"Bastard! Kuma, have you betrayed us?!"
Human Demon King Ivankov was suddenly intercepted mid-charge.
"You don't even recognize me anymore?"
…
Bartholomew Kuma stared at Ivankov with an empty, emotionless gaze. Without a word, his mouth opened as light gathered rapidly.
Whoosh…
Boom!
A blazing laser fired straight ahead, erupting in a violent explosion.
"Kuma… this isn't like you…"
Despite his massive build, Ivankov moved with astonishing agility, narrowly dodging the blast.
"Paw Pad, Pressure Cannon!"
In the next instant, a terrifying shockwave erupted forward, flattening a vertical line of pirates. The compressed air struck mercilessly, blasting them away and pinning them to the ground.
Bang!
"Ahhh!"
Screams echoed across the ice. Though pain no longer registered in their minds, the sheer force crushed their internal organs.
Pfft!
One by one, they collapsed, coughing up blood as breathing became nearly impossible.
"Kuma!"
Ivankov clenched his teeth, staring at the familiar yet completely unresponsive figure before him. His expression twisted with frustration and disbelief.
Here, Human Demon King Ivankov was completely halted.
"Desert Spada!"
Elsewhere, crocodile, having already wiped out countless Marine and pirate fodder, was suddenly targeted by Doflamingo.
"So dry…"
"It hurts… all the moisture is gone…"
"Someone… help…"
Several pirates and Marines were being controlled by Parasite String. Even as their bodies were drained of moisture, they still swung their weapons relentlessly at crocodile.
Slash!
Several cuts appeared across crocodile's body, yet not a single drop of blood flowed.
Instead, fine yellow sand writhed and reformed, restoring him instantly.
"Hmph. A coward who hides behind strings."
With a snort of disdain, crocodile raised a violent sandstorm, severing the nearly invisible threads attached to the heads of several unlucky victims.
Thud!
Freed from control, they collapsed onto the ground, gasping weakly for air.
"Die, traitor of the former Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
A massive bloodstained sword descended from above, carrying a fierce wind as it aimed straight for crocodile's back.
"Fufufufufu~"
A pink-feathered figure descended with eerie laughter, landing casually atop Marine Giant Vice Admiral Lacroix, just as the blade was about to fall.
"What?!"
The enormous sword froze midair, stopping less than half a meter from crocodile, unable to descend any further.
"Doflamingo! What are you doing?! The Marines are your allies!"
Vice Admiral Lacroix's face filled with panic as he realized his body was no longer under his control.
"Fufufufu~ Nothing special," Doflamingo replied lightly. "I just don't like conversations between strong individuals being interrupted by trash."
He leapt off Lacroix's shoulder and landed in front of crocodile. With a twist of his fingers, invisible strings tightened, forcing the giant Vice Admiral to his knees.
"You… bastard…"
Lacroix ground his teeth, cursing through clenched jaws.
"How is retirement treating you? Prison life wasn't too bad, was it?"
Doflamingo ignored the groans of the weak, fixing crocodile with a mocking gaze.
"Why couldn't you suppress your ambition and stay put?"
"Guhahaha! Doflamingo," crocodile replied coldly, cigar clenched between his teeth. "I don't recall being acquainted with clowns like you."
He glanced at Doflamingo with open disdain.
"What, thinking of going to Impel Down for lessons too? Planning ahead?"
"Your mouth is still as sharp as ever," Doflamingo said calmly. "How about teaming up with me? You don't have much power left now."
He completely ignored the ridicule. When it came to truly strong individuals, Doflamingo was always patient.
"While you were gone, the world has already begun changing in ways you can't imagine…"
His mind drifted back to that encounter at Gran Tesoro.
This era was destined to be rewritten by a single person.
Shirogai Yamikuro.
Doflamingo's grin widened, his hands spreading theatrically as his voice grew impassioned.
"The tide of this era has already begun sweeping across the entire world, yet you noticed nothing. You failed to sense the undercurrent before the wave arrived."
"You want me to work with you?" crocodile scoffed. "You? Worth teaming up with me? Your schemes are filthy and small-minded."
Compared to Null Shirogai, Doflamingo's invitation was dull and uninspiring.
Serve him, plunder pirates, gather scraps of profit?
Crocodile had long since outgrown such shallow ambitions.
What occupied his thoughts now was the future Shirogai had described, a world where power rivaled even that of the Celestial Dragons themselves.
Who was JOKER, really?
His promises paled in comparison to those made by Shirogai, a monster capable of overturning the entire world order.
"Fufufufufu!"
Doflamingo suddenly threw his head back and laughed, peering through his purple sunglasses at crocodile with regret.
"What a pity, crocodile. You'll regret this."
"The most influential force of this era extended its hand to you, and you rejected it. What a shame."
Ever since witnessing Shirogai's true power, Doflamingo had abandoned all other paths. He had resolved to pledge himself entirely.
Every display of Shirogai's strength surpassed even the terror of the Four Emperors.
While raw power alone might not rival Kaido's, Shirogai's unfathomable schemes crushed the Beast King completely.
Even Kaido would never imagine slaughtering freely in Mary Geoise and openly calling the Celestial Dragons vermin.
A lone individual, proud, ambitious, and powerful enough to challenge the world itself.
Such a person existed only once.
Doflamingo admitted it without hesitation, even someone like him was captivated by Shirogai's vision.
Use the momentum.
He understood clearly that his role was to ride the wave Shirogai had unleashed and carve out benefits without opposing his will.
Changes had already begun in Dressrosa.
Following Shirogai's guidance, he had forced negotiations with the former royal family, blending coercion and temptation.
If the future truly unfolded as promised, his current control over Dressrosa would seem laughably small.
His ambition had grown.
To claim even a fragment of that grand treasure, he needed to move now.
Boom!
Without another word, the two unleashed their full power.
Sandstorms and razor-sharp strings tore through the battlefield. Cold lines crisscrossed the air as the clash raged on.
Neither crocodile nor Doflamingo suffered serious injury.
But any Marine or pirate who wandered too close was annihilated without exception.
The most tragic among them was Marine Giant Vice Admiral Lacroix.
He was sliced apart by invisible threads, then buried beneath suffocating sand, his corpse mangled beyond recognition.
…
New World, Dressrosa Kingdom.
"Damn bastard… what are you really planning?"
Violet sat quietly in a chair, staring at the mountain of documents before her. Her expression was complicated, conflicted.
"To actually entrust me with reviewing the entire kingdom's internal affairs…"
After venting internally for a while, she sighed and continued working.
No matter what, these matters concerned every citizen of her homeland.