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Chapter 53: Celestial Dragons
"Lord!"
"Damn!"
"..."
Seeing their young master being dragged by the powerful, monster-like Marine, Trebol and his companions felt a numbing shock. They all seized their weapons and rushed toward Darren with a fierce determination, desperate to save Doflamingo. They paid no mind to the hundreds of Donquixote Family members who had been shot and killed.
In that moment, time seemed to stand still. Observing Doflamingo, the Marine Colonel, Darren, sneered with disdain. His powerful presence radiated around him. The justice-emblazoned cloak he wore was still, and when he clenched his fists, the air buzzed as though it were being crushed.
The gap between them closed instantly, and in a blink, they stood face to face. Darren launched his fist forward like a shooting meteor. Roar! The sheer force and explosive power of his punch whipped up a violent wind. Doflamingo's youthful face distorted with the pressure.
Bang... Doflamingo's sunglasses cracked under the force of the wind. "What terrifying power! Is this Marine a ruthless human beast? Is this the caliber of person that the North Blue should produce? With such strength... shouldn't the Naval Headquarters reassign him to the Grand Line or the New World?"
Doflamingo's eyes glazed over, even as the force of Darren's punch seemed to send ripples of distorted illusions through his mind. The fist, clad in a black leather glove, appeared to grow larger, casting a shadow like an avalanche over him.
A chill surged from Doflamingo's feet to his spine, bringing with it an unprecedented sense of the threat of death. "You wanna die!" he roared angrily, teeth gritted. The crushing wind and waves on his face made him realize that if this punch hit him head-on, he would surely die!
Block... It had to be blocked! As the thought flashed in his mind, Doflamingo cut the threads attached to his fingers. His veiny hands shot up like talons grabbing at the air. Swish! Hundreds of white threads burst forth, weaving into a massive spider web—a snow-white wall, an impeccable and absolute defense, set between Darren and Doflamingo.
"Spider's Web Wall—Defense!"
Darren's punch fell upon the spider web wall. The Colonel's expression remained coldly amused, showing a confidence that he knew no bounds. His black hair whipped in the wind, the fierce look in his eyes unyielding. His punch, carrying the force and speed of a landslide and a spiral of white air waves, hammered toward the silk thread wall.
When the fist met the spider web, the web, as resilient as metal, stretched, deformed, and shot toward Doflamingo without losing any momentum. Doflamingo's face, behind the cracked sunglasses, filled with ferocity.
"Damn bastard! How can I lose here!"
A domineering energy emerged from his body, spreading like a tempest in every direction. The world seemed to drain of color, turning to black and white, as shockwaves from his soul swept across most of the town. Trebol and the men who were attacking Darren felt as though they had been hit by an invisible force, halting in their tracks, marvelling at the power emanating from their young master.
"It's the momentum of the young master!"
"The spirit of a king!"
"As expected!"
"..."
The impact of waves shook their spirits, nearly knocking them off their feet. This was the Conqueror's Haki, the majestic authority of a king that only one in millions could wield. It was this display of Doflamingo's kingly spirit that had led them to sincerely embrace this twelve- or thirteen-year-old as their "king," ready to kneel and serve.
Under the threat of death, Doflamingo had unleashed his Conqueror's Haki without warning. But before they had a chance to register what was happening, another aura, even more profound and domineering, erupted.
Trebol and his mates watched in terror, stunned and unbelieving. Another Conqueror's Haki, matching the young master's! No, this presence was even more terrifying than the young master's. It was as though they faced an iron-blooded emperor or a demon from purgatory, inspiring both surrender and fear.
The source of this aura...
"Impossible!" Diamanté shrieked, her makeup-covered face turning pale. A Marine with the spirit of a king? A Marine Colonel from the North Blue? Unthinkable!
As their cries echoed, the two Conqueror's Haki clashed mid-air. The collision was like a massive storm, erupting from Darren and Doflamingo, meeting in a fierce confrontation.
Compression and expansion, expansion and compression... Crackling... Black-red lightning suddenly exploded densely in the void, constantly arising and dying. The storm carried countless bricks, rocks, soil, and dust high into the sky, stirring up the wind and clouds.
"The collision of Conqueror's Haki," Trebol murmured, his face pale. Without realizing it, they became completely exhausted, their heads dizzy. They knelt on one knee, struggling to raise their arms to block the strong wind.
"You actually have the same aptitude for a king as me!" Doflamingo roared, his facial muscles twisted, unable to accept the scene before him.
Darren sneered. "Conqueror's Haki is rare, but in the chaotic and dangerous New World sea, those strong enough to possess Conqueror's Haki are common."
With that said, Darren's arm muscles suddenly swelled, breaking through his military uniform. With a second explosion of power, his sleeves shattered into fragments and his fist powered down again, approaching Doflamingo. Conqueror's Haki was beginning to suppress him.
"Damn! How could your Conqueror's Haki suppress me!" Doflamingo's pupils shook with fury. He roared wildly as the skin on his hands burst, sending a mist of blood into the air. "I am... Don Quixote Doflamingo!!"
He believed the thread produced by the String-String Fruit was unbeatable, even by a swordsman. Yet, he was confident it could be stopped.
"I am... the noble Celestial Dragon..."
"Shut up about the Celestial Dragons!" interrupted Darren with a cold shout.
Darren stamped his foot on the ground, and a 30-meter radius beneath him shattered. A spider-web-like pattern of cracks appeared, followed by an explosion of muddy "waves."
Using the recoil force, Darren burst out with all his strength. A terrifying power, akin to a giant's, surged from his feet up his spine. His body tensed like an ultimate bow, and a potent force gushed from his fists.
Click! Tear!
In front of the shocked Trebol and others, and under Doflamingo's astonishment, the snow-white cobweb wall caved in as if struck by a meteorite. It splintered outwards, uprooting large tracts of land and buildings.
Darren's punch "flipped" more than a dozen buildings and a vast swath of land. Doflamingo felt an unspeakable fear rise from the depths of his heart.
He didn't break Doflamingo's silk defense; he overturned the silk thread's fixings!
Boom!
Before he could react, Darren's relentless fist struck Doflamingo squarely in the stomach. Despite the drag of buildings and land, the immense power sent Doflamingo flying back with a burst of white air ripples.
Doflamingo's eyes went white, blood vessels bulging as his brain blanked. His body curled and arched in the air before a mouthful of blood spewed from his mouth.
The next moment, he shot backward like a cannonball, knocking over Trebol, plowing through street lampposts, and demolishing house after house. Finally, he vanished into a building.
With an earth-shattering rumble, the multi-story building groaned under the stress and collapsed.
At the same time, at the back of Rubeck Island, a warship was docked. Nearly 100 North Blue Marine soldiers stood in formation, solemnly awaiting orders.
In the distance, civilians fled the town in panic, escorted by Marine teams.
"Major Flying Squirrel, the island's civilians have nearly all been evacuated," a Marine soldier reported, saluting the officer standing atop a building.
Flying Squirrel, observing through his binoculars, didn't turn but waved an acknowledgment without taking his eyes off his lookout. Then a dull roar came from the town, and he saw billowing smoke rise like a dragon. He lowered the binoculars and covered his forehead in exasperation.
"This is too chaotic," he muttered, the corner of his mouth twitching. "It's like a father beating his son..."