Though shaken by the Conqueror's Haki that Ozz had unleashed, what Doflamingo feared most wasn't the fifteen-year-old standing before him—three years his junior—but the possibility of something far more terrifying lurking behind him…
The remnants of the Roger Pirates!
Gol D. Roger may have been captured and executed, but his fearsome crew had vanished without a trace—none had been confirmed dead or detained.
And with the current strength of the Donquixote Family, they were nowhere near capable of going up against monsters like them.
But could he really lose to a mere teenager?
As long as he wiped out every witness present, who would know what happened here?
Such delusions of grandeur weren't entirely Doflamingo's fault. After all, he'd grown up in the Four Blues, a world that couldn't begin to grasp the horrors that lurked in the New World.
"Don't get cocky, you bastard!!!"
A terrifying aura burst forth from him as well—black and red lightning crackled outward like a web of splintered glass as their Conqueror's Haki collided.
But compared to Ozz's, Doflamingo's Haki felt raw and untempered, full of rage and immaturity.
While Ozz's presence radiated dominance and a king's unshakable confidence, Doflamingo's Conqueror's Haki oozed malevolence and venom, a twisted hatred against a world he could never reconcile with.
He curled his fingers ever so slightly.
Threads—thin as spider silk—sliced into existence from his fingertips, glinting faintly in the light. To most onlookers, they were all but invisible, save for the shimmer of cold steel reflecting off their surface.
Once dismissed as a useless Devil Fruit, the String-String Fruit had become, through relentless honing, a lethal weapon capable of slicing steel like paper.
He went straight for the kill—threads snapping toward Ozz's throat with brutal precision.
And Ozz—he didn't even flinch.
He stood still, calm, watching Doflamingo launch his attack without so much as a twitch of alarm.
Die!!
He's just a lucky stowaway hitching a ride on the coattails of monsters. What gives him the right to stand in front of me?!
A flash of bloodlust shimmered in Doflamingo's eyes as the threads cut through the air, now coated in a black sheen of Armament Haki, sharp enough to rend flesh with ease.
Even without his full potential unlocked, Doflamingo was a formidable force in the Paradise half of the Grand Line, a rising star among pirates.
On the balcony above, the women watching the clash turned pale.
"Lord Ozz!!!"
"No!!"
To them, it looked like Ozz hadn't even noticed the attack—still standing there motionless, completely defenseless against Doflamingo's killing strike.
Some, too afraid to watch, shut their eyes and covered their faces, dreading the sight of that proud, untouchable figure falling in a pool of his own blood.
Little Six and Little Seven nearly dashed forward in panic, but were held back by Sammy's outstretched arm.
Even she, however, had wide, trembling eyes locked on the unfolding battle.
Because she knew: if Ozz lost, Doflamingo would not stop with him.
They would all be slaughtered to quench the flames of his fury.
But just as everyone braced for the inevitable carnage…
A strange look flickered across Doflamingo's face.
What?!
Why… why didn't it feel like it always did—like slicing through flesh and bone?
In that brief instant, it was as if the man standing before him didn't even exist in the same plane—as if he were untouchable by mortal means.
Doflamingo's expression froze, disbelief hardening across his features as he looked at the unmoved figure before him.
And in Ozz's eyes—a flash of crimson.
The corners of his mouth curled upward into a faint, mocking smile.
As if this whole performance… was just him toying with a clown.
Ozz calmly raised a hand toward the threads that had just pierced through him—and gripped them.
Then with the gentlest of movements—
Crack… crack… crack…
It sounded like someone crushing dry noodles in their palm.
The threads, hardened with Haki and capable of slicing steel, shattered like brittle glass in Ozz's hand, reduced to nothing under the flowing force of his Ryuo.
Then came the hand—huge, pitch black, glowing faintly red—shooting forward.
Before Doflamingo could react, it gripped his neck with an overwhelming strength he couldn't comprehend, hoisting him off the ground like a child's toy.
No matter how he struggled, it was useless.
His mind reeled.
The sheer reversal of roles had happened so suddenly that the hundreds of women watching from the red-light district stood frozen, mouths agape.
Even Little Six, Little Seven, and Sammy stood stunned. The cigarette Sammy had been holding dropped from her lips unnoticed, bouncing to the floor.
Because finally—Ozz was serious.
His long black hair whipped wildly despite the still air.
BOOM—KRAKAKAKAKA!!!
Black and red lightning exploded across the battlefield, far denser than when he first arrived. Thunder roared through the district, crashing down on nearby rooftops and sending plumes of dust skyward.
This was Conqueror's Haki—made manifest.
Ozz had weaponized his aura itself into something tangible—an oppressive, explosive force that crushed everything in its path.
Doflamingo, already at a disadvantage in their earlier Haki clash, was completely overwhelmed now. The pressure bore down on him like a mountain, his own aura cracking under the strain.
It crushed him.
He couldn't even summon the will to resist.
His world—his entire sense of self—was unraveling.
"What the hell is this?! How can the gap be this wide?!"
Blood streamed from the corners of his mouth, dripping down his chin and onto the ground below.
He bit down hard, willing himself not to yield—but his body trembled from fear he refused to name.
Even though Ozz had deliberately avoided directing his power toward the women nearby, the sheer aftershocks of his Haki still sent many of them to their knees, shaking uncontrollably.
And in the center of that storm of black and red thunder—
One lone figure stood.
Unmoved.
Like a god of war rising from the depths of hell.
This was the first time Ozz had ever released his full Haki without restraint.
Even he felt it was a little much for someone his age.
"…I should probably tone it down next time. Can't go around triggering everyone's trauma," he muttered to himself.
Still, as casual as his thoughts were, the hand at Doflamingo's throat remained steady.
Conqueror's Haki fused with monstrous physical strength—even at a tenth of his true power, it was enough to make Doflamingo's Haki-armored neck creak and groan under the pressure.
Faced with suffocation and unbearable spiritual strain,
It only took seconds.
The North Blue's rising star—Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo—
Let his head loll to the side and finally passed out cold.
And thus— (cue the narrator's voice-over)
In the Sabaody Archipelago…
Within the lawless zone…
The Donquixote Family, led by the pirate with a bounty of 340 million—Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo—
Suffered defeat…
At the hands of Black Gun Ozz.
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Note: (Please forgive me for the oversight—I hadn't realized the length of the chapters. I truly appreciate your patience, and I've now completed revisions for all chapters. I hope you enjoy the story, and if you'd like to read ahead, feel free to visit my P@treon for access to advanced chapters. Thank you so much for your continued support!)
If you're into Ozz's story, my P@treon's got more waiting for you!
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