At this moment, the air on the Flamingo seemed to have frozen. The sea breeze suddenly stopped, the surroundings were unusually silent, only the sound of rapid breathing echoed on the deck.
The faces of Doflamingo's crew varied, some pale with fear, others staring blankly at the suffocating scene.
Doflamingo's expression twisted, cold sweat seeped from his forehead, he wanted to struggle, but found that he didn't even have the strength to lift his head.
This powerlessness made his face full of ferocity, and his heart was filled with emotions of either anger or fear, with nowhere to release them.
"Ugh!", A muffled sound came from his chest, Doflamingo finally couldn't hold back a suppressed low growl.
'Celestial Dragon! Again a Celestial Dragon!'
'I, Doflamingo, will not allow myself to kneel like a wild dog again!'
Doflamingo's entire body tensed up, mobilizing all his strength, desperately trying to get up.
Even if there was a thousand ton mountain pressing on his back, it could not crush his spine.
In an instant, the clothes on his back ripped inch by inch, his figure actually slowly rising under Rosse's pressure.
"ROSSE...", Doflamingo let out a roar, but just as the sound was halfway out—
BANG!
Rosse's leather shoe heavily stomped onto his blood-drenched back, easily pressing Doflamingo's entire body onto the deck, with no hope of turning over.
"Waah!!!"
Doflamingo suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his ferocious face deflating like a punctured balloon, collapsing completely onto the ground, his body having not a single trace of strength left, only able to emit slight gasping sounds.
'Why...'
'Why...'
Doflamingo asked himself again and again, but even a strong spirit couldn't make up for the gap in strength.
The gap in strength instead further corroded his mind.
When the gap reached this extent, even resisting seemed ridiculous.
'Unable even to get up, what qualifications is there to resist?'
'Perhaps crawling on the ground is also a kind of dignity...'
"Organize your words, and then tell me, what did you come to find me for?", Rosse looked down indifferently, glancing at the bloodstained leather shoe, frowning slightly, and rubbed it a few times on Doflamingo's golden hair.
Seeing the shoe return to its original color, and Doflamingo still not resisting in any way, Rosse finally showed a satisfied smile.
He had always said before, different people need to be treated in different ways.
For villains like Doflamingo, negotiating kindly would only make the other party think of ways to devour you.
Only by making him feel fear from the depths of his heart would he not dare harbor a trace of disloyalty.
Only by completely breaking his spine would Doflamingo become the most loyal mad dog.
Looking at Doflamingo's utterly hollow eyes, Rosse was not in a hurry at all. After withdrawing his Conqueror's Haki, he waved at the nearby Diamante, who was lying like a dead dog.
In Diamante's current state, even wanting to respond was impossible without a trace of strength.
Being called out by Rosse, Diamante's face showed terror. Before he could even try to say anything, he saw a figure appear in front of him.
Immediately after, he felt his body being lifted up, and then he lost all consciousness.
Gion lifted up Diamante. She didn't know the reason Rosse did this, but since it was Rosse's reason, she just did it.
Holding Diamante in her hand, Gion threw him toward Rosse, and after kicking him a few times with her foot, Diamante curled up dog-like in front of Doflamingo.
Rosse nonchalantly sat on Diamante's back, while actually keeping an eye on Doflamingo's movements.
At the instant Rosse sat down, a flash of anger clearly passed through Doflamingo's eyes, but it quickly dissipated, returning to a state of listlessness.
Seeing this scene, Rosse knew it was almost done.
People like Doflamingo built everything on an illusory dignity.
Beneath that seemingly mad and arrogant mask was a soul that had suffered humiliation since childhood.
Those unforgettable humiliations and mockeries, those betrayals and cold stares from his own kind, had left indelible imprints in his blood.
And now, with that false dignity thoroughly destroyed, Doflamingo finally exposed his most genuine side.
He was still him, that little boy who, because of his mother's choice during childhood, lost his Celestial Dragon status and spent his boyhood being ridiculed and mocked by commoners and nobles.
After a long time, even the sea breeze seemed to become tranquil.
On the Flamingo, all the Donquixote family members, including Diamante who had just woken up after being used as a chair by Rosse, all looked toward Doflamingo with anticipation.
The choice Doflamingo made next would decide the fate of everyone on the ship.
Some hoped Doflamingo would yield, after all, Rosse was a high and mighty Celestial Dragon, understandable.
But more still hoped Doflamingo would resist to the end.
Doflamingo was their family head, once a noble Celestial Dragon, and someone whom the family's top executives called the man destined to become a king.
How could such a man submit just because the other was a Celestial Dragon?
"Saint Rosse!", Facing countless expectant gazes, Doflamingo clenched his teeth tightly, his face twisted and ferocious
"Mm," Rosse gave no comment, looking indifferently at Doflamingo, waiting for his next move.
"SAINT ROSSE!"
Doflamingo let out a roar, and his body, no longer suppressed by Rosse, suddenly stood up.
Then, under everyone's shocked and disappointed stares, Doflamingo thudded down on his knees before Rosse, "This time, I offended you. It will never happen again!"