As Doflamingo's eerie laughter faded, the Den Den Mushi's eyes drooped, ending the call.
Liam Ross's gaze sharpened like a blade as he turned toward Diamante. His voice was cold and cutting.
"Remember this if you choose to be a dog, you'd better act like one. Gang City doesn't welcome your kind. Now leave."
Diamante's expression darkened, his teeth grinding as he glared at Liam.
He wasn't foolish. Their brief clash had been enough to show him the truth Liam's strength far surpassed his own. More terrifying still was the faint, almost untraceable aura radiating from him. It felt like staring into the abyss an instinctive fear told him that only Doflamingo himself could hope to defeat this man.
A wise man knows when to retreat.
After a moment of heavy silence, Diamante said nothing more. He swallowed his pride and led his men away, the humiliation burning silently in his chest.
As they departed, Rosinante Donquixote cast a long, searching look at Liam.
Sensing the weight of that gaze, Liam met it without hesitation, his lips curling into a faint, knowing smile.
Corazon. The adopted son of Sengoku, wielder of the Calm-Calm Fruit.
A Marine officer buried deep within the Donquixote Family his code name, "Cora."
In the stories Liam remembered from another world, Corazon's appearance was fleeting yet unforgettable. His justice had been silent but unyielding.
Liam admired that kind of man. But admiration had its limits. In this world, their positions were irreconcilable. If Corazon ever stood in his way, Liam wouldn't hesitate to strike him down.
Rosinante, however, felt his skin prickle under that stare. It was as if Liam could see right through him straight into his carefully guarded secret. Uneasy, he quickly averted his gaze and followed Diamante out of the castle, his heart pounding.
"Boss," Capone Bege spoke up after a moment of silence, his voice cautious. "Should we report this to Lord Di uh, to the higher-ups? Doflamingo's reputation isn't exactly small."
Liam's expression softened into a faint smile. "No need."
He waved it off like brushing away dust.
The current Doflamingo wasn't yet the tyrant he would become two decades later. His power was formidable, but not insurmountable. Liam's clone alone could handle him if it came to that.
Meanwhile, somewhere high above the North Blue, two sharp whistling sounds pierced the air.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
A figure shot across the sky a man with short golden hair, a flamboyant pink-feathered coat billowing behind him. His young face was hidden behind sunglasses, a predatory grin stretching from ear to ear as he laughed.
"Fufufufufufu..."
Donquixote Doflamingo was on the move.
Two hours later, like a flamingo descending from the heavens, he reached Gang City.
"Doffy!"
Diamante and his subordinates were already waiting to greet him at the city gates.
Doflamingo's grin widened. His gaze slid briefly toward Rosinante still silent, still masking his turmoil before shifting back to Diamante.
"Tell me," he said lightly, "what kind of power does this man have?"
Diamante straightened his back. "A swordsman. Skilled, but nowhere near your level."
He spoke with complete confidence. To him, Doflamingo was a man born to rule a king among pirates, the one he and the executive officers had sworn to follow.
Doflamingo didn't answer. Instead, his smirk deepened. He raised his hand and, with a flick of his fingers, shot threads of near-invisible string into the air. His body lifted off the ground as he ascended toward the city's towering castle.
From beneath his sunglasses, his sharp eyes glimmered like a predator's.
Then, with a single breath, his Conqueror's Haki exploded outward.
A violent, crushing pressure rolled across the sky like a tidal wave, slamming down upon Gang City.
One by one, gang members collapsed where they stood, eyes rolling back as they fainted from sheer spiritual force.
At that instant
"Shing!"
A blinding arc of sword energy split the air, streaking upward from the castle like lightning.
Doflamingo reacted instantly, his hand flashing as five razor-thin strings shot from his fingertips, intercepting the attack midair.
The two forces collided with a deafening crack before vanishing into bursts of wind and light.
A calm, mocking voice followed.
"Since you came all this way, Doflamingo, it'd be rude not to return the greeting. Try this on for size!"
Atop the castle stood Liam Ross, or rather, his clone. He held his sword Falling Crimson with effortless poise, his hawk-like gaze locked on the airborne pirate.
He swung.
A single, gleaming slash tore through the sky a long, white arc so brilliant that the people below could only gape in awe. It looked as though the heavens themselves had been cleaved apart, the clouds split in two by that blinding strike.
For the first time, Doflamingo's expression shifted. His grin faltered, replaced by a flicker of surprise.
He reacted quickly, conjuring countless threads from his palms and weaving them together into a massive cable-like pillar.
With a roar of effort, he swung the thread-column down against the oncoming strike.
"Boom!"
The sky itself erupted. The shockwave tore apart the surrounding clouds, sending a storm of wind howling across the city.
Before the dust even settled, Doflamingo snapped his fingers, and a single thread shot forward like a bullet his Overheat attack.
It streaked through the air, aimed straight at Liam's chest.
Liam's eyes flashed. In an instant, Falling Crimson was coated in Armament Haki, black steel gleaming under the sun.
"Clang!"
The impact rang out like a gunshot.
Liam vanished, his body flickering as he combined Moonwalk with Soru, reappearing right before Doflamingo. His blade sliced horizontally in a blur of crimson light.
"Shing!"
Doflamingo's head flew free from his body only for both to remain upright. His disembodied face continued to smile mockingly at Liam.
Parasite String.
"Fufufufufu... You're stronger than I expected," Doflamingo chuckled, his true form materializing a few meters away.
Liam smirked. "And you're even more slippery than I thought."
Their eyes locked two predators circling each other.
Doflamingo tilted his head, his grin stretching wider. "Now that I'm here, I assume your earlier words still stand?"
"Of course," Liam replied evenly, his tone cool, his disdain hidden just beneath the surface.
He understood Doflamingo perfectly. The man had come here not just to threaten him but to test him.
If Doflamingo could win, he'd force Liam to submit.
If he couldn't, he'd turn the fight into a negotiation.
A shrewd survivor. A born schemer. Truly the mind of a king in the underworld.
Liam had to admit, it was impressive.
The tension between them held for a moment longer before Doflamingo tilted his head back and let out his signature, echoing laugh.
"Fufufufufufu..."
Liam sheathed Falling Crimson with a faint metallic click.
"Shall we?"
The two figures disappeared into the castle.
Half an hour later, Doflamingo emerged once more. He rose into the air, preparing to depart when a small silhouette caught his eye near the edge of the castle courtyard.
A slender girl with dark hair Nico Robin.
Doflamingo froze midair, his hidden eyes narrowing sharply behind his sunglasses.
Then he smiled.
"So that's how it is... Fufufufufu..."
Still chuckling, he turned and disappeared into the sky.
Moments later, Liam's clone appeared beside Robin, his gaze following the distant figure. A faint smile curved his lips.
He had revealed Robin on purpose.
A silent message to Doflamingo
You can talk business, but if you dare play tricks, there are people who will make you regret it.
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