Onboard the Okama ship, the crew worked together to escape.
Inazuma freed her hands for a moment and glanced at Yujin standing on the lookout platform, feeling something was odd.
She leapt onto the observation deck, her gaze falling on Yujin, whose expression was tense.
"What's wrong, Yujin? Why have you been spacing out since just now?" she asked.
"I'm… thinking," Yujin replied.
"Thinking? What do you mean?"
The pirate Yujin stared intently at the Flamingo ship, a growing unease churning in his chest.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before him.
Wild blonde hair framed a face with a hint of wickedness, radiating natural arrogance.
He wore his iconic pink feathered coat, each feather full and swaying slightly with his movements.
His lower body was clad in crisp white pants tucked into tall black boots.
When he spoke, it was accompanied by an eerie, unsettling laugh.
"Coo-hoo-hoo-hoo!"
The strange laughter echoed over the sea, sending shivers down the spine.
With his slightly hoarse yet commanding voice, Donquixote Doflamingo asked, "Why is the nearby navy ship firing?"
Diamante, a high-ranking officer of the Donquixote Family, stepped forward respectfully.
"There's a group of prisoners who stole a navy ship and escaped," he reported.
Doflamingo's smile widened, growing even more maniacal.
"Oh? Escaped prisoners from Impel Down? Coo-hoo."
The glint in his eyes revealed his excitement for the chaos unfolding before him.
Yujin stood on the deck, his eyes locked on every movement of Doflamingo, his heart pounding violently with each motion.
When he saw the figure in the pink feathered coat leap from the ship like a specter, stretching and propelling himself through the air toward the Okama ship, a chilling dread gripped Yujin's heart.
"This is bad," Yujin muttered through clenched teeth, cursing silently.
At the same time, the prisoners aboard the Okama ship caught sight of Doflamingo soaring through the air like a descending demon.
A wave of terror erupted among them.
"My god! How can someone in the navy walk on air like that?" one prisoner exclaimed, eyes wide and voice trembling, his body instinctively recoiling.
"This is it… we just escaped from Impel Down. Are we going to be captured again?" another prisoner wailed, clutching his head and crouching in despair, tears streaming down his face.
They had barely tasted freedom after escaping the prison, and now, only three days later, it seemed they were doomed to be recaptured.
"No, that's not right! His outfit… he doesn't look like navy. He's a pirate!"
"Yes! A pirate! That's… Doflamingo!? I saw him in Dressrosa before I was imprisoned! He's a pirate! We're safe, we're safe!"
"No, no, that's not it!" another prisoner argued.
"Doflamingo is already a Warlord of the Sea! He works for the World Government!"
"Ahhhhh!"
The crew aboard the Okama ship cried out in unison, their voices colliding and mixing, throwing the already tense deck into utter chaos.
Each person, gripped by sudden fear, lost the calm they usually carried and could only watch helplessly as Doflamingo drew ever closer.
Just as Doflamingo was about to reach the Okama ship!
The calm sea suddenly erupted, waves crashing violently as a massive water dragon burst from the depths!
The dragon was over ten meters long, its thick body glistening under the sunlight like countless tiny crystals fused together.
It radiated a cold, majestic aura.
Its head was held high, and its enormous, lantern-like eyes glowed with a deep, piercing blue, as if it could see everything.
Its massive jaws opened wide, revealing rows of sharp "water teeth," ready to tear anything in its path apart.
Mist swirled around its body like curling smoke, adding an even greater sense of mystery and menace.
The people on the Okama ship froze at first, stunned by the dragon's sudden appearance, and then erupted into shouts of excitement and hope.
On the opposing navy ship, the soldiers stared in shock.
"What… what is that? A monster rising from the sea?" a young navy soldier exclaimed, eyes wide, instinctively stepping back, nearly losing grip of his gun.
"Don't panic! Stay alert!" the officer in charge barked.
Yet even his gaze betrayed deep confusion as he stared at the dragon, trying to make sense of this sudden turn of events.
Meanwhile, the executives of the Donquixote Family furrowed their brows, showing surprise.
Diamante gripped his sword tightly, muttering under his breath, "A Devil Fruit user controlling water?"
At the center of the storm, Doflamingo's eyes flickered with a hint of fleeting panic the instant the water dragon emerged.
Water has always been the nemesis of Devil Fruit users.
Even for someone who had ruled the seas, hovering mid-air like this sent a shiver down his spine.
But Doflamingo was Doflamingo.
His momentary alarm quickly faded, replaced by his usual calm.
He waved his hands rapidly, and colorful threads burst from his fingertips, weaving a massive net in the air in the blink of an eye.
The water dragon, full of unstoppable force, charged at Doflamingo.
Just as it was about to collide, it slammed into the thread net.
Doflamingo shouted and pulled hard, using his String-String Fruit powers to slice the dragon into countless segments.
