"Overheat!"
Under Kenpachi Zaraki's watchful gaze, the massive whip-like thread slammed heavily into his body.
A deafening explosion rang out—
and the same despairing scene played out once again.
Even after taking Overheat head-on, Kenpachi didn't budge an inch.
His body remained rooted where it stood.
And on his chest—
there was only a slightly deeper white mark.
"Impossible…"
"There's no way this is possible!"
Doflamingo's eyes widened in disbelief, his mind going blank. The things happening one after another tonight had completely overturned everything he thought he knew.
Overheat was one of his most destructive techniques. It could slice a human body clean in two and even cut a tall building in half in an instant.
And yet—
when it struck the man before him—
it only left behind a pale mark on his skin?
What kind of joke was this?!
Doflamingo let out a crazed laugh, only for the smile on his face to vanish beneath pure killing intent.
"So there really are monsters like you in this world. No wonder you got a one-billion-berry bounty the first time you were wanted."
Staring at the white mark on Kenpachi's chest, Doflamingo took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
"A bounty means nothing in a fight," Kenpachi said, tearing open his shihakushō and baring his chest with a savage grin. "Come on. That last attack was finally starting to get somewhere. Use everything you've got. If you can make me bleed, then bring out every trick you have."
Kenpachi's twisted battle habit had surfaced again.
He was deliberately exposing his chest and provoking Doflamingo into attacking.
"You're exposing your chest and actually telling your enemy to attack? Your arrogance is beyond insane!" Doflamingo roared, veins bulging in his eyes as his pent-up fury finally exploded.
Over the past few years, as the Donquixote Family expanded, he had risen to prominence in the underworld. Beyond his legitimate businesses, he had long since sunk his hands into weapons, drugs, and every kind of illegal trade.
To grow his influence, Doflamingo had already destroyed at least eight towns with his own hands.
And his ambition had never been limited to North Blue.
What he wanted—
was a place in the New World.
That was why he had secretly allied with Kaido and begun laying the groundwork for his future Dressrosa takeover.
And now—
after all those years of pride and calculation—
he was being humiliated by a man who made no sense at all.
Doflamingo could no longer endure it.
"Why do you get to say such unbearably arrogant things?!" he bellowed.
Before coming to Minion Island, he had believed this to be a flawless plan. With Vergo acting as his mole, he was supposed to take the Op-Op Fruit effortlessly.
Instead, everything had gone wrong.
The fruit was gone.
And now a completely unreasonable monster had him cornered.
He had been holding in his rage all night.
Standing there, Doflamingo's pink feather coat fluttered wildly in the wind as a terrifying aura began to pour out of him.
He was completely enraged.
"You damned monster… I'll tear your body to pieces!"
With a furious roar, Doflamingo moved his fingers.
Countless white threads gathered around him at incredible speed—
then formed a human-shaped puppet.
Black Knight!
A string-created double.
It not only resembled Doflamingo perfectly in appearance, but could also be controlled to use the powers of the String-String Fruit. It could even speak, making it useful for confusing the enemy.
In other words—
it was effectively a second Doflamingo.
"Kenpachi, just as you wished…"
Doflamingo's grin turned cruel as he raised one arm.
The puppet mirrored the motion exactly.
"Bullet String!"
Doflamingo slashed his hand downward.
Five claw-like strings shot from his fingers, stabbing into the ground before surging up toward Kenpachi's body.
At the same time, the puppet mirrored the same attack.
Ten razor-sharp strings crossed through the air like a giant spiderweb, shredding everything in their path.
This time—
with Armament Haki reinforcing the threads—
they finally broke through Kenpachi's skin.
Ten bloody gashes opened across his tall body.
Drip.
Drip.
Blood slid down from the wounds, each drop falling with a clear, distinct sound that broke the silence of the night.
"Hah! That's more like it! You finally didn't disappoint me!"
To Doflamingo's horror, Kenpachi showed no pain after being wounded.
Instead—
he looked delighted.
His grin spread wider, more feral than before.
Touching the wound and looking at the blood on his palm, Kenpachi laughed like a demon.
"Doflamingo… now you've finally earned the right to make me fight!"
The instant the words left his mouth—
his figure vanished.
Like teleportation.
Before Doflamingo could react, Kenpachi was already in front of him.
A huge hand clamped down over his face.
"I can feel it… you still haven't gone all out, have you?"
Kenpachi's voice was cold and merciless.
Then he swung his arm and hurled Doflamingo away by the head.
Doflamingo had no room to resist.
Completely dominated by Kenpachi's Reiatsu, he was flung like a piece of trash and crashed into the distance.
Boom!
The ground exploded on impact, and a cloud of dust and shattered debris rose into the night.
Kenpachi stared intently at the ruin, the grin on his face growing more and more savage.
He could feel it.
Within that wreckage—
a stronger power was building rapidly.
A force that was beginning to affect the environment around it.
Clearly—
that was the power of Devil Fruit awakening.
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