"Conis, you can let go now."
Bullet gently brushed his finger across the small head nestled in his arms, speaking in a deep voice.
Conis snapped back to her senses and quickly released her grip around Bullet's waist.
She stumbled back, face flushed red, and thanked him earnestly.
"Thank you! Bullet-sama!"
She really thought she was going to die just now—but it was Bullet-sama's powerful body that shielded her in that critical moment.
"It's nothing."
Bullet paid no mind to Conis's emotions. His brow furrowed deeply.
His attention was completely captured by the gaping crater behind them and the once-again brightened sky.
"That kind of destructive power… even if I activated my ultimate buff and added Conqueror's Haki, I still couldn't pull that off."
To unleash an attack that could wipe an island off the map entirely—he still had a long way to go.
"So this… is the power the World Government has been hiding, the one Doffy talked about?!"
Not far behind, Smoothie wore a look of lingering fear.
It wasn't for her own safety.
Had she been just a little faster, Egghead would've been obliterated.
That place was something Doffy had poured so much effort into.
...
Inside Egghead—
Vegapunk huddled in front of the monitor, replaying the footage over and over again, eyes glowing with fascination.
"Incredible… This has to be one of the Ancient Weapons."
"This is what Doflamingo promised to show me?!"
Meanwhile, Robin stood dumbfounded, holding a rubbing of the ancient text taken from the iron automaton.
She still hadn't fully come back to herself after witnessing that attack.
It had already surpassed the limits of her imagination.
...
Somewhere deep within the Calm Belt—
"This is the place, right? Gloriosa?"
Doflamingo gazed at the island below and confirmed aloud.
The island was full of towering peaks, and at the very center, the summit was carved with massive serpent heads, entangled and resting atop one another.
On the mountainside facing them, two enormous characters—"Kuja"—were etched clearly in stone.
It was impossible to mistake.
Kuja Island. Real characters.
"Yes, this is indeed Amazon Lily, Doflamingo-sama!"
Granny Gloriosa bowed deeply, voice respectful. Faced with such overwhelming force, this was the only way she could protect the Kuja tribe with her current power.
Within the mountains, layered buildings were constructed along the cliffsides.
Doflamingo manipulated the three ships downward.
The bold characters, the swooping eaves, red tiles and white walls, the square formation of buildings—
He liked it. This architectural style…
It had the flavor of old-world elegance, like something from a former life.
He wanted this place too.
Amazon Lily.
...
Down on the island—
The Kuja warriors, responsible for guarding their homeland, had already spotted the three descending ships.
"What's going on?!"
"Where is Empress-sama?!"
"Damn it, we're under attack! Everyone, regroup!"
...
The bikini-clad Kuja warriors sensed something was wrong.
They darted through the jungle toward the center of the kingdom.
One of the airships was their own.
But no one on board signaled to them.
That wasn't like Empress-sama at all.
Besides, she didn't have the power to make ships fly like this.
Suddenly—
The descending ships stopped, suspended in the air.
The Kuja warriors grew uneasy.
Onboard the Numancia Flamingo, Doflamingo was listening to Smoothie's report.
"Sixteen light pillars? And most of the prisoners died?"
That detail was enough for Doflamingo to instantly understand what it was.
It was none other than the Island-Erasing Weapon—Uranus!
Good thing he had moved his base ahead of time. Otherwise, only a handful of people like Bullet might've survived that blast.
"Looks like Vegapunk and Egghead finally pushed the Elders over the edge."
Doflamingo grinned as he pinched the Den Den Mushi between his fingers.
Pain was relative.
The more miserable the World Government was, the happier he became.
After all, in the original timeline, the only time Uranus had ever been used was after Imu-sama was glimpsed by the Revolutionary Army.
A retaliatory strike.
Even the Fifth Emperor, the Sun God Nika, never got hit in the head by Uranus.
But now he had—saving himself twenty years of detours and getting the same "welcome gift" as Nika.
When Doflamingo fell silent, Enel popped his head over with a wide grin and shouted into the Den Den Mushi.
"Hey! Bullet? Bullet, are you alive or did you get blown to pieces?"
"If you died, I still wouldn't!"
Bullet's cold voice came through.
"Doflamingo, when are you coming back? I've prepared something new for you."
"Enel has grown a bit on this trip. Use what I've prepared on him first. He's been starving for power the whole way."
Doflamingo said this quickly and hung up.
No way he was going to chit-chat with a combat maniac.
"?!?" Enel blinked, scratching his head.
Was that what he meant? Beating up the birdman had been fun—it really did feel like punching a boss's decoy.
Ignoring Enel's expression, Doflamingo looked down at the tense Kuja warriors below.
What happened on Skypiea was too far away to matter now.
He had Vegapunk in hand—and the new Pluton was about to emerge.
Uranus? Just a broken toy that couldn't be used freely.
Right now, the task at hand was to crush all resistance in this nation—
And take Amazon Lily for himself.
Thinking of that, and seeing the women below still unaware of how serious things had become...
Doflamingo grabbed Tritoma by the throat and stepped downward through the air, each step solid as if on invisible stairs.
He made his declaration.
"I am Doflamingo—the man who's going to take this country."
"If you want to stop me, then come at me with everything you've got."
"Otherwise… your precious Empress will soon become the mother of my children."
Doflamingo didn't even announce his name. The Kuja, aside from those in the Kuja Pirates who ventured out to raid, were almost completely cut off from the outside world.
They didn't even know who their enemies really looked like.
Let alone understand something like the Four Emperors.
These women, locked away on the island, had no concept of such things.
"'Man,' 'Empress-sama,' 'mother of his children'..."
And the sight of Tritoma being handled so violently—
These factors stacked together.
In that instant, the still-confused Kuja warriors exploded with fury. Their eyes locked onto Doflamingo with burning rage.
"Empress-sama!"
"You brute! What are you doing to our noble Empress-sama?!"
"Damn men! Such savage and vile creatures!"
"We must kill him!"
...
One by one, the Kuja warriors pulled their great bows taut.
Haki-laced arrows were aimed at Doflamingo in the sky.
If it weren't for fear of hurting their Empress, they would've launched their assault already.
The Kuja were feared throughout the world for their Armament Haki—
And every one of their warriors was a master archer!
"Furufurufurufuru!"
Surrounded by murderous intent, Doflamingo let out a pleased laugh.
"Now that's some nice tension!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg