CRACK!
The sunglasses he was wearing shattered on the spot.
Fragments flew in every direction as an overwhelming wave of Conqueror’s Haki came crashing toward them.
Under the immense pressure, Doflamingo’s flamingo-feather coat was already being blown wildly about.
As the tangible shockwave rapidly expanded within his pupils, Doflamingo roared in humiliation and fury.
"Spider Web!"
BOOM!
Countless white threads shot out in all directions, colliding head-on with the overwhelming surge of Conqueror’s Haki.
In an instant, the thunderous sound of the collision echoed throughout the heavens, like a divine war drum being struck.
Rolling waves of explosive force swept backward like a hurricane.
The resulting waves surged toward Doflamingo’s pirate ship.
CRASH!
Torrents of seawater poured down like a violent rainstorm, engulfing the entire harbor entrance.
The freezing seawater jolted many of the Marines who had been knocked unconscious back to their senses.
They watched in stunned silence as the pirate ship, battered by the waves, slammed bow-first into the harbor breakwater.
CRACK!
The ship splintered upon impact.
Everyone was left utterly dumbfounded.
Wasn’t this exactly what people meant by starting out arrogant only to end up miserable?
Even Tsuru, who had quickly withdrawn from the clash, couldn’t help but freeze for a moment.
Her aide behind her was about to sound the alarm, but Tsuru helplessly raised a hand and stopped him.
"No need."
"Notify Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Admiral Lucas has returned."
"Only that man can turn Conqueror’s Haki into something resembling a shockwave."
"Doflamingo really did overestimate himself this time."
Tsuru rubbed her aching temples.
However, when she looked toward the pirate ship that had crashed onto the breakwater before tumbling back into the sea, its mast snapped cleanly in two, a rare smile appeared on her face.
"Still, perhaps this is for the best."
"Someone needed to knock that arrogant Heavenly Yaksha down a peg. Otherwise, he’d really start believing that becoming a Warlord of the Sea meant he could disregard even Marine Headquarters."
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, it’s rare to hear you say something so eager to stir up trouble."
Commodore Kibin, standing nearby, was already so shocked by what had happened that his hands and legs felt weak.
"But this is a Warlord of the Sea—and a king of one of the World Government’s member nations at that. Won’t cleaning up this mess be extremely troublesome?"
"Troublesome?"
Tsuru gave a dry laugh.
"Doflamingo is indeed troublesome."
"But I’ve never seen Admiral Lucas fail to find a reasonable excuse when he’s demanding a bonus."
"This time, I’m afraid Doflamingo is the one who’s going to suffer a major loss."
Kibin was completely bewildered.
As the Marines’ Chief of Staff, Tsuru had clearly already thought of how to deal with the situation.
He never expected her to simply wash her hands of the matter.
Then again, when he thought about everything he’d heard recently at Marine Headquarters concerning the reputation of the Marines’ Fourth Admiral, Glutton Lucas, it suddenly made sense.
That man could make even Fleet Admiral Sengoku feel a headache whenever money came up.
If bonuses, wages, or salaries were involved...
Perhaps a hundred people together still wouldn’t be able to outmaneuver a single Admiral Glutton.
CRASH!
The shattered pirate ship rocked violently before crashing back onto the sea.
After struggling to regain their footing on deck, the members of the Donquixote Family turned toward their Young Master.
Doflamingo’s sunglasses were broken, and even the flamingo-feather coat draped over his shoulders had been torn to shreds.
The man who normally wore an arrogant grin and swaggered around with his hands in his pockets now looked utterly miserable.
Seeing Doflamingo in such a battered state, the expressions of the family members became extremely stiff.
Sensing their strange gazes, Doflamingo’s expression twisted.
The veins on his forehead bulged as he roared furiously,
"That damn Marine Admiral!"
"You’re nothing more than a rookie! How dare you attack a Warlord of the Sea so recklessly?"
"Are you challenging the rules established by the World Government?!"
"Rules?"
Lucas descended from the sky, raised his hand, and took a swig of strong liquor.
"I thought Kaido had come to deliver my bonus."
"Turns out it’s just some Warlord causing trouble here. No wonder that Haki felt so weak."
"Oh, right. I think your name was Molting Yaksha, wasn’t it?"
"Most of the feathers on you have fallen off already."
"Next time you come to Marine Headquarters, pay a little more attention to your appearance. Otherwise, if you cause a misunderstanding and force me to make a move, I’ll have to charge you extra."
"Weak Haki?"
"Molting Yaksha?"
Trebol and the others stood frozen.
But when they looked at Doflamingo’s once-luxurious flamingo-feather coat, now reduced to only a pathetic handful of feathers...
They couldn’t actually find anything wrong with the nickname.
And compared with the tangible, overwhelming Conqueror’s Haki Lucas had unleashed like a force of nature, their earlier clash of Haki really had been vastly inferior.
For a moment, an inexplicable pressure filled the deck.
The veins bulging on Doflamingo’s forehead swelled even further.
He grabbed the ship’s railing with one hand and crushed it.
"Good. Very good."
"And you even charge extra whenever you make a move?"
"No wonder you’re a Marine rookie. You’ve got quite the mouth on you."
"A rookie like you has no idea how terrifying the Four Emperors are."
"If you encountered even one of the Three Calamities, you’d be crushed."
"As for why we were chosen as Warlords of the Sea..."
"I’ll show you exactly how terrifying the Warlords really are!"
CRACK!
The railing in Doflamingo’s hand shattered completely.
The fury buried deep within him could no longer be restrained.
It erupted in an instant.
But before he could make a move, Lucas’s calm voice came once again.
"Warlords of the Sea?"
"I happen to have one on my ship."
"I just wonder how much his capture is worth."
"As for those Three Calamities who are supposedly capable of crushing me..."
"I happen to have some of those on my ship too."
"Hopefully they’re worth twenty or thirty million Berries."
"Otherwise, I’d be taking a huge loss after wasting all that effort."
The moment he finished speaking, the warship approaching from the distance finally broke through the waves and dropped anchor at the harbor entrance.
Everyone’s attention was instinctively drawn toward it.
Trebol, standing nearby, sniffed and hurriedly forced a smile.
"Young Master, don’t worry."
"There’s no way the Three Calamities and a Warlord of the Sea would all be aboard the same ship. Anyone could figure that out just by using their toes..."
"No, Young Master!"
Trebol’s expression suddenly changed.
"I think... I think I’m seeing things."
"They’re all tied up!"
Doflamingo’s heart suddenly clenched.
His pupils contracted to their limit.
As a Warlord of the Sea and one of the underworld’s major powers, he had naturally already learned about the new candidate who would take the place of Sir Crocodile, the Sand Crocodile.
He had originally considered Blackbeard, who had dared to stab Whitebeard in the back, to be a rare breed of ruthless schemer.
Perhaps the two of them could have worked together perfectly.
But he had never imagined that the first time he laid eyes on this new Warlord of the Sea, the man would be wrapped in three or five layers of bandages from head to toe.
Was this really how a ruthless powerhouse was supposed to make his entrance?
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