3:00 AM
It's quiet. The lights of the houses are mostly turned off and what's left on the streets are small noises coming from the footsteps of people still awake.
"This is the place." A woman's voice echoed in Luffia's ears as they stare at the 6-story building not too far from where they are. At first glance, this is just a simple toy factory, but in reality, it is not. It's a factory of drugs hidden in the toys they sell.
"Let's get started." Luffia said.
"Cyborg and God are on standby to pull the trigger." A blond-haired man wearing a black suit and hat said while smoking the remainder of his cigarette.
"By pulling that trigger, you are inevitably proclaiming war against the Donquixote Family." An oranged-haired woman warned their leader.
"I know. If it means getting Dressrosa as our territory and getting them out of that place, so be it." She said but the voice sounds like that of a man. It is because of the voice changer she is wearing concealed behind her mask. "Just make sure that the damage will only extend to the factory. There are residential areas around the factory. We can't get the civilians involved."
"Do not worry. Cyborg and God already have that taken care of."
That was she said before she sent the signal to their members to pull the trigger. It took them months before they can figure out the building's blueprints. The official blueprints this factory submitted to the local government office is falsified - it means that not all the hidden passageways are included. The information is hard to come by but they somehow managed to get it after going through great difficulties.
Donquixote Family is one of the most influential Mafia Groups in Grandline. Their power may not be on par with the Emperors, but they have several connections, not just within Mafia but also within the World Government.
They managed to freely reign the city of Dressrosa by utilizing such connections. That city may seem to be perfect in everyone's eyes, vibrant, joyful, but in reality, it's filled with nothing but despair.
The city is filled with Doflamingo's men, guarding it day and night. No citizens living there can get out easily. If there's any bit of resistance from them, they will be met with nothing but cruelty.
Often, they find their children kidnapped, sold as slaves or worse, sold as prostitutes. Women will be given to the elite businessmen. Who knows what they will do to those poor women.
Men are sold as slaves to work on factories for free, only served with minimal food to survive. Many have gone missing but none is found. Doflamingo sits on his throne in his mansion thinking that no one will dare to raise their hands on him, not when he has two of the Emperor's hands to help him out. He's wrong.
There's a group willing to go through all the trouble and danger to get him off his high seat.
BOOM!
A loud noise coming from the factory resonated, waking up most of the households nearby.
BOOM!
Another one. The first two are just warnings. Warnings to stay away from the factory and for people to get away as much as possible if they do not want to die. Most of the Mafia Groups won't even care if they hurt civilians, but not them. Someone may get hurt in the process but they will try to minimize the damage to people as much as possible.
BOOM!
With the third warning, it signals for the final stretch. Two minutes before the final explosion will happen.
Toot. Toot... "This is Cyborg. We're done. On our way to the mansion."
"Okay, copy that!"
The leader nods. It is time for them to move now. Their group consists of 8 members, all of which use a nickname to avoid their identities being discovered by the enemies. For years, they kept their identities hidden and this is one of their advantages.
A few people may know what the other members look like but no one has yet to discover what the leader looks like at all. All they know is that he's someone who wears a hooded coat, a mask hiding his face, and his trademark - a straw hat hanging on his back. They don't even know that this person is a woman.
The six of them moved with accuracy, taking advantage of the confusion that the explosions provided. They slipped past the guards of the city, often knocking them before they can make a sound to alarm the others.
Straw Hat, the leader of the group, is running towards the hidden entrance they managed to discover. No, more like someone gave them this information - their intel.
It's a passageway not everyone knows about. A passageway that will bring them directly to Doflamingo's mansion. They waited for about 3 minutes before Cyborg and God arrived.
"We will stay here and wait for all of you to come back. Straw Hat! Remember, you only need to destroy the mansion and nothing else! Devil, go get as many documents as you can." Cat Burglar reminded them.
"I know, I know! Plant the bomb while everyone is confused. I get it!" The leader rolled her eyes at her member but with her hood and mask, they can't clearly see it.
"Don't forget to steal everything valuable! He has a collection of diamonds, steal it!" Her hands are on Luffia's shoulders, squeezing it tightly as if to make sure she will remember her last words. Spoken like a cat burglar that she is.
They plan to also destroy the mansion that Doflamingo is staying in while they steal some of his important files as well as the pieces of jewelry they can steal.
"I get it, okay. We'll be going now!" Straw Hat waved before going inside the passageway followed by Devil, Blackleg, Bones, and Cyborg.
The eight members all use aliases. Bones - someone who is thin and tall, a person who uses a sword and a gun. Some say that staring at him is like staring at death itself. Behind that alias is someone who works as a world-famous musician named Brook. Even though he does not need to be in this world, in Mafia World, he chose to be here because of their leader. He chose to follow Straw Hat wherever she goes to a point that he's willing to forsake his career and money for her.
Cyborg. This name comes from the mechanical arms he wears, a trademark of some sort. They think that those are his real arms but it is not. He's well-known in handling their vehicles and firearms. Yes, this group also deals with firearms but they only sell it to those they trust and Cyborg is mainly handling them. Outside of the Mafia world, he's someone who goes by the name Franky - a simple carpenter in Galleyla Company.
