On the training grounds of the Donquixote Family base, another battle had just concluded. For the rank-and-file members, however, such commotion was nothing out of the ordinary. The sounds didn't capture their interest for long; they diligently continued with their own tasks, each hoping that one day their efforts would earn the Young Master's personal recognition.
"Yahahahaha! Doffy, I've taken your words to heart!" Enel declared, having recovered his fighting spirit after Doflamingo's lecture. "Indeed, I'm still far too weak right now. But my strength won't stay like this!"
"Fuffuffuffu… Confidence is good," Doflamingo replied, closing the distance between them and clapping Enel encouragingly on the shoulder. "The world of the strong beckons you, Enel. That time won't be too far off."
"Of course! Yahahahaha!" Enel, ever the same, laughed boisterously. Doflamingo smiled, pleased.
The onlookers who had been silently contemplating Doflamingo's previous words also broke into smiles. For a moment, the scene was quite harmonious.
"Pica! Diamante! You two, come try as well!" Doflamingo wasn't about to let the other two executives off the hook. While Enel had volunteered, Doflamingo didn't care whether Diamante and Pica consented or not; he directly issued the command, sealing their fate for the next sparring session.
"Alright, Doffy," Diamante sighed resignedly. "Go easy on me, please." Seeing Doflamingo's directive, he knew there was no escaping this 'educational' session. At least Pica would be sharing the burden with him.
"Doffy! Let me see the true gap between us!" Pica, conversely, was brimming with fighting spirit, not intimidated in the least. His desire to grow stronger burned just as fiercely as Enel's. The rivalry between these two 'frenemies' wouldn't be settled easily.
Doflamingo gestured dismissively, same as before, inviting them to attack.
Neither Diamante nor Pica took Doflamingo's casual stance as an insult. They exchanged a brief glance, and Diamante, taking the lead, launched the first offensive.
"Sword: Long Sword!" Diamante drew his elegant rapier, immediately activating his Flutter-Flutter Fruit ability through the blade, intending to leverage the sword's inherent sharpness along with his fruit's power to inflict some damage on Doflamingo.
Doflamingo merely shook his head. Seeing the 'fluttering' sword approach, he didn't even bother dodging, simply allowing the blade to pass harmlessly through his Logia form. Diamante's reliance on his fruit power right from the start clearly annoyed Doflamingo. He decided it was time for a pointed lesson. Unleashing the full might of his Conqueror's Haki, he directed the crushing pressure solely at Diamante.
Like an invisible tide, the immense pressure instantly bore down on Diamante, forcing his body to stoop involuntarily.
"Do- Doffy," Diamante stammered nervously, immediately understanding his leader was angry.
"Diamante, I see you've grown complacent," Doflamingo began his lecture, his voice cold. "Don't think conquering the North Blue means you can rest easy. I tell you now, the North Blue is nothing in the grand scheme of things! How can you possibly follow in my footsteps if you remain like this? Facing a Logia user… did you simply forget about your Haki?"
"Doffy… I… I've disappointed you," Diamante lowered his head in shame, frankly admitting his error.
Seeing Diamante's immediate contrition, Doflamingo retracted his Conqueror's Haki. As the pressure vanished, Diamante's posture straightened once more.
"Use your full strength, Diamante!" Doflamingo continued, his tone softening slightly but still firm. "Your Devil Fruit ability is merely a tool to enhance your capabilities. Swordsmanship is, and always should be, your core focus! I've told you before: delve deeper into the path of the sword. When you reach the level of a Great Swordmaster, then combine that skill with your fruit's power – only then will your name be counted among the truly strong! At that point, won't the entire sea be yours to roam freely?" Doflamingo painted a grand picture, offering both criticism and encouragement.
Diamante listened intently, taking Doflamingo's words deeply to heart. This lesson struck him profoundly. He couldn't bear the thought of falling behind Doflamingo's ambitions. He had poured his heart and soul into the Family's development thus far; he couldn't abandon it now. He too wanted to stand at the summit alongside Doflamingo.
