Chapter 18:The Joker Falls!

Doflamingo's eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint in his gaze as he raised his hand. Threads of thin, razor-sharp strings shimmered into existence beneath his feet. With a flick of his wrist, the ground beneath them warped and twisted, transforming into a field of gleaming strings. They lashed out violently toward Yami, cutting through the air like whips.

"Parasite!" Doflamingo snarled, his fingers twitching as the strings surged toward Yami's limbs.

Yami's eyes flashed with amusement. He flapped his massive black wings, sending a scorching wave of fire from his back. The flames exploded outward, incinerating the strings mid-air and leaving behind trails of smoke and ash.

"Tch." Doflamingo clicked his tongue. "You're fast."

Yami's grin widened. Without a word, he raised his massive netherite sword, the dark blade gleaming menacingly under the fading sunlight.

"Expand!" Yami roared.

The sword shimmered and then grew, expanding rapidly until it rivaled the weapons of the giants. Yami hurled the colossal sword downward, and it crashed toward Doflamingo like a meteor.

BOOM!

Dust and debris shot into the air as the sword struck the ground with a deafening impact. Yami's eyes narrowed as he hovered above the destruction. 'Did I get him?'

But as the dust settled, Yami's gaze sharpened. Across the wreckage stood Doflamingo, completely unharmed, a sinister smirk twisting his lips. The giant sword had struck a string clone.

"You've mastered that fruit well, huh?"

Doflamingo chuckled darkly. "You're one to talk," he sneered. "First the iron golems… then that live broadcast across the world two weeks ago… and now turning swords gigantic." His lips curled into a sadistic grin. "What kind of bizarre fruit did you eat?"

Yami's eyes gleamed dangerously. "A dead man doesn't need to know my secrets."

Doflamingo's smile slipped. Yami's leg slammed into the ground, causing a tremor to ripple through the island. The strings that had been creeping toward him from underground erupted in flames, burning away as Yami's fire consumed them.

"Tch!" Doflamingo clicked his tongue in frustration.

Yami pointed his hand forward. From thin air, black tendrils of obsidian emerged, glistening with an unnatural sheen of Haki. The tendrils twisted and shot toward Doflamingo in snake-like patterns.

Doflamingo's eyes narrowed as he jumped backward, his body turning partially into strings. "Overheat!" A whip of blazing strings lashed out toward the obsidian tendrils, cutting through them with brutal efficiency.

But Yami wasn't done yet.

With his free hand, Yami materialized a… water bucket.

Doflamingo's eyes widened. "What the hell—?"

Yami's mouth curled into a wide grin. Suddenly, the obsidian tendrils shifted, forming a wall that cut off Doflamingo's escape route.

"Checkmate," Yami said softly.

He tipped the water bucket over himself. Water cascaded down his form, but instead of weakening him, the trident he had Summoned began to glow with an intense blue light. Yami's wings ignited with blue flames, the heat distorting the air around him.

"W-What the hell is this?!" Doflamingo's eyes narrowed.

Yami pointed the trident at Doflamingo. "Let's see how you handle this."

With a burst of propulsion from the water and his flames, Yami shot forward like a bullet. His trident, coated in Haki, blazed with power as it slammed into Doflamingo's arm.

CRACK!

Red lightning erupted between them as their Conqueror's Haki clashed violently. The shockwave blasted apart the molten ground beneath them, creating a smoldering crater.

Doflamingo gritted his teeth as strings shot toward Yami. "God Thread!"

But Yami's grin only widened. The flames on his back turned blue, and a cyclone of blue fire surged around them, trapping them both in the vortex. The temperature spiked instantly—hot enough to melt stone into molten lava.

Doflamingo grimaced. "You… bastard—"

Yami suddenly spat something from his mouth toward Doflamingo.

A strange....pearl?

Doflamingo instinctively dodged, but Yami's grin deepened. The pearl landed behind Doflamingo—and in the blink of an eye, Yami appeared behind him. It was an Ender pearl!

"Game over," Yami whispered.

The trident, now coated with shimmering black Haki, plunged through Doflamingo's chest.

"Gahhh!" Doflamingo coughed up blood, his body trembling due to all the types of potions Yami had coated the tridents tips with. His vision blurred as Yami's flames danced in front of his eyes.

