One Piece: Scourge of the Seas

In a fit of rage, Donquixote Doflamingo exuded an aura of pure menace.

The moment his gaze swept over, even with his sunglasses obscuring his eyes, the nearby Marine felt as if he was being stared down by a ferocious beast. A chill ran through his entire body.

"Fuffuffuffu..."

Doflamingo let out a sinister laugh and casually waved his hand.

The Marine suddenly found himself lifted into the air, as if an invisible noose had tightened around his neck.

In mere seconds, his face turned red, on the verge of suffocation.

Clatter—!

Seeing Doflamingo attack a fellow Marine, the surrounding officers' expressions shifted. Without hesitation, they raised their weapons and aimed at him.

But Doflamingo didn't even spare them a glance.

At this moment, his only thought was to crush Maude's head deep into the ground.

Ignoring the surrounding Marines, he strode toward Maude, who stood just outside the reception hall.

As he moved, his violent aura erupted from within, sending black and red lightning-like arcs crackling through the air, sweeping over the surrounding Marines in an instant.

Conqueror's Haki!

The domineering aura rippled outward in waves, washing over the Marines who had taken a combat stance.

Thud, thud—

The moment the aura touched them, their bodies trembled. One by one, their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed to the ground.

In less than two seconds, over a hundred Marines lay unconscious on the ground.

Only a dozen or so remained standing, having withstood Doflamingo's Conqueror's Haki.

They had no time to check on their fallen comrades. Instead, they stared at Doflamingo in sheer disbelief.

This was Marine Headquarters!

And yet, he dared to be this brazen!

And then there was Maude, who was engaging Doflamingo in combat!

These two damned Warlords of the Sea were as reckless as they were disdainful of the Marines.

The remaining Marines, still capable of fighting, glared at Doflamingo with growing anger.

Near the gaping hole in the reception hall wall—

Watching as Doflamingo unleashed his Conqueror's Haki to overwhelm the Marines, Maude remained largely unbothered.

He could tell that Doflamingo was completely consumed by murderous intent.

Otherwise—

If he had even a shred of reason left, he wouldn't have made a move against the Marines in a place like this.

It seemed that the officers of the Donquixote Family were indeed Doflamingo's greatest weakness.

However—

If Doflamingo refused to back down, even here at Marine Headquarters, Maude wouldn't just sit idly by.

After all, it was Doflamingo who started this fight.

Logically speaking, Maude had the moral high ground.

"Hey, hey, what the hell is going on here?"

At that moment, Vice Admiral Tokikake (Chaton) arrived just in time. Draped in his Marine coat, he took in the disastrous scene with a horrified expression. With a casual wave of his hand, he released the Marine who was on the verge of suffocation.

Several buildings were damaged, nearly reduced to ruins.

Over a hundred unconscious Marines lay sprawled across the ground.

And there stood the bloodthirsty Heavenly Yaksha, Donquixote Doflamingo.

The situation couldn't possibly be worse.

Tokikake first turned to the unrestrainedly murderous Doflamingo, then shifted his gaze to Maude, who held Shusui in his grip.

"Doflamingo, Maude, you were summoned here by the Marines, not to destroy the place. If you keep this up... don't blame me for not holding back."

As the highest-ranking and most powerful Marine present, Tokikake assumed his words carried considerable weight.

But he had clearly overestimated himself.

Doflamingo completely ignored him and suddenly lunged at Maude, both hands swinging as the ground transformed into twisting white threads, forming spear-like points that hovered menacingly before him.

Maude narrowed his eyes, stomped his foot, and met Doflamingo head-on.

The thread spears, reinforced with Armament Haki, clashed against Shusui's blade in midair.

Clang—!

A sharp sound rang through the sky.

Black and red arcs crackled from the point of impact, scattering wildly in all directions.

"Shit!"

Tokikake had barely finished issuing his warning, and in the blink of an eye, the two were already exchanging blows. He couldn't help but curse out loud.

Feeling blatantly ignored, he angrily rolled up his sleeves, ready to step in and put an end to the fight.

But after observing for a moment—

He awkwardly realized that both Maude and Doflamingo were holding nothing back.

If he recklessly inserted himself into the fray, there was a high probability he'd be struck by both of their attacks simultaneously.

"Pirates fighting each other—isn't that a good thing? If it's a good thing, then there's no need to stop it."

Tokikake hesitated, quickly convincing himself with a logical excuse.

Clang! Boom! Boom!

Maude and Doflamingo were locked in an intense battle.

The commotion drew an increasing number of Marines to the scene.

Familiar figures like Hina, Smoker, and Tashigi—all well-acquainted with Maude—had arrived as well.

They were visibly surprised to see Maude and Doflamingo clashing.

Even Rear Admiral Gion (Momousagi) had arrived.

Her wine-red eyes flickered with a chilling glint as she watched Maude clash with Doflamingo.

Tokikake had initially convinced himself not to interfere, but upon seeing Gion, he felt it was time to step in.

Wasn't this the perfect moment to make a good impression on his crush?

Little did he know, Gion had paid him no attention whatsoever. Her entire focus was on Maude.

"Stop this right now!"

Eager to make an impression, Tokikake put on a stern face and shouted at Maude and Doflamingo.

But in the heat of battle, neither of them had the time to acknowledge him.

