Chapter 52: I Want to Talk

Doflamingo narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses, carefully sizing up the unexpected visitor.

The black-haired young man stood atop the smoldering ruins of a building, clapping his hands as he looked down.

Tall and imposing, with short black hair and a wide white cloak fluttering behind him in the smoke-laced wind, he was strikingly out of the ordinary. Though clearly just a lowborn commoner, he gave off the impression of a fierce, elegant beast—exuding a noble presence that only elite Celestial Dragons typically possessed.

He had the sharp, chiseled features of a warrior—someone who would laugh in the face of his own pain.

Strong, yet refined.

Wild, yet dignified.

Brutal, yet cunning.

He was a man whose gaze was always fixed on the distant horizon.

A curious smile played on his lips.

Doflamingo knew that smile all too well.

He had worn it himself countless times when toying with his prey—a hunter's grin, like a cat toying with a mouse.

And the moment that thought surfaced, a wave of uncontrollable bloodlust surged up from deep within him.

A furious, destructive urge to not just defeat this man—but to completely annihilate him.

How dare he look at him like that!

That look—so much like the one those five damned old men from the World Government gave him when he carried his father's severed head up the Celestial Stairway!

"Doflamingo."

"Marine?!"

Trebol reacted instantly. The moment he saw the uniform on Daren, he confirmed the man's identity.

In that instant, Daren felt a tidal wave of killing intent surge in from all directions.

Shff, shff, shff!!

Scattered all around, the members of the Donquixote family raised their rifles in unison, eyes fierce and locked onto the black-haired Marine. Hundreds of gun barrels instantly trained on Daren.

They were the Donquixote Pirates.

The Marines? They'd never taken them seriously.

"Hey, hey, hey. Pulling out guns without even talking first?"

At that moment, the Marine Captain raised both hands in a mock surrender, grinning casually.

Was... was he actually surrendering?

Trebol and the others exchanged confused, incredulous looks at the sight of Daren raising his hands.

But what happened next sent a chill down their spines—an icy dread rushing up from their feet and into their skulls.

"I don't like having guns pointed at me."

The Marine Captain smiled as he spoke.

The Donquixote members froze.

Suddenly, an invisible force surged out from Daren's body.

They could feel it—something unstoppable gripping their rifles, wrenching them from their hands.

The weapons floated into the air.

And then, slowly, ominously, the barrels turned—pointing straight at their own foreheads.

What kind of power was this!?

Panic swept through the Donquixote Pirates. Their pistols were... moving on their own!?

They'd never seen anything like it.

The moment those barrels aligned with the centers of their brows, they reflexively raised their hands in surrender.

Click!

The floating rifles snapped their safeties off—automatically.

And then the triggers began to pull back, bit by bit.

So close.

So real.

They could even smell the gunpowder from their own weapons.

Time seemed to freeze.

The entire street fell into a deathly silence—so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The only sound was the soft, terrifying click of dozens, hundreds of triggers moving ever so slightly inward.

A suffocating fear of death overwhelmed their minds. Every one of them turned ghostly pale.

Someone gulped audibly.

"Well, at least now everyone's got their hands up. I bet Borsalino would love this scene,"

Daren quipped with a grin, watching the once-fierce pirates trembling as their own rifles hovered in the air, pointed straight at them.

He turned to look at the blond brat.

"Hey, Doflamingo. I want to have a word with you."

At first, Daren had only come here planning to beat up this twisted little freak and maybe take advantage of the situation a bit. If he was in a bad mood, he'd beat him senseless, then kill him. If he was in a good mood... well, he'd at least give him a quick and painless death.

With his strength, wiping out the entire Donquixote family would be effortless—and no one in the world would ever know. Not even the World Government could trace it back to him.

As for Doflamingo's Celestial Dragon bloodline?

Daren couldn't care less.

The Saint Xildes incident had already made it clear—Celestial Dragons could bleed and die like anyone else.

But just now, Doflamingo had said something that made him reconsider.

Yes, he was a deranged, destruction-obsessed maniac. But he wasn't like the average lunatic. He was sharper, more calculating, and had a bigger vision.

He wasn't like those pirates who only knew how to plunder and destroy.

He knew how to rein in his desires when it served his ambition.

Even as an enemy, someone like that earned Daren's respect.

And more importantly—

As a former Celestial Dragon, with those abilities and that ruthlessness, Doflamingo could be useful—if properly controlled.

If Daren could keep him in check, a lot of things down the line would go a hell of a lot smoother.

Even the World Government wouldn't dare come at him recklessly—let alone Marine HQ.

"A word?"

Doflamingo let out a low, sinister laugh, like he'd just heard a joke.

"Fufufufufu… Pirates and Marines have nothing to talk about."

"That's not necessarily true. I'm not your average Marine."

Daren shrugged, speaking with amused interest.

"—But I don't feel like talking to you at all!"

Doflamingo's grin twisted into something savage and crazed. A cold flash glinted off his sunglasses as he suddenly raised a hand and slashed through the air toward Daren.

He laughed wildly.

"I just want to kill you!"

Shhhhk!!

The air tore open with a piercing screech.

It was like invisible blades had sliced through the air, cleaving everything in their path.

The walls of two buildings ahead suddenly split open with long, clean cuts. The upper halves groaned and then collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Clang!

A sharp metallic sound rang out.

Doflamingo's pupils shrank.

He saw that Daren's uniform had been sliced open at the chest.

Thin, nearly invisible threads had dug into his skin—but instead of cutting, sparks flew from the point of contact like metal striking metal. They couldn't even penetrate.

"Impossible!!"

Trebol and the other officers gasped in horror, unable to believe their eyes.

Even though their young master was still just a boy, he'd already pushed the power of the Ito Ito no Mi to an extraordinary level.

Those threads were razor-sharp—capable of killing without a trace. Not just flesh and blood—even stone and steel could be sliced apart effortlessly.

At full power, their young master had once sliced a pirate ship clean in two out on the open sea!

But now...

His threads couldn't even scratch this Marine?

What the hell kind of monster was this!?

"Ito Ito no Mi, huh? Shame you haven't mastered Haki yet."

Daren glanced down at the threads caught between his muscles and gave a small smirk.

With a body like his, unless an attack was infused with Armament Haki, it wouldn't even leave a mark—swordsmanship included.

For Doflamingo to reach this level at just twelve or thirteen, still in the middle of growing—his talent already surpassed most so-called geniuses in this sea.

As the Donquixote family stood frozen in shock—

Daren reached out, hooked a finger around the thread lodged in his chest, and gave it a casual tug.

Doflamingo's expression shifted.

A terrifying, irresistible force surged through the string tied to his finger.

Doflamingo's body was yanked violently forward, dragged through the air straight toward Daren at high speed.

"If you dare to draw a weapon—"

Daren watched him fly closer and smiled.

"—then be ready to die."

Snap!

He flicked his fingers.

And then—

Bang bang bang bang bang!!

Gunfire erupted like a torrential downpour.

All the rifles hovering in midair fired at once.

Crimson blooms of blood burst from the foreheads of the Donquixote family members.

Their heads snapped back and their bodies collapsed like dominoes.

At that moment...

Doflamingo was already three meters away from Daren, suspended in the air, dragged by his own thread.

In the reflection of his sunglasses—

Daren's cold, ruthless smile grew clearer and closer...

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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