"Fu—cough! Take it easy, will you? I'm not some monster like you. If you press too hard, you might really end up killing me by accident…"
Doflamingo had tried to laugh out of habit, but Katakuri's trident jabbed harshly into his throat, almost knocking the breath right out of him.
Even with his Armament Haki mastery, the sharp disparity between their strengths meant that Katakuri could still kill him on the spot.
And yet, Doflamingo showed not a shred of fear. Instead, he wore his trademark crooked grin, joking as if nothing were wrong.
"You do have the right to choose a side," Katakuri said coldly, looming over him with icy killing intent spreading across his otherwise stoic face. "But before that, perhaps you should first make sure your life is still your own…"
This wasn't because Katakuri lacked the patience for a battle of words, but because he intended to take this opportunity to send the Heavenly Yaksha a warning.
Still, Doflamingo's other moniker was "the Sea Rogue." Even if Katakuri's sudden strike counted as a surprise attack, it had been enough to make Doflamingo gauge the strength of this "monster" before him.
Knowing full well he could not win, and that Katakuri had no intention of killing him outright, Doflamingo saw no need to continue resisting.
"Fuffuffuffuffu… How terrifying. So tell me, are you planning to kill me?"
Doflamingo countered with full confidence. He had already made up his mind—no matter how Katakuri responded, in the upcoming deal he would make sure to seize the initiative.
Even if it was impossible to use this arms trade to control the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates, as long as he could nudge that colossal force's direction even slightly, Doflamingo would gain a mountain of leverage.
And once war inevitably erupted between the Dark Matter Pirates and the World Government, that leverage would skyrocket in value, potentially granting him the chance to play both sides and reap the benefits.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became—until a bone-chilling sense of death suddenly crept up his spine.
Boom!
The towering walls of the royal palace exploded apart, and a furious Doflamingo burst out, wrapped in a web of strings. If not for his sharp reflexes, combined with his formidable Armament Haki barely blocking Katakuri's trident, his head might have already been rolling on the ground.
"Don't even think about running!"
Katakuri's cold voice rang from behind. Two massive waves of mochi spread wide like giant hands, sweeping in from both sides to crush Doflamingo.
"Ever White Thread!"
Doflamingo slammed his palm onto the ground. The stone and dirt instantly unraveled into countless gleaming white strings, surging forward like a tidal wave to clash against Katakuri's mochi hands.
The silken flood lashed and twisted violently, each strand hardened with Armament Haki sharp enough to slice through steel. But against Katakuri's mochi, absurdly tough and endlessly regenerating, the threads were useless. Instead of cutting through, they were smothered and swallowed whole.
In devil fruit mastery, in Armament Haki, and even in the overwhelming will of Conqueror's Haki that Doflamingo prided himself on—Katakuri surpassed him at every level.
"Mochi Thrust!"
Before Doflamingo could break free from the surging tide, Katakuri had already closed the distance. His arm, sheathed and coiled in rotating mochi like a compressed spring, built up crushing force that would explode the instant it pierced its target, delivering a fatal blow.
"You bastard! Are you insane!?"
Doflamingo finally snapped in fury. He was used to dealing with monsters like Kaido—men so terrifying that he wouldn't dare harbor improper thoughts in their presence. Everyone else, however, was different:
Clients seeking his weapons either groveled or at least bowed their heads. Even the World Government and Navy, out of respect for his Celestial Dragon blood and his Shichibukai title, afforded him a certain degree of face.
Even his bitter enemies, no matter how much they despised him, usually didn't dare to move against him first, wary of his power.
That was why, when he sensed Katakuri "needed" something from him, Doflamingo instinctively tried to bargain, to claw back a little pride.
But Katakuri didn't play by those rules. Without a word of compromise, he struck ruthlessly, his opening move already aimed to kill.
Doflamingo barely managed to evade the deadly Mochi Thrust, but against someone who could see the future, his desperate dodge only delivered him straight into the trap.
Crash!
Katakuri's kick hammered into his chest like a cannon blast, launching Doflamingo through the air. Only then did the Donquixote executives, stunned and shaken by the scene, finally snap back to reality.
"Doffy!"
Even Trebol, usually cautious, lost all composure when he saw Doflamingo smashed into the ruins of the palace wall, silent and unmoving. His eyes went bloodshot with fury.
