Wind howled through the battlefield as Bravoc hovered in the air, cape fluttering behind him. He narrowed his eyes.
Before him stood one of the most feared pirates of the New World—Donquixote Doflamingo. Draped in his flamboyant feathered coat, the Warlord looked more like a runway model who wandered into a battlefield by mistake… if that model could level cities.
Bravoc hovered with a smirk.
"No, see, I actually ate the Glasses-Glasses Fruit. I'm a 'Glasses Human.' Mind handing over those shades?"
Doflamingo blinked. "Glasses-Glasses Fruit?"
His curiosity was piqued. The name wasn't in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia—not one he'd read, anyway. It sounded like a sub-variant of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit. Or maybe… something new?
With a smirk of his own, Doflamingo flicked an identical pair of sunglasses toward Bravoc.
Bravoc caught them. "Huh. Was worth a shot."
He tossed the shades aside.
Doflamingo laughed. "Fufufu~ Don't just stand there! Show me what your fruit can do. If it's good enough, maybe I'll make you one of my officers."
"Sorry to disappoint. No fruit powers here."
The sunglasses hit the ground. Doflamingo's eyes narrowed behind his own pair.
"…You dare mock me?!"
He splayed his fingers.
"Five-Color Strings."
Whip-like threads of sharpened Haki-infused filament burst from his fingers and lashed toward Bravoc.
"—fit only to become fertilizer!"
But the instant before the attack landed—
"Too slow."
Bravoc vanished.
A sonic boom erupted where he once floated. A shimmer trailed through the air, then—
CRACK!
Bravoc reappeared behind Doflamingo, arm locked around the pirate's neck.
Doflamingo froze.
He could feel the strength—immense, dense ki pulsing through this man's body like magma through a volcano.
He began to activate his Puppet Clone technique—
"I wouldn't do that."
Bravoc's voice was calm. Too calm.
ZING!
He raised his hand and released a single orb of ki. It drifted lazily down toward the sea below.
KRA-KOOM!!!
A towering geyser of white-hot mist exploded skyward. The ocean itself was scorched. Steam blanketed the horizon.
Doflamingo could only stare, his body trembling—not from pain, but from realization.
That attack… that wasn't prep. That was casual.
"…What are you?"
"Me?" Bravoc grinned. "Just a passing Saiyan."
"Saiyan?"
Doflamingo mentally scanned through the World Government archives—nothing.
"If I had a problem with you," Bravoc said, releasing him, "you'd already be dead."
Doflamingo stood still, pride bruised but mind racing.
This man… was a monster.
But Doflamingo wasn't just a fighter—he was a strategist.
"Well then, sir… may I have your name?"
"…Call me Bravoc."
The Saiyan name tied to this body. Native to this world now.
"…Doflamingo."
"Please, call me Doffy," the Warlord replied quickly.
"Alright then, Doffy. Where were you heading? Navy HQ?"
"To Marineford. The Marines are planning to execute Portgas D. Ace. Whitebeard is moving to respond. As a Warlord, I've been summoned to assist."
"Perfect," Bravoc said, cracking his neck. "I was heading that way too."
"Uh… but didn't you just fly the other—"
Bravoc raised an eyebrow.
Doflamingo immediately shut up.
"Oh, and Doffy?"
"Yes?"
"I kinda liked the cocky, arrogant version of you. Go back to that."
Doflamingo: "…Fufufu~"
Doflamingo had been summoned by the Navy and was en route to Marineford—Marine HQ—armed with a permanent log pose pointing directly to it.
Truth be told, getting one wasn't all that hard.
Despite being a fortress, Marineford was also a mid-sized island with a large civilian zone, home to the families of many high-ranking officers. It had a permanent population nearing a million, and commercial vessels docked there regularly.
Most legitimate merchants loved doing business with Marineford. After all, it was arguably the safest place in the entire pirate world.
