"Young Master, it looks like the battle has quieted down?"
Not far from Dressrosa, the Numididae was slowly floating on the sea.
The Snow-Snow Fruit user named Monet descended from the sky. Although Monet had not undergone human modification this time and had not grown a pair of bird wings, she could still float in mid-air through her elementalization ability, thanks to the power of the Snow-Snow Fruit.
As for the other main aerial force of the Donquixote Family, the Spin-Spin Fruit user Buffalo, he was already exhausted and lying on the deck because he had spent too much time acting as a means of transportation.
Doflamingo also stood on the deck, looking toward Dressrosa and frowning.
"It shouldn't be over this quickly, right? A battle between a Marine Admiral and one of the Four Emperors should, logically, take at least several days to decide a winner..."
"And... why haven't I seen the glinting ability of that monkey Kizaru?"
Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit ability could be said to be one of the most dazzling abilities. Even from this far away, it should have been clearly visible.
However, although a few attacks unique to the Glint-Glint Fruit appeared at Dressrosa in the beginning, they were short-lived and quickly went silent.
After that, although the battle did not stop and the destruction caused was even more powerful, it seemed to be a fight between two top-tier experts in taijutsu and Haki. Kizaru's Devil Fruit ability never manifested again.
Could it be that Kizaru wants to defeat Charlotte Linlin using only taijutsu? Is this some new comedy routine that monkey came up with?
Although they were all in the first tier of the sea, Kizaru was arguably the weakest in terms of physical fitness and Haki cultivation among them. Abandoning the Glint-Glint Fruit ability to rely purely on his body and Haki, even Doflamingo was confident he could fight Kizaru for dozens of rounds.
And even if Charlotte Linlin wasn't the physically strongest person on the sea, she was definitely one of the strongest... Kizaru must have lost his mind to dare engage in close combat with Charlotte Linlin. Is he not afraid of being turned into fried monkey brains?
Furthermore, although the battle was indeed extremely intense, with nearly half of Dressrosa reduced to ruins by the aftershocks, the total combat time was only about an hour!
"Could it be that crazy woman Charlotte Linlin suddenly regained her senses? Or did an old injury flare up? Or did someone else go to support Kizaru?"
"Damn it, if only Violet were still here, I wouldn't have to guess blindly like this... Should I go back or not?"
Just as Doflamingo was thinking, Violet's gaze had already located the position of the Donquixote Family.
"Found them, Lord Vegapunk!"
Hearing Violet's words, Vegapunk nodded.
"Very well. Don't resist; give me the coordinates now!"
As he spoke, Vegapunk reached out and pressed his hand against Violet's head. Violet endured the feeling of her mind being seen through and her brain seemingly stirred by a pair of cold, large hands. A moment later, she felt as if all the memories in her mind had been scanned by the other party.
Or perhaps, it wasn't just an 'as if'... was it a fact? A thought flashed through her mind, but Violet immediately suppressed it to the deepest part of her soul. Even so, she still felt Vegapunk cast a glance at her, causing sweat to trickle down her forehead.
Her new boss seemed far more terrifying than Doflamingo... While he might not be as evil and cruel as Doflamingo, both his unmatched power and his ability to nearly see through one's soul put immense pressure on Violet.
Vegapunk didn't care about Violet's stray thoughts. Of course, in reality, those weren't just stray thoughts. To the current Vegapunk, while his Armament Haki was still cumbersome and disorganized, his Observation Haki had reached a level nearly down to the molecular stage and had even derived most of the unique abilities characteristic of top-tier Observation Haki.
Among them, after combining his mind-reading ability with Chakra and electromagnetic powers, he could easily read not just the thoughts of an ordinary person, but even their actual memories.
Violet only had a slight foundation in Observation Haki, which prevented Vegapunk from reading her memories from a distance; he needed physical contact to do so.
However, Vegapunk said nothing. He simply waved his hand, and his magnetic field ability immediately opened a wormhole in space. He then took the lead and stepped inside.