The Donquixote executives charged together in a desperate rush. Katakuri only snorted coldly, unimpressed, and with a single sweep of his trident sent Diamante—the first to reach him—flying like a ragdoll.
Just as Katakuri was about to finish off the rest in one strike, his eyes flickered—he abruptly pulled back, retreating half a step.
"Overheat Whip!"
A blazing white lash tore past the space Katakuri had vacated, cutting straight through the palace behind him. The royal castle of Dressrosa split apart with an earth-shaking crash, collapsing into a storm of dust and rubble.
From within the haze, Katakuri's gaze sharpened, fixed on the figure who had unleashed that attack.
It was Doflamingo—blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, yet grinning with a twisted, feral sneer.
"To bring down Joker… it won't be as easy as you think!"
His voice was a roar of rage, venom thick in every word. The sheer hatred in his expression made it clear: only by tearing Katakuri limb from limb could he quench his fury.
"Then try me."
Katakuri's reply was calm, almost indifferent. His tone held neither anger nor mercy.
And with that, the battle erupted again.
---
No one knew how much time had passed when even the remnants of the Big Mom Pirates, who had accompanied Katakuri to Dressrosa, finally lost patience and moved ashore to see for themselves.
But just as they prepared to march toward the ruined palace, a battered, dust-covered Katakuri emerged before them.
"Lord Katakuri! You're injured!"
They rushed forward instinctively, weapons raised to guard him. One even reached for a flare gun, ready to signal the ship for reinforcements.
To force Katakuri himself into such a state—such an enemy was rare even in the New World. And if such an opponent was still lurking nearby, none of them alone could possibly hold the line.
"Don't worry. I'm fine."
Katakuri shook his head, his face pale but composed, raising a hand to stop them.
He had underestimated Doflamingo slightly. Though he had succeeded in subduing the Donquixote Family single-handedly, he had been forced to fight seriously, leaving Doflamingo in a rather miserable state.
For the foreseeable future, the Heavenly Demon would be in no condition to fight again.
Still, by displaying such overwhelming force, Katakuri was certain Doflamingo had understood the resolve of the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates.
Unless the tides of war shifted dramatically, Joker would now stake his very life to guarantee a steady supply of weapons.
And that was enough. Without him—the underground's largest arms broker—it would be nearly impossible to secure the volume of weapons and ammunition they needed in such a short time.
"Lord Katakuri, did Joker refuse us?"
One of Katakuri's men asked. His initial expression was shock and anger, but it quickly twisted into one of greed. In his mind, if it had come to blows, it must mean negotiations had failed…
If that was the case, then the only option left was to turn hostile—at the very least, plunder this country. That way, their trip to Dressrosa wouldn't have been in vain.
And Dressrosa, after all, was one of the Grand Line's most famous tourist destinations. Under the Donquixote Family's years of management, stripping it bare would yield spoils no less than those from a bustling port city.
In the past, the name of the Heavenly Demon Doflamingo had been deterrent enough—few pirates dared set their sights on Dressrosa.
But now, with Lord Katakuri standing at the front, and the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates—the crew that ruled the New World and had dared to declare war against the World Government—at their backs, why should they fear a mere Warlord of the Sea?
"He'll come to his senses. Our time is too short—we can't afford to waste it."
Katakuri cast a single glance at his men and immediately read their thoughts. Doflamingo still had his uses. Even if these pirates were accustomed to discarding a pawn once it had served its purpose, there was no need to act so prematurely.
Soon after, the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates escorted Katakuri out of Dressrosa.
Meanwhile, back at the royal palace district—once gleaming with gold and splendor—nothing remained but rubble, reduced to ruins by the aftermath of Katakuri and Doflamingo's clash.
All around the wreckage, the Donquixote Family's officers lay sprawled across the ground, battered and broken. Katakuri had not aimed to kill, but in order to keep these fiercely loyal subordinates from interfering, he had been forced to crush them with overwhelming force.
"Buru-buru-buru… Buru-buru-buru…"
Just then, the shrill cry of a Den Den Mushi echoed through the ruins.
Into the devastation stepped Violet—the only executive, aside from the sheltered Sugar, who had not joined the fight. She held the Den Den Mushi in her hands, her expression shifting rapidly, dark and conflicted.
For she was not only one of Doflamingo's officers—she was once the princess of Dressrosa itself. And in her heart, there was no mistaking it—her hatred for Doflamingo ran deep.
°°°
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