A golden shockwave slammed squarely into Doflamingo's back.
"BOOOOOM!!"
The air cracked open into a runway of white clouds.
Doflamingo's purplish-black figure shot into the distance like a missile.
Feathers and energy burst apart, completely obscuring the explosion's center.
Far off, the golden Buddha's face twisted with sorrow—he had failed again.
"THUD!"
Doflamingo crashed headfirst into the chest of the pitch-black giant created by Bullet, stopping dead with a thunderous impact.
"Aaaaargh—! Awooo—!!"
Agonizing screams erupted from the crater, drawing everyone's attention.
"Fufufufufufu~"
Doflamingo emerged from the shadows, dragging Tokikake with him, his chilling smile as unsettling as ever.
The wings that had just been torn apart were slowly regenerating.
Tokikake, however, was in truly miserable shape.
His head was clutched tightly in Doflamingo's palm.
His recently reattached arms were now shattered again, bone fragments poking out visibly in the air.
One leg was missing—it was unclear if it had been torn off by Doflamingo's brutality or the indiscriminate blast from the golden Buddha.
Countless thin threads were burrowing into his veins, forcing a torturous pain deep into his soul.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Bullet and Sakazuki collided once more.
The magma erupting from their clash looked like celebratory fireworks for Doflamingo's victory.
"THUD."
Dragging his half-cooked arm and panting heavily, Bullet landed beside Doflamingo.
"I'm wiped out, Doflamingo!"
He'd fought Doflamingo first.
Then taken on three more opponents alone.
Without a Zoan-type body, he was nearing his limit.
The useless Marine Doflamingo held was one thing—but those two Logia types had done real damage.
"You've done well, my heroic friend. Let me give you a little something in return."
Doflamingo's lips curled upward. With a slight squeeze of Tokikake's left hand, he poured his awakened power into the black giant beneath him, created by Bullet.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
Tokikake's skull visibly compressed as the crisp sound of cracking bones echoed. Blood burst forth.
The pain snapped Tokikake, who had been slipping into unconsciousness, right back into awareness.
"AAAAARGH!!"
"Tokikake!" x2
On either side of Sengoku, Sakazuki and Borsalino cried out in alarm.
"Doflamingo, let him go! I'll let you walk away!"
The golden Buddha ground out this concession through clenched teeth. The way the shockwave in his hand twisted betrayed the turmoil in his heart.
G-8 Branch was in ruins.
Now Tokikake's life hung in the balance.
How could someone be so utterly without honor?
At 57 years old, Sengoku had seen it all.
He'd crossed blades with the likes of Gol D. Roger, Whitebeard Newgate, Golden Lion Shiki, and Red the Aloof.
But someone like Doflamingo—shameless, dishonorable, preying on the weak—he'd rarely encountered such a vile man.
"Fufufufufufu~"
Hearing what amounted to a plea from Sengoku, Doflamingo laughed madly.
He raised the broken Tokikake like a trophy, showing him off to the whole battlefield like a champion.
"Let go? You think I need your permission to leave?!"
He met the blazing eyes of Sengoku, Sakazuki, and Borsalino with mockery.
Then leaned down and whispered into Tokikake's ear with unsettling intimacy.
"Vice Admiral Tokikake? Hurts, doesn't it? Remember this—everything you're feeling right now is thanks to your useless superior officers."
Blood filled Tokikake's windpipe as he wheezed out a curse.
"Ugh… Y-You're… despicable, Doflamingo!!!"
His final defiant cry rang across the battlefield.
And it detonated the fury in all three of their hearts.
"Great Eruption!!!"
"Yasakani no Magatama!!!"
Magma, golden light, and shockwaves surged across the field.
But Doflamingo, master manipulator that he was, had already planned for this.
The black giant beneath him melted like water and dispersed.
In its place, web after web stacked and stretched, forming mountainous nets that shielded him and Bullet completely.
"Bullet!"
Bullet understood instantly, releasing a torrent of Armament Haki into Doflamingo's creations.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The webs shattered one after another, exploding into stone fragments and dust.
Meanwhile, Sakazuki and the others were closing in.
"Ribbit! What a righteous heart! Vice Admiral Tokikake's bleeding out of sheer emotion!"
Doflamingo's sarcastic voice rang out,
His expression dripping with mock sincerity.
Then, in the next breath, he grinned wide, exposing his teeth almost to his ears.
"Fufufufufufu~ Say goodbye to our dear Tokikake, won't you?"
With a thought, the threads in Tokikake's veins tightened—along with Doflamingo's hand.
"Crack, crack, crack, crack!"
"DOFLAMINGO!!!" x3
Sengoku and his two subordinates roared in unison, shaking the skies.
"AAAAAAAGHHH!!"
In a scream of despair, the nearly three-meter-tall Tokikake was crushed down into a ball no larger than ten centimeters.
"Don't get so worked up—here, take him back!"
Having committed this monstrous act, Doflamingo was practically euphoric.
He flung the meatball that used to be Tokikake toward the trio without caring whether they could catch it or not.
"Bullet."
Then, he raised his grotesque arm, Conqueror's Haki swirling around his palm.
"Bullet, it's time for your next lesson."
"…?" Bullet frowned in confusion.
He already knew how to use Conqueror's coating. He'd just wrapped his head around how to apply it with his Devil Fruit powers. What more could Doflamingo possibly teach?
"Channel your Conqueror's Haki into my body—use your ability!"
"…?" What the hell did this have to do with his Haki?
"Hurry up!"
As Sengoku and the others approached fast, Doflamingo barked the order.
"Got it!"
Bullet, who had already come to respect Doflamingo to some degree, answered and stepped forward.
He placed his hand on Doflamingo's back, slowly channeling his restored Haki into him.
"…This is…?! Hakai!"
Sengoku's pupils shrank—he recognized the technique Doflamingo was about to unleash.
He still remembered clearly the power of Hakai, used by Big Mom and Kaido.
He quickly stopped Borsalino, who was about to retrieve Tokikake.
If they weren't careful, all of them could be seriously injured today.
"Borsalino, Sakazuki—go all out!!"
Both men heard the urgency in Sengoku's whisper.
Golden light flared, magma surged, power gathered in silence.
As for dodging? There was nowhere to run from a move like this.
A dark golden shockwave, a giant magma fist, and a laser beam all surged toward Doflamingo.
And Doflamingo—he was carefully attuning himself to the Conqueror's Haki being pumped into him by Bullet.
That unfamiliar Haki slowly merged into his monstrous arm.
Two distinct Conqueror's Haki clashed inside his body—but thanks to Bullet's fusion ability, they barely maintained harmony.
Doflamingo's eyes snapped open, shooting out a tangible crimson gleam.
He swung his massive arm into the sky.
"HAKAI!!!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg