Watching Corazon use the Calm-Calm Fruit to erect a silent barrier that shielded Doflamingo's frantic escape,Gern did not choose to pursue. Instead, he slowly descended from the sky.
At that moment, Hawk-Eye Mihawk approached from not far away, the black blade Yoru strapped across his back.
He glanced in the direction where Doflamingo and Corazon had vanished and said in his usual flat, emotionless tone,"Wasn't that… a little too obvious?"
"Obvious? To ordinary people—or idiots—maybe." Hearing Mihawk's remark, Gern chuckled and shook his head."But our Doflamingo?He's a smart man. And more importantly, a smart man who's extremely paranoid and loves to overcomplicate simple things."
With that, Gern stretched lazily."The more something looks like a coincidence—or like it was deliberately arranged—the more likely his overthinking brain will arrive at the opposite conclusion."
"Right now, Doflamingo will only be firmly convinced that his 'clumsy' yet 'deeply devoted' little brother—at the critical moment—risked his life, broke past his limits, and unleashed astonishing potential to save him from a 'natural disaster.'"
"And me…" Gern spread his hands, wearing an expression that was equal parts arrogant and helpless."Come on. I'm Heavenquake Gern, you know?The lunatic who doesn't give a damn about the World Government, plays the Marines like fools, and is lawless enough to beat Celestial Dragons half to death!
"In the eyes of someone like me, what is Doflamingo, really?Someone worth orchestrating an elaborate act just to pave the way for his little brother?That would be an insult to my character setting!"
Gern even mimicked what Doflamingo's internal monologue might sound like, laughing as he did so."So instead of suspecting anything, he'll be moved to tears with gratitude toward Corazon—trust level maxed out.
"After all, that 'Divine Spear' just now—though it detonated midair—was a solid thirty percent of my power.If the Calm-Calm Fruit hadn't happened to smooth out the residual vibrations, Doflamingo would've been dead on the spot."
Watching Gern smugly bask in his own brilliance, Mihawk expressionlessly turned his gaze away.
Sometimes this man's nastiness and narcissism were just as absurd as his strength.
Just then, Gern seemed to remember something. He looked around and asked,"Oh, right—where's our 'Fifty-Fifty Man'?"
"'Fifty-Fifty Man'?" Mihawk frowned slightly at the strange nickname.
"Oh, Crocodile," Gern explained casually."Think about it—he can trade blows with Whitebeard, trade blows with Bullet, and even trade a blow with me(yeah, okay, he got instantly bodied). That's not fifty-fifty, then what is?"
Mihawk: "..."(Does not understand, yet feels deeply shaken.)
Recalling the moment, Mihawk replied calmly,"He escaped. The instant he smashed into the ground—before you landed—he turned into quicksand and slipped underground. Very fast."
"What?!" Gern froze, eyes going wide."No way! That kick to his head was solid!I didn't use Haki, but the vibrations went straight in! By all logic, his brains should've been shaken into tofu!And he still got up and ran?!"
He stroked his chin, his face lighting up with intense curiosity."Tsk, tsk, tsk… looks like that 'Fifty-Fifty' title really isn't for show.That guy's actually got something going on!"
Mihawk watched Gern openly praise Crocodile's escape skills and silently pulled his hat brim lower.
Being around this man always led to… worldview-refreshing experiences.
...…
Meanwhile, out on the deep blue sea, an unremarkable small boat rose and fell gently with the waves.
Doflamingo lay sprawled across the deck. Though he had narrowly reclaimed his life, the terrifying aftershock of Gern's Divine Spear had left him grievously injured.
His chest heaved violently with each breath. Blood still stained the corner of his mouth. His pink feather coat was torn to shreds, and one lens of his sunglasses had shattered, revealing an eye bloodshot and trembling with the shock of survival.
Corazon sat down heavily in front of Doflamingo's head—almost straddling it. A slender cigarette, unlit, hung between his lips. The ridiculous clown makeup still covered his face, yet deep in his eyes lurked a complexity that was hard to read.
Using a deliberately hoarse, low voice, he spoke,"That was close, Doffy.You almost really died."
Lying flat on the deck, Doflamingo could only see his brother's back and the hem of that black feathered coat.
He struggled to roll his eyes upward to look at Corazon's silhouette. The posture was humiliating—almost degrading—yet in this moment, there was no resentment in his heart.
Instead, it was filled with a twisted exhilaration and… gratitude.
"Fufufufu… fufufufufufu!!!"
Doflamingo suddenly burst into laughter. His injuries made the sound ragged and broken, yet it overflowed with mockery and savage delight.
"Gern! Heavenquake Gern! Hahahaha!He never expected it! He absolutely never expected it!"
Laughing until he nearly ran out of breath, he coughed a few times before continuing:
"He must've thought his invincible vibration powers could crush everything!But he miscalculated—fufufu… he miscalculated one thing!"
"My dear little brother!He miscalculated your Calm-Calm Fruit!"
"Silence… just happens to cancel out his vibrations perfectly!"Doflamingo's voice brimmed with the ecstasy of believing fate itself was on his side.
"This is destiny!You were destined to return to me—destined to help me!"
At this moment, Doflamingo's thoughts were moving exactly along the track Gern had anticipated.
He didn't question whether Corazon's timing was too perfect.Nor did he ponder whether the Calm-Calm Fruit could truly nullify an attack of that magnitude so flawlessly.
He believed only this:That it was a miracle born of shared blood.That it was destiny's favor upon Donquixote Doflamingo.
After all, ever since Corazon had voluntarily returned to the family, Doflamingo—paranoid by nature—had secretly investigated what Rosinante had experienced during the years after leaving him.
Though Sengoku and the Marines had covered their tracks well, leaving him without concrete proof, a faint, lingering doubt had always remained.
But after that unmistakable moment—when life and death were separated by a hair's breadth—every shred of doubt was utterly cast aside.
Faced with an attack that could annihilate heaven and earth,faced with the killing intent of a Marine admiral who dared even slaughter Celestial Dragons—
Who else, besides blood kin, would risk certain death to save him?!
Only his brother.Only Donquixote Rosinante!
Lying beneath his brother's body, Doflamingo basked in the exhaustion and exhilaration of survival, his trust in Corazon soaring to an unprecedented peak.
He even felt that this—this—was the greatest reason heaven had sent his brother back to his side:
To save him, at the moment of greatest danger.
With his back turned to Doflamingo, Corazon listened to the laughter behind him—laughter filled with trust and manic joy.
The cigarette between his lips trembled slightly as he pressed them together.
Beneath the clown makeup, his expression was impossibly complex:relief at a mission accomplished,a trace of reluctance,but above all, an unshakable resolve.
The plan… had succeeded.
Only, the price of that success was built upon his brother's absolute—and deeply twisted—trust.
The small boat carried the two brothers, each harboring very different thoughts,slowly onward toward Reverse Mountain.