eyes then turned to Joe, “And you, Joe Thompson, didn’t mention your background. You’re the most dangerous one—second-in-command of the Black Blade Grand Fleet, with authority over 49 pirate ships and captains, second only to Admiral Abrams, bounty of 240 million berries, known as ‘The Deceiver’ Joe!”
Despite the initial hostility towards the pirates, Nagato found his interest piqued by Joe’s background. He landed the sand platform and stood before the three men.
Before Nagato could speak, Joe, Anderson, and Craig were already shocked at the sight of Doflamingo’s corpse on the platform.
“This is…” Joe’s eyes widened behind his golden monocle.
“Doflamingo!” Craig exclaimed in shock.
“Hahaha—!” Anderson, less shocked, beat his chest and laughed, “As expected of my savior! You really took down that bastard, hahaha!”
“No need to thank me, it was a coincidence,” Nagato replied calmly, “Did you deal with these two Donquixote officers?”
“Of course!” Anderson responded first, “We got our revenge once we regained our human forms!”
It was clear that Anderson was a simple brute. Joe elaborated, “After we regained our forms, we intended to assist you in defeating Donquixote. We gathered information from the people of Dressrosa and coincidentally arrived at the palace simultaneously.”
“But you and the Donquixote members were gone. We only found Diamante and Senor Pink. Diamante was severely injured from his previous battle with you, so we easily defeated them.”
“Before finishing them off, we forced Diamante to reveal your whereabouts and pursued you here. On the way, we encountered Gladius and Machvise and fought them.”
“After dealing with them, we were about to continue searching for you. It seems we underestimated our own abilities; you had already defeated Doflamingo.”
Joe’s explanation clarified their actions. Law nodded, “Gladius and Machvise…they were too slow and fell behind.”
Combining his account with Joe’s, Law inferred that the Donquixote officers had hurried to support Doflamingo, but Gladius and Machvise were slower, thus getting caught by Joe and the others.
Realizing that Joe, Anderson, and Craig had possibly saved their lives by delaying Gladius and Machvise, preventing them from overwhelming their group before Nagato returned, even Lucci, Kaku, Jabra, and Blueno found it hard to maintain their hostility towards the pirates.
Jabra, though, couldn’t help but comment, “Taking down Donquixote officers means you have some skill.”
Despite his words seeming like praise, his tone suggested otherwise.
Anderson, oblivious to the subtleties, laughed heartily, thinking Jabra was complimenting him.
Joe smiled silently.
Craig, however, shot Jabra a glare, licked the blood off his golden hook, and remarked, “Just some trash.”
Nagato’s eyes flickered at Craig’s actions.
Initially uninterested in these three, Nagato now saw potential, especially in Joe. After defeating Doflamingo, Nagato had gained territory—Dressrosa, and wealth—Skypiea’s gold. What he lacked most were capable subordinates, and Joe, being a key figure in a grand fleet, could be very useful.
However, Nagato’s vision of creating a peaceful utopia required both capable and trustworthy individuals. Having evildoers within his ranks would undermine his efforts.
Thus, Nagato decided to test their characters. Though they had committed crimes before, he could consider accepting those who showed the potential for reform, unlike irredeemable villains like Doflamingo.
After a brief interaction, Nagato judged Anderson to be a simple brute, easily controlled. Joe was composed and clear-headed, though Nagato couldn’t yet fully gauge his character. Craig, however, was flagged as a potential threat.
With his mind made up, Nagato asked, “What are your plans?”
The meaning was clear. Anderson, oblivious, didn’t hesitate. Craig and Joe, on the other hand, immediately understood.
Surprisingly, Joe responded first, “Having defeated the Warlord ‘Heavenly Yaksha’ recognized by the World Government and rescuing this kingdom with meticulous planning, you must have grand ambitions. If you have need of us, I offer my service!”
Joe’s swift allegiance made sense. Being turned into a toy for years meant he couldn’t return to his former glory without struggle. Aligning with Nagato, who had bested Doflamingo, seemed the better choice. With Nagato’s backing, he could easily regain control of the Black Blade Grand Fleet.
Nagato acknowledged Joe, who then persuaded Anderson and Craig, “We’ve been out of our pirate crews for years. Returning means fighting to regain our status, if we aren’t mocked. Besides, Nagato saved us. We owe him. And following a man who defeated Doflamingo won’t lack opportunities!”
Appealing to Anderson’s sense of gratitude and Craig’s ambition, Joe’s words swayed them.
“Hahaha! Of course! A man must repay his debts! From now on, Anderson is at your service!” Anderson laughed, pounding his chest.
Craig also bowed to Nagato.
Become a Patron to read chapters ahead of public release and support me 😉
Read up to 40 chapters ahead on p atreon.
