Lately, Doflamingo had been in a particularly good mood.
Five months ago, he had flawlessly seized control of the Kingdom of Dressrosa exactly as planned, catching both the World Government and the Marines off guard. He had crowned himself king without a hitch.
The plan had gone so smoothly that even the World Government's Grand Fleet, busy campaigning against pirates in the New World, couldn't find a pretext to strike at him. Begrudgingly, they had no choice but to acknowledge his new throne.
This good mood had lasted — until about twenty days ago.
That day, the head of the largest underground market in the West Blue had called Doflamingo, reporting something outrageous: the newly crowned King of the Dinggo Kingdom was threatening them.
He demanded a staggering 50% share of the underground market's profits—or else he would flatten the entire operation in Dinggo Kingdom.
Even invoking Doflamingo's name hadn't deterred the threat.
The moment he heard this, Doflamingo was furious.
Heck, even I only take 55%! The remaining 45% is split among my representatives and the Dinggo Kingdom itself! And you think you can just waltz in and demand 50%? You trying to choke yourself to death or what?
The Dinggo Kingdom was no minor nation.
Located in West Blue, it was a renowned powerhouse with an army over 100,000 strong and a population of three million. It was divided into eight prosperous cities, famous for spices, premium timber, black pearls, and high-grade iron ore.
However, crucially, it was not a member nation of the World Government's Twenty-Six Affiliates.
Seeing that Dressrosa's reconstruction was proceeding smoothly, Doflamingo decided to personally handle this upstart.
He traveled straight from the New World to the West Blue's Dinggo Kingdom — and single-handedly crushed tens of thousands of soldiers, slaughtered every royal and noble in the capital, and razed the royal city to the ground, sending shockwaves across the entire West Blue.
After resting for two days in a hideout managed by the local underground market, Doflamingo began his journey back to the Grand Line.
Along the way, he came across numerous pirate ships. Sometimes, if he found them annoying—or simply grew bored—he would casually wipe out entire pirate crews for amusement.
It was during one of these moments that Doflamingo noticed something unusual.
On the deck of a pirate ship below, the pirates were gawking up at him like he was some sideshow monkey.
The sight annoyed him.
"Nice ship. Wouldn't it be beautiful if I cut it into pieces and dyed it red with their blood?"
A wicked grin spread across Doflamingo's face as the thought crossed his mind.
He extended his right hand back, dozens of nearly invisible threads shooting from his palm.
The threads twisted and wove together into a thick cord, like a bundle of hair, stretching far behind him before he viciously lashed it downward—
He hadn't expected Doflamingo to suddenly, for no reason at all, launch an attack on him!
And he recognized that move instantly — back in the Dressrosa Arc, Doflamingo had used it during his battle with Trafalgar D. Water Law.
The attack covered a massive range, capable of slicing buildings apart across kilometers, its destructive power terrifying.
Aeridar wracked his brain — he didn't recall ever making an enemy of Doflamingo!
Gritting his teeth, Aeridar stared up at the sky.
Regardless of the reason, he had no intention of sitting there and taking the hit.
Besides, dodging wasn't an option — if he moved, the Chris would be sliced clean in half!
So, without hesitation, he hurled a fist skyward.
The air around him trembled as if a storm had been unleashed.
An intense ring-shaped shockwave exploded from his punch.
The thick whip of threads shattered under the force of the shockwave, disintegrating into fierce gales that nearly blew the clouds apart.
"Damn it, that guy's a Devil Fruit user!"
"Bastard! How dare you attack us!"
"Captain! Let's take that punk down!"
The crew erupted into furious shouts — though the clash had happened so fast they were only now registering what had occurred.
But with a single wave of Aeridar's hand, silence fell instantly across the ship.
Above them, Doflamingo hopped lightly between two clouds, standing mid-air with a cruel grin.
"Fufufufu... Interesting... you've got some bite!" he said, eyes gleaming. "Good... you're exactly the kind of person I like!"
Aeridar leapt onto the Chris's wolf-head prow, glaring up.
"Doflamingo, are you picking a fight with me?!"
"Who the hell's that? Some bigshot?"
Hearing the name caused a visible ripple through the crew.
"That's... that's Donquixote Doflamingo!" cried Arlan, sweating profusely.
"The Heavenly Yaksha — one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, once worth 340 million berries!"
Shock overtook the crew.
They struggled to comprehend how they had randomly run into one of the World Government's sanctioned pirate lords out here in the open sea.
The senior officers, especially Oliver and the others, felt a pit forming in their stomachs.
They knew Aeridar's goal was to one day join the ranks of the Warlords.
And they knew Aeridar had repeatedly emphasized how monstrous those pirates were — each one capable of crushing entire nations single-handedly.
Their captain himself had admitted: even he had no absolute confidence in defeating a Warlord head-on.
If even he wasn't sure... how could they, mere subordinates, hope to survive?
Especially when reality came crashing down on them — facing a true Warlord, right here, right now.
"Fufufufufu~! Hahahahahaha! Even a third-rate rookie pirate knows my name?"
Doflamingo laughed heartily, looking down from the clouds at Aeridar standing atop the prow.
With scorn dripping from his voice, he sneered, "Provocation? Are you joking?
"That word was invented by the weak to justify challenging the strong.
"And you... what strength do you have to call yourself a strong one?"
"Heh... Standing too long above others has made you blind, Doflamingo," Aeridar retorted coldly, his voice sharp.
"How do you know I am not strong?"
Still, Aeridar wasn't reckless.
He had a plan: if he could break Doflamingo's ability to fly midair, he could force him down onto the Chris.
And once aboard, Doflamingo wouldn't dare destroy the ship — unless he wanted to drown alongside them.
"Ohhh~ What a cocky little brat!"
Hovering in the air, Doflamingo chuckled in surprise.
He leaned forward slightly, fingers twitching as his wicked smile widened.
"Well then... let's test that confidence of yours."
Without warning, he clawed at the air — and hurled himself downward at blinding speed.
Aeridar's eyes flashed coldly.
Fine, he thought. Time to see just how far I've come — and how much of a monster a Warlord really is!
Aeridar kicked off from the deck, sprinting through the air itself.
Each step crushed the air beneath him, bursting into tiny white clouds with crisp pops.
Doflamingo's eyes gleamed with interest.
A sly grin stretched across his face.
"Oho... Rokushiki's Geppo, huh?
"No wonder he's not scared of me floating up here...
"A Marine deserter? Or a Cipher Pol traitor?"
"If I capture him and deliver him to Marineford... maybe those old bastards will finally stop saying I don't pull my weight. Fufufufufu..."
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