Boom! Boom!
The mere clash of their Haki-infused auras was terrifying enough.
The air itself seemed to grow heavy, a suffocating pressure blanketing the entire island.
"Hiya, hiya... ransom? Of course," Doflamingo replied with his trademark wicked grin. "And more than that, I also want to thank you for 'taking care of' my men!"
Yuno stretched his body, raising his head slightly. "Can you roll down? I hate looking up at people."
At the same time, he spread his fingers wide, crackling lightning surging in his palm.
"Thunder Roar Cannon!"
A massive pillar of lightning shot into the sky, blasting toward Doflamingo.
"Hiya, hiya... how arrogant!"
Doflamingo's eyes flashed coldly. From his palm, a massive Overheat-like whip — countless threads entwined together — lashed forward with explosive force.
Super Strike Whip!
Boom!
The two probing attacks collided, erupting into a shockwave that ripped across the battlefield.
Lightning shattered. Thread pillars unraveled.
The real fight began.
"Goshikito — Five-Colored Strings!"
Doflamingo swooped down from the sky, suspended by nearly invisible threads attached to the clouds — a technique he often used in battle.
His five fingers pulled taut on the razor-sharp strings, aiming to claw straight down at Yuno's head. These threads, hardened with his mastery of the Ito Ito no Mi, could slice steel with ease.
Yuno drew his fine iron sword in a flash, blocking the strike. Sparks burst where steel met thread.
Doflamingo followed up instantly, his other hand slashing downward with another deadly set of strings.
Yuno shifted his weight, releasing the tension in his arms, dodging in an instant before countering with a lightning-fast slash.
Boom!
The ground split where he had been standing, five deep gashes carved by Doflamingo's attack.
"Hmm?"
The miss didn't shake Doflamingo — instead, his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) sharpened, a crimson glint flashing in his gaze.
As Yuno's counter slash closed in, Doflamingo thrust out his palm.
"Spider's Nest!"
A dense mesh of threads formed, intercepting the blade.
Without warning, Doflamingo disappeared, reappearing right in Yuno's face. "Nice strength, kid! But this level isn't enough!"
"So much nonsense!" Yuno sneered, lightning building in his hand again. This time, his Thunder Roar Cannon swelled to over twice its original size — a crackling column over ten meters wide.
"Lightning? A Logia-type Thunder Fruit?"
Doflamingo's brows furrowed. Like others before him, he assumed Yuno possessed the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit) — Enel's infamous Logia of lightning.
But the power behind this attack forced his expression to darken. This was no mere warm-up.
"Not really," Yuno said with a thin smile.
Doflamingo's palm exploded with threads.
"Spider Web Wall!"
The reinforced web, hardened to steel-like density without even using Armament Haki, absorbed the brunt of the blast.
Boom!
The attacks clashed again — still no decisive result.
But Yuno didn't look disappointed. If Doflamingo went down this easily... he wouldn't be Doflamingo.
"Buzz..."
Lightning surged behind him. Yuno pushed his speed to the breaking point, vanishing in a blur.
"Where are you looking?"
With lightning cloaking his sword, Yuno appeared above Doflamingo's head, the killing intent in his slash enough to trigger the pirate's Observation Haki. For the first time in the fight, Doflamingo actually felt genuine danger from a blade.
The extreme sharpness and violence of the strike made Doflamingo's pupils contract sharply. He drew out his Five-Color Strings again, now swirling with a dense aura of Armament Haki, turning the once white threads pitch black.
Boom!
Crack!
The two attacks collided, unleashing a violent gust of wind and a deafening rumble of thunder.
For a brief moment, the two forces locked in a dead stalemate.
"Break it!" Yuno barked coldly. Lightning crackled wildly behind him, the thunder's roar intensifying.
The sudden surge of power startled Doflamingo. Even with his threads hardened by Armament Haki, he was still forced back by Yuno's explosive force.
Now, Doflamingo's expression hardened. "Such power… what kind of Devil Fruit ability do you have?"
"A Paramecia-Elemental type," Yuno said evenly. "The power of nature itself."
"Hiya, hiya… so it's an elemental ability… lightning, huh? No wonder you're so arrogant."
Doflamingo flexed his arm. Yuno's strike had stung, the paralytic effect of the lightning seeping through. Even his Armament Haki couldn't fully block it.
Yuno, however, remained calm. "Is this all the so-called Shichibukai can do? How disappointing."
At once, his Conqueror's Haki burst forth again, an invisible wave crashing over the battlefield.
This particular form of pressure, shaped by the localization of his Reiatsu, allowed Yuno to wield it with remarkable ease. If measured by proficiency, his mastery was well above level 60.
"Don't think you can strut in front of me just because you have Conqueror's Haki!" Doflamingo's eyes gleamed coldly.
To use such an ability against him was a direct challenge.
His own Conqueror's Haki flared up, clashing with Yuno's. Black lightning tore through the air as their wills collided once more.
"Then come and try to defeat me!" Yuno charged forward.
"I'll show you—arrogance has a price!"
Doflamingo's twisted grin spread wide, the kind that could make ordinary men freeze in terror.
The gap between them vanished.
Yuno gripped his sword in both hands, white lightning crawling along the blade.
Doflamingo's fingers curled like talons, each one coated in hardened Armament Haki.
The next moment—both struck.
Boom!
The pressure from their Conqueror's Haki intensified. Overhead, the clouds churned violently, as if some colossal beast lurked above.
At the point of impact, a hurricane-like shockwave blasted outward. The ground caved in under the strain.
Boom!
Again, they locked in a dead clash.
Then, as one, they pulled back and lunged forward, sword and claw colliding in rapid succession.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The roars of impact were relentless. In seconds, they had exchanged dozens of blows.
Energy crackled through the air. The earth beneath them was left in ruins.
Then, suddenly, Doflamingo halted mid-movement. A sly glint flashed in his eyes.
"Hiya… you… you're not even using Armament Haki?" He chuckled darkly. "Hiya… hiya…"
The realization was shocking. None of Yuno's strikes carried the reinforcement of Armament Haki.
Did he truly not know it? Or… was he hiding it?
Visit patreon.com/ShiroTL for more chapters.