One Piece: King of the World

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.

"Hahaha, don't worry, Your Highness," Sengoku replied with a laugh. "The Marine fleet has already set sail. Tsuru is leading the operation with fifty warships. That should be sufficient, right?"

Fifty warships sounded like a lot, but Claudius wasn't entirely sure. After all, he had no idea just how much gold was hidden in the Golden Land. Still, it seemed sufficient, especially considering that warships were quite large, even the older ones in the fleet could carry a significant load.

"It should be enough," Claudius replied with a smile. "And if it's not, that's good news for us—it means there's even more gold than we expected."

"Exactly! If needed, we Marines don't mind making a second trip," Sengoku said, chuckling.

"So, I take it you managed to convince everyone?" Claudius asked, his tone turning curious.

"Of course. Who would say no to such a lucrative opportunity?" Sengoku replied confidently.

After exchanging a few more words, Sengoku changed the topic. "The list of participating nations for the World Summit has been finalized. As usual, fifty countries will be attending. Your Highness, are you interested in participating? Think of it as a publicly funded vacation."

Although the World Government has over 170 allied nations, not all of them attend the World Summit. Each summit rotates the participating nations. For example, during the last summit, Alabasta was among the attendees, and they had proposed reducing the Heavenly Tribute—a motion that was swiftly rejected.

This time, however, Alabasta wouldn't be attending. From the remaining nations, fifty new representatives had been selected to participate.

Claudius stroked his chin thoughtfully but eventually smiled. "I'll pass on this so-called vacation. I've got too much on my plate. You enjoy it on my behalf, Sengoku."

Sengoku laughed on the other end of the line. "Sounds like you're quite busy over there."

"Of course I am," Claudius replied with a grin.

"That's a shame. I was thinking of visiting Dressrosa afterward. It's your family's ancestral homeland, after all. If you're interested, you should come with me," Sengoku said, sounding a bit regretful.

These days, Sengoku found himself enjoying Claudius's company more and more. Claudius had a way of noticing opportunities others overlooked, and these insights often led to significant gains. Even though the Marines were already benefiting from their ventures into the Golden Land and the Calm Belt, Sengoku believed there was always room for more.

Claudius chuckled. "So Dressrosa is one of the representative nations this year?"

"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.

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