Chapter 188: Doflamingo's Utter Defeat! A Father and Son Conversation
"Wild Wave White Line!"
Doflamingo's brows drew tight. His bloodstained right hand snapped upward.
In an instant, tens of thousands of transparent white threads arranged horizontally rose from beneath Yamato's feet like surging waves, trying to wrap around her and swallow her whole.
Yamato leaped lightly upward, dodging the first killing wave with ease.
But under Doflamingo's precise control, the ocean of white strings came alive, pursuing her relentlessly from all sides and sealing off every escape route in midair.
Surrounded above, below, and on all sides by endless white, Yamato's eyes flashed with irritation. She stopped dodging altogether.
With a low shout, she swung her kanabo forward. Frost erupted outward in a ring-shaped shockwave.
Crack, crack, crack!
Every thread that touched the cold froze solid in an instant, locked mid-surge as if time itself had stopped.
Bang.
Without hesitation, Yamato swung her club like she was smashing glass and blasted a massive hole through the frozen wall of strings. Her body shot through the gap.
Doflamingo seemed to have expected this. The moment she broke free, he had already pulled back. At the same time, he spread both arms wide like a flamingo's wings, then swung them together toward her.
"Thousand Arrows: Flap Thread!"
Thousands of strings wrapped in Armament Haki rained down from both sides like a dense storm of arrows, converging on Yamato.
"Useless. Your Haki is too weak," Yamato said.
She treated the attack, which could have shredded an ironclad warship, like it was nothing.
While still midair, she condensed temporary platforms of ice beneath her feet with her frost and smashed aside the incoming string arrows with her kanabo.
Her speed did not slow at all. If anything, she left a white afterimage in the air as she charged straight at Doflamingo.
Damn it.
Doflamingo cursed inwardly.
If that level of Haki was not enough, then he had no choice but to throw everything he had at her.
"Sixteen Holy Bullets: God Thread!"
He thrust both arms toward Yamato with all his strength.
Rumble.
The entire sea of strings trembled. Sixteen massive waves of countless threads shot up from the ground.
Deep, inky blackness spread from the base of each wave and climbed upward like spilled ink.
In the blink of an eye, sixteen colossal string spears, each fully hardened with Armament Haki and several meters thick, had taken shape.
Their tips all pointed at the white figure in the sky.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
A continuous, skin-crawling shriek of air being torn apart rang out.
Under Doflamingo's control, the string spears shot toward Yamato from every direction—up, down, left, right, front, and back—weaving a web of death with no blind spots.
Each spear carried enough force to punch through a mountain or tear apart a warship.
"Now that is a little better," Yamato said with a grin.
Then her eyes sharpened like blades. "But still useless."
Before her words even finished, Haki and Frost surged into the iron club.
"Let us end this fight with one move."
She stomped down hard on a thick slab of ice she condensed beneath her feet, using it as a springboard.
Her already lightning-fast form accelerated again, tearing across the sky like a meteor.
"Namuji Glacier Fang!"
A straight line of black-red lightning and white frost carved through the air behind her.
In the next instant, the club collided with the string spears.
Boom!
At the point of impact, black and red Conqueror's Haki lightning exploded outward like crazed serpents.
Almost the moment they touched, Yamato's far superior Haki smashed straight through the Armament coating Doflamingo had layered over the spears.
Crack! Bang!
Without Armament to protect them, the hardened string spears crumbled like broken icicles under the extreme cold, freezing from the tips and shattering inch by inch.
Finally, they scattered as a blizzard of ice crystals and shredded thread.
"No. Impossible. My ultimate technique… how could it be so… so fragile?" Doflamingo whispered.
He watched his final, all-out secret art shatter so easily. The pride and conviction that had kept him standing cracked apart.
In that instant of shock, the black-red and white death-light had already reached him.
Bang.
The kanabo slammed squarely into his chest.
Bones crunched audibly. Blood sprayed from Doflamingo's mouth as his body tumbled uncontrollably through the air, hurtling backward and punching through the palace's thick walls yet again before vanishing into the dust.
This time, though, he would never have another chance to stand.
A brilliant bolt of lightning struck from above. Enel's form condensed in the flash.
He grabbed the unconscious, blood-soaked Doflamingo.
