"Doffy!"
The moment the Birdcage vanished, Pica rushed forward in a flash, scooping up Doflamingo's body.
When he saw the horrifying extent of Doflamingo's injuries, fury surged in Pica's eyes, and he glared hatefully at Beckman.
Beckman spread his hands, gesturing at his own blood-soaked wounds. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't get off easy either. Your boss is strong—if his Haki were just a bit stronger, he really could've taken a seat as a Vice Fleet Admiral."
Not far away, Gin's eyes burned with battle lust, his expression turn fanatical.
The sight made Moria who's standing behind him, go weak in the knees, ready to bolt.
Gin suddenly turn around and smashed his club into Moria's fat ass, sending him flying with a roar.
"Doflamingo, as expected of a veteran among the Seven Warlords of the Sea! To think he had this kind of strength! Moria, you worthless trash—as a fellow Warlord, you're probably the weakest one! Start training right now! This time, I'll be the one chasing you! If I catch you, I'll—hehehe!"
Shanks sat up straight, his expression serious.
"The 'Heavenly Yaksha' Doflamingo is going to be a troublesome opponent. After this, he'll likely touch the threshold of Haki Infusion. Caesar, your crew is becoming more formidable by the day."
As he spoke, Shanks' gaze shifted toward Gin in the distance.
'Tap, tap, tap.'
Katakuri strode forward—his striking, handsome features contrasted by his heavy-metal aesthetic.
Behind him trailed several Gifters, each carrying large bundles.
Shanks' pupils contracted slightly.
"Katakuri..."
Katakuri stopped before Pica, glanced at the severely wounded Doflamingo, then turned his attention to Beckman.
"Beckman," he said in a deep voice, "care for a fight?"
Beckman looked up at this nearly flawless man, an inexplicable sense of danger rising in his chest.
His instincts screamed at him—Katakuri is dangerous.
"Next time, lets have a fight next time."
Beckman forced a dry laugh and quickly retreated toward Shanks.
"Pica, bring Doffy here."
Caesar set down his massive gourd and spoke calmly.
Pica obeyed, carefully carrying Doflamingo over to stand before Caesar.
Caesar extended a single finger, a drop of crimson blood welling at the tip before dripping onto Doflamingo's chest.
Sizzle!
The moment the blood touched Doflamingo's wounds, it vanished into his flesh.
An instant later, Doflamingo's unconscious body suddenly arched, his eyes snapping open.
The grievous injuries covering his body began to heal at a visible rate—flesh regrowing, bones mending, blood vessels reconnecting.
In broad daylight, under the stunned gazes of numerous pirates, Doflamingo's seemingly half-dead body, which had lost most of its vitality, was restored to perfect condition in the blink of an eye.
Moreover, Doflamingo's face showed an unnatural flush as he was somehow getting excited.
"Fufufufu, Boss, this is incredible! I think I've truly grasped your power for the first time!"
Doflamingo looked at his fully healed body, feeling more energetic and stronger than ever before.
"Bororororo, Doffy, don't show off your 'tools' in front of everyone. Someone might take a picture," Caesar chuckled darkly.
In the crowd, Queen slapped himself hard in frustration.
He had been so engrossed that he forgot to take out his camera to capture the moment.
For once, Doflamingo's face reddened slightly.
Without any visible movement, a layer of white threads instantly covered his body, quickly forming his usual attire.
"Tsk tsk, you've really mastered your Devil Fruit ability to an art," Caesar remarked with an amused shake of his head.
Doflamingo grinned. "Unfortunately, the String-String Fruit has its limits. If I want to grow stronger, I'll need to learn Conqueror's Haki Coating."
"Just spar with Katakuri or Ganzui a few more times, and you'll get it. If that doesn't work, challenge me—I'll give you some pointers."
At Caesar's words, Doflamingo's smile froze.
Challenge Caesar?
With his fragile body, if Caesar accidentally used even a little too much force, he'd be scattered into pieces, impossible to scrape back together.
Beckman, seeing Doflamingo recover from such severe injuries in an instant, widened his eyes in disbelief and stared at Caesar, his expression practically screaming.
'Give me some of that!'
Caesar glanced at him, rolled his eyes, and snapped.
"Don't even think about it. The meeting's over—we're enemies again. I'm not about to aid my enemies."
Beckman immediately deflated, looking dejected.
Suddenly, a towering man over six meters tall with wings on his back emerged from the crowd and pointed at the rifle in Beckman's hands.
"Beckman, why do you have the Longinus?"
"King? What Longinus? You mean this gun? I bought it from Queen for over a hundred million Berries," Beckman replied, raising his sniper rifle in confusion.
King's face darkened as he angrily scanned the crowd.
Among the spectators, Queen's massive body slowly slid to the ground, his thick limbs splayed as he scurried away as fast as he could.
"Queen! You bastard! You actually armed the enemy!"
King roared and dashed after him.
Caesar turned to Shanks.
"Where's Rayleigh and the others?"
"Rayleigh had business to attend to, so they left earlier. Gaban said if he gets the chance, he'd like to fight that guy named Gin," Shanks replied, hopping down from his enormous chair.
"Well then, Caesar, we'll be taking our leave now."
Caesar stood up, took a few deep gulps from his massive jug of liquor, and tossed the nearly empty container to Shanks.
"Borororo! Until next time, Shanks. When we meet again, it'll be a fight to the death. Be ready to face your end—don't cry like that godson of yours when his comrades died."
Shanks steadily caught the large wine jug, drained the remaining liquor and let out a hearty laugh.
"Hahaha, no problem! I am no coward who fears death! Men, let's move out!"
Beckman slung the sniper rifle named Longinus over his shoulder and followed behind Shanks.
At that moment, Lucky Roux and Yasopp also approached.
On Lucky Roux's back was the barely rescued Dorry.
The monkey named perched cautiously on Lucky Roux's shoulder, eyeing Caesar warily without daring to move a muscle.
"Wait a minute, Red Hair!"
Katakuri suddenly spoke up, causing Shanks and his crew to pause in surprise.
Shanks turned back to look at Katakuri and asked curiously, "Katakuri, what is it?"
Beckman immediately tightened his grip on Longinus, thinking the Beast God Pirates had changed their minds and intended to stop them.
If Caesar truly wished to do so, they would undoubtedly all perish here.
The sheer terror of Caesar's presence alone was overwhelming.
Katakuri pointed at the items carried by the Gifters and said calmly.
"Here are some food and drinks, a gift for your visit to Totto Land. Though we are enemies, you are also members of the Pirate Council. My father is the chairman, and I am the vice-chairman. We can't afford to be stingy."
Everyone was taken aback, and a pleased smile appeared on Caesar's face.
Shanks laughed and replied, "Oh? That's very generous of you, Katakuri. You have great magnanimity. You're welcome to visit my place anytime!"
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