"Boom boom boom boom!"
A massive fist came crashing down like a violet-red meteor.
The air was crushed in layers, forming concentric shockwaves wrapped around its descent.
A golden shockwave collided with the purple-red fist midair.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion erupted.
The tangible shockwave swept across a radius of several kilometers, indiscriminately tearing through everything.
The sky cracked. The sea below detonated like a nuclear bomb had gone off.
Tsunamis dozens of stories tall surged outward in every direction.
Crack!
The golden shockwave shattered completely. The wild energy it released sent the sea—still roiling from the previous blast—into another round of furious upheaval.
The violet meteor barreled down without resistance.
The boiling sea was punched into a massive void, the water refusing to fill it for several long moments.
Far away, Sengoku had already distanced himself and was preparing a new attack in his hands.
Even as a seasoned veteran, cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
At this moment, Doflamingo was several times more terrifying than he had been a year ago.
Thank goodness he'd already decided to fight from range.
And he had achieved enough results.
Doflamingo raised his head.
Enormous crimson eyes locked onto Sengoku in the distance. A mocking smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
"Fufufufufufu~ Sengoku-san, why'd you suddenly dodge? You can't arrest me like that, can you? Zephyr's ghost is watching you, y'know."
He pulled his massive fist from the ocean floor—it exploded into 32 thick tendrils.
His towering body, waist-deep in the sea, began to move once again.
And once again, he charged toward Sengoku.
"You arrogant brat!"
Sengoku stepped into the sky. The air around him compressed underfoot, solidifying like steel.
A massive golden Buddha palm lashed out from afar, unleashing the shockwave he'd been storing.
It blasted toward Doflamingo's tendrils.
BOOM!
With a deafening roar, the golden shockwave shattered as expected—but the violet-red tendrils also failed to touch Sengoku.
"Tch, guess not everyone's like Bullet and Kaido."
Doflamingo halted, no longer wasting energy on meaningless pursuit.
His form was overwhelmingly powerful.
But not every powerhouse was a brute like Bullet or Kaido—who relished head-on clashes.
Besides, the bigger the body, the more unwieldy it inevitably became, even with the refined structure from the Tontatta techniques.
And not every battlefield was as vast and forgiving as the Red Line.
The sea would gladly bury a body that large.
If he kept chasing, he'd be swimming through the seafloor before long.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!
As his awakened power slowly receded, the towering giant's body began to collapse bit by bit.
It didn't return to mountains or landmass.
Instead, it sank into the sea.
Perhaps, someday, it would become a new island.
SWOOSH!
A pair of vast wings unfurled among the falling rubble, darkening the sky.
At this moment, Doflamingo looked like a fallen angel lost among mortals.
"Fufufufufufu~ Sengoku-san! I'm coming for your ass!"
And just like that, Doflamingo ruined the moment with his filthy mouth.
Just because he couldn't overpower Sengoku with brute strength didn't mean he couldn't fight.
He activated an upgraded version of his muscle armor, enveloping himself in a form like living venom.
The purple-black glow of Armament Haki shimmered across his body.
He looked like Lucifer descending into hell.
BOOM!
A white burst of fire exploded in the air.
It was Doflamingo's massive wings, flapping at a speed invisible to the human eye.
His figure rocketed forward like a missile, aimed straight at Sengoku.
Seeing Doflamingo abandon that monstrous form of his, Sengoku instantly spun around and braced himself.
A golden palm rose vertically before him.
Thick layers of Armament Haki distorted the surrounding air—this was a terrifyingly destructive force focused inward.
And that wasn't all. Threads of black-red lightning crackled across his palm, roaring like thunder.
"Prepare to die, Doflamingo!!"
Sengoku bent his knees and launched himself forward.
The atmosphere behind him shattered in successive layers, forming clouds of sonic booms.
This strike combined top-tier Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki infusion, and his Devil Fruit ability in perfect harmony.
"Fufufufufufu~ You think I don't have something like that too?!"
Doflamingo's eyes gleamed with wild excitement.
Today, he would defeat this proud Admiral with his own hands!
The Haki coating his skin fused completely with every fiber of muscle.
His already overhardened physique soared to a new peak.
Muscles wrapped around more muscle, cords bunching into grotesque masses.
His monstrous arm swelled again, laced with crimson lightning.
It slammed downward toward Sengoku.
"Divine Execution!!"
A dark-gold and purple-black fist collided, like two suns crashing into one another.
Time froze in that moment.
Doflamingo and Sengoku—one to the left, one to the right.
Their fists stopped midair, separated by less than three inches, locked in a stalemate.
Their faces contorted in strain, both giving their all—but unable to land a hit.
At the epicenter of the clash, a tiny black orb seemed to form from the compressed Haki.
Streams of purple-black lightning flashed outward.
The shockwave spread like tidal waves, sweeping across the battlefield.
It was on par with the legendary clash between a dying Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard years ago!
"Fufufufufu~"
Doflamingo grinned wickedly at Sengoku, who was just inches from his face.
"Damn it all—collapse for me with your own self-destructive strength!!"
Sengoku sensed something wrong.
He looked down—and saw Doflamingo's deformed arm suddenly explode outward.
It propelled his purple-black fist forward with renewed momentum.
A new force surged forth, instantly breaking the fragile balance.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
The resulting explosion echoed for dozens of nautical miles, a thunderous roar heard even across the sea.
It was like a nuclear bomb had gone off above the ocean.
Blinding light erupted—enough to sear the eyes of ordinary people.
Unimaginable energy exploded, vaporizing a massive cavity into the sea surface.
The towering golden Buddha was blasted away like a shooting star.
Without solid footing, Sengoku desperately used Geppo to correct his flight path, avoiding a crash landing in the water.
Doflamingo, wings flapping furiously, carved a white arc through the sky and finally steadied himself.
His right arm was mangled, dripping blood and flesh, and his body trembled.
"Fufufufufu~ That felt so good!!!"
Completely ignoring his injury, Doflamingo let out a satisfied moan.
He was rock hard now!
Just moments ago, he had detonated the synthetic muscle on his arm, breaking the deadlock.
It was like firing a rocket booster from his right arm.
The cost? His arm was now shredded and bloody.
But that didn't matter.
Because Sengoku had taken damage too.
Doflamingo's eyes locked onto Sengoku in the distance.
The Admiral's golden right arm—the one that had clashed with his—now hung limply by his side, blood dripping from his fingers.
His breathing had grown ragged.
In the end, Sengoku was just a man who had eaten a Devil Fruit.
Not a true Buddha.
-----------
Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg
