"Young Master!"
Led by Trebol and Diamante, the rest of the Donquixote Family quickly gathered around Doflamingo, forming a loose perimeter around Kaelen and his companions.
Kaelen didn't so much as flinch. He glanced over the encirclement with a faint smile, completely unfazed.
At his level, numbers were meaningless—unless the attackers were of similar strength.
Doflamingo's brow furrowed. He gave a slight nod to his subordinates, then turned his sharp gaze to Kaelen.
"I wonder," he said, voice calm but laced with tension, "if I might know who placed the bounty on my head? I'm also curious—how much is my life worth, fufufufu…"
Even now, he laughed. That alone confirmed Doflamingo's grit—he was, in a way, a true warrior.
Kaelen paused, then replied, "You should've known this day would come the moment you killed Corazon."
"...Corazon?"
Doflamingo froze, briefly stunned. That name hadn't passed his ears in years. It was only in the dead of night—when all was quiet—that those memories surfaced again.
Even in death, Corazon had smiled.
That man... no, both he and that cowardly fool of a father—they shared the same kindness. A trait he'd never understood.
For a brief moment, old memories flared to life in Doflamingo's mind, like scenes from a flickering film reel. Everything before the age of ten remained blurry, fragmented.
Then, snapping back to reality, he barked a laugh.
"Fufufufu... So it's Law? That little brat who escaped after obtaining the Ope Ope no Mi."
He remembered the kid well. At one time, Doflamingo had even considered grooming him to succeed the Heart seat in the Donquixote Family.
Now, it seemed Law had chosen to walk the same path as Corazon.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered under his breath, voice edged with complex emotion—anger, contempt, hatred... or perhaps envy.
Maybe all of it at once.
Even he wasn't sure.
But one thing was clear: his fury was growing by the second.
"If Law managed to hire someone like you, Kaelen, he must've promised you the Immortality Operation."
Doflamingo suddenly grinned, sharp and venomous.
"That operation… my dream. Eternal life, at the cost of the surgeon's own."
Kaelen didn't answer the accusation. He shrugged casually.
"Your life is worth quite a bit, actually."
And why wouldn't it be? The Ope Ope no Mi alone was valued at five billion Berries—if it was even for sale.
He wasn't in the mood to chat anymore. He had said what needed to be said—partially out of respect, partially to give the man closure.
"You've heard enough. No regrets now."
As the words left his mouth, Kaelen's aura shifted.
The playful air around him vanished, replaced by a suffocating pressure.
Fwoom.
The atmosphere cracked with invisible force, and his Conqueror's Haki burst outward like a tidal wave.
Almost immediately, a red glint lit up in Doflamingo's eyes as he responded in kind.
Boom!
Their Conqueror's Haki collided, thundering across the palace like twin storms meeting head-on.
Above them, the sky darkened. Clouds split open, revealing a shaft of sunlight that cut through the heavens like divine judgment.
Centered around Kaelen and Doflamingo, their clashing wills rippled through the air, warping the atmosphere itself. The ground split open, spiderwebbing with deep cracks.
Hundreds of meters in every direction, the sheer force caused weaker soldiers to collapse instantly.
Kaelen stood firm, the air around him crackling with energy. Beside him, Aokiji was still and unfazed. Robin remained conscious, protected by Kaelen's will.
On the other side, almost of the Donquixote officers had already fallen to their knees or passed out.
Only Pica, Trebol, and Diamante remained conscious—barely.
Sweating profusely, they teetered on the edge of collapse.
Then, with a final pulse, Kaelen's Conqueror's Haki surged once more, snuffing out Doflamingo's entirely.
Trebol dropped with a groan. Diamante fell with a grunt. Pica trembled violently, eyes rolling back.
The pressure lifted just in time to keep them from losing consciousness completely.
Even Doflamingo's knees buckled as he wiped cold sweat from his brow. He hadn't expected this kind of gap between them.
Then, his eyes flicked to the collapsed form of Sugar.
His heart skipped a beat.
"This is bad…"
But he couldn't afford to think about the exposed secrets now.
Kaelen stood before him, alive and deadly.
And if he didn't survive this encounter, none of it mattered.
Suddenly, Doflamingo threw out a hand, launching skyward, then dashed down the mountainside.
He was making a break for the town, clearly intending to use civilians as human shields.
Kaelen's voice cut through the wind.
"Nice idea... but too slow!"
Boom.
His figure vanished, afterimages rippling in his wake.
In the blink of an eye, Kaelen appeared before Doflamingo, blocking the path.
"Coward," Robin muttered, just loud enough.
She understood what Doflamingo intended—he was willing to sacrifice innocent lives for a tactical advantage.
But it was too late.
Across Dressrosa, a wave of chaos erupted.
Cries echoed through the streets as toys reverted to their original forms—humans, animals, even entire families once thought lost.
And those who had forgotten loved ones now remembered everything.
In an instant, the Donquixote Family's conspiracy unraveled completely.
All of Dressrosa surged into chaos.
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