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That surge of Conqueror's Haki—it wasn't just raw pressure anymore.
It had turned into something solid, a crushing force blasting outward like a landslide, like a tidal wave tearing across the docks.
The ground, hard as stone, split apart inch by inch beneath Dan's feet, spiderweb cracks racing outward with deafening snaps.
Doflamingo's twisted grin froze the instant that overwhelming aura erupted.
Behind his sunglasses, his pupils shrank to pinpoints.
This brat…!
No time to think. Instinct kicked in. His own Conqueror's Haki surged to its peak, colliding head-on with Dan's.
The clash thundered through the air.
But it was useless.
Doflamingo's Haki shattered on contact, like a paper tiger facing a real beast. The difference in will was absolute—his spirit buckled, smashed apart in an instant.
A brutal impact hit him in the mind like a hammer.
The ground caved beneath his heels as he staggered back three full steps, barely keeping his balance. His iconic feathered coat whipped and snapped as if in a storm.
For the first time, horror crept across his face.
"Impossible…!"
My Haki—completely crushed?!
He couldn't believe it. He had ruled the New World for years, a Warlord of the Sea, king of the underworld, a man whose Conqueror's Haki had never been so casually overwhelmed.
And the one who did it… was just a kid in open-crotch shorts.
"Young master!"
Pica, Diamante, Trebol—his top officers—rushed forward in alarm.
"Stand down!" Doflamingo barked, stopping them with a snarl. He knew better. In a clash of this level, anyone weaker was just cannon fodder.
Then—
"Hmph. Interesting."
A cold voice rang out. Beside him, Gild Tesoro's body blazed gold. His own Conqueror's Haki exploded forth, stacking on Doflamingo's like a dam straining against a flood.
"Fufufu… thanks, Tesoro," Doflamingo rasped, forcing a smile. But the sweat beading on his brow betrayed his struggle.
Tesoro didn't answer. His face was stone. Even with the two of them combined, he could feel it—they weren't pushing Dan back. At best, they were just barely holding the line.
That will… it was too pure, too ruthless, too crushing. It tore at them, trying to rip their spirits to shreds. They could only resist. Fighting back was impossible. And worse—Dan wasn't even going all out.
"What… what the hell is this monster?!"
The underworld bosses Tesoro had brought along turned pale as sheets, shaking like leaves. Some were powerful in their own right, but under that apocalyptic pressure, their strength was worthless. They could only watch as Doflamingo and Tesoro struggled to endure.
On the other side, Jack the Drought and the Beasts Pirates were fired up, blood pumping hot.
"Lord Dan is unstoppable!"
"Crush them, Lord Dan!"
Jack's face flushed red with excitement, his massive tusks humming with vibration.
Too strong… This is Lord Dan. The heir of the Beasts!
"Damn brat! Don't get cocky!"
The furious roar came from Diamante, commander of the Donquixote family's army. Pride and loyalty pushed him over the edge—he couldn't stomach watching his boss suppressed.
"Die, you little bastard!"
He lunged, sword flashing as he unleashed a storm of strikes.
"Flutter—Thousand Pierce!"
Steel shadows rained down like a hurricane toward Dan, who hovered midair, calm and unflinching.
"Diamante! Stop!" Doflamingo snapped, panic flashing across his face. But it was too late.
Jack tensed to intervene—
And then Dan merely glanced at the oncoming blades. His dark, clear eyes didn't even ripple.
At the very instant the blades were about to strike, his pupils shifted. A blood-red kaleidoscope bloomed in his gaze.
"Amaterasu."
A soundless spark.
Suddenly, black flames bloomed on Diamante's right arm, coiling and devouring.
"Wha—?!" Diamante froze, staring at the searing fire eating into his flesh.
And then the scream tore out of him—inhuman, ragged, endless.
His sword clattered to the ground. Writhing, clutching his burning arm, he rolled across the dock.
"Fire! Fire! It burns—it hurts, it hurts!"
The black flames clung like maggots to bone, unshakable, devouring deeper. The agony seared his very soul, worse than anything he'd ever known.
"Diamante!"
"Put it out, quick!"
Pica, Trebol, Sugar—panic flooded the crew. Trebol smothered the fire with his sticky mucus. Pica buried it under rock.
Nothing worked.
Trebol's mucus caught fire instantly, forcing him to shriek and retreat. Pica's stone sizzled and smoked, but the flames burned straight through.
"Water! Get water!"
Buckets were dumped over Diamante. The fire hissed—then flared hotter.
"What… what is this flame?!"
"Why won't it go out?!"
Fear spread like wildfire.
"Seastone! Use seastone powder!" Doflamingo roared, desperate. Seastone suppressed all Devil Fruits—this had to be one.
They dumped the powder over Diamante's arm.
Everyone held their breath.
The black fire flickered once.
And then… it kept burning.
Unstoppable. Unyielding.
As if seastone was nothing more than dust.
"No way…"
"Even seastone doesn't work?!"
"That's impossible!"
Doflamingo's eyes shrank to dots. Shock wasn't enough to describe what he felt. Terror gripped his soul.
This fire—what the hell was it? If it wasn't a Devil Fruit power, then what?
He looked up at the boy in midair, face blank, eyes merciless, and a chill ran from his feet to his skull.
This kid… just how many nightmares is he still hiding?!
"..."
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