_________________________________________________________________________________________________________A bead of cold sweat slid down King's temple.
He stared into Dan's pitch-black eyes—eyes stripped of any emotion—and for the first time, he felt a heavy sense of helplessness.
This brat… he couldn't be measured by common sense.
That Conqueror's Haki of his… it was even more outrageous than Kaido's when the boss was young!
If this dragged on, the entire palace might get ripped apart under the weight of the kid's Haki.
"…Fine." King drew in a long breath, his raspy voice low but firm. "Jack, you'll take Young Master Dan with you."
"But!" His tone suddenly sharpened, gaze cutting like a blade as it locked onto Jack. "Dan's safety is top priority. If he so much as loses a single hair, you'll bring me your head!"
"Yes, Brother King! I swear it on my life!" Jack snapped his back straight, voice booming with conviction. His face lit with excitement—and just a trace of nerves.
To be chosen to go on a mission with Young Master Dan was the highest honor imaginable.
But the responsibility? Heavy as hell.
Queen, standing nearby, twitched his plump cheeks as if he wanted to protest. Yet when he caught sight of Dan's little expression—"say no and I'll unleash my Haki again"—he swallowed his words with a sigh.
He reached into his coat and pulled out a massive pouch stuffed with candies of every flavor, pressing it into Dan's arms. "Little Dan, if you get hungry on the road, just eat candy. Don't you dare suffer! And if those bastards bully you, tell Uncle Queen when you're back—I'll grind them all into meat paste for you!"
Dan looked at the candy, then at Queen. On his tiny face, for once, there appeared something close to… satisfaction.
He gave a small nod, then toddled over to Jack, stretching out his pudgy hand to grab the rough, calloused palm of the giant beast-man.
Jack jolted at the touch, warmth flooding his chest.
Looking down at Dan's small figure, his heart swelled with fighting spirit.
With Young Master Dan by his side, what was Donquixote Doflamingo compared to? Nothing!
The next day.
New World, Dressrosa.
Inside the royal palace's grand banquet hall, music and laughter drifted amid a haze of indulgence.
At the head sat one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, "Heavenly Yaksha" Donquixote Doflamingo.
Draped in his trademark pink-feathered coat, he wore that twisted grin—"Fufufufufu"—his long fingers twirling a wine glass, the scarlet liquid within shimmering with every tilt.
Below him sat a man blazing with gold from head to toe, radiating arrogance.
The "Golden Emperor" Gild Tesoro.
Around them clustered a dozen of the underworld's heavyweights, each face hard and hungry, eyes burning with greed.
"Fufufufu… Tesoro, gentlemen," Doflamingo raised his glass, voice dripping with charisma, "this cooperation will fill all our pockets. The SMILE artificial Devil Fruits are revolutionary! With them, we can forge an invincible army."
Tesoro smirked, his golden rings flashing under the lights. "You've got sharp eyes as always, Doflamingo. I'm in. My Gran Tesoro needs plenty of ability users to keep order anyway."
The other kingpins eagerly voiced their agreement, gazes fixed on Doflamingo with reverence and anticipation.
His smile widened.
Ties with the World Government, experimental dealings with Big Mom's crew, and now alliances with Tesoro and the underworld over SMILE—his power had swelled to an unprecedented peak.
Even against Beasts Kaido, he could bargain without bowing.
Yes, Kaido was strong.
But so was Donquixote Doflamingo.
Then—
"Master! Bad news!!"
One of his officers burst into the hall, panic written all over his face, collapsing to his knees.
The hall froze.
Doflamingo's grin thinned, brow arching. "What's so urgent? Can't you see I'm entertaining guests?"
The officer trembled, voice cracking. "I-It's… it's the Beasts Pirates! Drought Jack! He—he's already at the docks!"
"Drought Jack?" Doflamingo scoffed, sipping his wine. "That brainless brute? He dares stir up trouble in my Dressrosa?"
He rose smoothly, adjusting his feathers with a predator's smile. "Fufufufu… perfect. Let our guests see how the Donquixote Family welcomes fools."
"Come," he commanded, striding toward the palace gates.
Tesoro and the other underworld lords followed with amused anticipation, eager for a show.
But just as they reached the entrance—
"…Huh?!"
Family officer Violet, wielder of the Glare-Glare Fruit, gasped. Her face drained of all color, eyes locked on the distant harbor as her pupils shrank in terror.
"Violet, what is it?" Doflamingo's tone turned sharp.
"Master… beside Jack…" Her voice quivered, finger trembling as she pointed. "There's… a child."
"A child?" Sugar tilted her head, licking sugar dust off her finger. "What's scary about that? He tougher than Jack or something?"
Pica let out his shrill, ugly laugh. "Oohihihihi! Maybe Jack brought a snack!"
Diamante smirked. "A little brat? What waves can he make?"
The officers laughed, dismissive.
But Doflamingo's brow furrowed.
If Violet looked like this, it wasn't an ordinary child.
"See clearly. Who is it?" His voice cut like steel.
Violet swallowed hard, trembling to her core. "T-that kid… in split pants… pretty as carved jade…"
"But according to the Navy's latest bounty poster—"
"He… he's…"
"Kaido's son. Bounty: one billion. The monster who singlehandedly wrecked three Vice Admirals—"
"'Demon Child' Dan!!!"
A collective hiss ripped through the crowd.
Every mocking grin turned to stone. Pupils shrank, throats locked.
Even Pica's stone body trembled.
Sugar's candy slipped from her hand with a plop.
Diamante's smirk collapsed into something uglier than tears.
Demon Child Dan?!
That name—no, that nightmare—had become a taboo across the New World.
A baby not yet two years old. A bounty of one billion. Three Vice Admirals crushed, one crippled.
The kind of legend that sounded like fantasy.
Yet here he was. In Dressrosa.
And walking in with Drought Jack.
Even Doflamingo's perpetual grin froze solid.
His hand clenched the wine glass so hard his knuckles whitened.
Kaido's son. Demon Child Dan.
That name together carried a weight far beyond Jack alone.
Even the Golden Emperor Tesoro lost his air of ease, his golden eyes narrowing, flickering with unease.
Whoever these two came for, they weren't here in peace.
"..."
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