Devil - this is a very common term anywhere but in the streets, there's only one person who uses this nickname and that's Nico Robin. A woman who betrayed several Mafia groups since she was a child and for whatever reason, she ends up being part of Straw Hat's group. Many may think that she will end up betraying this group but no, she didn't. They even went up against the World Government when they arrested her and almost sent her to prison. Amongst the Straw Hat's members, she's the only one who is known to the public, with her wanted posters everywhere but despite that, she managed to get more information than anyone else can ever get.
Cotton. This name does not fit the cruel world they live in, no it's a misfit but none of it matters at all. It's a misguiding name for everyone. Who is this person and what role does he have in Straw Hat's group? None can really answer that except the Straw Hats. Cotton serves as their doctor. Mafia Groups often get injured, sometimes, they get wounds that are too suspicious to be brought to the hospital. To avoid getting questioned, a doctor in a group is very necessary and that's Cotton's job. Outside of the group, he works as an Internal Medicine doctor in one of the biggest hospitals in Grandline.
Blackleg. A very majestic name for someone cruel. A gentleman, but a madman. That's what he is. Many know that this person is one of the meanest fighters in Straw Hat's group. He does not use a knife unlike others and often uses a gun but his trademark is his legs. He can kick you to death if necessary.
God... It's a hilarious name and the person who goes by this alias often gets teased by his fellow family members, after all, they know him so well. The name does not fit with someone like him at all, but they still let him use the ridiculous alias. He's mainly the group's sniper, their backup when things get worse. Many enemies have fallen by his hands. A cruel fate to die without knowing where the shot came from.
Cat Burglar, the person in charge of their finances. She knows how to make money out of something, get profits twice of what is expected. When it comes to negotiation, everyone knows how difficult handling Cat Burglar is. She will make you agree to her bidding, find the right words to twist yours. She acts as the second leader of the group when their leader is being stupid.
Finally, Straw Hat. Hearing this name strikes fear in the hearts of many. When they hear this, they will be reminded of the deeds that this person did over the years since Straw Hat Mafia Group was established, that was 5 years ago.
She was nothing but a rat, someone insignificant in the streets, but over the years, she managed to build a group that is almost on par with the emperors. But aside from his influence, if there's a word that people can associate with Straw Hat, it's the word 'crazy'.
No Mafia Group will dare to antagonize the World Government several times, but she and his group did. Several times and they get away with it. Not only did this leader antagonized the World Government, but she also managed to get the attention of Big Mom and Kurohige. A fearless person, crazy and definitely dangerous.
Countless groups have fallen against the Straw Hats. They may be one of the smallest groups in Grandline, but it does not mean that they should be underestimated. Underestimate them and there's hell to pay. Just like now.
Doflamingo is confident with his throne, that someone will not dare to touch him and his business due to his deals with two of the Emperors in Grandline, but he's wrong. There's someone crazy that is willing to destroy face the wrath of the Emperors if it means Doflamingo will be kicked out of the city of Dressrosa.
Their group made their way to the mansion following the instructions provided to them. It might be too much for the leader to be in the frontlines, but Straw Hat never wants to be left out. If her members are going to shed their blood for this mission, so will she.
This operation was made possible because of her insistence, that they must take Dressrosa as their territory. Was it just about the territory? No. She's not doing it because she wants more power. She is doing this because she wants to.
"Help... Please help me." Hearing a friend cry for help made her heart clench. Straw Hat watches a friend cry, despair evident in her eyes. This person wasn't exactly a friend that she knew for years, but this is a person who showed her kindness even in dire times.
And here she is, on her way to a dangerous mission to kick the hell out of Doflamingo.
As they arrive in the mansion, they find the latch door in the dirty kitchen at the back. As planned, they split up so they can plant the bomb to the other side of the mansion while the others will work on getting the important documents from Doflamingo.
While the people are wondering about the explosion in the factory, the six of them worked their way with ease. Devil or Robin took care of the safety vault that Doflamingo has. She managed to snatch the important contracts that can put the World Government into a questionable position - or at least some of their officials.
"What do you think you're doing?" A raspy voice of a man came from behind. Robin stopped her hands to look at the man. It's none other than Doflamingo, standing with a gold revolver in his hand, pointing it to Robin. "I should have known that Straw Hats will be coming after my head but I didn't know it will be this soon. You think it is easy to get rid of me, do you?"
"We never thought it will be easy." She answered.
"Doesn't matter. You'll be dead soon." Click
"Look behind you." That was the only warning Robin gave to Doflamingo because as soon as she said it, the tall man finds himself being kicked to the ground by none other than Straw Hat.
She didn't stop there. She delivered another kick on his stomach but this time, Doflamingo counterattacked by swinging his fist at her which she barely dodged.
"Straw Hat... You dare mess with me."
"I mess with whoever I want to." She said but due to the voice changer, her voice sounds like that of a man's.