Guarded year-round by tens of thousands of elite Marines—including high-ranking officers, the three Admirals, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and the legendary Marine Hero Garp—it was a death wish for any pirate to stir up trouble there.
Even Golden Lion Shiki, one of the most infamous pirates in history, lost both legs challenging that place.
The world's strongest gang? That wasn't just a nickname.
Bravoc had learned all this from Doflamingo himself.
The Warlord had quickly figured out that Bravoc was... different. Oddly curious about basic things but strangely confident. Like some reclusive master from a forgotten island. Or a prince of a lost civilization.
In a world this big, such eccentrics weren't unheard of.
Who knew? Maybe the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was still sitting on some unknown island, being worshiped like a god's power.
Doflamingo wouldn't have been surprised.
Of course, Bravoc had no clue the flamboyant man in feathers was cooking up wild theories about him.
Sure, he didn't know every last pirate-world trivia detail.
But come on—who memorizes everything in a manga?
Some stuff probably wasn't even in the original.
"Oda's a genius," Bravoc had once muttered. "But he's not a logistics expert."
And since the "Flamingo of Few Words" had turned into a "Parrot with a Podcast," Bravoc simply listened and soaked it all in.
He needed information if he was going to survive here.
Besides, his quiet little "system" still hadn't let him world-hop again.
Doflamingo informed him that they were nearing the Red Line.
He had flown over it using his string powers, heading to Sabaody first, then Marineford. Technically, Sabaody was beneath Mary Geoise—but with flight, one could cross at a different point.
Turns out, Bravoc had drifted slightly off course.
Had he kept going, he probably would've reached the Red Line eventually—but thirty degrees off from Marineford's direction.
Quite the detour.
Not that Bravoc would admit it.
He casually tossed a stack of bounty posters to Doflamingo.
The Warlord blinked.
"These are…?"
"Borrowed them from a news gull. Said I'd return them," Bravoc replied. "You can handle that."
"…Borrowed wanted posters? Are you becoming a bounty hunter now?" Doflamingo raised a brow.
"Yeah. I'm broke and hungry. Gotta eat somehow."
Right on cue, Bravoc's stomach growled.
Doflamingo immediately understood.
"In that case, the Sabaody Archipelago is just ahead. Shall we stop for a bite, my Lord?"
"You buying?"
"A mere trifle. As long as it pleases you."
"Then let's go."
With a grin, Bravoc leaned forward—
BOOM!
A blast of white energy exploded around him. The skies split open. Clouds evaporated on the spot.
!!!
Doflamingo tumbled backward mid-air, strings whipping to grab clouds and stabilize himself. By the time he'd recovered, Bravoc had vanished over the horizon.
First came irritation.
Then awe.
That energy cannon from before. The explosive flight speed. The sheer presence that scattered the heavens—
This man wasn't just strong. He was terrifying.
Strong enough to rival a Yonko… or even one of the mysterious God Knights.
And he belonged to no one.
No Marine. No pirate crew. No allegiance.
If Doflamingo could bring him into the Donquixote Family…
The possibilities made his heart race.
He gave chase.
Much later, Bravoc hovered above a treetop, arms crossed.
He looked around.
"…Lost him."
Still, the Red Line was right there. Sabaody would be beneath it. Hard to mess up now.
But… who was going to buy lunch?
And who'd guide him to Marineford for the big drama arc?
Sigh.
Guess I'll wait.
Eventually, that all-too-familiar pink coat fluttered into view.
"Took you long enough," Bravoc called out. "I've seen flowers bloom and wilt while waiting."
Doflamingo didn't mind the sarcasm. In fact, he bowed politely in mid-air.
"My Lord, my movement depends on manipulating clouds with string. Your earlier burst… cleared most of them."
"Oh. Right. Should've warned you."
"You know," Bravoc continued, "your real problem is that you need an Uncle Ben."
"…Uncle Ben?"
"I know another guy who uses strings. But his Uncle Ben is in the sky holding the strings for him. Wherever he wants to go—zip—he's there."