Hancock and the others followed closely. Violet looked at the pitch-black opening and cautiously stepped inside as well.
Following a spacetime transition, the blue sky and sea reappeared. Violet was surprised to find herself on a ship—and wasn't this ship the Numididae?
Is this some kind of Devil Fruit ability? The Grotto-Grotto Fruit? The Transfer-Transfer Fruit?
This was not just Violet's thought; it was also Doflamingo's thought after seeing a group of people suddenly appear on his ship.
However, Doflamingo's gaze did not linger on Vegapunk or Hancock, but instead looked toward Charlotte Smoothie and Katakuri.
After all, Doflamingo had never met Vegapunk or Hancock. Furthermore, neither of them were the multi-meter tall 'aberrant species' common in the One Piece World; after restraining their presence, they looked no different from ordinary people from the outside.
In contrast, Charlotte Smoothie and Katakuri were famous throughout the New World. Hardly any pirate didn't recognize them, let alone Doflamingo, a member of the Shichibukai.
"Fufufufufufu... I never thought my Numididae would welcome two such distinguished guests!"
Doflamingo's forehead broke into a slight sweat as he spoke to the two with forced composure.
Damn it, this is bad. To run into these two at a time like this... He had notified the Marines, causing a Marine Admiral to set out and deal with Charlotte Linlin. Although this was a necessary plan because Charlotte Linlin had gone berserk, Doflamingo didn't think the Charlotte Pirates would listen to reason.
At its peak, the Donquixote Family wouldn't necessarily fear two Sweet Commanders. Even if they couldn't win, by relying on the coordination of their numerous Devil Fruit abilities, they could repel them unless Charlotte Smoothie and Katakuri were willing to fight to the death.
But now, basically everyone in the Donquixote Family who could fight was either dead or heavily injured. Even his own head was still dented!
Under these circumstances, let alone Katakuri, Charlotte Smoothie alone could probably wipe out the entire Donquixote Family, couldn't she?!
Doflamingo's face was full of caution, even carrying a few hints of ingratiation. As the saying goes, the wise adapt to circumstances; clearly, Doflamingo, who had once been 'cured' of his kingly delusions by Kaido, understood this very well.
Unfortunately, the expressions on Doflamingo's face were all directed at the wrong people. The ones truly looking for trouble with him weren't the two Charlottes.
When Violet also stepped out of that black hole, Doflamingo's eye twitched slightly. He finally knew how the other party had found him. Clearly, this daughter of his former enemy had turned traitor!
"Do you all have some business with us? Fufufufufufu... Although there was a slight misunderstanding between Dressrosa and Captain Charlotte, I assume with your help, Captain Charlotte should be fine, right?"
"Thanks to you, Mama has only fallen unconscious. There's no problem for now..."
Charlotte Smoothie spoke with a cold voice. There was no problem for now, but it was hard to say for the future.
As for the 'thanks to you' part, she obviously wasn't actually grateful to Doflamingo.
Charlotte Smoothie, or rather the entire Charlotte Family, though they all felt more fear than affection for Charlotte Linlin, it wasn't as if they would be happy that someone had attacked their mother.
"Fufufufufu... It's just a small misunderstanding. I think I can explain..."
Doflamingo still wanted to try to say something, but Katakuri had already waved his hand and said impatiently:
"Smoothie, say less."
"Lord Vegapunk, the members of the Doflamingo Pirates should all be here. How should they be handled?"
Lord Vegapunk!? Doflamingo's mind went blank. He wasn't like Violet; when Doflamingo seized Dressrosa, he had already become a Shichibukai, and by then, Vegapunk's name had long been circulating among the high-ranking officials.
Regarding this super scientist who was 500 years ahead of the world, Doflamingo naturally had a very deep understanding. Especially since one of Vegapunk's former assistants was under his command, it further deepened Doflamingo's impression of Vegapunk.
Speaking of which, that guy Caesar would tremble at the mere mention of the name Vegapunk... Is this mad scientist actually still alive?!
Doflamingo looked at the blond youth. This is Vegapunk? Where is his giant head?
Even if Doflamingo was poorly informed, he still knew about Vegapunk's most prominent feature. Although Vegapunk had later separated from that giant head, he didn't look anything like his current image either!
Of course, just seeing how respectful the two Charlottes were, Doflamingo didn't dare to underestimate this scientist. He turned to look at Vegapunk and spoke directly:
"Lord Vegapunk? You must be that peerlessly brilliant scientist who is said to be 500 years ahead of humanity!"
"It so happens that I have an assistant here who escaped from your laboratory back then. I wonder, Dr. Vegapunk, do you still remember that Caesar?!"
Vegapunk looked up slightly.
"Caesar? You mean that guy who likes to brag, embezzle funds, and is more cowardly than a mouse? The one who secretly ate the Gas-Gas Fruit and finally escaped through the ventilation duct of the experimental base?"
Well, speaking of which, the escape of those three assistants did have something to do with Vegapunk's own carelessness. It was mainly because after the experiment to control the three of them failed, Vegapunk didn't pay much more attention to them.
Otherwise, those three self-righteous guys—though their skills were decent and could be considered top-tier in the One Piece World—were undoubtedly like the difference between clouds and mud compared to a 'cheating' player like Vegapunk. There were as many ways to restrict them as he wanted.
If it weren't for the fact that their escape was a fluke, those three wouldn't be so wary of Vegapunk, even trembling at the sound of his name, because they knew very well that if Vegapunk caught them again, they would never have another chance to escape.
It was just that these three each had their own backers, and Vegapunk judged at the time that the trouble of capturing them outweighed the help they could provide, so he didn't take action.
"Is that so? Fufufufufu. Caesar's wisdom is naturally just a tiny fraction of yours, but I assume he can still be of some help to you! Why don't I take you to find him!"
Doflamingo said while laughing. Vegapunk glanced at him leisurely and sighed.
"How sensible... but what a pity! I plan to capture Caesar, and I won't let you 'experimental subjects' go either!"
The expression on Doflamingo's face froze, and his expression quickly turned somber.
"Vegapunk, it seems you think you have me all figured out?"
"I don't 'think' so; isn't that just an obvious fact?"
"Fufufufufu! Then be careful not to break your teeth! God Killing Spear!"
Doflamingo didn't hesitate for a second and instantly attacked. Countless fine threads condensed into a long spear, which shot violently toward Vegapunk!
He knew in his heart that in his current state, he was certainly no match for Charlotte Smoothie or Katakuri, but while the Vegapunk before him might have advanced technological means and had certainly undergone body modifications given his changed appearance, he was not a warrior by birth after all.
As for Hancock standing next to Vegapunk, Doflamingo considered her to be Vegapunk's toy because of her exquisite looks and didn't pay much attention to her.
This was also because Doflamingo knew that he only had this one chance to make a move. If he didn't take a gamble, his end wouldn't be any better anyway.
Then Vegapunk showed Doflamingo exactly what it meant to lose nine out of ten bets!
A finger like mutton-fat jade reached out. The skin looked fair and moist, as if a faint glow were circulating through it. It was slender, delicate, and soft as if it had no bones. No matter how one looked at it, it was completely mismatched with the rapidly approaching God Killing Spear wrapped in Armament Haki.
However, with just such a slender and delicate finger, a light tap on the black spearhead caused the original God Killing Spear to instantly shatter into powder. Doflamingo's expression changed drastically as he looked at the still-extended finger and tried to retreat rapidly.
The extended finger seemed to move unhurriedly, yet it far exceeded Doflamingo's retreat speed, slowly pressing toward the center of Doflamingo's brow. Doflamingo knew very well that the other party's speed was so fast that it left a near-afterimage impression in his mind.
Finally, as the finger approached to within a few centimeters of Doflamingo's brow, Doflamingo roared. Ignoring his heavy injuries, he once again unleashed the power of his awakened String-String Fruit. The entire ground instantly turned into a white ocean, and then, countless white threads condensed into ground spikes and erupted!
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