Nao's methods were clearly not gentle.
The threads were shoved back into his body all at once, brutally and without care. Doflamingo felt a stabbing agony rip through his chest.
But at this point he had no time to process the pain—he only stared blankly at Nao in front of him, his brain still lagging, unable to fully register what had just been said.
Vergo, standing nearby, was just as stunned.
This guy… isn't planning to kill the Young Master?
That didn't match the man's style at all…
Unless—?
Vergo's gaze flicked to Doflamingo. At the same time, the latter seemed to catch on as well. A mocking smile, bloody and twisted, curled across his face.
"So that's it… You're wary of my identity, so you don't dare finish me off, huh…"
He sneered coldly at Nao. "Marines, in the end, are nothing more than the World Nobles' dogs. Even someone as strong as you isn't an exception… fufufufu—"
His fufu was abruptly cut short by a heavy kick from Nao to his stomach. He clutched his abdomen in pain and collapsed to the ground, his vision momentarily turning black.
"Stop laugh. You sound like a baboon—it's disgusting."
Nao clapped his hands as if brushing off trash. To be honest, if he killed this guy, he half-expected three loot boxes to pop out. His voice was calm:
"The World Government? They don't have that kind of pull. I'm making an exception this time and letting you keep your pathetic life. You should be thankful—not because you're some Celestial Dragon, but because you've got a good little brother."
"I'm not wrong, am I, Rosinante?"
Nao turned his head toward Rosinante not far away. "Whatever he is, he's still your only blood relative in this world. If I killed him, you'd carry that pain for a long time, wouldn't you?"
"I…"
Rosinante looked at Doflamingo, curled on the ground like a wounded shrimp, words choking in his throat. He wanted to deny it, but in the end, shamefaced, he lowered his head.
Nao had expected as much. He just shrugged, saying nothing more.
The Donquixote brothers had grown up in the same household, in the same environment—but they'd been polar opposites since childhood.
If Doflamingo was the embodiment of cruelty and evil, Rosinante was the symbol of warmth and kindness—more like their father, Homing, than his brother ever was.
Still…
Though he spared Doflamingo's life for Rosinante's sake, that wasn't necessarily a blessing for the man himself.
For someone so arrogantly proud, convinced he was destined to be a king—
A clean death would have been mercy.
Nao had plenty of ways to make him experience fates far worse than death.
"First things first…"
His gaze settled on the dazed and half-conscious Doflamingo.
He would start by stripping away that fruit ability Doflamingo had always taken so much pride in.
Drawing the Azakana Sword, Nao willed its unique power into action.
A dark, obscure red aura seeped out of Doflamingo's body, visible only to Nao. It coalesced into a mist, then was drawn into the Azakana Sword and vanished.
[Devil Fruit Ability Stripped Detected]
[Type/Name: Paramecia - String-String Fruit]
[Grade: A]
[Estimated incubation time: 90 days]
[Incubating…]
...
"Only an A, huh…"
Nao's eyes flickered slightly as he looked at the text displayed in the prompt window, but he wasn't really surprised.
The String-String Fruit, in his eyes, wasn't in the same league as the S-grade fruits like the Rumble-Rumble (Goro Goro no Mi) or Float-Float Fruit (Fuwa Fuwa no Mi) .
In the future, the terrifying might of the String-String Fruit would only be realized in Doflamingo's hands because he was truly a one-in-a-million genius, someone who pushed his fruit's abilities to their absolute limit.
"You… what did you do to me…"
Collapsed on the ground like a beaten dog, Doflamingo felt something slipping away from him, though he couldn't say what. Gritting his teeth, he forced out the words.
"Consider it the first little surprise. You'll find out in the future." " Nao delivered another kick. Doflamingo finally couldn't hold on and immediately lost consciousness, fainting.
Just before he blacked out, he seemed to vaguely see Nao squat down and hear him say leisurely:
"Sit quietly in Impel Down. After all, you're still a Celestial Dragon—don't worry, Doffy. Your treatment won't be too shabby. I'll make sure someone looks after you… properly."
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
With Fleet Admiral Kong away in Mariejois for a high-level meeting, all affairs of the headquarters had temporarily fallen under Sengoku's command.
At this moment, Sengoku wasn't working at his desk. Instead, he paced anxiously with his hands clasped behind his back.
Half an hour ago, Nao's adjutant, Momonga, had sent an urgent message saying that Nao had located Doflamingo's position, left the warship ahead of the others, and gone to pursue and subdue him.
The Donquixote family had plagued the North Blue for years. Doflamingo's strength was terrifying; he had repelled multiple Marine Headquarters sieges, and the regional branches were completely powerless against him.
For Sengoku, sending Nao personally to handle it felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. If the location was secured, then there was no chance Nao would fail—of that, Sengoku had no doubt.
What worried the old man was whether this brat had taken Vice Admiral Tsuru's repeated warnings to heart before leaving for the North Blue.
Nao, while gentle, approachable, and deeply beloved by rank-and-file Marines, was a completely different person when dealing with pirates.
Legal procedures? Impel Down transfers?
That was never his way. If he could kill on the spot, he would never wait for the next day.
Even Fleet Admiral Kong had summoned him to the office several times, head pounding, to warn him to cut down on the killing.
But the man always smiled and agreed on the spot, only to completely ignore the orders the moment he turned his back, continuing to do as he pleased.
Every glorious battle report that came back—accompanied by "zero prisoners taken"—always left Sengoku and Kong staring at each other over the desk, shaking their heads with helpless smiles.