Once again ignored, Tokikake's mouth twitched in frustration.

It was moments like this that proved—sometimes, fists spoke louder than words.

Steeling himself, Tokikake, under the watchful eyes of his fellow Marines, charged into the battlefield.

"It's Vice Admiral Tokikake!"

"Great! With Vice Admiral Tokikake stepping in, he'll definitely be able to subdue the Heavenly Yaksha and Phantom Sniper!"

The Marines watched Tokikake advance with eyes full of trust.

Within the combat zone—

Under Doflamingo's manipulation, the white threads surged and twisted like tidal waves, striking at Maude from all directions.

In response, Maude wielded two blades—one hand gripping White Weasel, the other Shusui—executing slashes that deflected each incoming attack.

The tempo of their attacks was astonishingly fast.

With their blades and threads colliding repeatedly, dazzling sparks erupted with each clash.

At a glance, the two seemed evenly matched.

But Doflamingo was growing increasingly alarmed.

His previous impression of Maude was still rooted in the events of Lorre Island.

Yet now, engaging Maude in direct combat, he realized—Maude had ascended to an entirely new level.

Especially his Armament Haki—it was now on par with Doflamingo's own.

"Just how far does this guy's talent go...?"

Doflamingo was shocked by Maude's rapid growth.

And he wasn't the only one.

Gion and the other Marines who were familiar with Maude felt the same.

True strength is measured in comparison.

With the infamous Heavenly Yaksha as a benchmark, Maude's current power was laid bare—

So terrifyingly strong that it sent shivers down their spines.

Especially Gion—

Just by observing from the sidelines, she could feel an oppressive pressure emanating from Maude.

This had never happened before.

"He... has grown even stronger."

Gion furrowed her brows.

In contrast to Doflamingo, whether it was Haki or swordsmanship, Maude's strength was simply overwhelming.

"This rate of growth... is unfathomable."

If it were just early- to mid-stage development, given Maude's monstrous talent, Gion could accept his rapid progress.

However, once one's strength reached a certain level, everyone inevitably faced bottlenecks.

Beyond that point, there were no shortcuts—one could only advance slowly, step by step.

That was the case for her, Tokikake, and the many Vice Admirals of Marine Headquarters.

With time, they could sense their strength improving.

But if they compared their current selves to five or ten years ago, the difference wasn't all that significant.

Gion had seen many prodigies with exceptional talent.

Be they foes or comrades—

Without exception, they all followed the same pattern.

Even the Admirals of Marine Headquarters and the Four Emperors ruling the New World, no matter how terrifying their talent, still needed time to refine their strength.

But Maude...

He was practically an anomaly.

In terms of growth speed alone, Gion found it utterly inconceivable.

This man… is terrifying.

Amid her shock, a flicker of killing intent flashed through her eyes as she recalled Wolfrat's death.

...

Within the Battlefield.

Tokikake wasn't as preoccupied with overanalyzing things as the spectators.

As he charged toward Maude and Doflamingo—

To be safe, he first activated Tekkai, one of the Six Powers, then reinforced his body with Armament Haki.

"That's enough!"

Fully prepared, Tokikake let out a fierce shout, charging into the fray like a war god, forcibly inserting himself between Maude and Doflamingo.

His hands, clad in Haki, simultaneously reached out for both combatants.

Seeing Tokikake intervene, Maude and Doflamingo shared a moment of silent agreement—redirecting their next attacks toward this unwelcome intruder.

Boom!

Boom!

The instant Tokikake entered the battlefield, he was sent flying.

Even with both layers of defense, he was struck so hard that his cheeks swelled grotesquely from the combined assault. He crashed onto the ground in a miserable heap.

"My image… is ruined."

Lying facedown, Tokikake felt an immense wave of sorrow.

He had planned to put on a good show in front of his goddess—

Who would've thought that these two bastards would completely ignore all reason?

"Vice Admiral Tokikake… was taken out in an instant."

"Phantom Sniper looks so young, yet he's this powerful!"

"So this is the power of the Seven Warlords of the Sea..."

The Marines, who had pinned their hopes on Tokikake stopping the battle, were left in stunned silence.

Even a powerhouse like Vice Admiral Tokikake couldn't stop Maude and Doflamingo…

If these two Warlords kept fighting, this entire district might need to be rebuilt.

Watching Tokikake crash to the ground, Gion strode toward the battlefield.

Hina, Smoker, and other elite Marines also ceased spectating and followed Gion, prepared to put an end to this chaos.

Yet just as they reached the perimeter, before they could intervene, Maude and Doflamingo suddenly stopped.

A distinct shift in gravity enveloped them both, visible even to the naked eye.

That was why they had halted.

"It's time for your journey to the Holy Land."

The one who spoke was none other than Fujitora.

Suppressing the murderous rage boiling inside him, Doflamingo fell silent as he turned his gaze toward the blind Admiral.

At the reception hall entrance—

Blackbeard, Mihawk, Hancock, and Kuma all directed their attention to Fujitora as well.

"Another monster, huh?"

Blackbeard scrutinized Fujitora, silently forming his own assessment.

Fujitora "looked" at the gathered Warlords and said seriously:

"This time… I'll be leading the way."

A hush fell over the room.

A blind man... leading the way?

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