It had to be said—Blackbeard was ridiculously tough.
Even after being drowned in a rain of missiles, though gravely injured, he still didn't die.
Unable to swim, he could only cling to Burgess, who carried him through the water.
"Captain… what do we do now?"
Burgess was injured too, though much less—he had jumped into the sea in time.
"We… leave…"
Blackbeard said weakly.
"I don't want to see another fortress… or cannon… ever again."
The experience had left him with a deep psychological shadow toward fortresses and artillery.
Of course, with his temperament, he would definitely seek revenge someday.
But right now, that fortress with overwhelming firepower was far beyond his ability to challenge.
Only after obtaining Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi might he stand a chance…
Like defeated dogs, the two slowly drifted away from the area, heading toward the Grand Line.
Blackbeard would continue his original plan—
gathering crewmates, becoming a Shichibukai, and ultimately seizing Whitebeard's earthquake powers.
Inside the fortress—
At Mork's command, the fortress began absorbing what remained of Blackbeard's pirate ship.
In the sky—
Doflamingo, Baby 5, and Buffalo watched in stunned silence.
"The fortress… is absorbing the pirate ship?"
"What kind of plot twist is this…" Buffalo muttered in disbelief.
Baby 5 looked altogether lost.
Doflamingo's expression was unreadable behind his sunglasses.
He didn't speak, and no one could tell what he was thinking.
A moment later, he suddenly raised his hand.
Invisible threads appeared in midair.
"Five-Color Strings!!"
He swung down, unleashing a Haki-coated slash with his String-String Fruit.
The invisible strings shrieked toward the fortress—
silent, deadly—
But the moment they approached, something unseen blocked them.
The attack couldn't reach the steel walls.
"Blocked!?"
Doflamingo was genuinely startled.
He had assumed the fortress's defense was just the steel exterior.
He never expected another invisible barrier outside it.
Baby 5 and Buffalo gasped.
"Even Young Master's attack can't break through!?"
Doflamingo had pushed his devil fruit to its limits—
his Haki-thread slashes were deadly enough to make Admirals wary.
Veins bulged on his forehead.
"So… this fortress isn't a Devil Fruit ability…"
He had attacked because he'd seen the fortress "absorbing" the pirate ship—
so he thought it might be a fruit power user.
He exhaled deeply, trying again—
but the threads simply couldn't move forward.
The fortress's invisible barrier was too strong.
"What kind of person lives inside this thing…"
For the first time, Doflamingo felt genuine unease.
He realized that someone extraordinary had appeared in the New World.
And judging from the fortress, that mysterious person didn't rely on physical strength or Devil Fruits—
but advanced technology, perhaps on par with Isaac, the warden of Prison Island.
The thought chilled him.
Isaac had been personally chosen by the Celestial Dragons to guard that island—
a place holding prisoners whose strength rivaled even the Yonko…
As Doflamingo processed the implications, suddenly—
The fortress's cannon barrels began to move.
The same "black hole" cannon that just melted Blackbeard's crew—
Now pointed directly at them.
Baby 5 and Buffalo screamed in panic.
Baby 5 burst into tears instantly.
Buffalo trembled.
"Young Master! The fortress noticed us!"
"We should leave! Now!"
After witnessing what happened to Blackbeard, even with Doflamingo present, Buffalo felt no safety at all.
Doflamingo's heart tightened as he stared at the sea of cannon barrels.
But then, an idea flashed across his mind—
his expression changed.
Without hesitation, he raised both hands in surrender and shouted:
"Mysterious master of the fortress—
don't fire. I mean no harm."
At the same time, he used his strings to pull himself slowly toward the fortress…
Hands held high the entire time.
Baby 5 and Buffalo panicked behind him.
"Y-Young Master, don't go!
If you die, what do we do…?"
Doflamingo's mouth twitched, but he didn't stop.
He floated forward, hands raised.
Inside the fortress—
Mork saw Doflamingo approaching with both hands up.
He didn't fire.
He knew Doflamingo was a schemer, but he was more than confident in the fortress's defensive systems.
Outside, Doflamingo approached with a full smile:
"I wish to befriend you, sir."
Businessmen were indeed flexible—
even calling someone "sir" came naturally when necessary.
Mork used the fortress's broadcast system:
"No need for friendship.
Someone like you would stab a 'friend' the moment they look away."
Doflamingo wasn't surprised.
As a Shichibukai, underworld emperor "Joker," and the infamous "Heavenly Yaksha,"
it was only natural people recognized him.
"Sir, the rumors about me are exaggerations.
I'm a man of great integrity."
"Spare the nonsense. Tell me what you want."
Mork showed him zero courtesy.
Doflamingo didn't mind.
Still smiling, he spoke:
"Sir, I would like to purchase weapons from you."
That was the idea that had flashed in his mind earlier.
After witnessing the fortress's terrifying firepower, the world's top arms dealer had become very, very interested…