In One Piece, I Am the Ultimate Doflamingo

"Father! Don't agree to this arrogant bastard's demands!"

Yamato burst into the room, dragging a terrified and unwilling Kozuki Hiyori behind her, pointing accusingly at Doflamingo.

For once, the Beasts Pirates found their rebellious princess surprisingly agreeable.

"Worororo, and why is that?" Kaido asked, intrigued by what reasoning his defiant daughter could possibly offer.

"Yeah, why? I'm curious as well. Care to explain, Kozuki Hiyori?" Doflamingo smirked knowingly.

"Lord Doflamingo, it wasn't me, I swear..."

Hiyori, who had been trembling on the ground moments ago, was yanked up by Yamato and pulled behind her. She glared at Doflamingo with a fiery intensity.

"Father! Oden is already dead, but this guy still turned Hiyori's mother into a lifeless, emotionless puppet! He's a despicable bastard!"

Kaido raised a brow. He had expected his daughter to say something profound.

That's it?

Oden was dead, so naturally, his wife should've followed him to the grave. Wasn't that how things were supposed to be?

Kaido suddenly felt an itch in his fist. He wanted to hit something.

Doflamingo crouched down, meeting Yamato's innocent gaze head-on.

"Fuffuffuffu... Then tell me, what should I do? Restore her mother and let them leave peacefully to live out their days in peace?"

Leave? Shouldn't they be staying here with me?

Yamato quickly shook off those thoughts and answered righteously.

"That's right!"

The Beasts Pirates exchanged glances. How was this girl even Kaido's daughter? It was ridiculous.

Doflamingo turned toward Kaido, who was radiating irritation.

"Kaido-san, you don't mind if I teach your daughter a little lesson about the real world, do you? No harm will come to her."

Kaido, who had beaten an eight-year-old girl without hesitation before, naturally didn't care. He waved dismissively.

In an instant, two strings shot out from Doflamingo's fingers, wrapping around both Yamato and Hiyori.

Before she could react, Yamato's mind was flooded with a chaotic storm of emotions.

"Die, die, die! Mother is dead, my brother is dead, my father is dead, you should be dead! Your father should be dead! Doflamingo should be dead! Hate, hate, hate! Why am I still alive?! AAAAAHHHHH!!!"

I... I just wanted to help her.

Yamato opened her eyes and turned to look at Hiyori. Her once naive gaze now held a flicker of understanding.

"You want me dead."

Hiyori trembled as if her deepest thoughts had been laid bare.

"Fuffuffuffuffu... Little girl, how do you feel now? How do you really feel?"

Doflamingo laughed heartily. He could never get tired of watching people's true hearts laid bare.

"Shut up, you arrogant bastard."

Yamato snapped at him, then shut her eyes tightly before reopening them with renewed determination.

"I'm still going to save her! She has no chance of avenging herself!"

"What I just taught you is that people are unpredictable."

Doflamingo straightened up, crossing his arms and leaning back, his gaze filled with disdain as it swept over Yamato.

"Now, let me teach you another lesson."

"The strong rule everything. The strong dominate everything. The strong own everything."

"Because Kaido and I are absolute powerhouses, the ruling class of Wano, the samurai class, is being wiped out."

"And because I am stronger, my spoils belong to me alone."

"You want to save her? Simple. Defeat me. Take from me. Subjugate me. Prove that your ideals are superior to mine."

The moment the words left his mouth, an overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki surged toward Yamato alone.

Thud! Yamato's proud stance faltered as if struck by an invisible hammer.

Pure kindness, kindness with power—Doflamingo admitted he could never be like that.

But that didn't mean he respected it.

Oden, the so-called saintly father, and Yamato, who was brainwashed by his ideals—Doflamingo could only describe them as pathetic.

Watching an execution and feeling inspired? A brainwashed child left behind to fester?

He might as well handle the brainwashing himself.

"Gurururu!"

"Wororororo! Well said, Doflamingo!"

Kaido's dark expression brightened instantly, his admiration for Doflamingo clear as day.

"I like you more and more."

Doflamingo grinned. "Kaido-san, haven't we always been like-minded?"

Kaido's smile mirrored his as he looked down at Yamato, who was barely holding on.

"Show me everything you've got. I want to see how far you can go."

Doflamingo didn't act immediately. Instead, he asked, "Kaido-san, what do you think Conqueror's Haki is?"

Nearby, King, Queen, Vergo, and Enel perked up their ears. They were eager to master this supreme power.

"It's proof of my will, my spirit!" Kaido answered, his body crackling with black and red lightning, showcasing his mastery over it.

"That's true," Doflamingo nodded. "But I prefer to see it as the manifestation of desire—whether it's hatred, protection, or destruction."

Countless strings shot from his hands, weaving into a flowing cage of razor-sharp threads that completely engulfed Hiyori.

"When that desire, that obsession, becomes overwhelming, Conqueror's Haki takes form."

The string cage tightened, forming a single button just a centimeter from Yamato's trembling fingers.

Doflamingo momentarily withdrew his Haki and spoke in a calm, menacing tone.

"Yamato, if you can press this button in 30 seconds, you will save Hiyori. If not…"

"She will be sliced into ribbons before your eyes. My work isn't bad, you know."

"Show me. What is your greatest desire?"

Still drenched in sweat, Yamato barely had time to process his words before the cage of threads began sparking as it constricted.

As for the immobilized Hiyori?

No one cared.

BOOM!

"That strange power again!"

Yamato's mind went blank, as if she had been tossed into the raging waterfall she once nearly drowned in as a child.

She wanted to grab hold of something—anything.

The strings had already torn Hiyori's clothes and were beginning to slice into her skin.

Hiyori's agonized, pleading eyes locked onto Yamato's.

"Save her? But she wants me dead."

Instinct told her to flee from this realization.

Doflamingo's smirk widened.

"Zzzzt—"

A single drop of blood trickled down.

"What do I do?"

"This is pissing me off. Father isn't doing anything either."

"Damn this smug bastard—I really want to punch him."

That single, dark thought flared up like dry kindling doused in jet fuel, igniting into an inferno.

At that moment, an incredible surge of power finally broke through her restraints, roaring outward.

BOOM!

A shockwave erupted from Yamato as Conqueror's Haki flooded the room!

Hiyori, closest to the blast, collapsed unconscious.

The weight pressing down on Yamato vanished.

With the last of her strength, she slammed her fist down on the button.

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+220 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg