Clang!
The sharp ring of a blade being drawn echoed suddenly, snapping everyone's attention toward the dock.
When they saw Rear Admiral Kibin suddenly unsheath his sword and slash toward the young recruit in front of him, every face turned pale.
"Kibin! Don't be rash! The recruit just said something foolish—there's no need to escalate!"
Another Rear Admiral, Chas, who was also overseeing the docking, shouted urgently.
Kibin snapped back to awareness and cried out:
"No! My body's moving on its own—get out of the way!"
But even as he spoke, the katana in his hand was already swinging down.
The recruit, clearly never having faced anything like this, froze in place. He stared wide-eyed as the blade filled his vision, unable to react.
In the next instant, blood should have splattered across the dock.
"Wash-Wash Fruit: Gentle Cleanse!"
A calm, aged voice rang out unexpectedly.
A wave of white foam surged forward, intercepting the blade just in time.
The gleaming katana, upon contact with the foam, instantly went limp!
Instead of slicing into the recruit, the blade drooped like a deflated balloon and fell harmlessly to the ground.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru! I—I couldn't control my body just now!" Kibin stammered, shaken.
"I know what happened, Rear Admiral Kibin. This wasn't your fault," Tsuru said coldly, her gaze turning toward the pirate ship docked without permission.
"Doflamingo, don't you think this is going too far? What if something serious had happened? Aren't you afraid of Marine HQ holding you accountable?"
"Heh… Vice Admiral Tsuru, still as sharp as ever. I thought you were too old to move—let alone chase me across the seas like you did ten years ago."
From the pirate ship, a flamboyant figure draped in a flamingo-feathered coat strutted out, completely unbothered by the heat.
At the sight of the Warlord of the Sea, many Marines tensed.
His words were laced with gunpowder—and they'd just seen Kibin nearly kill a recruit under mysterious influence.
Everyone was on edge, afraid they might be next.
"Hmph. I may be old, but I can still handle you," Tsuru said coldly. "As for what you're referring to—we already discussed this over the Den Den Mushi."
"Your men attacked the new Admiral first. The fact that we returned them alive is already generous."
"Returned alive? That's your idea of generous?"
Doflamingo clutched one side of his face and burst into laughter, his body twitching.
"Tsuru, you Marines remember our privileges as Warlords, but you've forgotten our terror."
"We were chosen as Warlords because we possess power that even Marine HQ must respect—and we're ruthless criminals to boot."
"Now my subordinate has lost an arm and a leg. If you don't give me a satisfactory answer today, don't blame me, the Heavenly Yaksha, for being impolite."
BOOM!
A surge of Conqueror's Haki exploded from Doflamingo's body.
The shockwave knocked out several Marines on the spot.
Even Kibin and Chas turned pale, barely managing to stay on their feet.
Tsuru's expression turned icy.
"Doflamingo! You dare attack people at Marine HQ? Do you think we don't exist?"
"Hmph. Looks like it's been too long since the Warlords made a move. You Marines have forgotten our power."
Doflamingo laughed wildly.
"If you don't give me a proper answer today, I'll come to Marineford every day and baptize your recruits with my Haki."
BOOM!
Another wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted—this one even wider.
As more Marines collapsed, Tsuru's face darkened.
But before she could act, a chilling sense of danger swept in from the distant sea.
Even Doflamingo, standing on his ship, felt the overwhelming pressure crashing toward him.
His face twisted as he turned to look behind him.
What he saw made his pupils contract.
A blood-red wave of Conqueror's Haki, so dense it churned the clouds and sea, came crashing down like a tidal wave.
To everyone watching, it felt like a prehistoric beast had awakened.
"It's him—it's that guy! Young Master, don't clash with him head-on!"
Pica, missing an arm and a leg, was using his Devil Fruit to regenerate limbs.
But the trauma from that previous blow still had him wrapped in bandages.
Recognizing the familiar aura, his face twisted in horror.
Nearby, Trebol and the other Donquixote officers turned pale.
All eyes turned to Doflamingo.
His expression stiffened.
Normally, he would've basked in the attention.
But now, it felt like torture.
Just moments ago, he'd been boasting about the terror of the Warlords.
He'd even threatened to unleash his Haki on Marineford daily.
But now, faced with a Conqueror's Haki of a completely different caliber, dodging would mean losing face across the entire sea.
Grinding his teeth, Doflamingo's expression turned cold.
"Well, well… such arrogance from a rookie. You dare look down on the Warlords? Do you really not understand our power?"
"Let's see if your Conqueror's Haki is really as legendary as they say."
BOOM!
With that, Doflamingo unleashed his Haki at full force.
As one of the few Warlords to possess Conqueror's Haki, he feared neither Emperors nor Admirals.
He'd clashed Haki with the best of them.
But the moment the two forces collided—
His face froze.
His Haki shattered like glass.
The overwhelming wave of power crashed down like a tsunami.
Even his signature sunglasses—shattered on impact.
He got Haki-clashed so hard, his shades broke.