Yet, seawater still sprayed through the tiny gaps in the threads, splashing against his face.
The icy, salty touch caused his expression to flicker.
He quickly wiped the water off his face, a flash of irritation in his eyes, and then narrowed them, staring intently at Yujin, who stood on the deck, hands clasped, face calm and stern.
Electric sparks danced around Yujin's body, flickering and converging into his hands, embedding themselves into a radiant feather.
"Armored Lightning Feather!"
The feather tore through the air, whistling sharply as it shot straight at Doflamingo.
Doflamingo snorted, but his expression remained calm.
His hands moved swiftly again, colorful threads shooting from his fingertips, weaving a dense, multicolored net in midair to block the incoming Lightning Feather.
However, when the feather struck the net, the unexpected happened.
The seemingly light feather possessed incredible hardness, piercing through the threads effortlessly.
Some threads were repelled; others were scorched and burned to ashes by the feather's electrical energy, drifting like tiny sparks in the air.
Doflamingo's eyes widened in genuine surprise.
He had underestimated the power of this seemingly ordinary black feather. Its strength far exceeded his expectations.
Lightning Feather broke through the obstruction, moving with unstoppable force.
It still raced toward Doflamingo like a bolt of lightning.
Doflamingo hurriedly dodged to the side, but Lightning Feather skimmed past the edge of his coat, the rushing wind making his pink feathered coat flutter violently.
"Hahaha…" Doflamingo laughed arrogantly, raising his hand as if to strike.
Then, suddenly, as if a thought had struck him, he twisted and flew toward his ship with a graceful, almost careless step.
His sudden turn left Inazuma, Ivankov, and several other escaped Okama puzzled.
Scared?
That shouldn't be possible.
Those two attacks seemed fierce, but hadn't he blocked them both?
Seeing this, Vice Admiral Strawberry shouted immediately, "Doflamingo! You are a Shichibukai. I now have the authority to act on behalf of the World Government and demand that you arrest these men!"
"Hahaha~"
Doflamingo chuckled twice, his face calm and cold as water.
"I am a Devil Fruit user. I fear the sea. Such troublesome enemies… it's better to leave them to those who are not afraid of water."
Vice Admiral Strawberry stomped his foot in anger.
"Damn it! Pirates really can't be relied upon! When I get back, I'll report this to the World Government and have your—"
Before he could finish, the three-meter-tall Doflamingo moved like a phantom, instantly appearing atop the railing of the Marine ship.
His iconic pink feathered coat whipped wildly in the wind, and his golden hair flared recklessly.
"Hahaha~"
The laugh Doflamingo let out was chilling, a sinister wind that pierced straight into the hearts of those nearby.
The surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
The Marines, seeing this, instinctively stepped back, as if facing a formidable enemy.
They quickly drew their weapons.
Dark gun barrels and gleaming swords all pointed toward Doflamingo.
The soldiers' hands trembled slightly, and beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads, betraying the fear and tension inside them.
One Marine, trying to stay calm, raised his voice and warned, "Don't forget—you are a Shichibukai!"
"As a Shichibukai, you should maintain cooperation with the Marines. This is not the time to provoke trouble or overstep your bounds!"
Doflamingo, however, seemed not to hear, continuing his sinister laughter.
Wave after wave of it echoed across the sea, sending chills down everyone's spines.
After laughing, he slightly tilted his head back, his voice laced with intimidation as he spoke to Strawberry.
"If I lose my position as a Warlord of the Sea… then… I'll be the first to strike at the Navy… heh heh heh…"
Strawberry gripped his twin blades tightly, his brows furrowed as he stared at Doflamingo.
Inside, he weighed the situation carefully, fully aware that the threat from this man was not empty words.
"Heh heh heh…"
Doflamingo's terrifying laughter continued to echo through the air.
Yet, just as everyone thought the confrontation would escalate further, he shifted his body and leapt away from the warship on his own accord.
A pink figure arced gracefully through the air, heading toward his flamingo ship, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, Strawberry let out a heavy sigh of relief.
His tightly gripped twin blades lowered slightly, and the tension in his body began to ease.
He wiped the sweat from his brow, silently grateful.
In that fleeting moment, he had truly felt the weight of an immense threat.
He had heard of Doflamingo's madness and power before, but facing him today, the sense of pressure made his spine tingle.
If they were to clash fully with this Warlord of the Sea, a fierce battle would be inevitable.
Whether they could walk away unscathed remained uncertain.
At that moment, a young soldier ran up.
"V-Vice Admiral! That ship… it's getting away!"
Strawberry looked into the distance, then let out a sigh.
"Report this immediately. Our priority now…"
He glanced toward the flamingo ship beside him.
"…Let's head to Dressrosa."
"Yes, sir!"
****
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