Poor Doflamingo / Devil Fruit Awakening

'Call out--!'

The fine line, almost invisible to the naked eye, shot out at an incredible speed, like a bullet fired from a gun, aimed at Arthur's head.

As if he had anticipated it, Arthur dodged Doflamingo's attack by slightly tilting his head.

'Whoosh--Boom!!'

Adhering to the etiquette of reciprocity, Arthur reached out and grabbed at the air beside him, and the golden light transformed into a magnificent Golden Sword.

Holding the hilt of Excalibur, Arthur gave Doflamingo a gentle swing.

A massive golden sword strike instantly carved a deep crater into the rooftop of the Dressrosa Palace.

A violent tremor resounded as Arthur's attack split the building in two.

"Dover..."

"Young Master..."

"Dofi..."

Seeing the astonishing pressure of the sword before them, Trebol, Diamante, and the others cried out in alarm.

"Athlete!" Doflamingo's brow furrowed, veins bulging as he clearly sensed a serious flaw appearing in his palace.

Without saying a word, he kicked out.

Eight nearly transparent, thin threads were woven into the pointed shoes, imbued with Armament Haki. With a sharp whooshing sound, they kicked out a powerful strike, directly crushing the oncoming golden sword into a large amount of golden light.

"Sky Walk-- "

Immediately afterward, Doflamingo flicked his finger, leaping into the air and soaring off in one direction. His words, filled with murderous intent, echoed across the rooftop, "King of Knights, come with me!"

He didn't utter any harsh words, but rather gave a domineering, almost commanding tone.

This tone of voice can easily provoke people with short tempers.

But Arthur could ignore Kaido's temper, so naturally he wouldn't care about Doflamingo's tone.

On the contrary, Doflamingo, unlike his usual chilling and sinister demeanor, revealed an undisguised outburst, leading Arthur to realize that Doflamingo was probably facing something extremely troublesome.

It felt just like in the original story, when M. Caesar Crow was captured by Trafalgar Law, making this man, who had connections in both the underworld Underworld and was known as the 'Joker,' feel that his life was threatened.

Arthur couldn't help but feel very curious.

He didn't think the Punk Hazard incident from the original story had occurred ahead of schedule, because the battle between Aokiji and Akainu for the position of Fleet Admiral hadn't started yet, the sea hadn't announced the new Fleet Admiral, and Trafalgar Law hadn't become Shichibukai yet.

More importantly, Arthur's Observation Haki (A++) clearly allowed him to see the figure of Monet, the Donquixote Family Devil Fruit User.

Furthermore, if there really were problems with the cooperation with Kaido, Doflamingo wouldn't still be sitting here; he would probably have already gone to salvage the situation personally, and wouldn't be in the mood to lash out at Arthur.

However, Doflamingo's gloomy demeanor, and the worry and fear that Arthur could sense, were absolutely real.

What is he worried about?

What are you afraid of?

"Hiss..."

Thinking this, Arthur jumped onto the King's Horse, which was hovering in the air, and ran after Doflamingo.

On one hand, he unleashed his Observation Haki (A++) to survey the entire Dressrosa Kingdom, carefully scanning every place, trying to find any place that had deviated from its original course.

And sure enough, Arthur's investigation did uncover some loopholes.

First, several previously unknown locations in Dressrosa suffered extensive damage, including ashes from fire and ruins from fierce battles. Clearly, someone in Dressrosa was fighting Doflamingo or members of the Donquixote Family.

Secondly, a group of people whom Arthur hadn't carefully investigated, or even noticed, disappeared without a trace.

They are none other than the Tontatta from the Tontatta Kingdom in the original story!

Thinking of this, Arthur increased the intensity of his Observation Haki, but still couldn't find even a single member of the Tontatta.

"The ruins of the fire, the ruins... the Tontatta, the fire, the fire..."

Holding the reins, Arthur, straddling the King's Horse, gradually fell into deep thought.

Arthur seemed to have grasped a bit of the idea, but felt that something was still missing.

"... The Heal-Heal Fruit!" Suddenly, Arthur's eyes lit up as he realized a crucial point.

