Loguetown, East Blue. Once an unremarkable town, it was now the focal point of the entire world's attention.
Both openly and in secret, countless individuals were converging on Loguetown. Among them were numerous pirates, all eager to witness the fall of the Pirate King with their own eyes.
The Marines, naturally, were on high alert. To ensure the execution proceeded without incident, elite forces had been mobilized and stationed throughout Loguetown. Warships arrived daily, disgorging stern-faced officers radiating an aura of seasoned battle, reinforcing the town's garrison. Even the surrounding waters saw a daily increase in Marine presence, with warships constantly patrolling, effectively blockading the sea lanes.
Inside one of Loguetown's taverns, Capone Bege sat alone in a corner, nursing his drink. He had come for two reasons: to see Gol D. Roger off, and to personally witness the dawn of the Great Pirate Era.
Suddenly, the tavern door was violently kicked open. A massive man, built like a bear, stomped inside. He scanned the room, then strode purposefully towards Bege's table and, without a word, threw a powerful punch directly at him.
Bege casually raised one hand, catching the giant's fist. Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! The bones in the attacker's hand shattered inch by inch under Bege's grip.
"It wasn't me! Not me!" the large man screamed in terror. Bege casually flung him aside, sending him crashing into the wall with enough force to nearly shatter it.
Bege's gaze instantly snapped to a young man standing elsewhere in the tavern. His eyes turned cold. "Doflamingo," he growled, "are you looking to die?"
The young man wore a flamboyant pink-feathered coat and distinctive purple sunglasses, a perpetually arrogant, spoiled smirk plastered across his face. This was none other than the future underworld kingpin, the "Heavenly Yaksha," Donquixote Doflamingo.
"Fuffuffuffuffu..." Doflamingo chuckled, his signature laugh echoing eerily. "That fellow was 'The Butcher,' a pirate worth over a hundred million Berries. To think he couldn't even last one move against you... 'Demon Dragon' Capone Bege, you truly live up to your reputation."
Ting! Ting! Ting!
Suddenly, three distinct snapping sounds occurred right in front of Bege. Doflamingo's subtly moving fingers froze, his eyes fixing on Bege with significantly increased wariness.
"Don't bother with such boring tricks. It's beneath you, Doffy," Bege said, his expression darkening further. He rose and walked step by step towards Doflamingo, looming over him. His eyes were ice-cold, gazing down as if observing an ant, filled with undisguised contempt. "Did you really think I wouldn't make a move just because this town is crawling with Marines?"
The next moment, a bone-chilling cold washed over Doflamingo. His eyes widened in disbelief as his figure vanished from its spot just as an unseen force obliterated the table where he'd been standing.
Doflamingo reappeared a short distance away, his face turning livid with rage. The only emotion in his fierce eyes was cold fury, and angry veins began to bulge on his forehead. Done with subtlety, ten silver threads shot from his fingertips, piercing the air with sharp sonic booms as he attacked Bege openly.
Bege casually sidestepped the slicing threads. They struck the tables and chairs behind him, effortlessly penetrating everything in their path, even punching through steel plating, demonstrating their incredible sharpness and resilience.
Bege charged Doflamingo at high speed. The latter merely smirked, fingers twitching as dozens more razor-sharp threads lashed out, attempting to slice Bege to ribbons.
Weaving through the deadly barrage, Bege constantly altered his trajectory mid-air, dodging thread after thread. Those he couldn't avoid, he simply shattered, his hands coated in black Armament Haki.
He plowed forward relentlessly, closing the distance and throwing a powerful punch at Doflamingo. Doflamingo swept his fingers, creating a shield of Five Color Strings that intercepted Bege's iron fist. Sparks flew violently at the impact.
Having blocked the punch, a strange grin spread across Doflamingo's face as he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki.
"You think you're the only one with Conqueror's Haki?" Bege retorted, unleashing his own. His Haki wave was even more ferocious, more violently brutal, slamming into Doflamingo's. The clash erupted within the confined space of the tavern, instantly blasting away all the tables and chairs.
Doflamingo's face turned extremely ugly. While Bege's Haki might not have possessed the same raw power or refinement as his own, its sheer brutality and violent intent clearly surpassed Doflamingo's.
Bege exhaled a plume of smoke, a contemptuous sneer on his lips. With a sudden surge of strength in his arm, he shattered the Five Color Strings shield.
Doflamingo retreated rapidly, fingers curled like claws as he slashed wildly at Bege, Five Color Strings threads attempting to shred everything before him. Bege met the attack head-on, his iron fists punching through the colored strings before he vanished in a burst of speed.
Doflamingo's expression changed drastically. He instantly crossed his arms before his face, coating them in black Haki. A figure appeared before him – Bege delivered a devastating kick accompanied by a deafening sonic boom. Doflamingo was sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing through building after building outside the tavern.
Just as he was sent flying, Bege's expression turned grim. Without even looking, he punched empty air behind him. A series of sharp twang sounds followed, like high-tension wires snapping.
"As expected of a pirate worth 950 million Berries," Doflamingo spat, rising from the rubble. His fingers danced, sending countless, near-invisible threads shooting towards Bege. The threads seemed almost alive, weaving and coiling around Bege from all directions, forming a dense cage. Doflamingo's fingers clenched instantly, pulling the threads taut, binding Bege completely.
A cruel smile spread across Doflamingo's face as he prepared to pull the strings taut, intending to slice Bege apart. His threads could cut steel; dismembering a human body was child's play.
Just as he thought victory was his, Bege's muscles bulged violently. The threads, noted to be harder than steel, snapped and disintegrated under the sheer force. Bege stood unharmed, cigar still clamped in his teeth, looking down at Doflamingo with utter disdain.
"Tch. Underestimated, am I?" Doflamingo's face turned livid, the veins on his forehead throbbing furiously, his expression twisting into an ugly snarl.
"Overheat!"
A massive whip composed of tightly bundled strings materialized and lashed towards Bege. Bege didn't move, simply punching the whip head-on, causing it to explode into useless strands. He cracked his neck, glaring coldly at Doflamingo.
"Billow White!"
Hundreds, thousands of colored strings flew from Doflamingo's hands, coalescing into enormous, whip-like constructs that smashed towards Bege. Bege dodged easily, the massive whips pulverizing nearby houses with their impacts. Doflamingo then formed another whip, wielding two simultaneously, their frenzied movements locking down the entire space before him.
Bege weaved between the colossal whips, rapidly closing the distance once more.
"Spider's Web!"
Doflamingo thrust his hands forward, creating a massive defensive wall woven from hundreds or thousands of transparent threads. Bege simply punched through it again.
"Spider's Nest!" Doflamingo roared, emitting even tougher, colored strings from his body that radiated outwards horizontally and vertically, forming a massive, complex web structure centered on himself. The web, spread out across the air, shot upwards like a giant net aiming to capture Bege.
Bege drew his sword in an instant. A colossal blade of light erupted, cleanly slicing the intricate Spider's Nest to pieces.
"Parasite!"
Doflamingo thrust his hands downwards. From each of his five fingers, a near-invisible, razor-thin thread shot down towards Bege from above with incredible, almost instantaneous speed.
Bege vanished on the spot.
Thud! Thud!
The threads plunged into the ground where Bege had been, detonating the earth upon impact.
Doflamingo's face contorted again as he desperately threw up a defensive wall of Five Color Strings. Bege appeared instantly before him, his kick shattering the Five Color Strings and slamming directly into Doflamingo, sending the Heavenly Yaksha blasting through yet another row of buildings.