Doflamingo stared at Ain before him, an indescribable rage burning in his heart.
By now, the crowd around them had grown larger.
Anyone who had lived long on Sabaody Archipelago recognized Doflamingo at a glance.
Yet the Ain standing before Doflamingo had no reputation to speak of—she appeared to be nothing more than a navy officer on leave.
On Sabaody Archipelago, the occasional "disappearance" of a few navy personnel wouldn't even draw attention.
"That woman is quite beautiful, but not very bright."
"Indeed, daring to provoke Doflamingo—she must have a death wish."
"Don't you know? Doflamingo is the JOKER of the underworld!"
"Not only does he control the underground industries of Sabaody, but he's also involved in various enterprises across the New World!"
...
Hearing the hushed whispers of the onlookers, Ain remained expressionless, her cold gaze fixed on the man before her.
"I don't care who you are. Since you've appeared before me, I will bring you to justice!"
"Fufufufufu, that's the funniest joke I've ever heard. With your strength, you think you can capture me? Perfect timing—I'm in a foul mood, so why don't you just die..."
Before Doflamingo could finish, a voice from the crowd abruptly cut him off.
"Doflamingo, this is Sabaody Archipelago. If you dare lay a hand on a navy officer, you will face severe consequences!"
A man dressed in flamboyant pink floral clothing stepped out from the crowd.
The moment Ain saw him, she froze in surprise, instinctively asking, "Binz? What are you doing here?"
Binz moved to shield Ain behind him and said, "I was assigned here by Instructor Zefa. Today happens to be my shift!"
With that, his eyes locked onto Doflamingo.
A vein bulged on Doflamingo's forehead. "I see hatred in your eyes. Don't tell me—were your parents also killed by me?"
Hearing this, Binz forced himself to stay calm. "Ten years ago, on my birthday, you and your crew arrived on our island. Everyone there—including my parents—was slaughtered. I was the only survivor."
Doflamingo let out a cold laugh.
"Fufufufufu, this scenario isn't new to me. Since they're all dead, why don't you join them?"
The moment he finished speaking, Doflamingo kicked off the ground.
In the blink of an eye, he lunged at Binz.
Before Binz could react, a sharp pain exploded in his abdomen—his organs felt as though they had been violently displaced, forcing a gasp from his lips.
He hadn't expected Doflamingo to actually attack!
"You must despise me, don't you? If only you had the strength, you'd have already thrown yourself at me!"
Doflamingo's fingers curled slightly as razor-sharp white threads materialized between them.
With a maniacal laugh, he sneered, "On these seas, the strong prey on the weak. Since I'm stronger, your fate is to die by my hand!"With that, Doflamingo mercilessly pulled down the threads in his hand towards Binz.
At this critical moment, Ain unleashed a slash aimed directly at Doflamingo.
"Pathetic tricks. Is this all the Navy has to offer?!"
"String Shot!"
Doflamingo raised his finger, retracting the others, and fired a thin thread from his fingertip like a bullet at high speed.
This seemingly fragile thread whistled through the air, shattering Ain's slash effortlessly.
Even after breaking the slash, Doflamingo's "String Shot" showed no sign of slowing down.
Ain's pupils contracted sharply.
She wanted to use "Shave" to escape, but behind her stood numerous civilians.
If she retreated, those civilians would undoubtedly be injured, so she couldn't back down!
Instinctively, Ain closed her eyes.
But the expected pain never came.
Instead, an earth-shaking sound erupted around her.
When Ain opened her eyes, she saw Roya standing before her, draped in the mantle of justice, his hand coated in Armament Haki, effortlessly crushing Doflamingo's "String Shot."
The sudden appearance of the White Dove left everyone stunned.
Except for those who had seen Ain with Roya earlier, no one knew that Ain was now Roya's adjutant.
Roya gazed at Doflamingo in the distance, a gentle smile playing on his lips.
This smile stood in stark contrast to Doflamingo's—one warm, the other cold, polar opposites.
"First time meeting, Doflamingo," Roya said calmly.
Though his tone was even, those around could sense the underlying displeasure in his words.
And Doflamingo was no exception.
"Fufufufufu, White Dove. I never expected to run into you here."
Doflamingo decided it was best to step back.
Just from the faint aura emanating from Roya, he could sense the man's overwhelming strength.
This made Doflamingo hesitate to act too recklessly.
"White Dove, just hand over my slave, and I'll pretend today never happened."
But Roya had no intention of letting him off so easily.
"You think you can just decide whether today happened or not?" Roya's eyes curved into crescents, his expression growing even more amiable.
Ain felt a warmth in her heart.
She could tell Roya was standing up for her!
"What do you mean by that?" Doflamingo tensed up completely.
He truly hadn't anticipated encountering the White Dove here.
Those useless intelligence officers—he'd slaughter them all when he got back!
How could they fail to report something as critical as an Admiral landing on the island?!
"Nothing much. I just heard you say earlier that this world is about the strong preying on the weak, didn't you? Well, since you're weak and I'm strong, your fate is to be cut down by me!"
These words sounded all too familiar to Doflamingo.
They were his own, thrown right back at him.
And it ignited his fury.The Sabaody Archipelago was utterly still, without a single breeze.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Beads of cold sweat formed on many people's foreheads.
"I've got this bad feeling for some reason..."
"Me too. Should we move further away?"
"Y-yeah, good idea."
...
The surrounding crowd stepped back while keeping their eyes fixed on Roya and Doflamingo.
They were curious whether the two would actually come to blows.
And then—