"Dover!"
"Young Master!"
"Is this… paying tribute?"
"Damn it."
"Fine. He's the Fifth Emperor… stronger than even Kaido!"
…
When the officers of the Donquixote Family witnessed the king they had followed for decades kneel to another, their feelings were a tangled storm.
Some were furious.
Some sighed in defeat.
Some simply accepted their fate.
They never imagined that following Donquixote Doflamingo to Onigashima this time would bring such a complete upheaval.
The mighty Donquixote Family, built through decades of blood and ambition, had handed over its legacy in a single day.
"Enough."
"Don't be angry. That will only burden Dover further."
"He made his decision. And besides, his opponent is the True Lord—Ragnar. To lose to such a man isn't a disgrace."
Trebol fought down the bitterness in his chest as he tried to calm the other executives around him.
He understood well.
This loss was inevitable.
Donquixote Doflamingo had already surrendered. He had already paid tribute.
If anyone lashed out now, they'd only bring shame to their king.
They'd make Doflamingo's fall even more unbearable.
"Tch!"
Under Trebol's steady persuasion, more and more executives began to accept the situation.
Even Pica, the most stubborn of them, raised his massive fist several times…
And then slowly lowered it.
By the last time his head drooped in silence, his clenched fist finally loosened.
What none of them realized…
Was that they had just walked away from the edge of death.
"Hmph."
From the shadows, King of the Beasts Pirates finally released the hilt of his sword without a word.
His sharp gaze, once filled with lethal intent, began to soften.
Clearly, if the Donquixote members hadn't recognized the situation in time…
They wouldn't be surrendering.
They'd be corpses beneath his blade.
"What is that?"
Yamato's attention shifted, her gaze falling on the box in Doflamingo's hands.
Ever since returning to the seas, she had brimmed with curiosity for everything on the Grand Line.
She had studied the three great powers early on.
That's why she knew—
Just how terrifying Donquixote Doflamingo's influence had once been.
"Sky Gold."
Doflamingo's tone was meek before Ragnar, but when replying to Yamato, it turned cocky and sharp.
"Ah… I get it."
"This is what you used to blackmail the World Government into making you one of the Seven Warlords."
Jack nodded in realization.
"What's inside?"
Yamato reached toward the box.
"Oi, oi—this is something even the descendants of the Twenty Kings and the Celestial Dragons would kill to obtain."
Doflamingo grinned.
"One of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades… Kamimine."
At that moment, Yamato opened the box.
A blinding, icy gleam burst forth the instant the lid rose.
Everyone instinctively squinted, as though their eyes had been pierced by a sword tip.
Only those of elite rank—former Warlords or Beasts Pirates commanders—remained unaffected.
"A sword?"
Yamato raised an eyebrow. But when her eyes fully adjusted and she clearly saw the weapon nestled inside, her pupils shrank.
She turned sharply—
Her gaze landing on the three-pointed double-edged spear embedded in the center of Onigashima.
"You guys…"
"You planned this from the very beginning, didn't you?"
She looked at the supreme sword in the silent box, then turned to the colossal three-pointed double-edged sword towering hundreds of meters high, and finally, her gaze fell once again on Donquixote Doflamingo.
"Yes."
"If the True Lord desires not only the Donquixote Family but also my life, then consider this my ransom."
"On the other hand, if the True Lord finds me worthy and chooses to spare me, then let this be the first offering I present upon my surrender."
Doflamingo spoke with neither deceit nor disguise. His words were forthright, echoing through the quiet hall.
To come to Onigashima and meet Ragnar in person, Doflamingo had already accepted the worst possible outcome.
He had gathered every bit of information on Ragnar that he could.
And naturally, that included the legendary weapon wielded by Ragnar: the three-pointed, double-edged sword.
Now, the weapon before them—one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords—was not only identical in form to Ragnar's own but a divine artifact in its own right.
A dragon motif coiled around its dark, elegant hilt.
The blade shimmered in pure silver, emanating a dreadful sharpness. Its tri-pronged edge resembled a majestic, immovable mountain.
Compared to the weapon Ragnar used to defeat an Admiral and slay one of the Four Emperors, this sword was nearly identical—save for the ornate pattern, the coloration, and its more refined craftsmanship.
"Since you have such a blade in your possession… why haven't you wielded it?" Jin finally spoke, breaking the silence.
All eyes turned to Doflamingo—except Ragnar and Trebol, who already knew the answer.
A Supreme Grade divine weapon—one of the twelve legendary crafts.
Even a Warlord of the Sea would treasure it as their life's edge.
Let alone a general—or one of the Yonko.
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