"Xiano..."
Doflamingo's cold sweat intensified, his voice hoarse, "You... you're actually alive?"
How could this be!
The World Government had publicly announced this man's death. Moreover, how could anyone survive being caught between a Navy Admiral and Emperor Kaido?
"Yeah, got lucky."
Xiano nodded.
Amidst the towering waves, he walked toward them while inexplicably hovering above the crests. With each step, black-red lightning erupted beneath his feet, the tangible pressure of his Conqueror's Haki causing the entire island to tremble.
It also froze Doflamingo in place, unable to move.
He could only watch as Xiano approached, looking down at him with indifference, as if observing an insect:
"You're... Doflamingo of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
"This should be our first meeting, yet you seem terrified of me—like you were desperately hoping I'd stay dead."
The black-haired youth glanced around, finally noticing the shattered ground and the sword-wielding girl with clear signs of battle on her blade. His eyebrows rose slightly in realization:
"I see... you attacked my crew."
Doflamingo's sweat poured even faster now.
He swallowed hard, forcing a strained chuckle: "Fufufufu... A misunderstanding, purely a misunderstanding, Xiano. I didn't know their identities, otherwise I'd never—"
"Lies!"
Nami's angry voice rang from below: "Brother, don't listen to him! He recognized us immediately and even tried to recruit us as subordinates! Not that it mattered—Kuina held him off easily!"
"Oh?"
Xiano looked at Kuina with mild surprise, offering a warm smile. "Holding your own against a Warlord? You've improved tremendously."
Back when facing Akainu, Kuina had only been at the level of an ordinary Vice Admiral. It seemed she'd fully mastered Wind Control Swordsmanship during his month underwater.
"..."
Being praised in front of outsiders made Kuina's cheeks flush, but she quickly composed herself, turning back to Doflamingo with blazing determination:
"Sir, give me a little more time. I can defeat him."
"Not satisfied yet?"
"No." Kuina sighed softly. "You showed up too early."
"Couldn't be helped—my training ended right as this happened."
Xiano shrugged. Noticing Kuina's disappointment, he glanced at Doflamingo and casually ordered:
"You. Keep fighting her. No holding back—continue until there's a clear winner."
The tone brooked no refusal, as if commanding a subordinate.
How long had it been since anyone dared speak to him like this? Doflamingo's eyes narrowed coldly. "And if I refuse?"
Xiano's reply was succinct:
"Die."
A vein bulged violently at Doflamingo's temple.
So what if you're strong enough that I dare not provoke you? A descendant of Celestial Dragons cannot be humiliated like this...
"Fufufufu... Fine, since you're so eager to see it, I'll play with your vice-captain a little longer."
Suppressing his rage, he forced a grin: "But after this fight, any grudges or misunderstandings between us should be settled, right?"
"As long as you don't try any tricks and fulfill your sparring duty properly, letting you go isn't out of the question."
Xiano replied calmly: "Of course, if you die by Kuina's sword, that's not my fault."
"No need to worry about something that won't happen."
Doflamingo's lips curled into a chilling smile:
"Fufufufu... Then let's not waste time. Begin!"
His body moved, returning to the previous battlefield. As Kuina took her position, he suddenly flashed above the Master Swordsman, his toes releasing eight razor-sharp strings aimed at her shoulders!
"Leg Shaving String!"
Clang!
Kuina, prepared, blocked with Wado Ichimonji, deflecting Doflamingo's body away—but confusion arose in her mind.
Though this was their first duel,
she'd sensed earlier that he disliked being closed in by swordsmen, always keeping distance. Why was he initiating close combat now?
The answer came instantly.
In the next moment, Doflamingo used the sword's recoil to propel himself backward!
"Fufufufu! Thanks for the assist, little girl!"
He laughed maniacally, fingers already shooting strings to latch onto distant clouds, launching himself like a cannonball toward the horizon!
Simultaneously, his other hand—prepared all along—flipped slightly, releasing countless strings that wove into an enormous net, enveloping the entire island!
Birdcage!
"That bastard!"
Kuina's expression darkened as she looked up.
She realized he'd never intended to fight seriously—just lulled them into complacency to trap the battlefield and escape!
What a despicable coward!
High above,
Doflamingo pushed his Devil Fruit powers to the limit, accelerating desperately!
Faster!
FASTER!
He screamed inwardly, glancing back at the ground. Though his trademark smirk remained, cold sweat drenched his forehead.
Xiano wasn't dead!
That monster not only lived but surpassed the rumors!
Just that burst of Conqueror's Haki had made him tremble—as if facing not a youth but an ancient beast from the abyss!
Staying meant death!
That nonsense about "letting him go if his vice-captain had fun"? Only fools would believe it!
That man... bore another title—"Warlord of the Sea Killer"!
Crocodile's suicidal recklessness was one thing, but Hanafuda—who hadn't even provoked him—got slaughtered like a chick just for being in the way!
And himself?
Not only did he seek death voluntarily, he'd committed the ultimate taboo—recruiting the Captain's subordinate right before him!
