69novels Chapter 230 Flamingos Return to Their Nests, Caesar Enters the Game
Chapter 230 Flamingos Return to Their Nests, Caesar Enters the Game
Chapter 230 Flamingos Return to Their Nests, Caesar Enters the Game
Along the coast of Dressrosa, artillery fire raged.
Several naval warships formed a semi-encirclement and continuously bombarded the port with shells.
The port, once filled with romance and the fragrance of flowers, is now shrouded in thick smoke, with architectural ruins scattered everywhere.
The Don Quixote family flag flew stubbornly amidst the smoke of battle, but the defending family officers were already showing signs of fatigue.
"Trebol! To the left! Sticky Chains, stop that barrage!"
"Lao G! The Will of G! Don't let the marines charge up!"
"Señor! There are frogmen underwater!"
Diamanti brandished his longsword, deflecting stray bullets, his voice hoarse as he gave commands, but his heart sank. His top officer, Pica, was entangled in a fierce battle with Vice Admiral "Chaton" in the distant city center, unable to spare any attention. The family's defenses were on the verge of collapse.
"Fufufufu—what a lively welcome ceremony! You bunch of bastards are making quite a ruckus on my turf—"
A laugh filled with madness and mockery pierced clearly through the roar of cannons and reached the ears of every member of the Don Quixote family.
At the end of the harbor, on the bow of that eerie, flagless sailboat, Doflamingo stood proudly, his pink coat like a blood-stained flag.
To his left was Mihawk, whose eyes were as sharp as an eagle's. To his right was Moria, a massive figure with a sinister smile.
However, what was most striking were the two figures that emerged behind them.
A figure dressed in fine clothes, holding a virtual quill pen, surrounded by flowing light of words and illusions.
The other was dressed in simple ronin attire, with a ponytail and calm, serene eyes.
He carried an unusually long katana on his back.
He simply stood there, seemingly blending into the surrounding air, radiating an ultimate stillness.
Everyone, including the attacking navy, paused in their actions.
"Dover!!"
"It's the young master!!"
The Don Quixote family executives erupted in ecstatic joy at surviving a catastrophe.
Doflamingo! You've finally shown up!
On the deck of a naval warship, Momousagi Gion shouted sternly.
"By order of the World Government, your title of Shichibukai has been revoked, and you bear the crime of treason. You are the primary target for pursuit. Surrender!"
"Betrayal? Fufufufu—" Doflamingo laughed, his shoulders swaying.
"In this world, strength is justice! The World Government won't tolerate me knowing their secrets, so let's let power speak for itself!"
His fingers twitched slightly.
"Super Whiplash!"
Several whips imbued with Armament Haki lashed out at the naval warship like giant pythons, their speed astonishing!
"Not good!" Momousagi drew her famous sword, Kinpira, and unleashed a sharp sword aura in an attempt to intercept.
However, another, even faster, dark green slash arrived first!
Mihawk didn't even glance at that side, simply swinging his black sword, Night, casually.
"boom!"
Momousagi's sword energy was instantly shattered, but the dark green sword energy remained powerful and continued forward.
The slash wasn't aimed at Momousagi, but rather struck precisely at the keel of a warship!
With a sickening metallic tearing sound, the medium-sized warship was split in two and slowly sank!
"Boring," Mihawk said casually.
Seeing that there was no chance of winning by resisting the attack, Momousagi instantly rose into the air and slashed at Doflamingo with her famous sword imbued with Armament Haki.
She was incredibly fast! A cold, sharp blade flashed past like a crescent moon.
There was no earth-shattering sound, only a hissing sound as if space itself had been sliced open.
A diagonal bloodstain instantly appeared on Momousagi's chest in mid-air, running from her shoulder down to her lower abdomen. As the bloodstain appeared, blood exploded!
Momousagi's eyes shifted from confusion to pain. That strike was simply too fast; even a swordsman of her caliber couldn't detect it.
"Vice Admiral Momousagi!"
The Navy had no idea what had happened; all they saw was their Vice Admiral fall into the sea, and Momousagi surface, staring intently at Hawkeye, trying to find traces of his attack.
Hawkeye remained motionless, arms crossed, his gaze not fixed on Momousagi, but on a warship behind her.
Its main mast, along with a small portion of the superstructure, appeared to have been smoothly severed by an invisible force, and slowly slid into the sea!
It wasn't Mihawk who made the move, but the calm ronin behind him.
It was Sasaki Kojiro!
He didn't even fully draw his excessively long sword; he merely assumed the starting stance for an iaido slash.
"What?!" Diamanti's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"That, that long sword—how could such a long sword be used for iaido—how could it be so fast?!"
Rao G's mouth dropped open: "G!!! That's—what kind of swordsmanship?!"
