Bitter Struggle

"Damn!" Doflamingo looked up at Goriki as he leaped over, and his heart began to pound.

This guy looks pretty tough. Why is his bounty only 86 million Beli?

Doflamingo had been hunting at sea for several months now. He had cut down two pirates with bounties of seventy or eighty million, but this was the first time he had encountered a pirate who put this much pressure on him.

As he thought, Chidori flashed in his hand, sending two Flying Slashes hurtling forward.

"Onzezezeze! Muda muda muda!" Amid wild laughter, Goriki's entire upper body became covered in jet-black Armament Haki. It was especially dense around his fists, as though he wore a pair of black gloves. With a casual swing, he shattered the Flying Slashes to pieces.

Strength no weaker than a Navy Headquarters Vice Admiral! How did Navy Headquarters set this bounty? What a damn scam! Doflamingo complained aloud, though he was not particularly nervous.

Although this guy's Armament Haki was highly developed, his Observation Haki was merely average. If it came down to it, Doflamingo could just use his illusion technique and cut him down.

No matter how much someone trained, they could not train away their own life, could they?

Of course, what Doflamingo did not know was that a pirate's bounty was not entirely tied to their strength. More often, it was tied to the evil deeds they had committed.

Goriki was one of those extremely rare pirates who never harassed ordinary civilians. Sometimes, he even accepted jobs posted by certain nations, or cut off the heads of fellow pirates and had his subordinates, who had no Bounty Posters, exchange them for money.

His 86 million Beli bounty mostly came from the destruction he caused in battle, as well as the arrogant reputation of the Iron Fist Pirates.

If they were judging by strength alone, his bounty could easily have been doubled. Even in the New World, where powerful figures were everywhere, this guy could have made something of himself. With enough effort, becoming a top executive of a Four Emperors crew in the future would have been easy enough.

"Not bad, not bad. So you're a swordsman. Not every Marine is trash!" Goriki landed on the deck and slammed his fists together, producing a clang of steel striking steel.

Doflamingo gave him a strange look. This guy dared call the Marines trash? He clearly had never suffered a proper beating from a Marine powerhouse.

Then again, in the first half of the Grand Line, there were practically no one who could stand against him. No wonder he had developed such an arrogant personality.

Charging straight in whenever he saw Marines—Doflamingo had truly seen few pirates this thickheaded.

Still, judging from the battle-crazed look on his face, Doflamingo knew that this guy did not understand the word fear.

Without wasting any more words, what else could Marines do when they ran into pirates? One word: fight.

Even if Doflamingo did not truly feel any sense of belonging toward the Marines.

Jet-black Haki spread along Chidori. Though it did not produce the sound of a thousand birds chirping, a sharp aura still radiated from the blade.

A savage grin appeared on Goriki's face as he threw an iron fist forward without hesitation.

Doflamingo refused to yield an inch, bringing his blade down to meet it head-on.

Their powerful auras clashed. After Chidori and the iron fist held against each other for an instant, Doflamingo was sent flying.

With a series of crashes, he smashed through several cabins aboard the ship before barely managing to stop.

How the hell am I supposed to fight this? The gap in strength and Haki is way too big. Doflamingo rose from the wreckage, feeling both arms go numb and weak as blood flowed from the webs between his thumbs and forefingers.

There was nothing he could do about it. His talent was good, but he was still under thirteen years old. Compared to Goriki, whose strength was nearly on par with a Navy Headquarters Vice Admiral, the gap was still rather large.

I'll try once more. If it doesn't work, I'll use the illusion technique! Having made up his mind, Doflamingo tightened his grip on Chidori.

Meanwhile, Goriki slowly walked toward him. A deep blade wound could be seen on his fist, with blood streaming down from it. Clearly, Doflamingo's earlier strike had still left him with a real injury.

"Fine swordsmanship. You're the strongest Marine I've ever seen." A twisted smile spread across Goriki's face. "Only by thoroughly defeating a strong opponent like you can I improve!"

"Tch. Battle maniacs like you are the worst." Doflamingo sounded as if he were complaining. Then he pushed off the ground and vanished from Goriki's sight in an instant.

"Soru from the Navy Six Styles. I've run into it plenty of times." As Goriki spoke, his figure flickered. He actually used Soru as well, staying close on Doflamingo's trail.

Doflamingo was not surprised. In the Pirate World, everything depended on physical ability. As long as one's physical condition met the requirements and one had decent talent, techniques like the Navy Six Styles could be easily learned after watching them a few times.

The battle maniac before him had undoubtedly met the physical requirements. Anyone who could cultivate Haki to this extent in the first half of the Grand Line could not possibly lack talent. Since he frequently fought Marines, it was perfectly normal for him to have learned the Navy Six Styles.

Fortunately, Doflamingo's Observation Haki far surpassed his. Combined with his young age, he was also much better at the agile, perception-based techniques of Soru and Paper Drawing, allowing him to continue maneuvering around Goriki.

The powerful fighters in the Pirate World are always trading blow for blow in brutal brawls. So why has my fighting style turned into maneuvering around my enemies?

Doflamingo grumbled inwardly, but his body honestly dodged another iron fist from Goriki.

He also wanted to trade blow for blow like a real man, but unfortunately, he simply could not win!

After dodging another barrage of Goriki's fierce attacks, Doflamingo was beginning to pant. In other worlds, excessive hardness could not last; fighting like Goriki would quickly exhaust one's stamina.

But in the Pirate World, anyone remotely capable was a stamina monster. At Goriki's level, Doflamingo dared say that even if they fought for a full day and night, he would not tire.

Doflamingo did not have such abundant stamina. After all, he was still limited by his age, so he could only find a way to end this quickly.

Though Goriki was less agile than Doflamingo, he was not inferior at all in terms of absolute speed.

In fact, strength and speed complemented each other. A powerful person's muscular explosiveness ensured that their speed would not be slow.

Thus, Doflamingo's several attacks had all failed to break through the defense of those iron fists. He had even taken a punch, which shook his teeth loose and left him no longer daring to clash head-on.

"Onzezezezeze! You can't defeat me by relying on dodging alone!"