Doflamingo's words whispered like a demon's temptation in Sugar's ears.
She lifted her head, gazing at the distant flickering flames, her expression gradually hardening with resolve.
"I will do it. No one will take my sister away from me! No one!"
Doflamingo watched Sugar's current state with an indescribable excitement.
His words to Sugar were a mix of deception and sincerity.
The idea that Monet had abandoned Sugar was, of course, a lie—but the letters were real.
However, Doflamingo had sent over a dozen letters and selectively picked only the most misleading ones to show Sugar.
Moreover, these letters were incomplete—he had altered their content and phrasing in the excerpts he chose.
In short, he employed every trick possible to manipulate Sugar.
His ultimate goal was singular: to make Sugar approach Jake.
Doflamingo had long since tested just how terrifying the power of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit could be on his subordinates.
Even he himself, without Sugar lifting the ability's effects in advance, couldn't perceive that person's disappearance—in his memory, it was as if the event had never happened.
Of course, Sugar still couldn't perfectly control this ability yet, occasionally reverting toys back to their original forms when distracted.
But that wasn't a major issue.
Doflamingo trusted Sugar's obsession with her sister and believed in her potential.
The flames illuminated Doflamingo's grinning face.
The next moment, he leaped forward, laughing loudly.
"Fufufufufu! Marines, since you've come, stop skulking around—this isn't the righteous justice you preach, is it?"
"String Slash!"
Using his threads to suspend himself in the clouds, Doflamingo swung his arm casually midair.
As terrifying slashes tore through the air, a dazzling golden light erupted in response.
"Wall of Holy Light!"
Jake's voice rang out, carrying a soothing power.
In an instant, a massive shield of light—dozens of meters wide—materialized before the Marines.
The moment it appeared, the shield illuminated the surrounding darkness, turning the Donquixote Family's encampment as bright as day.
A sharp screeching sound erupted as Doflamingo's slashes collided with the light barrier, the clash producing an ear-piercing noise.
By the time the last slash dissipated, the shield was cracked but still standing firm.
"It seems you aren't welcoming our arrival, Doflamingo."
"If you were here to join me, I assure you the reception would be quite different—fufufufufu!"
"If you choose to surrender now and voluntarily take those pirates into the cells of Impel Down, perhaps fewer people will die today—to be precise, fewer of your family members might perish. What do you say?"
"Fufufufufu! It seems no matter when, you brat are always this irritating!"
As their conversation broke down, the two sides engaged in their first direct confrontation.
Roars echoed throughout Flevance at that moment.
The Marines brought by Jake were no ordinary soldiers.
To avoid unnecessary casualties, he had handpicked elite officers from Marine Headquarters, all ranked lieutenant or above.
And not just that.
As he watched the soldiers about to clash with the pirates, a divine radiance flickered across Jake's face.
He spread his arms, and an overwhelming holy power emanated from his body.
The soldiers below all wore expressions of fanaticism.
Doflamingo was momentarily stunned by the look on the Marines' faces
. It was all too familiar—just a short while ago, his own subordinates had worn the same expression in his presence!
It was the fanatical look of those who regarded their leader as a god, an absolute object of worship!
"Fufufufufu! Jake, it seems you and I are the same kind of existence! Your ambition is enough to shake the world itself!"
Hearing Doflamingo's words, Jake merely shook his head and replied softly:
"I am nothing like you, a deceitful scum. All you can offer your subordinates is a temporary adrenaline rush. Afterward, they'll be left weak and drained. But I am different, Doflamingo. Let me show you what true fanaticism looks like!"
"Blessing of Courage! Blessing of Protection!"
As Jake's voice rang out, Doflamingo watched in horror as the Marines—who had been evenly matched with his men mere moments ago—suddenly surged with unnatural vigor.
Their explosive power and endurance skyrocketed to an almost ludicrous degree!
In just a few seconds, nearly a fifth of his subordinates were wiped out.
But it was no surprise.
When an opponent who had been evenly matched suddenly erupted with strength far beyond the norm, most wouldn't have time to react.
Doflamingo's face twisted with fury as he glared at Jake, veins bulging on his forehead.
"You damn brat! Today, I'll carve your corpse into countless pieces and send them straight to Marine Headquarters!"
"Overheat!"
The moment his voice fell, Doflamingo spread his arms, and countless threads spilled from his fingers like a colossal net descending from the sky, sealing off every possible escape route for Jake.
But Jake merely gazed calmly at the looming net.
In the next instant, he raised his palm, and countless bolts of lightning converged into a blinding radiance.
"Lightning Spear!"
As Jake's voice faded, a sound akin to the cries of countless birds filled the air.
The terrifying lightning in his hands seemed to solidify into a tangible force, accompanied by scorching heat that sliced Doflamingo's massive web of strings cleanly in half.
But that wasn't all.
The severed web fell toward the center of the battlefield, dangerously close to the Marine positions.
If those steel-cutting strings were allowed to descend unchecked, countless Marines would perish.
Jake split the lightning spear—originally sharp as a blade—into countless branches.
Blistering heat instantly engulfed the entire web.
The acrid stench of burning protein filled the air as Jake gazed at Doflamingo with a faint smile.
"If this is all you've got, then tonight will be the night you fall from grace!"
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