"We won!" Viola shouted, using her powers to watch the battle. Tears of joy glittered in her eyes.
The Donquixote Family was finished. The Riku family could return to Dressrosa.
But Kuma did not share in the victory.
His gentle gaze sharpened and locked onto Umit, who had been trying to shrink into the corner since the fight began.
Kuma walked over, his heavy steps echoing. His voice was low, barely restraining volcanic rage.
"Where are the mermaid slaves you captured?"
Umit jolted, cold sweat soaking his back instantly.
"There! Over there, in that room!" he squeaked, pointing with a trembling hand toward the depths of the palace.
"All seventy‑three slaves are in there—every last one of them, I swear!"
He had thought about running, but from the moment the Beasts Pirates arrived, he had felt an invisible lock on him.
He was helpless.
"He is telling the truth," Viola said, using her Glare-Glare Fruit to scan the direction Umit indicated.
"Great! Then what are we waiting for? Let us go save them," Yamato said at once, ready to charge off.
"You cannot!" a shrill, imperious voice suddenly rang out from the corner.
Everyone looked.
In the corner, a few Den Den Mushi had survived the battle, still connected.
The voice came from one of them.
"Those are slaves I paid for. You lowborn scum better leave now, or I will send Marine Admirals to crush your Beasts Pirates and throw you all in chains!"
Yamato frowned, walked over, bent down, and picked up the still-yelling snail. She brought it to her mouth.
"Hey, you self-important idiots. Listen up. We will never let you harm another mermaid."
"What?"
"You dare insult us?"
"Damn lowborn trash!"
The Den Den Mushi on the other end exploded.
Seven or eight voices started screaming at once.
The Celestial Dragons, who saw themselves as gods and took whatever they wanted from the world below, had never been insulted like this.
But before they could organize a proper tirade, Yamato's finger pressed down.
Click.
The call cut off.
Far away in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, in a lavish hall, a group of Celestial Dragons froze, then erupted.
"Bastard! She hung up on me!"
"Kill her! We have to kill that white-haired brat!"
"Call the Marines! Send an Admiral! Wipe out the Beasts Pirates!"
"Make them understand the price of offending gods!"
The furious "gods," nearly foaming at the mouth, immediately began pooling their influence to pressure the World Government and Marines.
But just as they were about to act, several unexpected figures entered the hall.
At the front was a man with long red hair and a cold, stern face. A fine Western sword hung at his waist. He wore tailored noble clothing.
Most striking of all, his face was identical to Red-Haired Shanks.
"All of you, settle down," the man said.
His sharp gaze swept over every Celestial Dragon in the room. "By supreme order, you are forbidden from demanding any military action against the Beasts Pirates for any reason."
The moment he appeared, the previously arrogant Celestial Dragons shrank like mice seeing a cat. Several even pulled their necks in reflexively.
No surprise.
The man before them was a member of the Holy Knights, directly under the world's highest authority.
He had the power to judge, and even execute, misbehaving Celestial Dragons.
"Sh-Shamrock! Do not get too cocky," one Celestial Dragon said, barely mustering the courage to speak. "Even if you are a Holy Knight, you cannot just berate us like that. We are also descendants of the Creators."
The red-haired man, Shamrock, cast the speaker a single cold, disdainful glance.
"This is a direct order from the Five Elders. Defy it at your own peril."
With that, he turned and left as abruptly as he had arrived, the other Holy Knights following.
The lavish hall fell silent, filled only with confused, frightened Celestial Dragons who no longer dared move.
Back at Holy Knights headquarters, Shamrock went straight to the office of the Commander.
His father, Figarland Garling, sat behind a wide desk, focused on reviewing documents.
"Father, are we really just going to sit and watch the Beasts Pirates run wild and challenge the World Government's authority again and again?" Shamrock's voice was laced with frustration.
Clearly, his patience with Kai, who had repeatedly humiliated the Government, was wearing thin.
Though he looked down on the wasteful, parasitic Celestial Dragons, he believed the dignity of the Creators' descendants could not be trampled like this.
Garling did not look up. He did not respond immediately.
His quill continued moving steadily across the parchment.
For a time, the only sound in the room was the soft scratch of pen on paper.
Shamrock forced himself to stay calm, hands at his sides, and waited.
Finally, Garling set the quill down beside the inkwell.
