Chapter 66 – A Single Slash That Nearly Annihilated the Entire Army
Tachibana Kyūjō looked up at the sky.
Suspended high above was a massive dome of thin, glimmering threads—the Birdcage.
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Well... at least this will keep the rats from escaping."
That, after all, was exactly why Kyūjō hadn't revealed himself until now.
— — —
After Doflamingo completed the Birdcage, weaving it into existence with the strings from his Ito Ito no Mi, Vice Admiral Tachibana Kyūjō finally descended.
He wore his white Marine uniform, the kanji for Justice emblazoned across the back of his coat. His long black sword, Rairyūken, hung quietly at his waist.
He slowly floated down, until he hovered just above Doflamingo and his executives.
Doflamingo looked up.
Though his face remained composed, the twitch in the corner of his eye betrayed his nerves.
The Navy actually sent him?
Just to deal with a Shichibukai?
The famed Vice Admiral Seiryu, all the way from G-11 on the Grand Line?
Wasn't sending Tsuru already enough?
He massaged his forehead for a moment, taking a slow breath.
"Looks like the Ope Ope no Mi... is already out of my reach."
No matter how much power he had—against this man, the strongest swordsman in the world and someone even the Yonko had to be wary of—his best-case scenario today was to get his family out alive.
But looking at how aggressively the Navy was moving...
He had a feeling they didn't just come here for the Devil Fruit.
They came for him, too.
Dozens of thoughts raced through his mind. But Doflamingo remained Doflamingo. Even as panic clawed at his heart, his mouth still curled into a cold, confident grin.
"Fufufufu~"
"So you're the famous Vice Admiral Seiryu, huh?"
"I've heard all the stories. A so-called legendary swordsman of the Navy… but seeing you up close? Honestly, not that impressive."
Kyūjō didn't flinch at the mockery.
He simply hovered down until he stood a meter above Doflamingo's head, arms crossed over his chest, sharp eyes brimming with curiosity and scorn.
For someone known for his arrogance, Doflamingo surprisingly held back this time.
Instead, his voice rose, firm and demanding.
"So this is how the Navy protects civilians? Not by hunting pirates—but by trapping us like animals?"
Kyūjō finally spoke, calm and direct.
"You're no civilian, Doffy."
His tone sharpened.
"I've always wondered… just what kind of secret do you hold that makes even the Gorosei—the highest authority in the World Government—so willing to turn a blind eye to everything you've done?"
"Come on. Why don't you tell me?"
"If you do, I promise… you and your family won't have to die today."
As he spoke, Kyūjō slowly wrapped his hand around the hilt of Rairyūken.
Busoshoku Haki surged across his arm in an instant, coating both his limb and the blade in a deep, shimmering black.
His presence erupted.
The pressure he released crushed the air around them—dense, suffocating, like thunder roaring inches from your skull.
Everyone present felt it.
A single, terrifying truth.
If he draws that sword… we're dead.
Under that weight, Doflamingo clenched his teeth.
Then burst out laughing.
"Fufufufu!"
"If I tell you… I'll be buried right here."
"And you will too, Seiryu. You'll die with the secret."
Kyūjō wasn't surprised.
If the secret were so easily told, Doflamingo wouldn't have held the World Government in the palm of his hand for so long.
He gave a small nod.
And without another word...
He drew his sword.
A silent gleam of steel.
The blade of judgment was unsheathed.
Doflamingo might've still been needed alive.
But the same couldn't be said for the rest of his crew.
— — —
"W–Wait!!"
Doflamingo panicked, raising his voice in desperation.
"You're a Vice Admiral, aren't you?!"
"On what grounds do you intend to attack me?! I'm not a wanted criminal—I'm not some lowly pirate! You're about to slaughter innocents!"
But the only reply he got…
Was a single, glowing crescent slash.
It flew through the air like a beam of moonlight, tearing across the battlefield.
A flying slash—fast, wide, and incomprehensibly powerful.
BOOOOM!
It struck the center of the Donquixote Family.
Pica—a massive man formed from stone, empowered by the Ishi Ishi no Mi—was the first to face it.
The stone titan didn't stand a chance.
The slash split his body clean down the middle.
Both halves of his enormous form came crashing to the ground, blood pouring from the real body buried inside.
"PICA!!" Doflamingo howled, eyes wide with fury.
"Boss! Get back!!" shouted Trebol, the Nemu Nemu no Mi user, shoving Doflamingo away and planting himself in the slash's path.
But it was hopeless.
The sword wave tore through him just the same, slicing Trebol cleanly in half.
Trebol—executive of the Donquixote Family—was dead.
Just like that.
Senor Pink dashed forward in a panic, trying to shield his boss, but—
Doflamingo had seen enough.
He shoved Senor aside and exploded with rage.
His Conqueror's Haki erupted like a tidal wave, shattering the air around him.
"Ever White!!"
He slammed both palms to the ground, unleashing a field of razor-thin threads from beneath his feet.
A sea of white surged upward, colliding with the flying slash still barreling toward him.
— — —
"Huff... Huff..."
Doflamingo was panting.
He had pushed the Ito Ito no Mi to its limits, invoking its Awakening to transform the very earth into threads.
He had fought back with everything he had—just to block one slash.
And it had worked.
The blade had finally dispersed.
But his knees buckled. His chest heaved.
He stood only because sheer willpower wouldn't let him fall.
He stared at Kyūjō in disbelief.
What… what kind of monster did the Navy send after me...?
Just one attack… and my entire family almost got wiped out…
Even Kaido… might not have pulled that off so cleanly...
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