Momousagi's pupils also contracted suddenly. She didn't even see the other party's sword-drawing action clearly, and even mistook the one who made the move for Hawkeye.
Mihawk glanced at Kojiro and said calmly, "The exquisite and perfect Iaijutsu is simply a masterpiece."
Kojiro sheathed his sword and calmly replied, "I am ashamed; the Master's sword is truly unparalleled."
The two top swordsmen already had a tacit understanding without needing to say a word.
"Fufufu—" Doflamingo was satisfied with the reaction of his family's executives, and he looked at Shakespeare.
"Playwright, don't you think this ruined stage needs a little miracle to adorn it?"
Shakespeare bowed gracefully: "As you wish, my dear Master, this shattered kingdom needs the needle and thread of miracles to mend it!"
He spread his arms wide, as if conducting a symphony orchestra, and proclaimed: "In my name, it is engraved here—'The King Returns, the People Acclaim!'"
A strange magical fluctuation spread out.
It wasn't a direct attack, but rather it targeted the damaged buildings in the port!
The broken walls and ruins seemed to be controlled by an invisible hand, and the bricks, stones and wood flew back to their original positions as if they had a life of their own, and began to repair and reassemble at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Although it wasn't a complete restoration, the miraculous sight left all who witnessed it, whether pirates or marines, speechless!
"The building—is it repairing itself?!"
"Was it done by that Heroic Spirit in those strange clothes?!"
"This, this is the power of the heroic spirits summoned by the young master?!" Trebol was so excited that his saliva splattered everywhere.
Moria watched the scene with a sinister grin, his shadow twitching at his feet, but he restrained himself, knowing that now was not the time for him to perform.
Doflamingo moved like a ghost, using the power of the String-String Fruit to move at high speed through the air. Wherever he passed, Marine captains fell like wheat being harvested.
"Five-colored threads!"
"Strike the string!"
"Shave the line!"
Simple moves can unleash terrifying power in his hands.
Momousagi and Chaton, who rushed back from the city center, tried to join forces to intercept Doflamingo and Mihawk, but the white threads created by Doflamingo's awakened String-String Fruit ability swept like giant waves, and together with Mihawk's slashes that seemed capable of cutting through everything, the two vice admirals were struggling to cope.
"Fufufu—tell that king of the world."
Doflamingo hovered in mid-air, his sunglasses reflecting the firelight as he looked at the disheveled Momousagi and Chaton.
"Dresrosa is still my territory! If they want it back, let them come here themselves! Get lost!"
With a flick of his finger, countless thin threads wrapped around several wounded naval soldiers, throwing them back onto the wrecked warship.
"Leave a few alive to report back."
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, coupled with the immense pressure from Mihawk and Moria, as well as the presence of strange Heroic Spirits, the Navy, under Momousagi's unwilling command, reluctantly retreated with the wounded and the wreckage of the sunken ship.
On the King's High Ground, inside the palace.
The former luxury remains, but the air is thick with the smell of war and a sense of unease.
The family's executives gathered here, most of them bearing injuries, but their eyes were filled with the excitement of surviving a disaster and the fervor for Doflamingo's return.
The light of many people gathered around him, along with the two extraordinary guests and the two heroic spirits.
"Dover! These two are—" Diamante couldn't help but speak, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Kojiro and Shakespeare, filled with curiosity and awe.
"Fufufufu—" Doflamingo was in a good mood.
"Let me formally introduce him. This is William Shakespeare, the heroic spirit I have been keeping hidden all along, a playwright who can write about reality."
Shakespeare gracefully performed a theatrical bow.
"The other one is Sasaki Kojiro, the heroic spirit of Hawkeye, a swordsman who pursues the realm of the sky." Kojiro nodded slightly, remaining silent.
"Able to write reality?! Pursuing a realm of emptiness?!"
The officials gasped. Although they didn't quite understand the specific meaning, the miraculous restoration of the port and that astonishing slash were enough to explain the situation.
"As for these two, there's no need for further introduction."
Doflamingo pointed at Mihawk and Moria.
"The world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, and former Shichibukai Gecko Moria, are now allies of our Cross Guild."
"The Cross Society?" The cadres looked at each other in bewilderment.
Mihawk held Black Blade Night, closed his eyes to rest, as if everything was irrelevant to him.
Moria chuckled, "That's right! A new alliance! We're going to make a name for ourselves in the New World!"
Doflamingo stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at his kingdom.
"If the world government can't tolerate us, then we'll create our own rules!"
"The Cross Society will recruit all powerful individuals abandoned by the World Government or those with ambition!"
"We will become a force that no one in the new world, and indeed the entire ocean, can ignore!"
Doflamingo sat on the throne, his posture languid, but his sharp gaze, hidden behind sunglasses, swept over everyone.