"You… little…"

But Yami wasn't done yet. His eyes gleamed dangerously as his hand glowed with an unnatural dark light.

"Seal."

Doflamingo's body stiffened as Yami's sealing mod activated. The trident pulsed with energy as Doflamingo's body froze—his form twisting and shrinking—until it was reduced to a… photograph.

The photo drifted down into Yami's hand.

Yami lifted the photo, inspecting it casually before laughing darkly. "The Joker is caught." His grin widened, predatory and cold as he stored the photo in his inventory. "Now… onto the next act."

His eyes flashed with observation haki towards the horizon.

Two ships appeared on the waterline, cutting through the waves with imposing force. The Jolly Roger of the Big Mom Pirates fluttered on one mast, while the Beast Pirates' emblem loomed over the other.

Yami's gaze sharpened as he recognized the two figures standing at the bows of their respective ships—Charlotte Smoothie and Jack the Drought.

Yami's grin widened. "Perfect timing."

His wings flared, the blue flames intensifying.

"This is going to be fun."

He turned toward the sky, raising the trident. "Time for another broadcast," Yami murmured. His smile sharpened. "And what better news… than the destruction of Doflamingo, Smoothie, and Jack?"

Yami chuckled darkly. "And the announcement of Dressrosa as my second territory."

As the two ships approached, Yami's flames roared to life. The sea reflected the blue blaze as Yami's eyes flashed ominously.

"Let's show the world who really owns the New World."

While Yami took care of Doflamingo and Nojiko, Makino and Tashigi were busy ransacking the underground lab, collecting anything valuable or dangerous. But the true chaos was unfolding elsewhere.

The scene shifted to Nami's battle with Caesar Clown.

"AAAHHH!"

Caesar screamed in agony as Nami's baton, tipped with seastone, slammed into his side. The blow sent him crashing into the cold stone wall of the lab. He gasped for air, but before he could recover, Nami was already on him.

Her hand gripped his shoulder tightly, a low crackle of electricity buzzing through her palm. Sparks danced down her arm as she smiled—a dangerous, unsettling smile. Caesar's body convulsed as the electric current shot through him, his limbs jerking uncontrollably.

"GAAHHHH! Stop—stop it—!" Caesar choked out, his breath ragged. His gaseous body flickered, trying to dissipate, but the seastone at the baton's tip pinned him down like an iron shackle. He couldn't escape.

Nami's eyes glinted with something cold and dangerous. Her lips curled into a smile that was too wide, too sharp. "What's wrong, Caesar?" she purred, tilting her head. "You don't like this?"

"P-Please!" Caesar begged, his eyes wild with terror. He writhed beneath her grip, but Nami's fingers only tightened, digging into his flesh.

A violent bolt of lightning shot through Caesar's body, making him scream. His eyes rolled back as his body convulsed. Nami's smile widened.

Her breath hitched as a strange heat spread through her chest—a twisted sense of satisfaction blooming within her. The pain in Caesar's eyes, the sound of his screams—it made her heart race.

"What's the matter, Caesar?" Nami's voice was low, mocking. "Did you think you could hurt people forever without consequences?"

Electricity sparked at her fingertips, illuminating her eyes with an eerie glow. Caesar whimpered beneath her, his gas form flickering weakly.

"Please… stop…" he croaked.

But Nami's smile only grew.

She struck him again.

And again.

And again.

Each blow was accompanied by a jolt of electricity, and each scream from Caesar made Nami's eyes flash brighter. Her body trembled—not from exhaustion, but from the strange thrill that coursed through her veins.

What… is this feeling?

She wanted to stop. She should stop. But she couldn't. The look of pain in Caesar's eyes, the sound of his desperate pleas—it made something dark inside her come alive.

Caesar's breath hitched as his trembling hands reached out weakly. "D-Doflamingo… h-help me… someone… p-please…!"

Nami leaned down, her face inches from his ear. "No one's coming to save you," she whispered. Her hand curled around his throat, and Caesar's eyes widened in sheer panic.

Nami's eyes gleamed dangerously. A dark part of her purred at his helplessness, at the sight of him breaking beneath her.

In his mind, Caesar begged for a miracle. For Doflamingo to rescue him. For God to take his soul and end this torment.

But there was no salvation.

Only Nami's twisted smile.