"Impossible! This gap... how can it be so enormous?!"
Doflamingo's cheeks twitched violently with disbelief. Unable to accept this harsh reality, he suddenly bent all ten fingers again with desperate determination.
String-String Fruit Awakening: Activate!
The next moment, the surrounding floors, walls, and ceiling transformed into endless waves of pure white strings that rippled like ocean waves.
"Wild Waves White Line!"
Tens of thousands of white strings surged from all directions around Doflamingo. Under his complete control, they crashed toward Kai like a devastating tsunami of razor-sharp threads.
Kai stood perfectly motionless, allowing the white giant wave to engulf him entirely. The incredibly tough strings wrapped around his body layer by layer like a massive hunting anaconda, tightening and constricting with crushing force.
"Bastard! Who exactly are you looking down on!"
Kai's almost dismissive attitude completely ignited Doflamingo's explosive fury. He lost all rational control, pushing his String-String Fruit ability far beyond its normal limits.
"Be crushed into nothing!"
The massive white string cocoon suddenly contracted inward with tremendous pressure.
"Young Master succeeded!" Trebol's face instantly filled with wild joy and relief.
No one could possibly escape the Young Master's absolutely lethal finishing attack!
He had personally witnessed the Young Master use this devastating technique to eliminate dozens of enemies simultaneously.
However, Doflamingo's ferocious expression suddenly froze with growing horror. He discovered that no matter how much force he applied, he couldn't tighten the white strings any further.
Worse yet, the white strings were actually expanding outward!
Doflamingo gritted his teeth until they nearly cracked, prominent veins bulging dangerously at his temples. He desperately activated his ability with everything he had, trying to strangle Kai within the deadly cocoon.
But his efforts proved completely futile.
Even though Doflamingo channeled all his strength into the attack, the white string sphere continued expanding outward at a steady, unstoppable pace.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Suddenly, the distinct sound of strings snapping echoed from inside the sphere.
POP! BOOM!
The massive white string ball exploded like a burst balloon under tremendous pressure.
Countless broken thread fragments shot out in all directions like shrapnel, revealing Kai standing inside, completely unharmed and unbothered.
Except now, Kai had transformed into his intimidating Rayquaza hybrid form.
"With pure brute force alone... you shattered my Wild Waves White Line..."
Doflamingo's pupils shook violently with shock, his entire worldview crumbling before his eyes.
"Rejoice, Doflamingo. You successfully forced me to use my Devil Fruit ability."
Kai grinned widely, his smile dripping with obvious mockery and condescension.
The next second, Kai vanished completely from his position.
A pitch-black, gleaming dragon claw shot out instantly, firmly grasping Doflamingo's head and brutally slamming it downward with devastating force!
BANG!
Doflamingo's skull made violent contact with the stone floor.
Debris and clouds of dust exploded from the impact point.
"GAH!" Severely injured, Doflamingo's signature red sunglasses shattered into fragments as blood flowed freely from his mouth and nose.
When the dust finally settled, a crater several meters in diameter had appeared before everyone's eyes, perfectly centered on Doflamingo's battered head.
"The pathetic farce is finally over," Jack observed with calm satisfaction.
"As expected of Kai-aniki!" Page One looked on with genuine admiration.
"Hmph! Wouldn't it have been better to act decisively sooner? Why waste time playing around?" Ulti crossed her arms with obvious impatience.
"Lord Kai is absolutely incredible!" Speed's eyes sparkled with obvious hero worship.
On the opposite side, the Donquixote Family executives all wore expressions of complete disbelief and dawning horror.
This was their supposedly invincible Young Master, the man destined to stir up the world's winds and reshape its destiny!
How could he be defeated by some unknown newcomer?
And so effortlessly at that.
The family executives' shock didn't bring Kai any particular satisfaction.
He had anticipated this battle's outcome from the very beginning.
Rather, if he couldn't end the fight with one decisive strike, that would defy all logic.
Was Doflamingo genuinely weak?
Of course not. Although his Warlord position was obtained through political maneuvering, being able to develop his fruit to the awakening level proved his exceptional talent.
With his current strength, he could certainly earn a place within the Beast Pirates, roughly at the upper Tobiroppo level.
