Dressrosa, King's Plateau.
Inside the palace hall, sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows and across the floor, but the air was restless.
"Hey, hey, Violet."
A sticky voice sounded.
The top officer Trebol was half-crouched on the ground, his snot nearly dripping onto the carpet.
"It's already been three days. Hurry and use your ability to see where Doffy is. Dealing with those old men from the Holy Land is never safe, you know?"
Trebol anxiously rubbed his hands together, mucus stretching between his fingers.
Doflamingo had cut off contact for three days after receiving the Holy Land's private summons.
That was rare for the Family.
On the sofa, Diamante wiped his sword and sneered.
"Relax, Trebol. Who on these seas would dare lay a hand on Doffy? He's a Warlord. Our Donquixote Family's face is something even those old men in the World Government have to respect."
His words carried arrogance, and the surrounding Family members relaxed when they heard them.
Their young master carried the blood of the Celestial Dragons, and after following him for so many years, that arrogance had seeped into their bones as well.
"Even so..." Violet, standing by the window, spoke slowly, her voice cold and clear.
She wore a purple dancer's dress, but there was caution in her eyes.
"You should all have seen the recent news. Marine Headquarters' rising monster, Zaraki. The papers are already calling him the War Demon."
When she mentioned that name, a slight commotion passed through the hall.
"He's just a Marine special envoy with a loud nickname," Trebol said with a sticky laugh. "Doffy is the Heavenly Yaksha! Hey, Violet, you don't actually think that man called Zaraki would dare make a move against our young master, do you?"
His laughter was grating.
"Exactly. A Marine would dare touch Doffy?"
"Lord Dofflamingo was invited there by the World Government. He wouldn't dare!"
The others chimed in as well, and the tiny bit of tension that had just risen was pressed down again by arrogance.
Just then—
"Fuffuffu... fuffuffuffuffu..."
A familiar low laugh drew closer and closer, clearly entering everyone's ears.
Their expressions changed, and they all looked up at once.
A figure cut across the sky and landed precisely on the royal chair in the center of the hall.
Bang!
Thin strings vanished beneath his feet, and his huge pink feather coat spread out as he sat.
The newcomer was Donquixote Doflamingo.
He wore flamingo sunglasses, his blond hair bright beneath the sunlight, and the corner of his mouth was pulled into an arrogant curve.
Doflamingo crossed his legs and interlaced his fingers on his knees, looking down over his Family members.
"Doffy!"
Trebol was the first to react. He half-crawled, half-ran over with a fawning expression.
"You're finally back! How was it? Those old men in the Holy Land didn't make things difficult for you, did they? And that War Demon Zaraki—he didn't give you trouble, right?"
That question tightened everyone's hearts again.
All eyes turned toward Doflamingo.
Doflamingo ignored Trebol. He tilted his head, and the gaze hidden behind his sunglasses fell on Violet.
"Fuffuffu... Violet."
His voice carried mockery.
"I saw a trace of hope in your eyes."
Violet's body stiffened.
"You were imagining," Doflamingo's laugh turned cold, "that War Demon would be like some hero, taking down me, the usurper, and clearing the name of your Riku family?"
His words were like a knife, piercing through the small hope that had just risen in Violet's heart.
Under Doflamingo's gaze, that hope seemed laughable and powerless.
Violet clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, but she said nothing.
"Stop dreaming."
Doflamingo withdrew his gaze and leaned back against the chair, his tone contemptuous.
"He is a Marine brat the newspapers are hyping up. And I am a Donquixote, with the blood of gods flowing through my veins! The world does not run on justice. Fuffuffuffuffu!"
His arrogant laughter echoed through the hall.
Violet slowly closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, her gaze had become ice-cold.
Just as Doflamingo's confidence enveloped the entire room—
"Purupurupuru... purupurupuru..."
A Den Den Mushi suddenly began ringing.
The sound came from the corner, from a Den Den Mushi mimicking Doflamingo's expression.
Trebol's gaze was drawn to it.
He glanced at Doflamingo on the royal chair and asked carefully, "Hey, Doffy, it's Sally from Haji Island... should I answer?"
The arrogant curve still hung on Doflamingo's lips.
He did not even look at the Den Den Mushi, merely raising his hand lazily.
Trebol immediately lunged over and grabbed the receiver.
"Kacha."
He cleared his throat and spoke in his sticky voice.
"Hey, hey, is that Sally? What is it? The young master just came back and he's in a good mood, so say something fun for everyone to hear."
Everyone in the hall wore relaxed smiles.
What major trouble could possibly come from a report about an island in the first half of the Grand Line?
From the other end of the Den Den Mushi came a woman's hurried voice.
"Lord Trebol, something bad happened. War Demon Zaraki... the Marine monster from the papers appeared on Haji Island."
"Zaraki?"
Trebol froze for a moment, then burst into his strange laugh.
"Hey, that new War Demon? What's he doing in the first half of the Grand Line? Taking a vacation?"
"He... he just killed a pirate at the harbor in front of everyone," Sally's voice trembled. "A pirate with a bounty of ninety-three million berries."
"Oh?"
Diamante whistled and swung the sword in his hand, teasing, "Ninety-three million? Not bad. Still, dying on the Donquixote Family's turf... that Marine really knows how to pick a place."
The officers around him burst into laughter.
"Sally, don't tell me you got scared out of your wits?"
On the other end of the call, Sally took a deep breath and shouted in a voice that was almost a scream.
"The man he killed... was from the Beasts Pirates! After Zaraki killed him, he took the head to the island's information broker... and used that head to buy intelligence on a New World route!"
Crash!
A sharp sound rang out.
The hall instantly fell silent.
Everyone's gaze stiffly turned toward the royal chair.
Doflamingo was still holding his wine glass in the same position, but the crystal cup in his hand had already been crushed into powder.
Crimson wine mixed with glass shards dripped through his fingers and struck the floor.
Tap... tap...
Every sound landed like a hammer on everyone's heart.
Diamante and the others, who had still been laughing a moment earlier, instantly turned ashen.
The Beasts Pirates.
Kaido's name alone made the air heavy.
A Marine special envoy had killed a subordinate of one of the Four Emperors on the Donquixote Family's turf, then used that head to buy information from one of their people.
This went beyond ordinary provocation.
It was pure disregard, the kind of move that stepped on the Donquixote Family's face and ground it into the dirt without even bothering to look down.
The worst part was that Zaraki probably had not even treated it as a message.
One moment ago, Doflamingo had been laughing about how no one would dare provoke him.
Now the report from Haji Island had landed like a slap across his face.
The arrogance filling the hall moments earlier suddenly felt painfully ironic.
Doflamingo slowly lowered his hand, letting the wine and glass shards slide down.
The smile on his face vanished, and his expression became terrifyingly dark.
His sunglasses hid his eyes, but everyone could feel the rage behind those lenses.
Veins bulged on his forehead, spreading out like twisted roots.
The air in the palace seemed to solidify, pressing down until no one could breathe.
The officers held their breath, afraid that the faintest sound might ignite Doflamingo's fury.
Thud.
Trebol's hand went weak, and the receiver dropped to the floor.
His entire body trembled, snot and cold sweat dripping together.
Looking at the silent Doflamingo on the royal chair, he made a hoarse sound in his throat.
Trebol crawled on all fours to Doflamingo's feet and asked in a trembling whisper.
"Hey... hey, Doffy... should we... wipe Haji Island off the map?"