"Doffy."
"There's news from Senior."
"They said a warship was spotted in the sea southeast of our base."
Trebol, one of the highest-ranking officials of the Donquixote Family, put down the Den Den Mushi in his hand and turned to speak to Doflamingo, who was sitting in the big chair.
"Have you seen that man?"
Donquixote Doflamingo opened his eyes behind his sunglasses.
"I saw him."
"After comparison, it matches the photo Vergo sent."
"That's the man, for sure."
Trebol glanced around. In the office, aside from Doflamingo, all the seated men were the top executives of the Donquixote Family.Since Rosinante, who always needed watching, wasn't present, Trebol had no worries and directly said Vergo's name.
"Fuffuffuffuffu…"
"So, he finally came?"
"Rosen."
Donquixote Doflamingo grinned, then stood up from his chair.
His movement seemed to trigger a chain reaction.
Pica, Diamante, and Trebol, the three senior officers seated nearby, all rose without hesitation.
Then
The three of them stepped behind Doflamingo. Just like the very first time they swore loyalty, they followed their king without question.
"Let's go."
"As masters of the North Sea, it's time we welcomed our guest from Marine Headquarters."
"That sword Vergo called the strongest in the headquarters…"
Doflamingo spread his fingers
Curling them like eagle talons.Thin threads burst out, glinting coldly in the sunlight.
He wanted to confirm one thing.Whether his threads from the String-String Fruit were tougher—Or Rosen's Zanpakutō of the Arms-Arms Fruit was sharper.
"Yes, Doffy."
Pica, Diamante, and Trebol answered in unison.
Like shadows, they followed their king's reckless stride as he left the room, heading straight for the docks of their base.
…
"The main character has arrived."
The moment Doflamingo and his three top officers stepped onto the base's dock, Douglas Bullet sensed it clearly—even from more than five kilometers away across the sea.
Every monster that reaches the top of the ocean has unique gifts… for example, Big Mom's Tetsu no Fūsen or Kaido's indestructible body.
As for the Demon's Heir, he didn't have a monstrous body—But he carried an overwhelming aura, as vast as a tsunami.Not just his Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki, but also his Observation Haki.Since losing to Rosen and realizing his weakness in Observation, Bullet had trained it relentlessly.He couldn't see the future yet, but the range of his senses had doubled compared to a month ago when he fought Rosen.
"The Shichibukai you're after is baring his teeth at you, Rosen."
Bullet leaned back, sprawled lazily in his beach chair, arms and legs spread out, making no move to rise. Instead, he turned to Rosen, who was reclining beside him.
"Do you want me to make him behave?"
Perhaps from being inactive too long, the Demon's Heir actually volunteered for battle.
"Forget it."
"Training a beast into a guard dog requires patience—especially a breed like Tenyasha."
"If I let you handle him, you'd get impatient, use too much force, and beat him to death."
Rosen shook his head.
"Besides, taming the Seven Warlords of the Sea was the first mission Sengoku-sensei gave me when I joined the navy."
"I have to put the collar on myself."
"Otherwise, even if he became a guard dog, he wouldn't obey me."
Rosen rejected Bullet's offer. It wasn't because Doflamingo was too powerful—it was about authority. If Bullet did it, would a tamed Shichibukai obey Rosen, or Bullet?
According to Sengoku's orders,the Warlords had to be tamed to follow Rosen alone.That meant he had to act personally.
"After all, he has the qualities of a king."
"I'm curious too."
"How will you make a king submit?"
Hearing this, Bullet gave up on flexing his muscles. Instead, he grew interested in how Rosen would tame a king.
"You'll see."
Rosen suddenly sensed something.
"Look."
"Someone's even more impatient than me."
The words had barely left his mouth when—
Whshhh
At the Donquixote base, a figure in a pink feather coat, black suit, and red tie stomped on the deck of a flamingo-shaped ship and shot into the air.Like a Yasha from myth, Doflamingo soared high above the rough sea, standing tall against the wind.
Crash—
At the same time, the pirate fleet at the docks surged forth like beasts unleashed from a cage.They broke through the waves, advancing toward Rosen's warship step by step.Like a pack of wolves, they surrounded the lone vessel from all directions.
Clack—
On the decks, under the orders of the Donquixote officers, pirates raised rifles, muzzles glinting coldly as they aimed at the Marine warship.
Cannons, too, lined the decks like gaping jaws, their black barrels fixed on the Marines.Pirate ships: more than fifteen.Pirates: over three thousand.
This was the might of the Donquixote Family in the North Sea.
This was why Doflamingo was called the King of the North Sea.
He could easily raise a fleet of this size.
"Fuffuffuffu…"
"Nice to meet you. You must be the freak they call the Admiral's Student at Marine Headquarters, right?"
"Or should I say, Admiral Rosen now?"
Seeing his fleet surround the warship, Doflamingo strode across the sky, walking on air, and looked down at Rosen, Bullet, and Doll on deck.
As for the other Marines, he ignored them completely, hardly sparing a glance.
"My name is Donquixote Doflamingo."
"Welcome…"
"To my North Sea."
He spread his arms wide as if to embrace the sea itself, his hands raised high, a king welcoming his guests.
Every word and gesture radiated supremacy, exuding an aura that pressed down on the North Sea itself.
Especially as his voice fell—
It was both a declaration and a test.
The air around him, hundreds of meters wide, suddenly thickened, sticky and heavy like tar.
Like tides, visible ripples spread outward.
Then…
A terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki, laced with killing intent, swept toward Rosen's warship and the hundreds of Marines on deck, crashing down like a storm at sea.