The word "flame" subconsciously reminded him of Ace, who hadn't died (at Nocturne's) during the Paramount War.

The mass disappearance of the Tontatta reminded him of the princess of the Tontatta Kingdom, Tontatta Mansherry, from the original story who ate the Heal-Heal Fruit.

The Heal-Heal Fruit is undoubtedly one of the most powerful abilities among the Paramecia, although its application is primarily supportive.

Those who consume the Heal-Heal Fruit can not only heal the injured, but also possess the powerful ability to regenerate lost limbs.

However, using the strongest 'regenerative ability' will also shorten the user's lifespan.

The disappearance of the Tontatta was a fatal loss for Doflamingo, because besides Caesar, the scientist who produced Artificial Zoan Devil Fruits, these Tontatta, who claimed there was no plant they couldn't cultivate, were also a vital treasure trove of materials needed for Doflamingo to cultivate Artificial Devil Fruits.

Chapter 185 Poor Doflamingo

[Third update!]

As for why Ace knew about the existence of the Tontatta, and how he knew that someone among the Tontatta could restore his right arm...

This is something Arthur can easily imagine.

Viola!

Daughter of Riku Dold III, the previous king of the Dressrosa Kingdom, former princess of Dressrosa, and Paramecia Devil Fruit User.

The Glint-Glint Fruit allows the user to observe distances up to 4,000 kilometers in radius, with themselves as the center point.

This is also an incredibly powerful ability. With this ability, even though the Tontatta are small in size, they cannot escape the detection of the Clairvoyance.

In addition, the Glint-Glint Fruit also grants the ability to see through things and understand people's hearts.

It must have been Viola who secretly told Ace, or someone from Whitebeard Pirates, about Mansherry's Heal-Heal Fruit.

Therefore, either Ace or Marco came here and took the Tontatta away.

As for why they only took away the Tontatta and didn't help Viola rescue her father and country...

967 Arthur thought of a possibility that excited and filled him with anticipation.

That's... Whitebeard!!

Ace, who was adopted by Garp and grew up with Luffy, and who also inherited the characteristics of the Monkey Family, is not the kind of person whose mind would become dark just because he lost an arm.

On the contrary, the loss of this arm will only make him more mature.

Even knowing the existence of the Heal-Heal Fruit and that restoring his right arm would shorten the other person's lifespan, the kind-hearted Ace would certainly prefer to lose an arm rather than let the other person sacrifice their lifespan to restore his arm.

Therefore, what could motivate him or Marco to take action must be their respected Pops — 'Whitebeard' Edward Newgate.

Whitebeard's body was plagued by hidden ailments, undoubtedly pushing him to his limit.

The Heal-Heal Fruit could very well cure the hidden ailment in his body.

If he hadn't had the hidden ailments that had accumulated over decades, even if Whitebeard were still old, his strength would definitely not be much less than it was at his peak.

Back then (CDCJ), Whitebeard was absolutely the World's Strongest Man!

Blackbeard, challengers—anyone facing him will feel endless despair!

Thinking of this, Arthur couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for Doflamingo.

No wonder he was scared!

Firstly, without the cultivation plants of the Tontatta, the production of Artificial Zoan Devil Fruits Artificial Devil Fruit be greatly reduced, which will definitely anger Kaido, that madman.

Secondly, if the Heal-Heal Fruit truly removes the hidden ailment from Whitebeard's body, the loyal and righteous Whitebeard Pirates would definitely come to rescue Viola.

By losing the Tontatta, Doflamingo has essentially offended two of the Four Emperors at once.

The fact that he wasn't terrified is a testament to his status as a user of Conqueror's Haki.

At the same time, Arthur was also very much looking forward to Whitebeard being able to cure the hidden ailment in his body.

Having already offended Whitebeard Pirates, he would inevitably clash with Whitebeard, Arthur would much rather face the World's Strongest Man, as fierce as a tiger.

The vast wasteland, surrounded only by numerous mushroom-shaped rocks, is near the coast.

Doflamingo, who had been walking on air, landed in this place.

Arthur, on the other hand, followed behind at a leisurely pace, riding his King's Horse.

