Chapter 72: Ghost VS Thread

As Doflamingo's murderous intent cut through the air, his Conqueror's Haki surged like an unstoppable wave, painting the surroundings with faint black and red arcs, a sight both ominous and fearsome.

"What a terrifying aura~"Adrian muttered, squinting. The force of the Conqueror's Haki ruffled his suit, yet he stood unwavering, solid as stone.

"Innate king qualifications, huh? Saint Donquixote Doflamingo, your talent is truly remarkable! A far cry from those idle layabouts, scums!"

The mention of the title he hadn't heard in decades made Doflamingo's pupils contract involuntarily.

Male Celestial Dragons would add the character ",聖Saint" after their names, while female Celestial Dragons would add the character "宮, Palace" to show their noble status.

{All the World Nobles are referred by "Saint" as a prefix-honorific. In Japanese, it becomes a suffix, with the males being "-sei" (聖, sei?) and females "-gu" (宮, gū?)}

{But everyone is called Saint there from wiki page.}

This fact is widely known within the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, yet outside its borders, only those with close ties to the Celestial Dragons are privy to this knowledge.

In addition to the highest cadres of the Donquixote Family, there are many people in the world who know that he has the identity of a Celestial Dragon, but it is definitely not something that can be casually said by a stranger!

"Do you know anything else? Are you a scum sent by the World Government?!"

If Doflamingo sounded somewhat friendly a minute ago, now his voice turned cold and icy as if it came from the underworld.

"If you want answers, find them yourself!"

"Perfect!" Doflamingo's forehead bulged, a hideous smile spreading across his face. "I'll find out from your dismembered body!"

Five-Color Thread! {五色线!}

Doflamingo extended his right hand, forming a claw-like gesture. Five extremely sharp and resilient threads flew out from the tips of his fingers, charging at Adrian with the intent to tear him apart.

"Not very polite, are you?"

Adrian did not dodge or evade, allowing the white threads, as sharp as blades, to cut through his body.

To Doflamingo's eyes, the threads seemed to pass through Adrian harmlessly.

Meanwhile, behind the enemy, the Donquixote Auction House, which had been in existence for decades, was instantly cut into six pieces by the lingering shockwaves of the Five-Colored Threads. It collapsed to the ground with a loud crash, raising a huge cloud of dust.

"An attack of this level is useless against me!" Adrian brushed nonexistent dust off his clothes, looking serious. "If you can only do this much, then the history of the Donquixote Family may have come to an end!"

"Fufufufu..."

Doflamingo's attack missed, but he wasn't deterred. He let out a low chuckle, raised his right hand high into the air, and sprayed out dozens of nearly transparent threads from the center of his palm. Under the control of his Devil Fruit power, these threads tightly intertwined to form a whip as thick as a braid, which then lashed out at Adrian with great force!

Super Impact Whip!

"Heh..."

Adrian chuckled lightly. Thanks to his fully maxed Ghost Body, which shrugged off physical attacks, he remained unscathed despite facing an attack that could carve deep trenches into the ground.

At this time, Doflamingo's expression finally turned grim. His usual arrogant expression also finally faded away.

"What's this ability? Are you a Logia Devil Fruit user?" Doflamingo asked.

Adrian said calmly, "It's best not to pry for information. Since you have mastered the power of Conqueror's Haki, I believe you should not be unfamiliar with the other two types of Haki. I have been looking forward to it for a long time, the power of Armament Haki!"

That's right!

Adrian chose to escalate the conflict with the Donquixote Family at this moment not only to showcase his strength but also for another crucial reason.

He wanted to gauge Armament Haki's effect on Ghost Fruit!

Within the four seas, there may be many people who possess Armament Haki, but Adrian can only contact two people at present - or maybe only one.

The first is naturally the twelfth generation pillar of the Happo navy of Kano Country – Chinjao !

However, Chinjao' level is too high. A few years ago, he was still able to briefly contend with Garp, a legendary navy.

Despite Adrian being a top-tier Devil Fruit user, his basic attributes—strength, speed, and endurance—remained relatively low. He stood no chance against Chinjao.

If he rashly challenges Chinjao, if Armament Haki really poses a great threat to Ghost Fruit, then Adrian will only end up in two ways.

One method involved him utilizing the properties of the Ghost Fruit, employing a kite-based technique to wear down Bell Pepper alive; the other was for Bell Pepper to seize the opportunity and instantly defeat him using Armament Haki!

The plan's margin for error was slim, serving only as a last resort.

As for the other figure with a high likelihood of possessing Armament Haki among the four major figures in the outer seas, was Doflamingo.

From a young age, Doflamingo had shown mastery over Conqueror's Haki, honed under the guidance of mentors like Trebol. It was probable that he also possessed the other two forms of Haki.

Adrian was confident that his Ghost Fruit, with its fully developed abilities, surpassed Doflamingo's String Fruit.

In terms of basic strength, Doflamingo, who was only in his early twenties, was still far from becoming the "Heavenly Yaksha," "Seven Warlords of the Sea," and "Joker" that he would later be. Even if his strength was beyond expectations, it would not be too much greater than Adrian's, and it would definitely be within a manageable range.

Doflamingo was the most suitable opponent for Adrian to test Haki powers against his fruit powers.

"Fufufu... It seems I'm being underestimated." Doflamingo muttered, his anger brewing.

He raised his arms and swung them down with force. At the same time, a thin, almost invisible thread emerged from the tips of his five fingers, forming a cross formation. He charged towards Adrian with all his might.

"Fulbright!" {降无赖线!is this 降無頼糸, フルブライト. I think!! If anyone has anything to say then do say in the comments}

Unlike the Five-Colored Thread from a moment ago, this time the threads that attacked were completely covered in a layer of black Armament Haki!

This time, Adrian could not afford to be careless. He also stretched out his fingers and released the Mini Ghosts.

"Mini Ghosts: Star Fire!"

A swarm of white ghost surged towards the dark threads descending from the sky.

Adrian opened his eyes wide, observing every detail.

The Mini Ghosts exploded as soon as they came into contact with the threads covered in Armament Haki.

However, it was not the kind that exploded immediately after encountering the target, but more like...

They were detonated in advance!