Only an idiot would think this madman didn't want him dead!
"Stop!"
Kuina's furious shout echoed as she launched forward, her figure streaking like lightning in pursuit!
She moved with incredible speed, reaching the edge of the Birdcage in an instant. With several swift slashes, she caused it to tremble violently, yet failed to sever it.
"Fufufufu..."
Doflamingo had anticipated this outcome and let out a hearty laugh.
The Birdcage was one of his ultimate techniques. Once successfully deployed, how could it be so easily broken?
Not to mention this female Swordsman whose strength was on par with his own—even that monster Xiano...
No!
If given more preparation time, his ultimate Birdcage, unleashed in the Shadow Rider String: Manipulating Marionette mode, could even trap a Marine Admiral, leaving them helpless for a short while!
"Fufufufu... Struggle all you want inside!"
Doflamingo soared higher and higher, gliding over countless withered trees, nearly escaping the island's airspace entirely.
However—
"Trying to run?"
A calm voice echoed through the sky.
At the very top of the Birdcage, Xiano had appeared at some point.
His right hand was already raised, black-red Haki swirling violently between his palms, rapidly compressing into a spinning disk about half a meter in diameter.
But this time was different.
The edges of the disk were wreathed in thick black-red lightning. Even before being unleashed, its terrifying pressure darkened the heavens, gathering storm clouds and rolling thunder!
God Split!
Whoosh—!
With a flick of his wrist, Xiano sent the disk hurtling through the air at an imperceptible speed. In an instant, it sliced through the Birdcage without slowing, continuing straight toward Doflamingo!
"Hmm?"
Though Doflamingo was thousands of meters away, his Observation Haki suddenly blared with frantic warnings. Instinctively, he turned his head—his pupils shrinking to pinpricks—
The black-red disk, brimming with destructive energy, was already right before him.
"No, no—!!!"
He desperately tried to evade, but the disk was far too fast. In less than a second, it cleaved horizontally through his waist!
Squelch!
Blood sprayed!
Doflamingo's body stiffened abruptly. Slowly, he looked down at his gradually misaligned lower half, disbelief flooding his eyes.
"H-How... is this possible...?"
Boom!
The lower half of his body plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the fountain at the castle plaza, dyeing the entire structure crimson.
High above—
Doflamingo's vision blurred, nearly causing him to lose consciousness. But his fierce survival instincts forced him to endure the agony.
While frantically fleeing further into the distance, he desperately activated his String-String Fruit powers, attempting to forcibly stitch his wound shut with countless Strings to stem the bleeding.
Yet...
Though the eerie disk had vanished, an overwhelmingly oppressive black-red energy still lingered over the severed cross-section.
He couldn't dispel it—only watch helplessly as his Strings were repelled, unable to close the wound. Thick streams of blood continued to drip from the gash...
———
On the ground.
The group glanced at the severed remains below, then at the distant figure in the sky, now nearly vanishing from sight.
"Is that guy... dead or not?" Nami couldn't help but ask. "He didn't actually survive, did he?"
She subconsciously rubbed her arms, the grotesque sight sending a shiver down her spine.
This sight of someone continuing to move after being sliced in half was something she had only seen as a child when cutting earthworms in half to use as bait for fishing.
"He's definitely dead. No need to worry about him."
Xiano's figure descended gracefully from the sky. "With the remnants of my Conqueror's Haki lingering, his wounds won't close. Even if the world's greatest doctor arrived now, they'd be powerless to save him."
Only then did Nami feel reassured.
If her big brother said so, then it must be true.
"That last attack was insane—it even altered the weather," she remarked, glancing up at the lingering black-and-red streak in the sky. "Huh, it's still there? Seriously, bro, just how much stronger did you get after this seclusion? You could even—"
She had been about to say "even one-shot a Warlord of the Sea," but then she recalled that back when they encountered that sand-controlling Warlord, if Xiano had gone all out from the start, he could've taken him down in a few moves anyway.
So... was there really any difference?
She swallowed her words.
"Not all Warlords of the Sea are equal," Robin interjected with a knowing smile, reading her thoughts.
"That flamingo has been a Warlord for many years, operating extensively in the New World. He's mastered all three types of Haki and ranks among the strongest pirates there. Yet he couldn't withstand a single strike from our Captain—that speaks volumes."
"Ohhh~"
Nami didn't fully grasp it, but she nodded sagely anyway, smacking her fist into her open palm.
"So what you're saying is, the fact that bro pulled this off means he's gotten way stronger, right?"
"More or less."
Xiano grinned. "Well, with all of you growing so much, how could I, as your Captain, afford to fall behind?"
"Hell yeah!"
Nami threw her arms around his chest, bouncing with excitement. "Finally, we can leave this island and charge full speed into the New World!"
This dreary, gray island had nothing but noisy monkeys—she'd long since grown sick of it.
Xiano didn't reply, simply ruffling his little sister's orange hair affectionately.
But deep in his eyes, a faint, inscrutable glimmer flickered.
After this period of seclusion...
