"Fur tribe?"
Looking at the girl in the cage in front of him, Mio was surprised. Both of the girls locked inside the cages were fur tribe members.
Fur tribes were extremely rare these days—rarer even than fishmen—since they lived on the back of the giant elephant, Zou. And because Zou roamed the seas constantly, its location was always erratic.
As a race living on Zou, the fur tribe were natural-born warriors. Every member had innate combat abilities and could produce electricity. Their physical strength naturally surpassed that of humans, and even fur tribe babies were capable of basic self-defense. This was a race that Mio had long wanted to obtain. With their genes, he could easily cultivate a powerful core force.
Originally, he had planned to wait until he had built up more influence in the New World before seeking them out—but he hadn't expected to encounter two of them already.
And they looked like… sisters.
Yes, both girls in the cage appeared to be fur tribe cats.
Mio was a little disappointed they weren't rabbits—but then he touched his chin and got excited again.
"I didn't expect you to find fur tribes," Mio said with a smile.
Inside the cage, the two cat-like fur tribe girls stared fearfully at Mio and Doflamingo, huddled closely together, looking quite pitiful.
"Fufufufufu, just a coincidence," Doflamingo chuckled darkly. "If I hadn't considered that you might want them, I would've gifted these two little things to the Celestial Dragons."
"Not bad. I like them a lot." Mio nodded. He truly did.
With the Saker Falcon, these two fur tribe girls, and the Devil Fruits, this transaction had been a huge success.
Even though the Devil Fruits all had seemingly useless abilities, that didn't matter to Mio. Those could be used for system draws. And through the draws, he might end up with powerful genes—possibly even stronger than some high-tier fruit powers.
"As long as you're satisfied," Doflamingo replied, crossing his legs and sipping from his glass.
Mio glanced at Warwick and Hei Yan, and the two of them immediately picked up the items they had brought and left the tavern, heading toward the port to load them onto the ship.
Once they had gone, Mio turned his attention back to Doflamingo and stood up with a smile. "I want to ask you something."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Do you know the East, West, North, and South Birds?"
"Hmm? I know of them, and I know where to find them. In the New World—they're pretty rare in the first half of the Grand Line." Doflamingo thought for a moment before answering. The four birds were fairly well-known among those who sailed the seas.
Because they were extremely unique.
"I need the East, West, and North Birds. Tell me where to find them."
The South Bird was already aboard Mio's ship. He planned to eventually collect genes from all four and cultivate them.
Doflamingo nodded. "Kaisia Islands in the New World."
"The New World… Got it." Mio gave a nod. He would be heading there soon anyway.
"Then I'll be going."
Mio smiled and turned to leave.
Doflamingo chuckled. "See you in the New World, perhaps."
"Oh? Then I'll wait for your arrival," Mio said with a grin and a shake of his head. With that, he stepped out of the tavern, with Erica and the others following behind.
Soon, the group returned to the Black Glory.
Their next destination—Alabasta.
This time, Mio's greatest interest in Alabasta was Pluto and the historical text hidden within.
"Hanba, let's go," Mio called from the bow.
From deep beneath the water, Hanba responded.
The ship slowly began to move, leaving the port behind.
At the same time, Mio returned to the cabin and handed something to Lilith. "Store this safely for now."
He was referring to the Saker Falcon. Mio wasn't in a rush to cultivate it. First, he wanted to collect the other birds. But as for the two fur tribe girls—he planned to begin working with them early.
Unlike Talos, who would eventually become the captain of the Black Crow Pirates' First Division, these two fur tribe girls had a different role.
Mio planned to send them to the New World to begin developing the underground world.
Because if it developed well, it could become a rich source of Devil Fruits.
And it would also serve as an intelligence network of sorts.
Shaking his head, Mio left those thoughts for later.
It was time to draw the lottery.
Four Devil Fruits meant four draws. He hoped for some strong genes this time.
With a thought, the four fruits dissolved into four lottery chances.
At the same time, the gene draw wheel materialized in front of him.
This time, Mio noticed quite a few new genes on the wheel.
[A Certain Magical Index – Accelerator Gene!]
[School Days – Makoto Ito Gene!]
[Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf – Big Big Wolf Gene!]
[Pokémon – Gengar Gene!]
[One Piece – Kaido Gene!]
"???"
Mio's mouth twitched slightly. There was even Kaido's gene, which was fantastic—but why were there such weird entries? He could accept Big Big Wolf—after all, the wolf was intelligent and inventive. But Makoto Ito…
"Whatever. Let's just spin."
Mio pressed the draw button.
The roulette wheel spun rapidly, picking up speed before gradually slowing.
Mio watched closely, anticipation building in his chest.
Finally, the wheel stopped—and the result appeared before him.
"Congratulations! You've obtained the 'Gengar' gene through the draw!"
"Oho? This gene…"
Mio's eyes lit up immediately.
The Gengar gene—this was a great one. In the Pokémon world, many abilities were tied to elemental energy. Gengar, a ghost-type Pokémon, could phase through walls, vanish, and had solid offensive skills.
It was ideal for training an intelligence team.
In fact, possessing Gengar's genes was like having a better version of the Ghost Fruit. It included extra attack capabilities but lacked the Ghost Fruit's negative side effect of inducing decay.
"Very nice. Let's continue."
The Gengar gene vanished from the wheel, replaced by another Pokémon gene—Mismagius.
"Draw!"
Without hesitation, Mio pressed the button again.
The roulette wheel began to spin once more.