"Thank you all for your hard work while I was away."
His gaze swept over the crowd.
"Now I'm back! Clean up the infestation, reassure the people, rebuild the port—get these things done immediately!"
"I want to get Dressrosa back to normal as quickly as possible!"
"Yes, Dover!" The officers accepted the order and withdrew with high morale.
Late at night, in a secluded conference room. Doflamingo, Mihawk, Moria, and two Heroic Spirits were present.
"Fufufu, the Cross Society—our new beginning." Doflamingo looked at the city as its lights gradually returned.
"The World Government wants to use me as a pawn? Then I'll create a force they'll fear!"
Mihawk, holding Black Blade Night, leaned against the railing: "I have no interest in power, but now it seems rather interesting."
"I hope to see more beings beyond this world in the future—and even get closer to them."
His words have changed; instead of seeking opponents, he now looks up to even greater heights.
"Then, the first step." Doflamingo crossed his fingers.
"We need money, we need resources, we need—bargains to fight against the world government's new toys." He looked at Shakespeare.
"Playwright, your understanding of Heroic Spirits and the mysteries runs deeper than ours. The World Government is developing weapons specifically targeting Heroic Spirits. What are your thoughts on this?"
Shakespeare stroked his imaginary beard, his eyes gleaming with wisdom.
"Master, any attempt by iron to harm a Heroic Spirit is like throwing an egg against a rock. If the weapon is not meant to harm, but rather to interfere or repel—for example, by polluting our Spirit Origin with massive amounts of negative energy, or by forcibly severing our connection to the mortal world with distorted rules—then caution is necessary."
Kojiro slowly spoke: "My sword can cut through the tangible, and it can also sever the intangible. If the weapon is based on some kind of contract or rule, then perhaps it can be given a try."
Mihawk nodded: "A confrontation at the level of rules—that's certainly true—"
Moria scratched his head in annoyance: "Hehehe, why say so much! As long as the shadow is strong enough, it can smash any weapon!"
Oh, right, my subordinate Perona! Her Devil Fruit ability is quite interesting; it's a kind of negative and disruptive force—"
Doflamingo pondered for a moment, then took out the special Den Den Mushi.
"Theory needs practice. Bring me your palm print tomorrow and let's try it out."
"But that's far from enough, and coincidentally, I know a mad scientist, fufufufu—"
The Den Den Mushi connected, and a shrill, slightly neurotic voice came from the other end: "Hey? Who is this? How did you get this number?"
"How dare you interrupt Lord M. Caesar Clair's great experiment!"
"Fufufufu—Caesar, it's me," Doflamingo laughed.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by an even louder outburst.
"Joker?! You're still alive?! You bastard, you dare call me! The World Government is hunting you down all over the world!"
"It's just a minor inconvenience," Doflamingo said casually.
"Caesar, Punk Hazard has been investigated by the Navy. Where are you hiding now, continuing your great research?"
"Hmph! It's none of your business! I'm perfectly fine now!" Caesar said warily.
"Is that so?" Doflamingo said slowly.
"As far as I know, the World Government has recently restarted some of Vegapunk's forbidden projects, including—"
—Regarding spirit weapons and heroic spirits.
"They seem to be looking for some way to interfere with or even control Heroic Spirits."
The sound of something being knocked over came from the other end of the phone, and Caesar's voice was filled with disbelief and a hint of jealousy.
"What?! Impossible! How could those idiots possibly understand the essence of Vegapunk's theories?! Let alone the complex phenomenon of Heroic Spirits involving souls and origins!"
"But they are indeed doing it, and it seems they've made some progress," Doflamingo added fuel to the fire. "Caesar, are you content to be suppressed by the World Government and Vegapunk all this time?"
"Now, I have an opportunity to provide you with unlimited resources and protection so that you can conduct the research you most desire."
"It's not just about boring things like artificial Devil Fruits; it's about souls! About Heroic Spirits! Even about—research into gods!"
A tremendous temptation was posed. All that could be heard on the other end of the phone was Caesar's heavy breathing.
Doflamingo continued his instigation: "Come to Dressrosa, or tell me where you are and I'll send someone to pick you up."
"Here, you can unleash your talents without worrying about being hunted down by the World Government."
"And we—need your help, and in return, you will receive my full support, as well as the full support of the Crusades! Fufufufu—"
After a long silence, Caesar's voice rang out, tinged with fanaticism and desperation: "—You're right, Joker! What Vegapunk can do, I, Caesar Clown, can do even better!"
"Heroic spirits? Divinity? Hahaha! These are the research topics worthy of a genius like me! I am—"
He gave us a secret coordinate located on the edge of the new world.
After hanging up the phone, Doflamingo wore a satisfied smile.