"Well? Do you feel the urge to become my wife now?"
That fake elegance sent chills down Tritoma's spine.
"You bastard, like hell I—"
Boom!
Tritoma's entire head was smashed into the arena floor, and her rebuttal died before it could even be born.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the thundering blows continued below...
On the deck of the Numancia Flamingo—
Morgans, Giberson, and Umit exchanged glances. All of them had the same twitching expression at the corners of their mouths.
Last time with Stussy, all they heard were her screams—they hadn't actually seen what happened to her.
But this time, they had front-row seats.
This beauty was in no way inferior to Stussy. The Empress of Amazon Lily herself...
And under Doflamingo's hands, she got the exact same beating.
Off to the side, Enel let out a bored sigh: (´-д-)-3
Stretching lazily, he took out an apple he'd just picked on Amazon Lily and started munching.
He couldn't care less about what was going on below.
After growing up around Doflamingo and seeing the world through that lens, his way of thinking had long diverged from normal.
Suddenly—
Enel's expression shifted from (´-д-)-3 to ✧-✧!
His sharp eyes locked onto something outside the island, and he shouted down below.
"Boss! A strong one's approaching!"
"No worries," Doflamingo said, grabbing the still-unbroken Tritoma.
"The ones we've been waiting for are finally here."
He ignored her struggles. A white substance shot from his fingertips, entering her nose and mouth.
At the same time, he wrapped her up tightly like a rice dumpling to keep her from interfering in the upcoming fight.
Thanks to the mysterious white substance working inside her, Tritoma's pain visibly eased.
Her struggling quieted down, and she froze, stunned.
That stuff… was healing her wounds?
Was Doflamingo... saving her?
...
High above the skies—
A blurred figure plummeted toward the ground.
Boom!
The already-wrecked arena cracked apart again as smoke and dust filled the air.
When it cleared, two figures stood in the center: a gold-and-white-haired man slicked back with a pompadour—Rayleigh—and beside him, the former Empress of Amazon Lily—Shakky!
Rayleigh's gaze swept over Doflamingo and the Tritoma cocoon at his feet.
A glint flared in his glasses, and fury instantly appeared on his face.
Conqueror's Haki exploded outward!
The skies themselves began to churn and twist.
"Tritoma, we've come to save you."
"Father! Mother!"
Tritoma shouted in delight, snapping out of her daze.
Her face lit up with joy.
That damned Heavenly Yaksha was finally in for it.
"...???"
Doflamingo paused, his rising Conqueror's Haki faltering. He looked down, stunned.
But after a second of thought, it all made sense.
Rayleigh and Shakky—clearly an old flame between them.
It'd explain why Rayleigh was so familiar with Amazon Lily.
And why he was willing to lend aid again and again.
Given the island's nature—where only daughters are born—
(Or maybe all the boys drowned or got thrown out...)
It stood to reason that Rayleigh's daughter would succeed the Empress title.
No wonder this unfamiliar Empress possessed Conqueror's Haki.
After all, in this damn world, bloodlines were the real main characters—Oda's own golden rule.
"Fufufufufufu~"
Doflamingo suddenly burst into laughter.
Rayleigh's daughter, and Roger's son—talk about killing two birds with one stone.
Now that Rayleigh had a weakness... he'd walk right into a trap.
With Rayleigh glaring daggers at him, Doflamingo smiled and said,
"Dark King Rayleigh, take a guess—why do you think I came looking for you?"
"Whatever reason you had—I'm not interested."
Rayleigh's brow furrowed deeply. He drew the long sword from his waist, violet Haki shimmering across the blade.
His wife's homeland was in shambles, and his daughter had been turned into a mummy. He was beyond furious.
If not for realizing the Kuja warriors were merely unconscious and not dead, he would've gone berserk already.
"Heavenly Yaksha! Get the hell off this island!!"
"Fufufufufu~"
Rayleigh's rage seemed to amuse Doflamingo.
He got it, though.
What father wouldn't lose it seeing his daughter beaten like that by some stranger?
But—
"Leaving isn't an option. I saved the people of Amazon Lily. But this woman attacked me of her own accord! If I just let that slide, where's my pride supposed to go?!"
Loosening his tie a bit, Doflamingo hauled up the wrapped-up Empress.
...
Above, on the ship—
The oldest of the grandmas, Gloriosa, finally regained consciousness. Despite her dizziness, she quickly leaned over the railing, desperate to de-escalate things.
"What Doflamingo-sama said is true. Tritoma moved too fast. I couldn't stop her in time."
Tritoma: (/"≡ _ ≡)\
Given how twisted and brutal that man's ship looked, who the hell could've guessed he was actually saving her?
...
Rayleigh's gathering storm of Haki stalled.
He slowly lowered his sword.
He'd thought they at least had the moral high ground, but now even that was gone.
He shot his daughter a hard glare.
Shakky stepped forward, her voice serious.
"This time, Tritoma was the one at fault. I'll have her—and all of Amazon Lily—apologize to you."
"If that's still not enough, you may take all the treasure on this island—plus any secrets Rayleigh knows."
As she finished, she subtly kicked her husband in the shin.
She knew Doflamingo was eyeing something on Rayleigh, and the sooner they paid him off and sent him away, the better.
Watching this, Doflamingo, with his ever-active mind, suddenly quipped,
"Hubby, hubby~ say something already!"
Rayleigh's eye twitched. He muttered,
"Even the truth behind the One Piece... you can have that too."
"Fufufufu~ now that's sincerity."
Doflamingo smiled, rubbing his chin. The feeling of having Rayleigh at his mercy? Delicious.
"But like I said—I have no interest in the One Piece."
"And secondly—"
"You think I need money?"
"..." Rayleigh and Shakky fell silent.
As intel experts, they were well aware of the Donquixote family's absurd wealth.
But someone who didn't care about the One Piece?
What a pain in the ass this guy was.
After a long silence, Rayleigh asked,
"Then what do you want?!"
"Fufufufu~"
Doflamingo grinned, lifted the helpless Tritoma with one hand, and pointed at the island beneath them with the other.
"I already took what I lost."
Rayleigh's sword, which had just been lowered, lifted again. Haki surged violently.
His face darkened.
"You mean... Tritoma and Amazon Lily?!"
-----------
Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg