Doflamingo’s expression froze.
He had never imagined that anyone would dare refuse his proposal to talk.
Even the Five Elders, who stood behind the World Government, would never have treated him this way.
Unfortunately, when facing the man before him, Doflamingo no longer dared to question it.
High in the sky loomed a gigantic beast formed from Haki.
Nine layers of the super-tier magic Falling Sky were descending from above.
And there was also the golden 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, its massive form forged from concentrated gold.
With all three gathered together, Doflamingo felt an inexplicable sense of suffocation.
"Damn Marine Admiral... Don’t let me survive this. Otherwise, I’ll definitely find an opportunity to kill you!"
BOOM!
The three ultimate attacks detonated simultaneously.
The resulting explosive shockwave was no less terrifying than the Ryuo: Hakoku unleashed by the two giants moments ago.
In an instant, the harbor that had already been reduced to rubble was swallowed up once again.
No one knew how much time had passed before the clouds of dust gradually dispersed.
The golden giant created through the awakening of the Gold-Gold Fruit now stood like a crane among chickens.
Tesoro, who was inside it, was experiencing an indescribable ordeal.
Even so, he hurriedly looked toward the ruins.
Dust continued to roll through the air.
Lucas still stood calmly where he was, wine gourd in hand.
However, compared with before, there was now a huge crater dozens of meters in diameter in front of him.
The flamingo coat that Doflamingo had once worn with such swagger had been reduced to something resembling a plucked chicken.
The figure half-buried beneath the ruins struggled to crawl out.
His entire body was covered in numerous bloody wounds.
Seeing Doflamingo—the man who had once been so fearsome and had even proclaimed himself the strongest among the Seven Warlords of the Sea—reduced to such a miserable state, Tesoro’s pupils contracted violently.
Especially since he was still sitting inside the golden giant.
He suddenly felt as though he were sitting on a bed of needles.
He really should never have come here in the first place.
An absurd thought rapidly took shape in his mind.
"Cough, cough... Tesoro! If you’re going to act, then act now! What are you waiting for? As long as we join forces, we may not be unable to fight our way out. As long as you get me out of here alive, I swear I’ll make that Marine Admiral regret this for the rest of his life!"
Doflamingo coughed up another mouthful of blood and roared hysterically.
After personally witnessing how formidable the special combat forces aboard Lucas’s ship were, Doflamingo no longer expected his own subordinates to rescue him.
The only person he could pin his hopes on was Tesoro.
As long as Tesoro was willing to act and create even a little chaos, Doflamingo believed that escaping was still possible.
"Hahaha, Doffy, what nonsense are you talking about? How could I possibly attack a Marine Admiral?"
"Admiral Lucas, are you still recruiting special combat forces? Take a good look at me. Do I look like a 20-million-Berry bounty to you?"
Tesoro suddenly burst into laughter.
His words rang out clearly across the battlefield, without the slightest hesitation.
Doflamingo’s expression instantly stiffened.
He struggled to raise his head and look toward Tesoro.
The golden giant that had been formed through the awakening of the Gold-Gold Fruit suddenly collapsed.
Tesoro emerged from within it and landed respectfully on the ground.
The decisiveness of his actions was so astonishing that the blood Doflamingo had been forcing down in his chest could no longer be contained.
Pfft!
Doflamingo spat out a mouthful of blood, rolled his eyes back, and collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
Was this really the ally he had brought in?
How had this guy, in the blink of an eye, volunteered himself and become someone else’s special combat force?
At this moment, Doflamingo finally understood the meaning behind the word "behave" that Vergo had sent back not long ago.
Perhaps Vergo hadn’t been telling him that Lucas had been ordered by the Fleet Admiral to keep a low profile and behave himself.
He had been telling Doflamingo to behave himself.
Smoker and the others were equally dumbfounded.
Tesoro’s thought process had caught them completely off guard.
Feeling the gazes coming from all around him, Tesoro also broke into a nervous sweat.
What he had done was indeed rather unethical.
But better for one’s fellow troublemaker to die than oneself.
Still, when he thought about Lucas, who completely refused to play by the rules, Tesoro genuinely began wondering whether he would be able to get through this safely.
"A 20-million-Berry bounty?"
Lucas took a gulp of Strong liquor , then laughed and patted Tesoro on the shoulder.
"Looks like you really do have the face of someone worth 20 million Berries."
"Welcome aboard."
"Someone, carry Doflamingo aboard too. No, that’s not quite right. Escort him aboard. Don’t forget what Old Man Sengoku said. He’s a guest, after all."
"Understood, Admiral Lucas!"
Smoker and the others quickly recovered and hurried off to carry out the order.
Their presence aboard this ship had already been rather insignificant to begin with.
Now that the four special combat forces had increased to five, Smoker and the others knew that if they couldn’t even handle chores like this properly, they might not even have the opportunity to show their faces in the future.
Seeing Doflamingo being carried aboard, Doll also quickly leaped over and landed beside Tashigi and Ain.
After secretly letting out a sigh of relief, she said,
"I was honestly worried that Admiral Lucas might kill Doflamingo without a second thought."
"If he had done that, we’d probably have had a hard time explaining ourselves after returning to Marine Headquarters."
"I never expected Admiral Lucas to follow Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s orders so obediently."
As soon as she finished speaking, Tashigi, a cigarette hanging from her lips, couldn’t help twitching the muscles in her cheek.
"Vice Admiral Doll, you’ve only recently joined the ship. I’m afraid you still don’t understand how Admiral Lucas operates."
"The reason Admiral Lucas didn’t kill Doflamingo just now... I think he’s waiting for Fleet Admiral Sengoku to offer more money next time."
"Everything he’s doing right now is probably just shearing the sheep."
"Hopefully, after this incident, Doflamingo will learn to behave himself. Otherwise, next time will probably be his last."
Ain silently nodded in agreement.
Doll watched the two of them efficiently clean up the aftermath.
For the first time, she realized that she could actually be rather naïve.
Tesoro, who was standing not far away, had heard every word of their conversation.
Recalling everything that had happened just now, he completely believed what they had said.
The last trace of hesitation in his heart vanished instantly.
He hurriedly put on a smile and boarded the ship alongside Lucas.
At the very least, his current bounty was indeed lower than Doflamingo’s 30 million Berries.
Yet Tesoro, the Golden Emperor, felt for the first time that having a bounty of 20 million Berries might actually be quite a bit better than having a fortune equivalent to twenty percent of the world’s total Berries.
Seeing Dorry the Blue Ogre and the other three standing at the bow of the ship, he immediately greeted them with a hearty, familiar laugh.
"Everyone, sorry about this. I’m Tesoro, the man worth 20 million Berries! It’s our first time meeting, so I look forward to getting along with you!"
A day later, after the massive warship had departed, another warship finally arrived.
It was carrying CP0.
The moment Spandam stood on the deck and saw the harbor, which had been completely reduced to a flat wasteland, his expression changed.
He instantly realized that his previous guess had been correct.
Not long ago, the Five Elders had instructed him to have Doflamingo cause trouble for Lucas.
It seemed that Doflamingo really had become exactly what Lucas had called him—
a money-delivery boy.
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