"Continue," Doflamingo gestured again, indicating Diamante should resume his attack.
Steeling his resolve, Diamante swiftly coated his rapier in Armament Haki, the blade instantly turning a lustrous black. Gripping his sword firmly, he launched himself at Doflamingo with renewed focus, employing only fundamental sword techniques – thrusts, horizontal slashes, uppercuts, wide circular chops. Doflamingo's words had reaffirmed his path; the Devil Fruit was a supplement, his sword his true weapon. He cursed himself for having forgotten that for so long.
"Good. Like that," Doflamingo commented approvingly. He easily parried Diamante's Haki-imbued attacks using only a single Haki-coated finger. What he saw now wasn't someone relying clumsily on fruit powers for awkward sword attacks, but a swordsman rediscovering his confidence and focus. Diamante's talent with the sword is actually quite decent, Doflamingo conceded internally. Not just anyone reaches the level of Swordmaster, after all. It was a shame he had grown complacent afterward, wasting his potential. Although I've given him a Devil Fruit now, it won't elevate his overall power as dramatically as Enel's or Pica's potentially could.
While Doflamingo didn't hold exceptionally high hopes for Diamante reaching the legendary Great Swordmaster realm, he was still his loyal 'steward.' Timely encouragement was necessary. Hope is always better than despair. Who knows, maybe he actually will achieve it! The most important outcome of this session was reminding Diamante where his true strength lay.
Huff... huff... huff... Diamante expelled ragged breaths, his previous all-out assault leaving him winded. Yet, the focused exertion felt strangely cleansing. He gripped his sword tightly, as if reacquainting himself with an old friend. He prepared to launch another attack, determined not to disappoint Doflamingo again, but Doflamingo held up a hand, stopping him.
"That's enough for now, Diamante," Doflamingo said. "You truly have been slacking off. Train diligently! I expect you to forge your own Black Blade someday!" He offered one final piece of encouragement.
"Yes, Doffy!" Diamante declared, his voice filled with conviction, his eyes sharp and brimming with renewed focus – the unmistakable gaze of a dedicated swordsman. "I absolutely will not be complacent again!"
Doflamingo nodded, satisfied with Diamante's response. Today, his executive had rediscovered his lost 'sword heart.' The Family finally had a swordsman worthy of the title again.
"Pica," Doflamingo turned his attention to the remaining executive. "Your turn."
"Doffy! Just you watch!" Pica declared confidently, eager to show Doflamingo his own growth and power.
With concentration, Pica's burly form swiftly merged into the ground beneath them. Utilizing his Stone-Stone Fruit, he began manipulating the earth itself to attack Doflamingo.
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...
The ground trembled violently, causing the nearby onlookers to stumble. Even Family members further away felt the tremors, turning their gazes towards the training ground with curiosity.
"Octopus Stone!"
Pica's consciousness, merged with the earth, manifested sharp stone spikes that erupted from the ground directly behind Doflamingo. Coated in Haki to bypass Doflamingo's presumed Logia defenses, the spikes shot forward.
Unflustered, Doflamingo calmly observed the attack. In the blink of an eye, he vanished, reappearing effortlessly in the air above. Pica's Octopus Stone spikes slammed into empty ground, creating a loud crater.
"God's Punishment!"
From his aerial position, Doflamingo rained down numerous bolts of lightning towards Pica's presumed location within the earth. Pica reacted instantly, rapidly encasing his hidden form in thick layers of stone armor. The lightning relentlessly bombarded the stone shell, blasting chunks away, but Pica continually reformed the defenses, holding off Doflamingo's assault.
"Doffy! This is useless!" Pica's voice echoed from the ground, muffled by the stone.
"Oh?" Doflamingo replied noncommittally, offering no further response.
The Stone-Stone Fruit is indeed troublesome on solid ground, Doflamingo mused. Like a fish in water. Its weakness, however, was being separated from stone or earth, particularly in the air – just as Zoro had exploited in the future with his Three Thousand Worlds technique to defeat Pica. Doflamingo, however, had no intention of replicating Zoro's strategy; he had his own methods.
"Pica," Doflamingo called down calmly, "have you ever witnessed lightning's true power?"
"Then let me see it, Doffy!" Pica retorted, playing along.
"Caught you." Doflamingo had already pinpointed Pica's exact location within the shifting stone using his Observation Haki. Moving faster than Pica could react or shift his position within the earth, Doflamingo descended like a thunderbolt, delivering a powerful kick that forcibly ejected Pica's real body from the ground, sending him tumbling into a deep crater.
"Pica," Doflamingo said meaningfully, looking down at the prone executive, "a Devil Fruit's power isn't absolute. The power of Haki cannot be neglected."
"Do-, Doffy..." Pica struggled to sit up, clearly shaken but not entirely defeated. "I understand... but I still want to try one more thing!"
"Oh? Since you still wish to dance," Doflamingo nodded, allowing it, "then show me what you've got."
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The earth trembled even more violently than before. Stone and rock converged, rapidly assembling into a colossal Stone Giant, towering high above the training ground. Its sheer size and imposing presence drew gasps not only from the Donquixote Family members but also from the distant residents of the town, who stared in frightened awe.
"Doffy! Take this!" Pica's voice boomed from the giant as one of its massive stone hands swung down towards Doflamingo with earth-shattering force.
"Pica, you still haven't learned your lesson, have you?" Doflamingo commented lightly, observing the imposing Stone Giant. While its scale was terrifying, its size also made it an enormous target. Furthermore, it highlighted the fruit's critical weakness: Pica himself had to remain embedded within the stone construct, making him vulnerable if pinpointed. If forced out, the giant would crumble.
Repeating the same trick, Doflamingo easily located Pica's core presence within the giant using Observation Haki and, with another burst of speed, kicked him out of the construct once more.
Pica crashed to the ground again, utterly defeated, his face etched with frustration and unwillingness to accept the outcome.
"Remember, Pica," Doflamingo lectured, standing over him. "A giant form may be large, but its weaknesses are equally obvious. If an enemy isolates you or forces you into the air, you lose the ability to utilize the Stone-Stone Fruit effectively. More importantly, Haki is the truly decisive factor. Your fruit's power is immense, yes, but your Haki cultivation is still too weak. Against someone with significantly stronger Haki, you could be easily defeated despite your fruit."
"I understand," Pica said, looking up at Doflamingo, his expression now serious and determined. "I will train my Haki diligently, and I will work harder to develop the Stone-Stone Fruit's potential." He recognized Doflamingo's purpose – to show him the vastness of the world beyond his current abilities, to prevent him from becoming complacent like a frog in a well.
Seeing Pica's genuine understanding, Doflamingo felt a sense of satisfaction. He extended a hand down towards the defeated executive.
Pica stared at the offered hand for a moment, seemingly surprised, caught in a daze.
"What? Still want to lie there?" Doflamingo prompted, breaking Pica's stupor.
"No!" Pica grasped Doflamingo's hand firmly. Doflamingo easily pulled him to his feet, then clapped him reassuringly on the shoulder before turning to leave.
Pica watched Doflamingo's departing back, his eyes shining with a mixture of gratitude and profound reverence. From this day forward, his loyalty to Doflamingo was absolute, utterly devoted.
"The show is over!" Doflamingo called out to the assembled crowd who had watched the spars intently. "Now it's time for you all to work hard as well! Remember, Haki is the foundation of the strong!"
With that final admonition, Doflamingo departed alone, leaving everyone else immersed in their own thoughts, digesting the events of the day and the lessons imparted by their formidable leader.
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