He folded his hands under his chin. "Have you calmed down now?"
Shamrock straightened slightly. "Yes, Father."
"I taught you long ago. In all things, you must have stillness of mind," Garling said.
Then he began to explain. "If we mobilize every time some arrogant pirate with a little strength refuses to bow, then no matter how many Marines, CP agents, or Holy Knights we have, it will never be enough."
"What has allowed us Celestial Dragons to rule the world peacefully for eight hundred years?"
"Was it overwhelming, unmatched force?"
"No."
"It was balance."
He looked at his son, who was deep in thought. "Balance between the World Government and the Marines. Between the Government and the pirates. Between the Marines and the pirates. Balance is everywhere."
"What we must do is not run around putting out fires. We are master gardeners. We only need to pinch off the single most dangerous sprout, the one that threatens the balance. Everything else, as long as it stays in bounds, can exist within the framework."
Shamrock still looked uncertain. "But does the Beasts Pirates not qualify? Their strength already exceeds any single Yonko crew."
"So what?" Garling scoffed. "As long as they stay in the New World and keep their hands off the Four Blues, we could give them the entire New World, and it would not matter. Time is always on our side."
He stood and walked to the massive window, gazing out at the beautiful, heaven-like landscape of Mary Geoise.
His eyes grew distant.
"The Rocks Pirates were once incredibly powerful. Whitebeard, Kaido, Charlotte Linlin—these so-called Pirate Emperors all served on one ship. Their momentum and strength far exceeded today's Beasts Pirates. But what happened in the end?"
"We found our opening and crushed them in one blow. Their captain, Rocks, fell to my blade."
He turned back to his son. "If you want to sit in this seat one day, you must widen your perspective."
Shamrock looked at his father with reverence.
As expected of the Commander of the Holy Knights. The victor of God Valley.
His wisdom and composure were far beyond what he himself could reach.
"Yes, Father. I will heed your teachings," Shamrock said, bowing deeply.
"Good."
Garling nodded with satisfaction. After a pause, he revealed a sliver of information. "You need not worry too much. The Five Elders are not sitting idle."
"In one year at most, the World Government's power will see an unprecedented increase. When that time comes, we will never lack for battle strength again."
"Remember. Time is on our side."
…
The timeline rewound slightly, back to Dressrosa.
All the imprisoned slaves had been freed and gathered in a relatively intact hall.
Aside from the beautiful young mermaids, there were some Fish-Men as well.
Under Umit's nervous, overly eager cooperation, the explosive collars were unlocked one by one with keys.
Law, as a doctor, began examining and treating them.
"Thank you, doctor," a cheerful mermaid said.
After Law finished bandaging a scrape on her arm, she suddenly leaned in and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.
"?!"
Law, who always wore a cold expression, froze on the spot. His ears and neck turned red at visible speed.
His aloof aura shattered completely.
"Pfft—" Viola could not help but laugh.
While Law worked, Yamato and the others pieced together the full story from the frightened, fragmented accounts of the rescued captives.
In a way, this was indirectly related to Kai's aggressive policy of recruiting Fish-Man Island immigrants.
Over time, the Fish-Men who had already moved to Wano and seen their lives vastly improve began sending word back home—either on their own or after some prompting—about how stable and prosperous life in Wano was.
More and more Fish-Men and merfolk, drawn by that hope, decided to leave Fish-Man Island and make the journey to Wano.
Doflamingo and Umit had exploited that new migration route, targeting the stretches where oversight was weakest and laying traps.
With minimal effort, they had caught the new immigrants like fish in a barrel.
"Let us head back," Yamato said, clapping her hands.
"Wait. What about him?" Viola pointed at Umit, who was trying his hardest to disappear into the background. "Are we taking him too?"
Umit shuddered. He immediately forced out an excessively ingratiating smile and bowed repeatedly to Yamato.
"Th-that will not be necessary, will it? Lord Kai is so busy. Why bother him with someone as insignificant as me?"
Heaven help him. It had been so long since he had groveled like this.
The last time he did this… was the last time.
"Kuma, what do you think?" Yamato asked, scratching at one of her horns in confusion before turning to Kuma for help.
Kai had told her to ask Kuma when in doubt.
Kuma's solution was simple.
Take him along.
There was plenty of room on the ship for one more prisoner.