But this level of strength simply wasn't worthy of Kai's serious attention.
Although he hadn't yet mastered advanced Haki techniques, the overwhelming physical stats that Rayquaza granted him were sufficient to place him among the world's strongest fighters.
In terms of pure physical capabilities, he wasn't inferior to King, who possessed Lunarian bloodline enhancement.
The only limitation was that without mastering Armament Haki's internal destruction technique, he could only rely on conventional combat skills to wear down opponents.
Being capable of clashing evenly with King meant that dealing with a mere Doflamingo was naturally effortless.
Kai slowly released his crushing grip and extended two index fingers, using Doflamingo's fresh blood to draw upward curves at the corners of his mouth.
A clown's signature smile was now complete!
"Mm, much more aesthetically pleasing this way. A clown should always look like a proper clown."
After admiring his artistic handiwork for several moments, Kai noticed Doflamingo's shattered sunglasses and suddenly remembered a hotly debated topic from his previous life: what do Doflamingo's actual eyes look like!
No sooner thought than done!
Kai directly removed the broken red sunglasses with casual curiosity.
"PFFT! PUAHAHAHA!"
Ulti instantly doubled over with uncontrollable laughter, tears nearly streaming down her face.
Page One quickly turned away, his shoulders shaking as he desperately suppressed his own laughter.
Jack, who had maintained his stern and fierce expression throughout, now had wildly twitching facial muscles.
"Truly... quite surprising..."
Kai's expression became somewhat conflicted and bemused.
Doflamingo's eyes beneath the protective sunglasses were shockingly small, barely half the size of normal human eyes.
If they were simply small, that might be acceptable.
But paired with his typically arrogant, sinister facial features, the contrast was absolutely maximized.
At this moment, Kai completely understood why Doflamingo never went anywhere without his signature sunglasses.
With that face and those tiny eyes, how could he possibly establish authority among his subordinates?
CLICK!
Kai pulled out a Den Den Mushi camera and captured a direct photograph of Doflamingo's exposed face.
"Absolutely perfect!" Kai happily stored away the Den Den Mushi with obvious satisfaction.
Hehehe, Doflamingo, you wouldn't want this compromising photo to be spread around the world, would you?
"You bastard! What are you doing! Hand over that photograph immediately!"
The pathetic Trebol shouted with obvious panic, but his trembling body didn't dare approach even a single step closer.
The domineering Kai wagged his finger with mock disappointment: "Hand it over? No, no, no. I'll treasure this delicious secret for the rest of his miserable life."
"Kai's laughing too evilly, making us appear like the villains here."
Ulti snorted with mild disapproval.
Page One spoke up weakly: "Big sister, we technically are the villains."
Jack quite agreed with Kai's psychological warfare approach.
The strong should possess absolute disposal rights over the weak. Even if it involved humiliation, the defeated should obediently accept their fate!
"Damn you, bastard!"
Pica clenched his fists tightly and prepared to activate his Devil Fruit ability to challenge Kai's group.
Jack's gaze sharpened dangerously as he directly drew his curved swords from beneath his cloak, speaking with cold menace: "Still not convinced of your place?"
The towering eight-meter-tall Jack looked down at Pica with obvious contempt, his arrogant attitude treating him like a helpless chick that could be crushed at will.
Diamante quickly intervened to stop Pica, urgently telling him to calm down and think rationally.
Kai's casual strike had directly shattered the Donquixote Family executives' grandiose dreams of power.
Even their Young Master wasn't a match for Kai in a single exchange. If they attempted to fight, it would simply be a matter of their opponent moving slightly more, not even enough action to satisfy his boredom.
With Doflamingo unconscious and helpless, Trebol, serving as the temporary backbone, was forced to step forward and smile with obvious servility: "Lord Kai, perhaps we could move to another undamaged hall so we can properly entertain all the distinguished lords?"
He understood with crystal clarity that if Kai's group genuinely wanted to eliminate the Young Master, they wouldn't have engaged in those seemingly unnecessary theatrics.
Since they apparently still possessed some value, negotiations could continue.
It was simply a matter of determining how much flesh they would be forced to sacrifice.
As long as they remained alive, hope still existed for everything.