As evening fell, Raleigh grew impatient waiting at the Donquixote Family's base.
Doflamingo, covered in blood, strode into the meeting hall, carrying the heads of two Pirates.
Thud, thud.
He tossed the two heads onto the table, his face darkening as he spoke.
"One thousand Pirate heads have been collected. They're all in the field below the mountain. Would you like to verify them, Admiral Raleigh!"
The word "Admiral" was heavily emphasized by Doflamingo.
It was clear from his expression that he was furious.
And he had every reason to be—his subordinates had suffered heavy losses.
Even with careful planning, ambushes, and overwhelming numbers, he had lost over two hundred members.
Most of those who survived were injured.
Raleigh glanced at Doflamingo, suddenly feeling mischievous.
"Those heads are useless to me. I'm past the point of needing Military Merit to prove myself. Just clean them up, take a photo, and burn them."
"What?!" Doflamingo's voice rose sharply.
He and the members of the Donquixote Family had fought... In Raleigh's eyes, they were nothing but trash—how could this not infuriate him?
"Are you toying with us?" Doflamingo was nearly driven mad.
He had never suffered such humiliation before!
Even when he was forced to "cooperate" with Raleigh back then, Raleigh had never done anything like this.
"If this is your twisted sense of humor, I will report your behavior to the Navy and the World Government!"
Raleigh put away his smile, his expression turning cold.
"Are you threatening me? Hah, go ahead and report to the Navy and the World Government. See if they'll strip me of my Admiral position. Besides, this was never an order I gave you. When you accepted the position of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, I don't know if anyone emphasized this to you, but reducing the number of Pirates is something the Seven Warlords of the Sea are supposed to do."
Then, with a wave of his hand, Raleigh had several burly Navy soldiers bring Sugar forward.
"Doflamingo, you should recognize this person, right?"
Doflamingo turned to look and saw Sugar, whom he had placed high hopes in, now being held captive by the Navy.
He was in disbelief, but anger immediately surged within him.
However, even Doflamingo didn't realize that beneath the extreme rage lay a forgotten sense of fear.
"Let her go! I said let her go! Are you trying to start a war with our Donquixote Family?!"
Doflamingo's voice caught the attention of the Donquixote Family executives outside, who quickly flooded into the meeting hall.
"Doffy, what's wrong?"
"What happened, Young Master?"
"Sugar? Why is she in the Navy's hands?"
A series of exclamations erupted from the Donquixote Family executives.
"Where's Pica? How did he not notice Sugar was captured?"
Raleigh enjoyed seeing his opponents' panicked reactions—it made him feel like he had once again defeated them mentally.
"Stop shouting. The Pica you're talking about should be that burly man with a girly voice, right? I fought him this morning. If he hadn't run so fast, I would have killed him! He's probably nursing his wounds somewhere now."
Raleigh's words made every member of the Donquixote Family glare at him with fury.
Clap, clap, clap.
Under the weight of so many murderous gazes, Raleigh applauded himself, completely indifferent to the killing intent.
"Doflamingo, now that I've captured her, you should know what consequences the Donquixote Family will face. Human trafficking is a serious crime you know. Not even the World Government can protect you from this."
At this moment, Doflamingo calmed down slightly.
He knew he had lost.
In this struggle, he had thought Raleigh was merely here to teach the Donquixote Family a lesson, but he never expected Raleigh had come specifically for the Donquixote Family.
Now, with evidence in hand, Raleigh could essentially put the Donquixote Family on trial.
His status as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea was useless.
His former identity as a Celestial Dragon was useless.
Doflamingo suspected that even a real Celestial Dragon being here would be of no use. Because the man before him was no ordinary Navy officer.
He was despicable, ruthless, and merciless, even smarter than others in political struggles.
If someone like him weren't in the Navy, he would undoubtedly be a Pirate of New World Overlord caliber.
Raleigh had no idea what Doflamingo was thinking.
If he knew, he would definitely give Doflamingo two hard slaps.
'Why would I, a perfectly good marine, turn to piracy?'
"Admiral Raleigh, I am willing to exchange all the wealth of the Donquixote Family for Sugar's safety. From now on, I will no longer be involved in the underground industry and will devote myself wholeheartedly to capturing pirates." Doflamingo lowered his proud head.
All members of the Donquixote Family stared at Doflamingo in shock.
It was as if they were meeting him for the first time.
Before this, no matter what situation he faced, Doflamingo would never lower his proud head.
Yet now, for the sake of a family member with no blood relation, he had no choice but to bow to the enemy.
This deeply moved the other members of the Donquixote Family.
Already fiercely loyal, their loyalty grew even stronger.
Raleigh rested his chin on his right hand, watching this performance intently.
Clap, clap, clap.
Since he was watching a show, it was only natural to give the actors applause.
Raleigh's applause echoed through the council hall. No one could guess what he was truly thinking.
"Lift your head, Doflamingo. Don't make me look down on you. Since you've already taken action, you must be prepared to bear the consequences. Acting like this only makes me despise you."
Doflamingo felt his blood run cold. He could clearly hear the underlying meaning in Raleigh's words.
Raleigh would not accept any conditions or compromises.
He was determined to crush the Donquixote Family.
"Is there no other way?" Doflamingo raised his head, his eyes burning with madness.
"I regret to inform you that from the moment I arrived in Dressrosa, you and your Donquixote Family were doomed to destruction. The reason I had you collect a thousand pirate heads was merely to drain the strength of your Donquixote Family."
Doflamingo's face turned deathly pale, and his body swayed slightly.
It was true.
Everything Raleigh said was true.