And this time…
If Doflamingo also ended up dead by his hand, the consequences would be severe. Explaining that to Mariejois would be… difficult, to say the least.
Buruburu~
Just then, the den-den mushi rang. Sengoku rushed back to his desk and snatched up the receiver, his voice low and heavy:
"This is Sengoku."
"Admiral."
It was Momonga's voice on the other end. "Mr. Nao asked us to report—just now, the battle has already ended, and Doflamingo has been…"
"Killed?"
Sengoku's heart leapt straight into his throat.
"No… you don't need to worry."
Vice Admiral Momonga's eye twitched as he replied, "That man has already been successfully captured by Mr. Nao. He's just been shackled with seastone cuffs and is being locked up in the brig of the warship."
He's not dead? Sengoku instantly let out a long breath, as though a heavy stone had fallen from his chest. "Good. Since the mission is complete, then tell Nao to hurry back at once."
Leaving Doflamingo in Nao's custody still made him uneasy. The sooner the trial was conducted and the man thrown into Impel Down, the better. Otherwise, Sengoku truly feared that somewhere along the journey Doflamingo might provoke Nao again—only to end up dead and sinking into the sea as fish food.
At his age, his heart really couldn't take shocks like that anymore…
"…That may not be possible."
On the other end of the line, Momonga's tone turned hesitant. "I'm afraid it'll be at least next week before we can depart from the North Blue."
"Why?"
Sengoku felt his blood pressure rising again.
"Since we're already here, it wouldn't do to leave the Donquixote family intact. We'll also be purging the rest of the North Blue's underworld while we're at it."
Momonga cautiously quoted, "That's exactly what Mr. Nao said, Admiral."
So that's all it is… fine, then.
Sengoku let out another breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and muttered helplessly, "Let him be. Headquarters doesn't have any urgent assignments for him at the moment anyway. It might be good for him to stay in the North Blue for a while…"
If not for being on opposite sides, he might almost pity the North Blue's criminal underworld.
If memory served, a few years back when Nao returned from the New World to the West Blue, he had launched a massacre that turned the entire sea upside down.
The great pirates had been terrified, too afraid to even set sail for fear of catching his eye. The small pirate crews were reduced to silence, trembling like cicadas in winter. For a time, the West Blue—normally the most chaotic and crime-ridden of the four seas—had actually become the safest, most orderly region.
And now, it seemed that very same butcher's blade was finally coming down upon the North Blue's chicks…
Sengoku chuckled and shook his head. After giving Momonga a few brief instructions, he hung up the call and sat back down in his chair, feeling much lighter.
Just as he was about to return to reviewing documents, a thought suddenly struck him. His expression changed, and the heavy stone that had just fallen from his heart immediately rose back up again…
Wait!
If he remembered correctly, wasn't the Germa Kingdom—one of the World Government's member nations—recently getting very close to the Donquixote Family?
If they got dragged into this storm and somehow crossed paths with Nao…
......
Patton Island.
Inside a lavishly decorated hotel suite, several of the Donquixote Family's top executives were gathered around a fireplace, chatting and laughing.
"Huh? The line's dead."
Top executive Pica put down the Den Den Mushi and muttered curiously, "Can't get through to Doffy or Vergo. What are they up to? Weird…"
"It is a little strange."
Trebol sniffled, then said, "Heh, don't tell me they ran into some real monster and got into trouble?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the others burst into laughter. Even Trebol grinned, clearly having only said it as a joke.
Trouble?
This wasn't the New World. This was the North Blue. Here, the Donquixote Family held the underworld firmly in their grasp—who could possibly cause them trouble?
Den Den Mushi signals occasionally cut out; not being able to reach them for a while wasn't unusual at all. None of them took it seriously.
"Didn't they say they'd be here today for the deal with the Germa family?"
Another top executive, Diamante, swirled his wine glass lazily and sneered, "Doffy, honestly… it's just one traitor. Vergo could've dealt with it easily, but he had to go personally. Such a waste of time."
"Well, it is his younger brother after all."
Pica gave a shrill laugh, "That Rosinante guy, disappearing for more than ten years, then suddenly showing up to 'join' us? I thought it was fishy from the start."
"But Doffy cares too much about family. He ignored everyone's warnings and chose to believe him, even gave him such a high position. Hmph—if Vergo hadn't spotted the signs, we might all have ended up dead at the hands of that Marine spy."
"Thanks to Vergo."
Diamante, half-drunk already, grinned and raised his glass.
"Come on, let's toast. The Germa people are already here. Since Doffy's not around, we'll have to take the lead. Once we finish this drink, it's time for the deal."
He raised his glass high and laughed heartily, "To Vergo! To the Donquixote Family!"
"To the Donquixote Family!"
The other two clinked glasses, downed them in one go, and left the suite arm in arm, still laughing boisterously.
As expected, downstairs in the hotel lobby, a group with a very different aura was waiting for them on the sofas.
"They're finally here, Your Majesty."
A middle-aged man dressed like a guard leaned close to the man seated on the main sofa and whispered, "But it's only the top executives—Doflamingo himself isn't among them."
The man in the main seat wore a yellow cape and a metal faceplate. He was tall, muscular, with a wild mane of golden hair like a raging lion.
He was none other than Vinsmoke Judge, ruler of Germa 66.
At his side sat a little girl with short pink hair, listening to Judge's stiff lectures about trade tactics and the family business.
She looked to be about six or seven years old, cute as a doll, though clearly restless and uninterested in the subject.
But under Judge's imposing presence, she sat up straight and obediently, nodding from time to time in confusion.