Don's voice was calm.
Yet in the dead silence, it thundered in everyone's ears like an explosion.
The surrounding pirates held their breath, terrified that the slightest noise would draw his attention.
But Don truly had no interest in them.
If this man was a Devil Fruit user serving under someone, then his master was no small-time East Blue power. More likely, he was tied to the underworld—or one of those mafia syndicates from the North Blue.
Don's palm, wrapped in Armament Haki, clenched harder. The man beneath him howled, the pain like his skull being crushed. His beast form shattered, and he reverted to his human body.
"Speak!"
Don's hand tightened again. The man's body spasmed violently twice, then went limp.
Don blinked in surprise and let go.
The man had rolled his eyes back, unconscious—but not dead.
Straightening, Don glanced around, then turned his gaze toward the small town.
Dozens of people had been watching from a distance. But when they felt Don's eyes sweep their way, they bolted, diving into houses on either side of the street.
Others scrambled desperately to flee around to the far side of the island.
Don said nothing. The pirates nearby trembled as though waiting for execution.
The Zoan user twitched on the ground, groaned, and slowly came to.
Don looked down at him.
The man was in his late twenties or early thirties, slim and wiry—perhaps intentionally shaped that way to better wield his fruit's power. Still, Zoan users had tougher bodies than most.
Don admitted he had used a bit too much strength just now—he had nearly crushed the man to death.
But for him to recover from unconsciousness so quickly? That spoke to a formidable constitution.
The man's eyes flickered with brief confusion as he awoke. But the instant he saw Don looming over him, his mind snapped into sharp clarity.
"It's Lord Heavenly Yaksha!"
Before Don could even question him, the man blurted out the name behind him.
"Doflamingo?"
Don froze, caught off guard.
That man had extended his hand into the East Blue?
He knew Doflamingo had once operated for years in the North Blue or the West Blue. Rumor said he had risen high in the underworld, raking in fortunes through black market dealings while building his own power.
Even ten years later, when Luffy set sail, the man had never given up those businesses.
The crowd of pirates erupted into whispers and panic.
Many recognized this Zoan user.
Until today, on this trading island, no one had dared provoke him.
No one knew who backed him, only that he supplied weapons—at outrageous prices, yet always selling out.
A few had tried to test him, only to end up strung from the island's cliffs, left to dry in the sun.
But no one had expected him to be a subordinate of a Shichibukai.
The pirates might not fully grasp the New World or the Grand Line, but they knew plenty about the sea's great monsters.
After all, the News Coo dropped papers daily, filled with nothing but stories of those infamous figures and their bounties filled with endless zeros.
Shichibukai, Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo—bounty: 340 million.
In the East Blue, where most bounties hovered in the low millions, and many pirates had no bounty at all, that name was the stuff of legend.
"If you know Lord Heavenly Yaksha, then you should understand his terror."
Revived by Don's utterance of Doflamingo's name, the Zoan user seemed to regain his spirit.
Clearly, he believed Don would not dare cross such a figure.
"Leave now, and I'll pretend this never happened."
He didn't dare resist outright, nor even demand an apology.
He only wanted to borrow Doflamingo's name to make Don retreat.
After all, this trading island was Doflamingo's foothold in the East Blue. If it collapsed, the one held responsible would be him.
And the Donquixote Family's treatment of failures… he knew that lesson far too well.
After all, his predecessor had been erased in just that fashion.
"Even if Doflamingo came here himself, he wouldn't have the right to say such a thing."
Don's voice remained steady.
Doflamingo was formidable. If it were the Doflamingo from ten years later, Don might not be able to defeat him in his current form. He would need to unleash his [Unyielding].
But the Doflamingo of now? Don did not fear him in the slightest.
"You"
The man's face drained of color. He stared at Don in disbelief.
The surrounding pirates were equally stunned.
That was one of the Seven Warlords, a man worth 340 million!
Was this swordsman insane, to speak of him so lightly?
Buru-buru!
The sudden trill of a Den Den Mushi shattered the silence.
The Zoan user swallowed hard, pulled the snailphone from his coat, and carefully raised it under Don's unblinking gaze.
The Den Den Mushi's face morphed into that of a man wearing round-lensed sunglasses.
"Fufufufu… If you're still alive, hand the snail to that man."
A lazy, mocking laugh carried through the line.
"Yes!"
The Zoan user quickly presented the Den Den Mushi to Don.
Don took it calmly.
"I don't care who you are. Leave this place."
"Doflamingo. You're speaking to me?"
Don sneered at the snail.
"Fufufufu… destroy that island, and you'll pay a price you cannot afford."
Doflamingo's tone turned sharp, a dangerous edge in his voice.
"Oh? So you know me? If I destroy this place right now, what exactly will you do about it?"
Don's eyes narrowed, his words cool and deliberate.
Silence stretched across the line.
"That place isn't as important as you think."
"I see. Then once I arrive in Dressrosa… I'll pay you a visit."
With that, Don snapped the call shut.
He hung up.
The Zoan user gaped at him, trembling. To cut off Heavenly Yaksha himself after such an exchange
"You. Round up everyone on this island. If even one person escapes, I'll kill one of you for every fugitive.
Or, you can test your own luck by trying to run."
Don slid Flame back into its sheath, turned, and sat casually on his ship's rail. His eyes swept the pirates like a blade.
"Time's running out. Move. Otherwise, you'll all die here."
His calm words sent a shiver through the mob.
Panic broke.
One pirate shouted, then bolted toward the town.
Seeing him move, the others followed, weapons clutched, stampeding toward the streets.
"Heavenly Yaksha won't forgive you!"
"Yes. I know."
Don nodded lightly, his face utterly unconcerned.
"You truly don't understand Lord Heavenly Yaksha's terror…"
The Zoan user muttered under his breath—not for Don's sake, but for his own survival.
Because if this place was destroyed, he was dead either way. Convincing Don was his only hope.
Buru-buru!
The Den Den Mushi rang again. Don cut the line without hesitation.
Far away in Dressrosa, Doflamingo's temple bulged with a throbbing vein of rage.
End of chapter...
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