"You will be dead, chased by the emperors if you mess with their businesses. You know that." He said, pointing his gun to Straw Hat.
"If they can." She answered, pulling her gun out of her waist to point it back to Doflamingo.
The tension is high, none dared to move but the clock is ticking. They must be out of this mansion in less than 5 minutes lest they will be included in the explosion.
"Straw Hat!" One of Doflamingo's men named Diamante ran towards her, knife ready to kill but before he can do so, he finds himself on the ground with broken ribs.
"Who do you think you're going to stab?" Prince's voice echoed. He's been on standby just in case something like this happens. "It's time." He said. With a nod from Straw Hat, he quickly threw a smoke grenade on the ground, surprising Doflamingo and Diamante. They've been careless.
"Fuck you, Straw Hat!" Bang!
Sadly, the place where Straw Hat used to be is empty. The person escaped so quickly.
"Get all men and chase after them!" Doflamingo shouted. Most of their men are in the factory, investigating what happened and to see if they can salvage anything, leaving the mansion with almost no people.
The mansion's gates are heavily guarded, making Doflamingo think that if someone wants to get to him, they have to go through the tight security of his mansion if they used the destruction of the factory as a distraction. He's right, that's what they used. What he didn't account for is the fact that Straw Hat slipped in easily inside without detection.
How they slipped inside, he does not know and he does not have time to ponder because the next thing he hears is the explosions from the other side of his mansion followed by another one on the other side, almost as if trapping them inside.
As Doflamingo finds himself in a deadly situation, Straw Hat and her group find their way back to the secret door to get out of the mansion.
Nami is anxiously waiting for them to come back, the car is ready for them. With many people now awake due to the explosion, it's a risk for them to stay here any longer.
"Bartolomeo and his men are on the other side, distracting Doflamingo's men." Franky said after reading a message from one of their allies.
"Good. What about the others? Any message so far?" Nami asks.
"Oh! I received one from Sai. They managed to destroy Doflamingo's vehicles!" Chopper answered.
"Now, where could those idiots be?" Nami needs them here right now. They're beyond schedule.
And just as she was about to call them, the secret door opened, revealing Straw Hat and the others.
"Did you get it?"
"Yes, we did. And many more." Robin said.
"Good. Now, let's go!"
So, they signaled a full retreat from their allies and as they leave the place, they heard another explosion from the mansion.
Mission Complete for tonight, but they're not done.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"Damn it!" A loud shout coming from the office as they look at the local news distributed in Grandline.
World Government Corruption Involvement with Donquixote Mafia Group: Confirmed.
The news details the transactions of the World Government Officials in the Dressrosa branch with the Donquixote Mafia Group. It does not only involve providing prostitutes to the local branch heads, but it also involves distributing drugs and using the routes exclusive to the World Government for the drug distribution to different countries.
It would have been taken as a slander had it not been for the pieces of evidence, pictures of the transactions as well as signed deals between the group. It was a massive scandal that the World Government does not know what to do.
"What the hell are they thinking?!" Akainu slammed the newspaper on top of his table, angry that once again, World Government's name was placed on a tight spot, with a reputation that is now being questioned by the public. "Straw Hats are always in the middle of flames, always igniting it wherever they go. How many times do we have to stay silent with those bastards?"
"What do you suggest, Akainu?" Kong, one of the people with the highest ranks in World Government asks.
"They must be exterminated while they are still not at the Emperor's level. If they can do this much damage to our organization, how much damage can they do when they have more power?"
It all started with minimal damages starting from small cities in Grandline, but it escalated to a higher level before anyone can notice. One of the things they did was also expose the World Government's involvement in Crocodile's case about two years ago.
Crocodile used to be one of the officials they have, the head of the World Government branch in Alabasta city, but for some reason, Straw Hats managed to mess with the city's rules and inevitably exposing the deals Crocodile has, similar to Doflamingo's.
Even though there's a World Government branch and a new head in Alabasta, they cannot get hold of Straw Hats. That group made that city one of their territories and when World Government sends more of their troops to hunt them down, they only end up getting damages more than they expected.
"I don't like asking help from people not within the organization, but it seems we need someone more specialized in hunting Mafia Groups." He answered.
"Are you suggesting - "
"Yes. The Mafia Hunter."
Only one person wields this title. He's a very famous Mafia Hunter, turning them to the World Government for the bounties placed on their heads. A person with a mysterious background.
"Then be done with it."
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
A certain tall, well-built man looked at his mobile phone wondering what the message could be. After opening the message, he raises an eyebrow.
He does not get this kind of message every day and it's very odd for the World Government to contact him for a certain job, whatever that is.
He shrugs his shoulder before answering the message that he will attend the meeting tonight. It's not like he has anything to do anyway.
"Hunting the Straw Hats, huh?" He mumbles before nodding, smirking to himself.
This will be interesting...
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
AN: Whew! Finally managed to finish this chapter. Work has been hectic for me the past weeks and as you know, I usually write when I am free at work, but these days, nah... So yeah...
Anyway, will still try to update this story as frequently as I can. At least once a week, but I will try to update it twice a week.