Chapter 178

156, surprisingly weak

"Doflamingo, come settle the old score between us."

Zefa's aura surged into the sky, accompanied by a killing intent nearly solidified, crushing down upon Doflamingo and all the Donquixote Family officers.

The ground beneath them cracked under the pressure.

"So… so terrifying…"

Sugar, the user of the Toy Toy Fruit, turned deathly pale with terror, her legs trembling and weak; she staggered backward several steps before collapsing onto her rear.

"This is… the former Admiral, Black Arm Zefa!"

Diamante swallowed hard, sweat drenching his forehead.

The others were no better off; non-combatants like Violet and Sugar were paralyzed by his aura and killing intent, their limbs numb, with no chance to resist—the air around them thickened like mud, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

Their entire collective aura and morale had been suppressed by Zefa alone.

Realizing this,

Doflamingo, who had just been trembling with fear, his heart nearly stopping, forced himself to calm down.

He looked at Zefa, his expression as arrogant and defiant as ever.

"Fwfwfwfwf, Zefa, you've come to avenge the loss of your arm all those years ago? A former Marine Admiral, allying with a criminal who attacked the World Government? This will be a scandal that shakes the world!"

As he spoke, a flash of red light flickered in his eyes as he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, pressing toward Zefa.

His Conqueror's Haki clashed with Zefa's aura and killing intent, instantly relieving the pressure on the Donquixote Family officers behind him; Sugar and Violet, pale-faced, gasped for air.

"That's our young master! The man destined to become king!"

Trebol shouted, "Look! What an astonishing Conqueror's Haki!"

"Exactly! With our young master, the Donquixote Family is destined to reach its peak!"

"So what if he's a former Admiral? What's there to fear?"

The officers, gazing at Doflamingo as he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, gradually regained their morale and raised their own battle intent and aura.

At that moment, a calm voice sounded in everyone's ears.

"Truly surprising."

All eyes turned to the black-haired boy who had spoken; his hands were in the pockets of his black coat, his black hair whipping wildly in the wind, his closed eyes serene and indifferent.

"Doflamingo, your Conqueror's Haki is surprisingly… weak."

As he finished speaking, he took one step forward.

The next instant, a earth-shattering Conqueror's Haki erupted from him!

In the horrified, frozen stares of the Donquixote Family officers, it surged upward as a crimson pillar, cracking the sky above Dressrosa with blood-red fissures, like a shattered mirror!

Before his Conqueror's Haki, Doflamingo's own seemed as fragile as paper—shattered without resistance, crushing toward Doflamingo and the officers behind him who had just mustered their courage!

Violet and Sugar fainted instantly, eyes rolling back as they collapsed.

Even Senor Pink's eyes rolled white; under the terrifying pressure, his spirit shattered, his mind went blank, and he lost consciousness for several seconds.

The crimson pillar of Luo En's Conqueror's Haki expanded rapidly, spreading across the entire island of Dressrosa in moments; within dozens of kilometers radiating from this point, people fell one by one, row after row, with thuds.

Even Trebol, Sugar, and Diamante staggered, their minds momentarily blank; though they snapped back quickly, cold sweat poured down their faces, their hearts trembling with terror, their expressions filled with horror.

"W-what an terrifying Conqueror's Haki!"

"Our young master's Conqueror's Haki can't compare—the gap is too vast!"

"This is the new legend of the Grand Line… the Traveler… Luo En!"

Luo En and Zefa's combined auras completely crushed Doflamingo and the officers' morale; each felt their shoulders weighed down impossibly, the air around them nearly solidified, shattering the faint courage they had just mustered.

Luo En, eyes still closed, smiled toward Doflamingo: "See? Your Conqueror's Haki is like paper—breaks at the slightest touch."

Doflamingo, veins bulging on his forehead, glared at the two, teeth gritted:

"You… truly mean to fight me to the death?!"

