Sugar was being petted on the head by Rowan, her blue eyes filled with fear and confusion.
A tiny difference?
Just a small gap, and the ability she was so proud of was useless?
Sugar couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes.
It must be the armor! She needed to touch his real body!
Thinking this, Sugar grabbed Rowan's wrist, finally getting a firm grip this time.
Hobby-Hobby Fruit power, activate!
But to Sugar's despair, Rowan's body didn't change at all.
After carefully sensing, Sugar realized that there seemed to be a stronger force inside Rowan's body, preventing her ability from spreading into him!
Sugar stared blankly at Rowan.
"Why... is this?"
"You should listen to people, little girl."
Rowan stared straight into Sugar's eyes and slowly repeated, "I just said, my Conqueror's Haki is a little stronger than yours."
"No, that's impossible!"
Sugar reached out to Rowan, planning to use the Hobby-Hobby Fruit's power at maximum strength for one last try.
But a very strong pressure exploded from Rowan's body instantly.
Conqueror's Haki!
Whoosh!
Conqueror's Haki swept over the area, and Sugar, being the closest to Rowan, felt the impact the most.
In an instant, Sugar's eyes began to widen, a feeling of unspeakable fear rushed into her heart, and her body fell to her knees, unable to move at all!
Seeing this, Diamante pursed his lips.
"Well, well, well, it seems he's the 'real deal'..."
It made sense, an emperor who dared to challenge the World Government must have Conqueror's Haki!
Just like Doflamingo.
But Diamante's shock wasn't that "Ryan Rowan has Conqueror's Haki," but that "Ryan Rowan's Conqueror's Haki is so strong!"
As everyone knows, the strength of Conqueror's Haki depends on the owner's fate and cannot be improved through training.
Even Doflamingo's Conqueror's Haki couldn't put Sugar in this state.
Sugar looked like she was seeing something terrifying that she couldn't resist, kneeling on the ground, muttering something.
"Eight."
Rowan's voice came again.
Doflamingo's string clone frowned; Ryan Rowan's arrogance was beyond his expectations.
Was this guy really not afraid of the World Government and the Four Seas Alliance turning against him?
It didn't make sense!
Doflamingo had seen too many politicians, even an honest Marine like Sengoku would sometimes do things against his conscience for the sake of "Marine."
Acting recklessly and impulsively – that was something only pirates with nothing to lose could do!
Why did Ryan Rowan dare to do this?!
...
Inside the palace.
Doflamingo's real body held a Den Den Mushi, growling into it, "The situation has changed, when can you get here?"
A calm voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"Half a day."
"Half a day is too long, come here at full speed immediately!"
"Donquixote Doflamingo, I don't think you have the right to order us around."
The person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi said slowly, "At least, we don't work for you anymore."
"Then think about your goals!"
Doflamingo gritted his teeth and whispered, "If Joker dies, you won't be able to explain it to your current 'master,' right?"
The Den Den Mushi was silent for a long moment, before finally saying with surprise, "It's come to this?"
"Heh heh heh heh heh, yes."
Doflamingo grinned, "You will definitely need me."
The Den Den Mushi asked doubtfully, "Why?"
"Because he's a madman, a madman hidden behind eight hundred years of 'reason'!"
"Your master needs me alive because I'm the 'early bird'."
Doflamingo took a deep breath and said, "Believe me, when you face him directly, you'll miss things as they are now."
"...Okay."
The tone of the person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi calmed down, "Have your people hold on for half an hour, can you do that?"
Doflamingo touched his neck and said slowly:
"The game has started, the bets are on the table, how can we not continue?"
...
There was a reason Doflamingo touched his neck.
On the plaza, Doflamingo's puppet clone had been beheaded.
He had originally planned to use the Parasite string from his String-String Fruit to slow Rowan down, and then have the family's executives attack together.
But Rowan was one step ahead, using the black gun in his hand to fire a thin line made of sand.
The gun twisted, and the string slashed across the neck of the string clone from below, causing the clone to be fatally wounded and scatter into a pile of strings.
At the same time that his string clone was beheaded, Rowan's gaze also turned to the window of the palace.
Inside the room, Caesar was scared out of his mind.
He held a black crystal in his hand, which was the source of the Crystal Demon virus, and also the fastest and most convenient vaccine!
"Hey, hey, Joker, we'll be okay, right? Have the people from the World Government arrived yet!"
Caesar's words bombarded Doflamingo non-stop, causing the latter to frown, and the anger on his face was even greater than before.
He suddenly turned around, grabbed Caesar's neck, and said coldly:
"Heh heh heh heh heh, you talk too much, Caesar."
"You want fame and fortune, but you're not willing to take any risks, how can there be such a deal in the sea!"
"You think so, right?"
It was a question, but the anger contained within was obvious.
In just a few minutes, the Donquixote Family had lost two executives, including Sugar, who was crucial to the subsequent plans.
Being hit head-on by that terrifying Conqueror's Haki, she probably wouldn't recover her sanity for years.
Doflamingo would of course be angry.
Caesar saw this and didn't dare to provoke Doflamingo, and could only wave his hands repeatedly.
Fortunately, Doflamingo finally calmed down and picked up the other Den Den Mushi.
The other end of the Den Den Mushi was connected to Trebol's walkie-talkie.
"Half an hour, just half an hour, the trash from the World Government will be here."
"No matter what that madman and the Four Seas Alliance want to do, let the World Government people take the heat!"
"We just need to hold on for half an hour!"
Trebol received the order and nodded slightly, "Understood, Doffy."
Then, he gripped the scepter in his hand tightly and smiled stickily:
"I knew you would lead us to victory, after all, you are the 'king' we recognize!"
Trebol grinned, "We'll do our best."
"No, not do your best, Trebol."
Doflamingo looked at the figure with the black gun in the sandstorm and said slowly:
"It's putting your life on the line..."
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