The one-legged soldier couldn't believe what he'd just witnessed—Lance had actually killed Diamante in front of everyone!
Truth be told, Diamante wasn't particularly strong. Even the soldier himself felt confident he could fight him.
But what terrified him was who stood behind Diamante: Donquixote Doflamingo!
Everyone knew Diamante was one of the top officers in the Donquixote Family and someone Doflamingo considered family. If a family member was harmed, Doflamingo would retaliate without hesitation… and now, Lance hadn't just injured Diamante—he'd killed him, and in public no less!
"Benefactor! Benefactor!"
The one-legged soldier leapt into the stands, racing toward Lance through a field littered with spiked iron balls.
"Kyros," Lance muttered, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag. He glanced at the approaching soldier and said calmly, "Kuro, Kuro Ni. It's time for your feast."
"Delicious… Tasty… Tasty…"
Kuro and Kuro Ni had been waiting impatiently. At Lance's command, they immediately lunged at Diamante's corpse, tearing into his flesh ravenously.
"Benefactor, you really did kill him!"
The soldier reached Lance and saw Diamante's body being devoured by invisible beings, revealing gruesome organs and innards. He instinctively took a step back.
"I said he had to die," Lance replied flatly.
"I told you before—Diamante is one of Doflamingo's most trusted confidants. Now that he's dead, Doflamingo definitely won't let this go!" the soldier said anxiously.
"Doflamingo, huh?"
"I do plan to fight him eventually… But not yet."
Lance exhaled a puff of smoke, expression calm.
"I'm glad to hear that," the soldier said in relief.
But Lance's next words made his heart sink again.
"I'm going to kill every officer in the Donquixote Family—one by one. I'll make Doflamingo experience what real pain feels like. He'll die drowning in agony and despair."
Killer intent flashed in Lance's eyes.
From the moment he was executed—shot in the head—neither Diamante nor Doflamingo had escaped their death sentences. They were both marked for judgment.
"But Doflamingo has incredible power and vast influence. Right now, it's just the two of us. We can't take him down by ourselves," said the soldier.
"We?"
Lance cast him a sidelong glance. "When did I say we were working together?"
"Benefactor, you…"
The soldier faltered.
"I never intended to rely on anyone. To take down Doflamingo, I'm more than enough alone."
Lance flicked his cigarette ash and scanned the hellish battlefield, a smirk creeping across his face.
"Let's go. If I'm right, Doflamingo should already be on his way. I wonder how he'll feel when he sees all this."
With that, Lance turned and walked away.
The soldier quickly followed behind.
Roughly ten minutes later, a shadow descended from the sky and landed on the surface of the water above the colosseum, standing on threads. Beneath his sunglasses, Doflamingo's gaze swept across the wreckage—then froze on a skeleton still wearing Diamante's clothes.
"Diamante!"
He stared at the familiar outfit, the signature sword lying beside it. A terrifying rage surged onto his face.
"Damn it!"
With a furious roar, Doflamingo unleashed a storm of threads. The entire colosseum was shredded into pieces, its stone floor collapsing with a thunderous rumble.
Diamante was one of the four people who had raised him from nothing. When Doflamingo fell from the celestial dragon lineage into the mortal world, it was Diamante and the others who helped him rise again—who nurtured him into the "Heavenly Yaksha," one of the Seven Warlords, and a king.
To Doflamingo, no one could be trusted—except those four.
Now, one of them had died in his own kingdom. How could Doflamingo not be enraged?
"I'll find him… that bastard! I'll bathe in his blood and offer it in tribute to Diamante!"
Doflamingo gritted his teeth in fury.
…
Dressrosa fell into chaos once more—this time even worse than before.
The previous lockdown only prevented citizens from leaving; outsiders could still come in. But this time, Doflamingo gave a death order:
No one enters. No one leaves.
Not pirates, not Marines. Everyone stays in Dressrosa!
Search operations intensified. Doflamingo even sent out his own officers. The moment anyone spotted the man-eating monster, they were to fire the signal cannon and begin a city-wide hunt!
That alone showed how badly Doflamingo wanted Lance dead.
But while Dressrosa descended into turmoil and the Donquixote Family mobilized in full force, the man at the center of it all—Lance—was calmly residing in an abandoned factory, training his Haki and his newly acquired Devil Fruit ability.
[Busoshoku: Kōka] (Armament Haki: Hardening)
With a single thought, Lance's arms turned black like steel, coated in hardened Haki. One punch from him could easily demolish a building.
[Hirahiradō: Rikugunki] (Fluttering Earth: Army Flag)
He touched the ground with his palm. Instantly, the factory floor rippled and shifted like fabric caught in the wind.
[Hirahara: Jinmaki] (Flutter Slash: Blade Roll)
Grabbing a metal rod, he transformed it into a snake-like spiral, which reshaped itself into a pointed spear.
"The Flutter-Flutter Fruit's abilities are ultimately limited. It doesn't excel at offense… but it's a solid support power," Lance mused.
He deactivated the ability. The ground stilled, the black coating faded from his arms, and he tossed aside the bent rod. Kuro handed him a towel, which he used to wipe off the sweat.
As expected, after devouring Diamante, Lance didn't just inherit his Devil Fruit powers. He also obtained his full mastery of Busoshoku Haki and Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), along with Diamante's self-proclaimed genius-level swordsmanship.
But most importantly—Lance had no fear of seawater.
(End of Chapter)
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