A cannonball suddenly shot out from the palace atop the Royal Plateau.
It traced a graceful arc across the sky, soaring toward the edge of the city before finally beginning to fall.
A tall clock tower was struck directly in the middle and snapped in half.
What followed was a deafening crash like a meteor striking the earth, as dust erupted into the sky like fireworks.
The citizens screamed and scattered in all directions, terrified of being caught in the blast.
Still, a few bold souls dared to creep closer, curious to see what had fallen.
At the center of the dust cloud, within a massive crater, they saw someone lying there.
"It's a person!"
People gasped, though no one recognized who it was.
The man was unrecognizable.
His once-luxurious formal attire was now in tatters, and his gem-studded cloak was ripped in half.
His upper body was encased in frost, especially his head, which was completely frozen over.
He lay there motionless, like a corpse.
Then, in the next instant, the ice around his head shattered—and he suddenly sat up.
"Waahhh!!"
People screamed and stumbled back in terror. "A zombie! He came back from the dead!"
Doflamingo's forehead was drenched in cold sweat, mixing with blood, making his already disheveled appearance look even more pitiful.
But the worst part was his lower face—his nose had been completely smashed in.
That entire area was caved in, his features now a mess of blood and flesh.
Surprisingly, his signature toad-shaped sunglasses were still perfectly intact.
His face was twisted in shock.
His mind… his very consciousness had nearly been knocked out of his body by that blow!
What kind of power was that?
Ian's right-hand man—Yamato of the Frozen Seas—was that strong?
Crack!
Just then, lightning crashed down onto the rooftop of a nearby building.
In the next instant, Enel stood atop the roof, quietly gazing down at Doflamingo.
Doflamingo rose to his feet, looking up at Enel, his voice sharp and cold.
"You… You want a piece of me too?"
Enel smirked slightly.
"I'm not interested in small fry."
Doflamingo's forehead bulged with veins in rage.
"Fufufufu! Small fry? No one's ever dared to call me that before!"
"Well then, care to try the strength of the so-called small fry you were mocking?"
In the next instant, the building beneath Enel's feet unraveled into thin threads, swirling toward him like a raging waterspout over the sea.
But the speed of lightning was far beyond what those threads could ever catch up with.
Almost immediately, Doflamingo spun around—only to find Enel already standing a short distance away, arms crossed.
His half-lidded eyes drooped even lower now, as if he couldn't be bothered to properly look at Doflamingo.
"An ant crawling on the ground dares to challenge a god?"
Enel let out a cold laugh.
He had every right to be arrogant.
With his mobility and long-range attacks, he could reduce Doflamingo to rubble without breaking a sweat—he could literally snack on apples while bombarding him from a distance.
Did you think you were Ian? You think you can act so recklessly in front of me, a god?
"God?"
Doflamingo almost laughed from sheer rage.
Calling yourself a god in front of him, a former Celestial Dragon?
"Go fight Yamato instead."
Enel once again turned into lightning and reappeared on a nearby rooftop, easily dodging Doflamingo's string assault.
"Or are you planning to run away right in front of me?"
He had gradually stopped referring to himself as "this god."
After all, in front of Ian, even a god like him held no weight.
Doflamingo trembled with fury.
It was one thing for Ian to disrespect him—but even Ian's subordinates dared to treat him like a joke?
Run away?
Was he implying that Doflamingo would run from Yamato?
He wanted nothing more than to grind Enel into minced meat right then and there.
But now wasn't the time to deal with this bastard.
Doflamingo suddenly turned and looked toward the distant King's Plateau.
Inside that palace—his family was now up against that monster, Yamato!
He had to get back there—fast!
If not, they'd be wiped out in the blink of an eye.
Let's rewind time just a little.
Inside the royal palace hall.
After Yamato sent Doflamingo flying with a single swing of her club…
The entire palace was plunged into an eerie silence.
Jinbei and Viola, however, didn't find this surprising at all.
They were well aware of Yamato's strength—so much so that even Hancock paled in comparison.
On the entire Hive Island, besides Ian, perhaps only that mysterious and usually inactive Mr. Kuma could truly give her a challenge.
With Yamato being this powerful, wouldn't it be more surprising if Doflamingo hadn't been sent flying by her strike?
Viola even started cheering, "Well done, Yamato! That's how it should be! No—this was the only way!"
She wanted Doflamingo beaten hard!
Even though Ian wanted to meet him, that didn't mean they couldn't half-kill this bastard first.
In contrast, the members of the Donquixote Family were completely stunned.
Forget the underlings and low-level officers—even the top three executives were horrified.
"D-Do… Doffy!!"
Pica screamed out.
They hadn't even fully registered what had happened before Doflamingo was already sent flying.
Would he be okay after taking that hit?
"D-Dammit!!"
Diamante was drenched in sweat, his voice trembling. "How can she be this strong?!"
This wasn't even Ian himself—just one of his subordinates!
And the one who got blown away was Doflamingo! Their young master! One of the infamous Warlords of the Sea!
Trebol's whole body was shaking.
"Who's next?"
Yamato gently tapped her translucent spiked club against the floor.
A terrifying coldness swept out instantly, coating the entire palace in a layer of ice in the blink of an eye.
Ice began to form on the bodies of the Donquixote Family executives.
A series of shocked cries rang out.
"Don't be so reckless, woman!!"
Pica, Donquixote Doflamingo's most loyal hound and the gutsiest man among the Donquixote Family officers, roared with fury.
"Don't underestimate the strength of the Donquixote Family!!"
"Oh?"
Yamato's eyes lit up instantly.
"Then hurry up and show me your moves!"
Gritting his teeth, Pica's massive body suddenly sank into the floor.
"Ohh."
Yamato let out a puzzled sound, her eyes scanning the surface beneath her.
Then, the entire grand hall began to twist and distort.
"Interesting."
With a grin, Yamato looked up.
At some point, a giant stone upper-body had appeared, hanging upside down from the ceiling!
A massive stone fist was already hurtling straight toward her.
But—
"Not interesting enough."
With a casual swing of her kanabo, Yamato reacted.
A burst of white mist shot into the sky.
The stone giant froze mid-motion, and in the blink of an eye, it turned completely white.
Then—shattered.
The stone giant crumbled into chunks of ice, raining down from above.
"Got anything more exciting?"
Yamato asked with a cheeky smile.
"Then let me show you... true art."
With a bizarre laugh, a woman lunged at Yamato.
"Oh?"
Yamato glanced back.
"Destructive Art!"
A tall, slender middle-aged woman pushed both her hands forward, launching a bubble-like cloud straight at Yamato.
"Huh? What kind of ability is that?"
Yamato's curious eyes widened slightly.
Doflamingo himself might not be that strong, but his subordinates sure have some bizarre abilities.
A cloud of mist instantly wrapped around Yamato.
**********
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