The Flesh Furnace Method had reached perfection. He'd fully mastered Conqueror's Haki Infusion. Through hellish self-torture training at the bottom of the ocean, using Poneglyphs as aids, he'd pushed his physical endurance far beyond its previous limits...
His growth had even exceeded his own expectations.
Looking back...
Before his seclusion—
Akainu had reduced him to a half-skeletal wreck in under thirty minutes, driving him to the brink of death. Without the Mystical Bean, he'd have perished without a grave.
Kizaru, at full power, had pierced his heart in a single strike.
Kaido hadn't even needed to use his Devil Fruit abilities—in his human form, he'd effortlessly countered every one of Xiano's attacks.
Those days...
Those humiliations...
Would never happen again.
"Oh, right—my apologies, Kuina."
Xiano turned to his Vice-Captain. "Doffy was supposed to be your opponent. It should've been you who finished him. I just..."
"Don't blame yourself, sir," Kuina shook her head. "That coward broke his word. I couldn't break his Birdcage in time—you had no choice but to intervene."
Even so...
She sheathed her sword, her gaze still carrying a trace of regret and disappointment as she looked at the half-body in the fountain.
"Don't worry."
Xiano patted her shoulder. "We're about to leave Paradise soon. In the New World, opponents of this caliber aren't rare. I'm sure you'll have another chance to showcase your swordsmanship before long."
"Yes."
Kuina nodded, a glimmer of anticipation lighting up her eyes at the mention of that place called the "New World."
"Hey, look over here! Look over here!" An urgent voice suddenly called from the distance. "Do you have a ship's doctor? Please help! Save Mr. Bear!"
"Almost forgot about that."
Nami smacked her forehead and quickly grabbed Xiano's arm, pulling him toward the castle gate. "Hurry, come with me, bro!"
"Bear?"
Only then did Xiano notice the tiny Tontatta princess at the entrance. His gaze swept past her small figure and landed on the bear lying on the ground.
"What happened here?" he asked with a frown.
...
Somewhere many kilometers away at sea.
High in the sky, Doflamingo's consciousness was beginning to blur. The excessive blood loss darkened his vision, but he gritted his teeth and persisted, barely managing to stay airborne by manipulating his Strings.
He had no idea how much time had passed or how far he'd flown when the outline of a ship finally appeared in his sight.
That flag… it was the Marines!
"Help… me…"
With the last of his strength, Doflamingo used his Strings to hurl himself onto the warship's deck.
Thud!
His upper body crashed heavily onto the bow, the impact echoing across the entire deck.
"Who's there?!"
Marine soldiers rushed toward the commotion. Among them, a seasoned veteran paled upon recognizing Doflamingo.
"The Warlord of the Sea… Doflamingo?!"
"What happened? How did he end up like this?!"
"Never mind that, hurry! Call the medics and nurses!"
Amid the chaos, a middle-aged man wearing a brown hat and puffing on a cigar pushed through the crowd and strode forward. Staring at the gruesome sight on the deck, he froze momentarily.
"Isn't this the Heavenly Yaksha? What the hell happened to you?"
"It's you…" Doffy struggled to lift his head, recognizing the man. "Kaji…"
"Yeah, it's me."
Chaton narrowed his eyes. As a veteran Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters, he had crossed paths with Doflamingo several times during Warlord meetings.
This absolute bastard had always been arrogant and domineering, even at Marine Headquarters. Once, just to kill time before a meeting, he had manipulated Marine officers into killing each other with his Strings for amusement.
Chaton had long held a grudge against him. But still, this was too pitiful, wasn't it?
After all, this was a Warlord who had managed to carve out a place for himself in the New World.
Who in the first half of the Grand Line could have done this to him?
"Can he be saved?" he asked the old medic crouched beside Doflamingo, performing emergency treatment.
"Impossible…" The old medic shook his head. "He's lost too much blood. Critical organs and intestines are missing… Right now, it's just a final flicker of life."
"Is that so… What a shame."
Chaton exhaled a smoke ring, his brow furrowed. "Looks like Marine Headquarters is about to lose another ally. Any last words?"
Doflamingo had heard the old medic's words too.
But in truth, he didn't need anyone to tell him—he already knew his body had reached the end of the line.
He was going to die.
Unlike that time he was tied to the cross, this time… he was truly going to die.
A sudden surge of inexplicable hatred toward the Marines welled up inside him. With a contemptuous ptui, he spat a mouthful of saliva right onto Chaton's face.
Chaton's expression darkened instantly, but he said nothing and didn't even wipe the spit off his face.
"Your Marine Headquarters… what a bunch of useless fools, getting every piece of intelligence wrong…"
Though his face was already drained of all color, Doflamingo forced himself to laugh, his expression full of mockery:
"Xia… Xiano… that Xiano, he's not dead, not dead at all! In the days to come, your Marines… you'll have endless trouble knocking at your door, fufufufu…"
As his laughter trailed off, his pupils suddenly dilated, and his body slumped limply onto the stretcher, devoid of all life.
(End of Chapter)