Amaterasu!

"Fufufu... What a killjoy, Navy. Hey, your name was... uh... what? Let's take out these Marines together, then continue, how about it?"

"Oh, right. I'm Donquixote Doflamingo."

Doflamingo gave a wicked grin. Surrounded by Marines, he had no intention of retreating. Instead, he wanted to wipe them all out. That was probably one of the reasons he had managed to rise above the masses during the Great Pirate Era.

What exactly is this guy's Devil Fruit... Why does that red skeleton give me such an evil, ominous feeling?

Doflamingo looked at Carlos, protected by the red skeletal frame, and thought to himself.

"My name is Lucifer Carlos."

"I accept your proposal."

Carlos said excitedly.

His battle with Doflamingo had thoroughly ignited Carlos's fighting spirit. Ever since arriving in this world, everything he had done had felt like child's play to him. Only today had become somewhat interesting, whether it was Doflamingo or these Marines.

On the very day the Great Pirate Era began, he had to settle things with Doflamingo. He had to cause an all-out uproar, no matter the cost!

"Fufufu... Good. Then let the slaughter begin!"

Doflamingo laughed arrogantly. His five fingers twitched as transparent Parasite Strings shot out, silently piercing toward the Marines.

"Hmph, what arrogant Pirates! Today is the day you die! Increase firepower! Take down these two Pirates!" the Marine commander roared furiously. He was a Marine Headquarters Commander stationed here, a man who had seen the world. He would not be frightened by just anything!

Bang! Bang! Bang...

Pfft...

A dense barrage of gunfire erupted, mixed with the sounds of rocket launchers firing as countless shots rained down on the two of them...

This time, Doflamingo did not choose to take the attacks head-on. Instead, he nimbly dodged. Having initially awakened Observation Haki, Doflamingo was not so easy to hit. Even if he could not evade, he could simply use the String-String Fruit's abilities.

Once one's strength reached a certain level, firearms became greatly diminished in usefulness—unless one had mastered Observation Haki and Armament Haki techniques for guns and bullets.

Carlos's response was much simpler and more brutal. He could have handled it effortlessly with the Kamui Mangekyō Sharingan, but with his blood up, he chose to use Susanoo instead.

The Susanoo unleashed by an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan placed a tremendous burden on the body, and excessive use could even blind its user. However, this was not the original thing. It was an imitation created and powered by the Eye of the Devil, a special Devil Fruit.

It required neither bloodline nor Chakra, and Susanoo's side effects did not exist either. The fuel for this One Piece version of Susanoo was Pupil Power, formed from the combination of physical strength and mental strength. As long as his Pupil Power did not run out, he could keep using it.

The triangular pinwheels in Carlos's eyes slowly turned. Vast amounts of Pupil Power surged forth, releasing even more red energy that formed additional ribs and two red arms. The crossed arms blocked every incoming bullet and Rocket Launcher shell.

After two waves of attacks failed to do anything to the two of them, it was their turn.

Countless colorless needle-like threads fell from the sky and pierced into the unprepared Marine soldiers. In an instant, the soldiers fell under Doflamingo's control. They suddenly began slaughtering one another, turning their blades, gun barrels, and even rocket launchers on their own comrades. Caught off guard, the Marines suffered devastating losses.

Of course, the mental and psychological blow inflicted by such bizarre power was the cruelest and most severe part.

Carlos leaped down from the rooftop and charged toward the Marines at incredible speed. Every ranged attack was blocked by Susanoo. Not only did he rampage through the Marine soldiers, but he also used Susanoo's manifested hands to perform the Eagle Claw Technique.

Who could possibly withstand that?

Susanoo knew martial arts. The sight was simply too brutal!

Susanoo's sharp claws swept through the Marine soldiers, slicing people, guns, and blades into several pieces. Heads, organs, and blood scattered everywhere. Real battles were far crueler than anime battles; after all, anime had no idea how much had been toned down.

For example, when swordsmen like Zoro cut people down in anime, there was far too little blood. In the real One Piece world, when a swordsman struck someone, severed arms, legs, and bodies were perfectly ordinary.

In short, it was simply tragic. Carlos's side was visually horrific, while Doflamingo's side was psychologically horrific. Ordinary Marine soldiers could not endure even two exchanges before being killed.

In the span of just two breaths, the Marines had suffered nearly a hundred casualties. The horrifying losses made the Marine Commander's scalp tingle, sobering him completely.

These two demon-like figures were likely beyond his ability to handle. The Marine Commander immediately took out a Den Den Mushi to request reinforcements, intending to summon a Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral personally stationed in Loguetown because of the outbreak of the Great Pirate Era!

Frankly speaking, the Marine Commander's decision was extremely wise. Carlos and Doflamingo were no longer opponents ordinary Marine officers could handle. At the very least, a Marine Headquarters Commodore would have a chance against them, while a Rear Admiral would offer a greater assurance.

It would have been even better if he could summon a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral. A Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral had a fair chance of capturing both of them. Unfortunately, the strongest Marine officer left in Loguetown was only a Rear Admiral.

Of course, given the Marine Commander's knowledge, he had no idea how unusual Carlos and Doflamingo were. Calling a Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral was merely an act of self-preservation. Even a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral might not be able to capture them, since both possessed special abilities.

Carlos went without saying, but with today's skies covered in dark clouds, the conditions were also a tremendous aid to Doflamingo's retreat.

Unfortunately, while Carlos was slaughtering these ordinary Marine branch soldiers, he had always kept part of his attention on the Marine Commander.

If the Marine Commander had been fully focused, Carlos would not have found it so easy to kill him. After all, he was a Commander from Marine Headquarters, and his strength was fairly impressive.

Marine Headquarters officers were roughly three ranks stronger than Marine officers from the Four Blues branches. A Marine branch Commander would only be a Lieutenant at Marine Headquarters.

Although Marine rank did not entirely represent strength and carried other meanings, an officer of the same rank from Marine Headquarters was certainly stronger than one from a Marine branch. Taking on three at once would be effortless!

But with this Marine officer distracted by the Den Den Mushi, killing him became much easier. Carlos did not want to see Marine reinforcements. From the moment he made his move, every Marine officer and soldier here had to die.

Neither Carlos nor Doflamingo wanted to carry bounties so early in the Great Pirate Era. At the very least, they had to wait until they had developed themselves, so they had to silence everyone!

Amaterasu!

Pupil Power surged wildly from Carlos's right eye as his gaze focused on the Marine Commander's body.

The Marine Commander holding the Den Den Mushi instantly broke out in goosebumps. A sense of impending disaster washed over him, and he instinctively tried to dodge, but it was too late.

Pfft!

A black flame appeared out of nowhere, landing directly on the Marine Commander's body. It burned silently, releasing terrifying heat!

Aah... Gah... Aah...

The Marine Commander instantly screamed. His face twisted like that of a vicious ghost as he dropped the Den Den Mushi and instinctively slapped at the black flames. When he found that he could not put them out, he rolled back and forth across the ground...

The nearby Marine adjutants and soldiers hurried over to help. Not only did they fail to extinguish the black flames, but they became infected by them themselves. However, their suffering was brief. Everyone touched by Amaterasu's black flames died within two breaths.

The black flames continued to burn silently over the corpses and the ground. Though there was no earth-shattering commotion, everyone who saw them felt their blood run cold!

Even Doflamingo's heart pounded as he stared at those black flames. His scalp went numb, and a chill ran through his body!