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[Mission "Stand Unbroken for One Minute" – Time Remaining: 15 seconds… Detected: Host has voluntarily broken defensive stance. Timer reset!]
[Mission "Stand Unbroken for One Minute" – Time Remaining: 60 seconds.]
"..."
Dan almost coughed up blood.
Fifteen seconds short!
He sighed helplessly, shoulders slumping, a faintly bitter look crossing his tiny face.
But that tiny movement—when seen through Doflamingo's tinted lenses—looked like the purest, most arrogant form of mockery imaginable.
"You… you're laughing at me?!"
A vein pulsed at Doflamingo's temple. Behind the shades, his eyes blazed so hot it was a wonder the glass didn't melt.
He, Donquixote Doflamingo—the Heavenly Yaksha, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, ruler of the underworld known as Joker—being looked down on by some snot-nosed brat still in split pants?
Unforgivable.
"Fufufufufu… Good. Very good!"
His laughter was low, dark, and manic. In the next instant, his aura exploded—violent and immense.
BOOM—!!!
An invisible pressure swept out like a bursting dam, crashing across the entire dock.
Conqueror's Haki.
And not just a flare—this was a full-force eruption, unrestrained and merciless.
At the same time, the world seemed to shift. The ground, the walls, every visible structure turned into threads.
Awakened Devil Fruit ability.
The scene descended into chaos. Doflamingo was done holding back.
"Huh?"
Nearby, Gild Tesoro's golden eyes suddenly narrowed.
In that instant Doffy's Haki exploded, he noticed something—those black flames eating at Diamante's body flickered. Just for a split second, the once unstoppable dark fire dimmed.
That cursed fire… was being suppressed.
"Doffy! Use your Conqueror's Haki!"
Tesoro shouted before he could even think.
"That black fire—it reacts to your Haki!"
"What?"
Doflamingo froze for half a heartbeat, then turned sharply toward Diamante, who was rolling on the ground in agony.
Sure enough—the black fire clinging to him wasn't burning as fiercely anymore. The edges of the flame were unraveling.
"The black flame's weakness… is Conqueror's Haki?"
Even Doflamingo couldn't quite believe it.
Conqueror's Haki was supposed to be the mark of kings—a power that could crush weak wills, even create shockwaves in battle between masters. But extinguish flames? Especially flames that ignored seawater and Seastone alike?
Unheard of.
Still, no time to think.
Saving his man came first.
He swallowed his rage, forced his killing intent down, and let loose an even greater surge of Conqueror's Haki, blasting it toward Diamante like a tidal wave bursting through a dam.
Hiss… hissss…
Everyone stared in disbelief.
The same black fire—unyielding, immune to water, unstoppable—now trembled under Doflamingo's pressure. Then, before their eyes, the flames shrank, dimmed, and finally… went out.
In seconds, the fire was gone. Only charred flesh and the stench of burnt meat remained.
"Hah… hah… saved…"
Diamante collapsed to the ground, drenched in cold sweat, gasping like a drowning man who'd just broken the surface. His eyes were unfocused, his expression a mix of relief and raw terror.
For a moment there, he'd truly thought he was dead.
That kind of pain—the feeling of his very soul burning—he never wanted to feel again.
Pica, Sugar, Trebol, and the rest of the Donquixote Family exhaled deeply. They looked at Diamante with concern… but when their eyes shifted to the tiny figure floating midair, fear rippled through them.
That kid…
That baby in open-bottom pants…
What is he?
He can summon black fire that ignores even Seastone?!
If not for Doflamingo's Haki countering it, they might've lost a top executive today.
And worse—it meant that anyone without Conqueror's Haki would be helpless once that fire touched them.
"Fufufufufu…"
Doflamingo's laughter returned—but there was no humor in it now, only venom. His rage hadn't calmed; it had boiled over.
Slowly, he turned his head. Behind the sunglasses, bloodshot eyes locked onto Dan.
His voice came out rough, guttural—like it had clawed its way out of hell.
"Kid… you hurt my family."
"You've succeeded in making me angry."
"And now… I'll make you regret it."
He spread his arms wide.
"Awakening—Spider's Wall!"
RUMBLE!!!
The ground convulsed, walls cracked, and thick white threads surged from every direction—earth, rubble, walls—twisting together like serpents made of silk and steel.
In seconds, towering white thread-walls rose around Dan, sealing off the entire area.
A cage. A pure-white prison.
Then Doflamingo's fingers clenched.
His grin twisted into something feral.
"Sixteen Divine Bullets—Holy Execution!"
WHIP-WHIP-WHIP-WHIP—!!!
Sixteen massive thread-lances, hard as iron and glowing with Armament Haki, launched from every direction, screaming through the air toward Dan.
Each one carried enough force to pierce a fortress wall or pulverize solid stone.
It was one of Doflamingo's strongest attacks—his killing move.
"Lord Dan!"
Members of the Beasts Pirates cried out, faces pale, hearts seizing in terror. Instinct screamed at them to rush in.
"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"
Jack's roar cracked the air like thunder, freezing them in place. The towering mammoth-man stood firm before his crew, teeth gritted, voice shaking with authority.
"Without Lord Dan's order—no one moves!"
"That's… an order!"
The others trembled, fists clenched so hard their knuckles went white. But they obeyed, glaring through red eyes at the storm ahead.
They trusted him.
They had to.
But still—this was Doflamingo's Awakening. That kind of destructive power could turn a city to dust. Just looking at it made their scalps prickle.
And in the center of it all, Dan hovered calmly in the air.
His face, smooth and childlike, showed not the faintest hint of fear.
The faint blue skeletal energy surrounding him glowed softly, casting a holy, eerie light. It wrapped around him completely—his silent guardian.
No matter how violently the sixteen "Divine Bullets" struck—no matter the explosions, the screeching impact, the violent shockwaves—they couldn't even crack that blue shell.
Each impact only sent ripples through the energy bones before fading away, powerless.
Doflamingo went mad. He hurled more and more awakened threads, shaping them into waves, whips, shields—everything he had.
"Sea Current—White Surge!"
A roaring tide of white threads crashed toward Dan.
"Overheat Whip!"
The threads condensed into a massive whip, cutting the air with terrifying speed.
"Shadow Rider Shield—Thread Storm!"
Threads wove into a shield, then detonated, raining needle-like threads in every direction.
The cage of white silk became an ocean of destruction.
Violence. Chaos. Suffocation.
The Donquixote Family, Tesoro, even the underworld bosses watching—every one of them stared, horrified. If any of them had been inside that storm, they'd already be dead a hundred times over.
But no matter how many attacks Doflamingo unleashed—no matter how crazed he became—Dan didn't move.
He stood there, untouched, serene.
Time ticked on.
Through it all, his expression never changed. His black eyes were calm, deep, and cold, like the void between stars.
As if everything—this chaos, this fury—was nothing but a light breeze brushing against him.
And then—
Just as another volley of "Holy Execution" spears was about to fall—
[Ding! Mission "Stand Unbroken for One Minute" Complete!]
[Congratulations, Host! Reward Acquired: Massive Conqueror's Haki Boost!]
Dan's lips curved upward, just slightly.
Mission complete.
"..."
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