"Bullet String-- "

'Whoosh--!'

The instant he landed, Doflamingo raised his index finger without warning and began firing a barrage of shots at Arthur.

Sharp, thin lines, like bullets, shot towards Arthur at high speed, accompanied by the sound of them slicing through the air.

'Clang clang...'

Arthur slightly raised Excalibur in his hand, and the thin line that could pierce a human body struck the ornate blade, sparking a series of flashes.

'Swish--'

The scene seemed familiar: after Arthur blocked Doflamingo's Bullet String, he raised Excalibur and unleashed a massive golden sword pressure.

Compared to the previous attack on the rooftop of the Dressrosa Palace, this golden sword pressure was far more immense, roaring forth like a tidal wave capable of engulfing everything.

"Fufu~ You've become this strong already?"

Arthur swung his sword with great casualness, while Doflamingo, witnessing this, said with a forced smile, "With this kind of improvement speed, no wonder Mihawk was defeated by you! However, the stronger you become, the more curious I become about what kind of overwhelming ambition you are hiding, which you are unwilling to reveal even now?"

"Let me guess... is it about your name? Athlete!" As if replaying a previous battle, Doflamingo raised his right foot, clad in a pointed shoe, and delivered a kick powerful enough to split a building in two. He then pressed down on the golden sword that had carved a deep trench in the ground. A wicked smile appeared on his lips behind Sun sunglasses, "Does your real name contain the letter 'D'?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Arthur was slightly taken aback and almost burst out laughing on the spot.

"For a while now, I've been getting calls saying you're the user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, the murderer of the Celestial Dragons, and they want me to speed up the spread of information about you on the black market." Doflamingo flicked his fingers, seemingly talking to himself, "At first, I didn't care! But now I'm increasingly suspicious. Your King's Sword and you have such a high compatibility; it must possess special abilities, it should be a treasure passed down through generations! And 'D' is the enemy of God. If your name really does contain the letter 'D,' then the credibility of you being the murderer of the Celestial Dragons is extremely high."

"But the more I think about it, the more horrified I become! I don't even want to believe that you are the murderer!" Doflamingo's smile gradually faded, his eyes behind Sun sunglasses revealing no emotion. He said in a deep voice, "I really can't imagine that the World's Greatest Swordsman, the 'King of Knights,' is also Devil Fruit User the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, hailed as one of the strongest Devil Fruits!!"

Chapter 186 'Devil Fruit Awakening'

"Then, could you enlighten me, King of Knights?!" After Doflamingo finished speaking, he stopped beckoning with his finger, staring intently at Arthur through the lenses of his Sun, as if testing how much of his next words were true or false.

"I must say, you have a good imagination, but unfortunately, my name doesn't have the letter 'D' in it," Arthur said, shaking his head.

"Is that so!" Doflamingo responded, his thoughts unreadable.

Arthur spoke these words without any concealment, giving him an air of integrity and uprightness.

Coupled with the chivalrous spirit inherent in this body, it possesses an extremely high degree of deception.

It was precisely because of this characteristic that Nami, with her extremely high level of self-protection, was able to establish a cooperative relationship with Arthur and gradually fall in love with him.

Robin is pretty much the same!

On the high seas, countless young men and women admire the 'King of Knights' not only because of his formidable strength and achievements, but also largely because they are captivated by his appearance and charisma.

The number of fans of 'King of Knights' is countless, even surpassing that of 'Haidan F Prince' White Horse Cavendish, who gained a large following based on his looks.

Furthermore, Excalibur, Rhongomyniad, King's Horse, and Knight's Robe all added a lot to Arthur.

After all these years, people with such a perfect public image are extremely rare.

"So, have you been hiding your strength?" Doflamingo suddenly asked again, his tone full of probing. "Just like the rumors, are you Devil Fruit User the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"

Rumors don't appear out of nowhere; most rumors have some degree of truth to them.

Moreover, the protagonist who killed the Celestial Dragons was none other than the "King of Knights," a bounty hunter known as a lackey of the Navy.

This kind of rumor, which seems unbelievable at first glance, can be viewed from a different perspective.