"Boom!"
An even fiercer explosion of energy tore through the air.
The firewall Aramaki had just constructed did a fine job shielding him from the worst of the aftermath.
But the homes built by the island clouds surrounding them weren't so lucky.
One by one, they collapsed into rubble.
"Beatings sure toughened up that turtle shell of yours!"
The voice echoed louder and louder.
Aramaki's eyes flicked backward—only to see the thunder club wreathed in crackling lightning and scorching heat speeding toward his skull. It was already too close. Dodging was impossible.
"Thud!"
"Aaargh!!!"
A massive lump instantly swelled on the back of Aramaki's head, the skin searing with a perfect Maillard reaction.
With a pained howl, he crashed into the fire-resistant trees he himself had created.
That was the speed of lightning!
But was that all?
No. Enel was already waiting right where Aramaki was falling, club raised high to strike again.
"Boom!!!"
In that instant—
After getting a hands-on crash course from Bullet himself, Enel was now smashing Aramaki around like a rag doll, leaving him with no chance to fight back.
But what Enel failed to notice—
The trees, the flowers, the vines all around them still glowed a vibrant green, pulsing with life.
A few blossoms quietly unfurled, their colors growing more vivid by the second.
...
New World.
While Enel was busy beating someone senseless—
His boss was doing the exact same thing elsewhere.
The towering divine warrior, Numancia Flamingo, had already stomped one giant leg into the sea.
Armament Haki-clad tendrils lashed out in relentless pursuit, chasing after Kuzan as he sprinted across the water's surface.
"Boom boom boom!!!"
One after another, towering waves erupted, as if an endless string of torpedoes detonated beneath the ocean.
"Is that all you've got, Vice Admiral Kuzan? Where's that 'justice' you Navy folks love to preach, huh? Come on, come wipe out this evil scum right here!"
Doflamingo's taunting words fired off like bullets, each jab designed to twist the knife deeper into Kuzan's heart.
That addictive thrill of humiliating an enemy while they're down—
It was simply irresistible!!!
Fufufufufufu~
Kuzan's face darkened, veins bulging all over his body.
Hatred. Pain. Humiliation. The emotions threatened to make him explode right then and there.
But he still managed to suppress the suicidal urge to counterattack recklessly.
He had to stay alive. The Navy still needed every bit of strength he could offer.
He had to stall Doflamingo!
"Zephyr-sensei!"
A desperate shout rang out from a nearby Navy warship.
Borsalino cracked open his sleepy eyes.
"Pew pew! Vice Admiral Borsalino!"
"Quiet!"
The sailors watching the battle were already pale as death, rushing to cover Borsalino's mouth.
All eyes locked on the giant black form that had just gone still, praying it hadn't noticed them.
But—
Of course, the thing you fear most is the very thing that happens.
Two blood-red eyes locked onto them.
"Fufufufufu... so this is where you've been hiding, huh!"
At the same time, a Haki-coated tendril shot toward them.
"Damn it!!!"
Panic exploded in Borsalino's chest. No time for catchphrases now.
He clapped his hands together, summoned a blade of light, and swung it upward to intercept.
"Boom!!"
The strike sent both Borsalino and the entire warship lurching downward.
Fresh blood gushed from wounds that had only just been stitched up.
His battered shoulder crackled with pain, the newly torn flesh threatening to fall apart.
The deck beneath his feet was already tilting dangerously close to the water's surface.
The medics onboard looked at their Vice Admiral with desperate, pleading eyes, praying he could hold on.
Kuzan caught sight of the scene and felt his temples throb painfully.
Borsalino was in real danger!
He darted across the sea with blinding speed to return to the fight.
"Borsalino! Didn't your teacher ever tell you to keep that body in shape?!"
Doflamingo wasn't Zephyr—he wasn't dead yet.
He still had two hands.
And his other fist was already cocked back, black-and-red Conqueror's Haki lightning crackling all over it.
Borsalino, who had felt that oppressive Haki before, knew this was a killing blow.
His mentor Zephyr… was probably already done for.
But should he just abandon this ship full of soldiers?
"Fufufufufu... Kuzan, say goodbye to your friend!"
Doflamingo's fist came crashing down as Kuzan's eyes went bloodshot with fury.
But just then, Borsalino turned into light and zipped off the ship.
In Kuzan's blurring vision, the fist loomed larger and larger.
Wait—wasn't that punch meant for Borsalino?
Ice exploded from around Kuzan's body on reflex.
"Boom!!!"
The full force of that Haki-coated strike smashed through the ice barrier.
Kuzan was sent flying, his body drenched in blood.
Muscles tore. Bones shattered. Blood vessels burst apart.
His chest caved in completely.
His consciousness flickered on the brink of collapse. His body no longer obeyed him.
At that moment, Kuzan finally knew what it felt like to move at Borsalino's speed.
Up above, the divine warrior's head split open—
And Doflamingo shot out like a missile, closing in fast on Kuzan's flailing form.
This was his perfect, unstoppable strategy.
He didn't have the future sight of advanced Observation Haki.
He had no fancy "Observation Kill" tricks like certain masters.
He couldn't pin down a light-speed fighter like fully powered Shanks could.
But if his opponent was dumb enough not to dodge?
Well, he'd happily send them straight to hell.
And right now, Kuzan was the ripest target in sight.
From above, Borsalino's face twisted with guilt—but then hardened.
He clapped his hands together, firing off a barrage of light bullets.
Doflamingo's wings twitched, shifting into the dense muscle structure of the Tontatta Tribe.
His speed kicked up another notch, weaving straight through the hail of light bullets.
"This ends now, Heavenly Yaksha!!!"
A furious roar echoed from afar.
At the same time, a blinding beam of Armament Haki-laced energy tore through the air.
The ocean boiled away in its path—a clear sign of its deadly power.
The attacker had white hair, a beard like a mountain, and a frame towering like a living cliff.
It was none other than Kong, the Fleet Admiral himself!
His Haki beam streaked toward Doflamingo's path, cutting him off.
"Fufufufufu... this ends now?!"
Doflamingo laughed manically and charged headlong into the incoming blast.
"Come on, try to stop me! Stand there and watch as I slaughter Kuzan—I'll pulverize him into dust in the most brutal way possible!!!"
"Boom!!"
Doflamingo surged forward like a fish swimming against a roaring river of Haki.
The Armament Haki coating his body burned away rapidly with each step.
In the blink of an eye—
He burst out the other side, drenched in blood, his body covered in gruesome wounds.
Behind him, his shredded wings twitched as they slowly began to regenerate.
His Haki reserves were almost depleted after days of nonstop fighting.
But his upgraded bloodline gave him endless stamina to keep moving!
Doflamingo raised his right hand—stripped raw, muscle and veins fully exposed, bone creaking under the strain.
Conqueror's Haki gathered around his fist, coiling tighter and tighter as he brought it down toward the motionless Kuzan.
In Kuzan's fading vision, that fist loomed larger and larger.
With every ounce of strength he had left, Kuzan turned his body to ice, trying to slip away.
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg