Swallow Island
After a series of events, Hawkins's Divination Club, freed from the control of the Diamante Mafia, had risen to become the island's most powerful gang.
Thanks to Hawkins's actions, the truth came out — the mastermind behind the Divination Club wasn't the old witch Sharon, but a young man.
For a time, Hawkins's fame was unmatched across Swallow Island.
However, this wasn't what Hawkins desired; he preferred to remain in the shadows.
Still in that dimly lit room, Hawkins sat at a desk scattered with tarot cards. His brow furrowed as he stared at a flipped card, muttering to himself:
"A storm is brewing… Is something major about to happen on the island?"
He glanced in one direction — where the master stood.
Atop a mountain, Yuno stood quietly, gazing out at the sea.
Beside him, two figures hung bound to a tree — their mouths sealed, their hands and feet shackled. They were, of course, Diamante, an executive of the Donquixote Pirates, and an unknown underling.
"Do you think Doflamingo will come early? Or wait until the appointed time?" Yuno asked calmly, turning to look at Diamante.
Diamante could not speak, but his eyes burned with cold hatred.
Yuno didn't care, speaking more to himself:
"I guess he'll come early. After all, I'm just a bounty hunter. Defeating you proves I have some strength, but that's all. Other executives might not be able to beat me, but he — Doflamingo — definitely can. I wonder if that's what he's thinking?"
He continued:
"Besides, that deal you made with the Shipping King — that Devil Fruit must be very important. Otherwise, he wouldn't send a top executive like you. But now the situation has changed… Do you think he's getting anxious?"
Yuno chuckled.
"I don't know how long it takes you to get to the North Blue, but I do know it's ten days from here to Reverse Mountain. Which means ten days isn't enough — unless the Donquixote Family was already in the North Blue from the start. Now… why do you think I set the deadline at ten days?"
"For a big shot like Doflamingo, there's bound to be a way to travel fast, right? The Navy has Geppo (Moonwalk). I'd bet Doflamingo has something similar… Heh."
The laugh carried a hidden meaning.
Yuno didn't actually need to guess — he already knew about Doflamingo's ability, the Ito Ito no Mi (String-String Fruit), which allowed him to create strings strong enough to anchor to clouds and move through the air — his so-called Sky Path.
Flying this way would consume stamina, of course.
The more Diamante listened, the more uneasy he felt. His heart sank. This guy was too calculating.
Even as Diamante glared at him, a rare trace of fear flickered in his eyes.
Suddenly, Yuno looked toward a point high in the sky.
There — a small black dot was approaching fast.
It wasn't a bird. It was a man.
A man wearing a flamboyant pink feather coat.
"Hey, look — here he comes," Yuno said with a grin.
Diamante followed his gaze. Upon recognizing the figure, his eyes lit up with excitement — but deep down, a sliver of doubt gnawed at him.
Could his young master, Donquixote Doflamingo, really defeat the terrifying man before him?
That was how Diamante now thought of Yuno:
Terrifying schemer.
Terrifying strength.
"Fufufufufufu…"
The signature laugh echoed through the air before Doflamingo even arrived. His presence was accompanied by an overwhelming Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) that swept across the island.
Many collapsed instantly, foaming at the mouth.
Yuno felt the surge of willpower crash into him, and his blood stirred — a long-lost sensation.
Inside him, it felt as if a hidden power was straining against its shackles, eager to break free.
This power was strangely unfamiliar, yet somehow… familiar.
Reiatsu…
Yuno raised his head, gaze locking onto Doflamingo without wavering. His tone was calm, almost indifferent.
"Doflamingo?"
"Bounty hunter… Quincy?" Doflamingo's voice carried an edge.
"Where's the ransom? Don't tell me you didn't bring it. I'd be… upset." Yuno's words held a chill.
"Fuffuffuffu… a mere bounty hunter, and yet so bold!"
Behind his sunglasses, Doflamingo's eyes hardened, a cold smile tugging at his lips. "From the moment I arrived here, everything is decided by me. After all… I am the Heavenly Yaksha, Doflamingo!"
His gaze sharpened as an overwhelming wave of Haoshoku Haki burst forth, pressing down with the weight of a king's will.
"That's not for you to decide."
Yuno's lips curved in a faint smile—then his own power exploded outward.
It was a surge of spiritual pressure—Reiatsu—and Conqueror's Haki intertwined.
BOOM!
The two terrifying forces collided in mid-air. The sky itself roared, black lightning as thick as giant serpents writhing and crackling, spreading across the heavens.
On Swallow Island, heads turned skyward in alarm.
Most collapsed instantly under the shockwave of clashing wills. Fewer than one in ten remained conscious—and this was despite the fact that the two weren't even fighting at close range.
Hawkins alone seemed to grasp the scale of what was happening. His expression darkened. "What kind of power… is this?"
Near Swallow Island, a Navy warship cut swiftly through the waves. It soon drew alongside the vessel of Vice Admiral Ghost Spider.
"Look overhead! What is that?"
"It's coming from the island!"
On the deck, sailors pointed at the black lightning tearing the sky apart.
Ghost Spider's eyes narrowed. "A clash of Conqueror's Haki?"
Such duels were rare even in the New World. For a seasoned veteran like him, this was perhaps the third or fourth he had ever witnessed. To see such a sight here in the supposedly safe waters of the North Blue was beyond belief.
Buzz… buzz… buzz…
The collision of wills sent violent gusts sweeping in all directions. Doflamingo's feathered coat whipped in the wind as his pupils constricted.
"Conqueror's Haki… so you're the same as me—a king," he said gravely.
Diamante's heart sank. He had suspected it from Yuno's brazen words earlier, but only now did the truth settle in.
"So he really does have Conqueror's Haki…"
Yuno was mildly surprised himself. A passive ability from the Bleach world had manifested here as Haoshoku Haki. Yet in essence, the two were the same—overwhelming spiritual presence capable of crushing weaker wills without a single blow.
"So, where's my ransom? You're not trying to cheat me, are you, Doflamingo?" Yuno's voice grew sharper, his aura flaring as he met the Heavenly Yaksha's will head-on.
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