The Yuki Yuki no Mi!
When Aaron heard Doflamingo, his eyes immediately darted to the snow-white, strangely patterned fruit in the man's hand — a hint of greed flashing across his face.
He wasn't the only one. Many of the people present who'd never eaten a Devil Fruit before stared fixedly at the Snow-Snow Fruit in Doflamingo's grasp.
Everyone in the Grand Line knew how dangerous a Logia-type Devil Fruit could be. Even an ordinary person who gained one could instantly rise to the top ranks in the first half of the Grand Line. Without mastery of Armament Haki or a countermeasure, anyone who met a Logia user basically had only two options: die or run.
Aaron was familiar with this particular Logia. It was the same fruit Monet — an officer of the Donquixote Pirates — once had, the Snow-Snow Fruit that showed up during the Punk Hazard incident. Perhaps Monet's own power at the time was too weak to fully bring out the fruit's true potential.
Even if the Snow-Snow Fruit was a step below the Ice Fruit, as a Logia it still had its own unique strengths. If developed properly, it could function like a calamity.
Aaron hadn't expected Doflamingo to have found a Logia this early — no wonder the man could someday treat Devil Fruits like prime merchandise and sell them.
"Fufufu~ — tempted, are you, kid? That's only natural. Whoever gets this will gain far more power for revenge. Don't be impatient. From what you showed earlier, your Akio Crew will very likely give it to you." Doflamingo laughed self-satisfied when he saw Aaron finally glance his way.
He turned his head slightly and added to Reggie, "Am I right, Reggie?"
The moment he spoke, everyone from the Akio Crew who was still conscious, except Ailes, looked at Aaron — especially Horton and several of the crew's seasoned lieutenants. A glint of killing intent flashed in their eyes.
A Logia Devil Fruit was a temptation few could resist. Even if Aaron had shown plenty of strength in his skirmish with Doflamingo, that alone wouldn't convince the others. They all knew that whoever ate the Snow-Snow Fruit would be dangerous to fight — even if Aaron were stronger than them now, without Armament Haki he couldn't reliably handle them after they'd eaten it.
Many veteran lieutenants of the Akio Crew understood the importance of Haki; the crew's leader and the five main officers already possessed Armament or Observation Haki.
Doflamingo's words immediately created distance between Aaron and many of the Akio Crew — his skill at sowing discord was remarkable.
"Shut up, brat. How we handle it is none of your business." Reggie, having read the others' expressions through his Observation Haki, turned cold and snapped at Doflamingo without mercy.
Then he faced the Akio Crew and spoke in a stern voice: "The hostages were all taken by the Akio leader himself. Who gets the Devil Fruit is decided by our leader. If anyone dares to grumble about the distribution or — worse — hurts a comrade over it, neither the Akio leader nor I will go easy on them. Don't make a fool of us, you idiots."
Hearing Reggie, the awake Akio Crew members' faces registered shame, fear, or grudging acceptance. No one dared stare at Aaron anymore.
"Quite the tyrant, huh? I heard you're Aaron's teacher. With him as talented as he is, I'd imagine you'd want him to eat it — after all, you're old; it'd be a waste on you. As long as you're with the Akio—" Doflamingo kept up his arrogant provocations, trying to stir things up.
He didn't finish the sentence. His expression changed in an instant as he unleashed Armament Haki and lashed out with many strands of spider silk as hard as steel.
There was a sharp clang.
Reggie suddenly swung his blade at Doflamingo; Doflamingo managed to block.
But anyone with eyes could tell Doflamingo had lost that exchange. Reggie had cleaved at him hard enough to send him flying; the hand Doflamingo used to block was streaming blood.
The Donquixote Pirates' officers, seeing Doflamingo wounded by Reggie, contorted into savage expressions and readied for battle. Aaron and the others did the same. The atmosphere on the deck became tense again in an instant.
"You brat — don't think you can get cocky before me just because you have some skill. Conqueror's Haki or whatever — it's not that impressive in the New World. Who do you think I am? Keep talking and I'll cut you down, even if it costs me." Reggie didn't bother with the Donquixote officers pointing weapons at him; he leveled his blackened blade Yukimaru at Doflamingo, eyes full of murderous intent.
It was clear: Reggie was furious and deadly serious.
To Reggie, Doflamingo had a real pirate's bearing — but he was arrogantly overbearing in a way that made Reggie think of a Celestial Dragon: infuriatingly self-important.
"Fufufu~ — upset? My apologies. As an apology, it's yours, Reggie." Doflamingo licked the blood from his wounded hand with his tongue, tasting it, and grinned.
Facing someone clearly stronger, Doflamingo restrained himself — but even as he stopped provoking outright, his eyes behind his glasses were ice-cold; Reggie's words had stung.
Then, suddenly, he tossed the priceless Devil Fruit at Reggie as if it were trash.
Prideful and arrogant, yet adaptable and pragmatic — these contradictory traits were on full display in Doflamingo at that moment.
Reggie had to be cautious. Quick as lightning, he caught the fruit — then shot a glance at Getra.
Getra understood and immediately tossed the seastone-lined handcuffs he'd been holding like trash toward Doflamingo.
Seeing that, a vein throbbed at Doflamingo's temple. He didn't unleash Conqueror's Haki this time; instead he launched a sneak attack at Getra, then used a slice infused with Armament Haki — a five-colored thread technique — to cut through the handcuffs bound to Pica, severing the seastone link and pulling Pica to his feet.
Pica was truly moved; tears ran down his face uncontrollably. In a choked voice he sobbed, "Forgive me, Young Master. I've been useless. Please execute me."
"No need to say anything. You failed — that's a fact. Blaming you won't change it. Go back to the ship and heal. We'll need your help again." Doflamingo patted him on the shoulder with unexpected leniency and indifference, then signaled the other officers to take Pica down for treatment.
Meanwhile, Reggie turned and, in a tone that brooked no argument, said to Aaron with all seriousness, "Eat it, Aaron. That's the Akio leader's order."
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