"This guy..."
After a full volley of cannon fire resulted in absolutely nothing, Doflamingo's expression grew even more somber. Kaido, who fully understood the sheer power behind Rowan's space-shattering punch, didn't look much better.
On Big Mom's face, coated in thick rouge and powder, there was a look of genuine surprise.
Shattering space with a single punch?To think his Taijutsu has reached such a level.
If she could obtain this man's genes and combine them with her own, just how magnificent would the resulting children be? Wouldn't they be the ultimate key to helping her become the Pirate King? At that thought, Charlotte Linlin became even more excited. She had to have that man, no matter the cost!
"Doffy!"
At that moment, a familiar voice reached Doflamingo's ears. People followed the sound and saw three standard pirate warships rapidly approaching. Doflamingo didn't even need to look back to know that the Donquixote Family had arrived.
"Doffy!"
When the three ships bearing the Donquixote mark pulled up alongside Kaido's vessel, the top officer Trebol—trailing two long lines of snot—leaped onto the deck beside Doflamingo. When he saw the bloodstains still wet on Doflamingo's face, his expression shifted to one of alarm.
"Doffy! What happened to your face?! Was it that damn Rowan?!"
"What happened? What's wrong with Doffy?!"
Hearing Trebol's frantic voice, the rest of the family officers panicked. Pica, also a top officer, leaped onto the ship as well. In his haste to check on Doflamingo, he didn't even care about the glares from Kaido or the surrounding Hundred Beasts pirates.
"Doffy, did that old fossil Rowan do this to you?!"
Pica's voice—utterly discordant with his massive, hulking frame—rang out. It reached the ears of the Hundred Beasts pirates, causing many of them to burst into laughter.
"Hey, did you hear that? This guy's voice... Hahaha!" "Hahaha! Why does such a giant have a voice like a squeaky toy?!"
Pica's voice and his physique were total extremes. He had an incredibly muscular body clad in heavy, heroic armor and a face that looked like an indomitable warrior. By all appearances, he was a ferocious tank of a man. But his voice was high-pitched and shrill. The contrast was too much for the onlookers to handle. Even King and Queen couldn't help but let out a snicker.
(In the original story, even the usually stoic Zoro laughed until his stomach hurt upon hearing Pica's voice.)
Fortunately for Pica, Zoro was currently some distance away on the island; while he could hear a noise, he couldn't make out the pitch.
"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" Pica, whose only concern was Doflamingo, ignored the mockery.
Doflamingo, however, knit his brows and let out a low, dark growl. Seeing him truly angry, the low-level fodder of the Hundred Beasts crew immediately shut their mouths. Although Doflamingo was treated like a "little brother" in front of Kaido, he was still a man who had awakened Conqueror's Haki since childhood—a man with the qualities of a king.
With that growl, supplemented by a flare of his Conqueror's Haki, the lackeys were instantly suppressed. King and Queen, however, remained indifferent.
Conqueror's Haki? So what?To these two superstars with billion-plus bounties, Doflamingo was just a business associate. If not for the deal with the Boss, they wouldn't give him the time of day.
Once the laughter died down, Doflamingo waved a hand and told his officers, "Relax, I'm fine. Trebol, have all three warships aim their cannons at that man on the island."
As he spoke, Doflamingo's fingers twitched. He prepared to use his Parasite strings to force the other pirate crews into another round of firing. He wanted to see how many volleys this one old man could handle!
But before the cannons could be reloaded, Kaido took a step forward and reached out, blocking Doflamingo's hand.
"Lord Kaido..." Doflamingo looked up, confused.
"Cannonballs are useless against that man, Joker. Stop wasting your energy." Kaido's voice rumbled. Doflamingo was puzzled for a split second, but then he saw the battle intent erupting in Kaido's eyes and understood.
Lord Kaido couldn't hold back any longer. He was going in personally.
Not far away, Big Mom's grin widened. "Is he finally losing his patience?"
Aboard the Moby Dick, Whitebeard narrowed his eyes. He realized the same thing. Ace looked toward Rowan with deep worry. He had never seen Kaido's power in person, but he had heard the stories from Marco. If there was one man on the sea known for being the ultimate 1v1 fighter, it was the creature known as the strongest in the world.
Kaido had been captured by the Navy and the other Yonko many times, but only when facing an entire fleet or crew alone. Even then, no one could actually kill him. Everyone present knew of his destructive power and his "immortal" body.
The crowd felt a collective chill. "Yonko Kaido... is making his move!"
Under the gaze of thousands, Kaido's ship slowly advanced toward Dachik Island. Seeing the vessel approach, a look of unprecedented solemnity appeared on the faces of the Marine soldiers. Momonga gripped his hilt, entering a state of high alert. Even Hawkeye Mihawk, leaning against a tree, narrowed his eyes.
The oppressive atmosphere was suffocating.
However, as Rowan took a single step forward, the killing intent saturating the air was suddenly neutralized. The Marines felt the pressure lift, but their expressions remained grim.
Kaido was closing in. When the ship was less than fifty meters from the shore, Kaido let out a thunderous roar and launched himself from the deck in a blur of violent motion.
"Thunder Bagua!"
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