"Behind me stands the entire underworld of the New World, and even one of the Four Emperors, Kuma the Beast! Kill me, and the entire New World will tremble—Dressrosa included—plunged into eternal darkness! Zefa… are you really okay with that?!"

"How pitiful, Doflamingo. Do you sense death approaching?"

Luo En's tone was calm; as Doflamingo glared with clenched teeth, Luo En slowly drew his black blade, Shusui: "Do you believe that even if Zefa doesn't move, I can crush you without effort?"

"Don't get too cocky, brat!"

Enraged, Doflamingo's veins swelled on his forehead.

His five fingers stretched out, weaving five razor-sharp threads hardened by Haki, slicing through the air at blinding speed toward Luo En.

Luo En, holding his black blade, swung it casually—like cutting tofu—and effortlessly severed the threads.

"After all these years, your strength hasn't improved much."

"How boring."

Amid the grim, wary stares of Doflamingo and the officers,

the black-haired boy, eyes closed, held his black blade in his left hand, expression calm, walking toward them as if taking a leisurely stroll.

Yet the invisible, razor-sharp killing intent made Sugar and others' hairs stand on end.

"Zefa, you handle Doflamingo."

Luo En said casually.

That incident had hurt Zefa the most.

"I won't thank you."

Zefa stepped forward, the ground sinking beneath his foot.

In an instant, he appeared before Doflamingo, his massive crushing machine looming larger in Doflamingo's widening, terrified pupils.

"White Thread: Spiderweb!"

His spiderweb shattered instantly against the giant Seastone crushing machine; in his horrified, wide-eyed stare, it was torn apart without resistance.

"Come, let's settle the old score from back then, Doflamingo!"

At Zephyr's roar, his right hand, the giant crush machine, clamped down on Doflamingo's head; the jet nozzles at the machine's rear blasted forth, and under that powerful recoil, Zephyr shoved Doflamingo's head straight forward in a single line, hurtling thousands of meters and smashing through countless houses along the way!

Under the merciless, violent crushing of the sea stone giant crush machine, Doflamingo's entire face twisted in agony.

157, The Fall of the Donquixote Family, The Black Slash That Pierced the Sky (Combined)

"Young Master!"

Trebol couldn't help but cry out,

Diamante, sword in hand, had just begun to chase after him when a powerful aura suddenly settled upon him; locked by that aura, his hand holding the sword trembled slightly, and a bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead,

"C-Curse you!"

"Your opponent is me."

The black-haired boy, eyes closed, smiled at them, "Today is the day the Donquixote Family perishes."

"Don't get too cocky, bastard!"

The burly man with the shrill voice, Seck, melted into the ground and launched an attack on Luo En using his Devil Fruit ability; several stone spikes shot up from the ground beneath Luo En.

Luo En flickered and vanished from his spot.

"W-Where is he?!"

Trebol panicked, scanning all around.

Senor Pink's horrified voice rang out: "Diamante, in front of you…"

Without waiting for him to finish, Diamante, who had already activated Kenbunshoku Haki, sensed the intense danger and saw the black-haired boy stepping before him, raising his blade to strike down.

"Such a slow speed—how could you possibly cut…"

Diamante's inner thought remained unfinished; as he raised his sword to counter, he suddenly felt a chill at his neck. He glanced downward and saw countless crimson droplets floating upward in slow motion, glittering in the sunlight.

His eyes narrowed.

"That… is my blood?"

"How… when… he hadn't even drawn his blade yet…"

"How exactly… did I die?"

Diamante, one of the top executives of the Donquixote Family, drifted into unconsciousness, his final question unanswered.

Seck, Trebol, Senor Pink, and the other executives stared blankly at Diamante, kneeling on the ground, blood spurting from his neck, and the black-haired boy standing behind him.

"Diamante… dead?!"

"Why?"

"What just happened?"

In their eyes, they had only seen the closed-eyed black-haired boy appear before Diamante with his black blade, step past him, and slash down.