On the deck, Doflamingo hung up the Den Den Mushi. Veins bulged across his forehead, twisting into something ugly.
"Doffy, what's wrong?"
A freakishly tall, beefy guy noticed his mood and spoke in a high-pitched squeak.
"The witch Haruno Sakura took over Spider Miles. Diego's down too."
"Now she's demanding a Devil Fruit as payback—or she'll leak our whole setup there."
A dude in a fuzzy hat, two tribal lines painted on his face, red cape flapping like some jungle chief, filled in the blanks.
The second he finished, dead silence blanketed the ship.
Spider Miles was the Donquixote Family's only stronghold in the North Blue—their home base.
And now… someone broke in, and they couldn't even rush back.
"So, Doffy, what do we do?"
Trebol, the Booger-Boo Fruit user, waddled up, dragging a quilt-like cloak.
"Fufufu—she wants it? Give it to her! And hey, didn't we just happen to run into the perfect chance?"
Doflamingo's fingers drummed up and down. Thin strings sparked between them.
Every cadre grinned like wolves, pumped for a brawl.
"Heavenly Tribute!"
The giant dude opened with that squeaky voice.
"Spider Miles doesn't matter. In this era that's about to explode, the real play is grabbing a seat in the New World fast!"
"So there's only one thing to do: make those Holy Land snobs listen to me!"
Dark clouds swirled overhead. Thunder crawled through the sky. Fat raindrops hammered down—a storm that had been brewing finally broke.
The man in the pink feather coat leaped to the flamingo-headed prow. His sunglasses reflected a World Government transport ship, escorted by several warships, loaded with the Heavenly Tribute.
"Haruno Sakura—big appetite, huh? Let's see if you can swallow this!"
The massive ship smashed through waves, charging straight at the tribute convoy. Battle erupted in seconds.
Screams and blood soaked the treasures meant for the gods.
Meanwhile, on a small island near Spider Miles—Naval Branch 177.
The base colonel was trussed up like a turkey, dangling from his own office beam.
Across from him, a pink-haired girl rifled through "classified" Navy files at his desk.
"Whoa! So this is how you run your little bribe-and-weapons side hustle?"
In the Great Pirate Era, pirates and Marines being in bed together wasn't news. Look at the East Blue—"symbol of peace" colonels pocketing enough to build their own statues.
But a branch this blatant—everyone from top to bottom a Donquixote member, openly running an arms depot right here? First time Sakura had seen it.
And these kids were way too honest—they even logged the deals in the official books.
"Think if this got out, Marine HQ would come knocking on Doflamingo's door?"
She waved the ledger at the colonel, then fished the base's internal Den Den Mushi out of a drawer.
"MMPH!"
The colonel's eyes bugged. He wriggled like a worm.
Out in the courtyard, gagged Marines and arms dealers felt their hearts jackhammer.
"Hehe, just kidding!"
Sakura's eyes curved into crescents. She tossed the snail back in the drawer.
Even if she called HQ as a wanted criminal, they'd probably laugh it off.
Plus, arms trafficking was a tangled mess. A girl who just wanted to travel, fight strong guys, and have fun? Hard pass on the politics.
"Anyway, I'm keeping this ledger as leverage."
She pushed open the window and hopped out.
Piloting the Leviathan hovering mid-air, she zoomed toward the meet-up spot she'd set with Doflamingo.
Thanks to the coating, underwater speed was insane.
Normal ships took a full day from Spider Miles to Frevans. Sakura? Three hours.
"Gotta thank Mr. Den big-time someday."
She landed on the east coast, then used a small storage scroll inside a large storage scroll to pocket the Leviathan.
Round-trip cost? Under 50 points. Nice little System wool-pull.
[HEY!]
Hehe, you mad?
After the daily System roast, Sakura cut through thick jungle. A town built entirely of amber lead appeared.
The White Town—Frevans!
The ground and trees should've been pure as a fairy-tale snow kingdom. The people who lived here were supposed to be rich, like paradise on earth.
But now… just ruins. Melted amber lead everywhere, collapsed houses, vines snaking over broken walls—nature slowly erasing human traces.
"Creepy as hell. Doflamingo's not dumb enough to try poisoning me with the lead disease, right?"
She found high ground, crouched, and scoped the area with binoculars.
Then—two smoking dots on the horizon caught her eye.
Out on the water, two big ships sailed side-by-side.
Weird combo: one battered warship, one pirate ship.
The pirate flag on the mast?
A grinning clown face, round cheeks, a diagonal slash from top-right to bottom-left.
"Doffy actually showed. Perfect!"
From the giant flamingo head, Doflamingo spotted Sakura atop Frevans' tallest point.
His finger curled. Invisible strings flashed, tying to him on one end, clouds on the other.
He swung his left arm down. The strings yanked him skyward—like a giant bird soaring straight at her!
String-String Fruit · Sky Path!
"HARUNO SAKURA!!!"
"DOFLAMINGO!"
Kings meet—Conqueror's Haki first!
A thunderous BOOM. Something massive seemed to crash.
Where their auras clashed, space warped. Dark lightning raged.
Shockwaves flipped the earth. Ground cracked. Bricks and rubble blasted into the storm.
On the distant pirate ship, one pair of sunglasses and one pair of emerald eyes burned into everyone's minds.
Anyone without the will to face Conquerors dropped unconscious on the spot.
"What?! Conqueror's clash—she's got it too?! That kind of monster?!"
Trebol braced against the gale, eyes wide, snot flying everywhere.
He threw his arms up—then got swept away, tumbling into the stern.
"You raided my turf. Ballsy, witch!"
"Heh, I didn't rat out your dirty laundry—and you won't even say thanks? Flamingo!"
Eyes locked, both picked the pirate way to settle it.
Why talk when you can fight?!