"Well, this is unexpected. Peclo actually pulled some no-name rookie into the underworld? Looks like even the Underworld is starting to fall from grace."
Doflamingo's signature laugh echoed from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
The underworld constantly absorbs fresh blood to maintain its influence.
The newcomers are usually famous rookie pirates, renowned warriors, or even some disgraced Marines.
However, Ainz Ooal Gown's reputation was limited to a small island in Mock Town and hadn't yet spread to the Grand Line.
Otherwise, his act of hunting down over a dozen pirates with bounties exceeding 50 million berries each would have already earned him significant notoriety.
Hearing Doflamingo's words, Narberal's hands trembled with suppressed fury. In her eyes, no one was allowed to disrespect Lord Ainz.
Even though the Den Den Mushi was merely relaying someone else's words, it was guilty by association.
Anyone who dared to speak disrespectfully of the Supreme One should be reduced to ashes.
"Joker, the name of Ainz Ooal Gown is not something you are qualified to insult," Ainz declared, his voice filled with authority.
"Fufufufu! Quite the arrogant rookie, aren't you? Entering the underworld requires passing a test.
Try not to die on your first mission, alright?" Doflamingo chuckled darkly before enunciating each word clearly.
"Your task is to kill one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—Gecko Moria."
"A Warlord, huh? Then just wait and see, Joker." Ainz casually hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Far away in Dressrosa, Doflamingo let out a cold laugh as he stared at the disconnected call.
"Let's see how this cocky upstart plans to claim Gecko Moria's head."
Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit allowed him to revive corpses—not true resurrection, but enough to violate the World Government's laws.
The Five Elders would never tolerate such a dangerous ability running loose.
Assigning Ainz this mission was partly a punishment for offending Doflamingo.
But if this newcomer could actually kill Moria, that would be ideal. And if he failed? Well, Doflamingo would handle Moria himself.
Despite both holding the title of Warlord, a washed-up has-been like Moria meant nothing to him.
"So, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea... Gecko Moria, huh? I didn't expect to cross paths with this world's powerful forces so soon," Ainz muttered, a flicker of wariness in his eyes.
He quickly realized that killing a Warlord was an unreasonable task for a newcomer to the underworld.
If a fresh recruit could take down a Warlord, then the title wouldn't be one of the three major forces holding the Grand Line in balance.
But he wasn't about to refuse. The head of a Warlord would spread Nazarick's name far faster than capturing a newly famous pirate with a bounty of barely over 100 million berries.
As Ainz and Narberal stepped out of the bar, a burly man's eyes locked onto Narberal with an unsettling gaze.
"Well, well, I didn't expect to find a beauty of this caliber here," the man smirked, his eyes lingering greedily.
"Hey, gorgeous, why don't you come with me?" He reached out with his hand, aiming to pull Narberal into his embrace.
The bar patrons immediately scattered in panic.
They had seen what happened to the last fool who tried flirting with Narberal—he was reduced to ashes before he could even scream.
However, four men remained seated, calmly sipping their drinks.
"Looks like our captain might've picked a tough one this time," one bespectacled man mused.
"Hah! What does it matter, Augur? There's no one in the first half of the Grand Line who can take on our captain!" another masked man bellowed.
"Let's hope so, Burgess," Van Augur replied, though a sniper's intuition made him uneasy.
"Do you have a death wish, maggot?" Narberal's eyes burned with killing intent as she glared at Blackbeard's outstretched hand.
"Zehahaha! The more you resist, the more I like you!" Blackbeard laughed, completely unfazed. His hand stretched greedily toward Narberal's waist.
"Lightning."
Without hesitation, Narberal unleashed a 3rd-tier spell, blasting Blackbeard backward.
Blackbeard crashed into a table, shattering it and sending its contents flying in all directions.
"Damn! That hurt like hell!" Blackbeard groaned, clutching his abdomen as he rolled on the floor in pain.
After a moment, he staggered to his feet, his grin widening. "A lightning user, huh? This just keeps getting better! No need to go after Whitebeard now!"
His eyes gleamed with more than just lust—there was pure greed. He had mistaken Narberal's magic for the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit was among the strongest Logia Devil Fruits.
While not quite on the level of Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, it was still top-tier. More importantly, this girl wasn't anywhere near as powerful as Whitebeard.
"Captain, have you set your sights on this girl now?" Augur inquired as he and the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates stood behind their captain.
"That's right! She possesses one of the strongest Logia Fruits—the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"
"Then—" Augur began, but before he could finish, he fired several shots at Narberal.
"Hmph! You cockroach have really pissed me off!" Narberal swatted the bullets aside effortlessly with her bare hand.
"5th-tier magic—Dragon Lightning!" A massive bolt of lightning erupted from Narberal, surging toward Blackbeard and his crew.
"Black Hole!" A vortex of darkness appeared around Blackbeard, swallowing the lightning attack whole.
"It's useless! My Dark-Dark Fruit is the natural enemy of all Devil Fruit users! Hahahaha!" Blackbeard roared with laughter.
"Just give up and come quietly, beautiful!"