"Don't you want to hear the consequences of losing?"
Ragnar noticed the glint of ecstasy in Donquixote Doflamingo's eyes, and a trace of teasing curled his lips.
"Go on," Doflamingo said after a long breath, forcing himself to suppress all inner turmoil.
He knew very well—
The one in control of the situation was no longer him.
"When you disembark, you'll see the three-pointed two-edged sword planted on Onigashima."
"If you, the infamous Heavenly Yaksha, can't even force me to rise from my chair—then kneel before that blade!"
"Three days."
Ragnar raised three fingers nonchalantly.
The calm confidence and sovereign authority in that gesture weren't a threat—they were a declaration of fact.
"Dover!"
"Young Master."
Was Ragnar's demand excessive?
Not in the slightest. In fact, it could be called incredibly merciful.
To be seen off by one of the current Five Emperors—at the peak of their reign—was an honor beyond imagining.
But as Trebol and the others waiting outside turned toward Doflamingo, worry clouded their eyes.
They had never witnessed Ragnar in battle, but they had seen Whitebeard in his prime.
The might to split the sea and sky with a single blow still haunted them like it had happened yesterday.
And yet, even that Whitebeard had been repelled by the man before them—his commander captured.
"Very well. Then I'll wager everything—on myself, and on the Donquixote Family."
Doflamingo paid no attention to his subordinates' concern.
In this pivotal moment, he revealed the resolve of a true king.
"Overheat!"
Having made his decision, he didn't hesitate.
Dozens of nearly invisible strings shot out from his palms, coiling together into a spear-like whip of searing energy and devastating cutting force aimed directly at Ragnar.
Shhhhhhhh—
But what Doflamingo didn't expect was that in the instant he launched his attack, Ragnar—who'd been lounging on the throne like a god—underwent a shocking transformation.
His body morphed.
Into the gaping jaws of the Divine Beast Yamato.
"A Mythical Zoan?!"
"So the rumors were true..."
"Ragnar can switch between different mythical beast forms at will!"
Doflamingo's pupils shrank. A chill surged from his spine to his crown.
Even though Vergo had briefed him about Ragnar's legendary Seventy-Two Transformations...
...witnessing that godlike power firsthand was terrifying beyond words.
Then—
As Doflamingo stood stunned, an aura of soul-freezing cold surged from Ragnar.
It didn't just freeze the Heavenly Yaksha.
In a single moment, Doflamingo, the floor beneath him, and the entire hall around him were turned to glacial stone.
"Dover!!"
Trebol's face went ashen as tears and mucus exploded down his face at the sight of his frozen king.
"Is... is the gap between the Warlords and the Emperors really that vast?"
Pica's voice trembled like shattered glass.
He felt faint. One move. That was all it took.
The balance of the Three Great Powers... was a lie.
"Oi! Ragnar! Could you not use my power right in front of me next time?!"
"You'll make me look bad!"
"If anyone sees it, they'll think I can't even activate the Okuchi no Makami"
Yamato, now behind Ragnar, puffed her cheeks in mock anger.
But no one could see the delight she truly felt.
She was overjoyed.
"The development of the body should follow the path of physical skills and Haki."
"The development of the freezing air should mirror the Ice-Ice Fruit."
Recalling every moment Ragnar had used the freezing air in her beast form, Yamato understood.
Ragnar was showing her how to develop and wield her own Mythical Zoan abilities.
After all, both of them possessed Mythical Zoan powers—but she was far behind Ragnar, not to mention Kaido.
If she had to explore and master everything on her own, reaching the level of an emperor-class warrior would have taken her two or three years—at best.
But with Ragnar's personal guidance, that growth was drastically accelerated.
Her qualifications, talent, and Devil Fruit were already exceptional. The years she'd spent trapped on Onigashima had robbed her of real combat experience and the teachings of a true master. Now, under Ragnar's tutelage—
Yamato was soaking up his teachings like a sponge.
Then, suddenly, something stirred within the frozen hall.
To be precise—it was the ice sculpture of Donquixote Doflamingo that began to move.
Cracks started forming in the ice that encased his entire body, spiderwebbing outward.
And in the next instant, the frozen shell exploded, shattering into countless fragments of ice that scattered into the air.
"Huff… Huff…"
But Doflamingo, having just broken free from the freezing air, did not counterattack. Instead, he dropped to one knee, gasping for breath.
Clearly—
Even though Ragnar had deliberately held back and allowed him the time to escape, the price of breaking the ice was far from cheap.
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