"So it was Queen." Vladimir understood, not overly surprised.
Seeing this, Doflamingo paused and couldn't help but say, "Aren't you angry?"
"Angry? Furious?" Vladimir smiled faintly. "Such emotions shouldn't arise at this moment. Doflamingo, would you get angry at an ant blocking your path? No, you would simply step over it."
Hearing this, Doflamingo was stunned, then let out a couple of low laughs. "Fufufu… that truly fits Phantom's way of speaking."
He then asked, "Should we go and retrieve the hostage?"
"No, since they were rescued, let it be. Our original objective was the Devil Fruits. Anyway, Kaido will obediently hand them over with compensation before long."
Vladimir said calmly. "However, before that, as our collaborator, you've experienced such a lapse. You should be punished."
Doflamingo's expression changed slightly. He instinctively took a few steps back, trying to create distance, as if a dozen meters could give him a sense of security.
Seeing this, Vladimir chuckled. "No need to be nervous. It's just an experiment."
As his voice fell, Dong!!
A heavy thud echoed. Doflamingo felt a pain in his eardrums, and the entire room vibrated violently.
No, it wasn't the room vibrating, but his senses!
It was an invisible pressure, originating from the Vice-Captain in front of him.
Instantly, Doflamingo's forehead was covered in sweat.
"What is this?!"
He exclaimed in horror. The moment he finished speaking, the heavy pressure intensified again.
Dong!
Doflamingo's knees couldn't bear it, and with a bang, he knelt on the ground.
At this moment, it felt as if the air had vanished. His breathing became rapid, and his face turned pale.
"Is this Haki? Armament Haki?!" Doflamingo cried out. "Impossible! Just Haki…"
"No, it's Reiatsu."
Vladimir watched him struggle and immediately explained, "You can see me, which means you possess a bit of spiritual sense. Not collapsing under my Reiatsu means your soul strength is quite commendable for a mortal."
As he spoke, Vladimir walked closer.
Just by closing the distance by five meters, Doflamingo felt the pressure double.
"Hah… Hah…"
He gasped for air, disbelief in his eyes. "What kind of power is this? What is Reiatsu!"
It was definitely not Conqueror's Haki! He had Conqueror's Haki himself, and it couldn't reach this level. Just by being close, it made him unable to stand, and his consciousness was even blurring.
"I'll give you some credit."
Vladimir chuckled. "Seeing as you could withstand it, I'll forgive this lapse."
With that, all Reiatsu vanished like smoke.
In the room, everything returned to normal.
The vibrations stopped, the roaring sound disappeared, and even the pressure was gone.
Doflamingo felt a lightness throughout his body, as if someone who had been sick with a cold for seven days and nights had suddenly recovered.
"Hoo…"
Doflamingo let out a long breath, touching the cold sweat on his forehead. In that moment, he had seen death beckoning him.
"Were you scared?" Vladimir asked. "Rest assured, as long as you can still be useful, you are our collaborator."
Collaborator?
Doflamingo was silent. The disparity in strength and status between them was far from being collaborators.
"How can I become stronger?" Suddenly, Doflamingo asked in a deep voice. He didn't get up, having decided to sit down after being intimidated by the Reiatsu. "Why are you all so powerful?"
Dominator-level executives were one thing. Four Emperors-level individuals were rare but existed: Whitebeard, Kaido, Shanks, Charlotte Linlin, and many great pirates of the past, as well as legendary Marine heroes, were all at that level.
But Phantom's Emperor Vladimir, unlike the Vice-Captain before him, was a being who transcended the Four Emperors.
Their power was beyond imagination, even unfathomable.
Just like now, he couldn't understand why Vice-Captain Aizen, just by releasing a bit of his aura, could intimidate him to the point where his consciousness almost scattered.
Of course, this was Doflamingo's own understanding. In reality, it wasn't his consciousness scattering, but his soul collapsing.
Therefore, at this moment, Doflamingo desperately wanted to become stronger!
"You want to become stronger?" Vladimir gazed at him. "That is a profound question. Once you've completed this task, I can give you an answer."
"What task?"
"The World's Number One Auction. Contact all the forces you can reach and inform them that in three months, we will auction Pluton's design blueprints. The bidding chips will be Devil Fruits."
Devil Fruits, again Devil Fruits!
Besides eating them directly to gain abilities, were there other uses for these things?
If he joined Phantom, he should be able to find out!
Thinking this, Doflamingo took a deep breath and nodded. "I understand. I will handle it. Fufufu… I hope I can join then… No, we'll see then."
With that, he slowly stood up, cast a deep look at Vladimir, and then leaped out the window.
Vladimir watched him disappear and fly away.
"So boring. I just scared him a little, and he's already so terrified?"
...
Intimidated by Vladimir's Reiatsu, Doflamingo fled in disarray.
____________________
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