Instant Kill

"Damn Navy! You're courting death!"

Seeing all his pirate subordinates knocked into the sea by that Flying Slash, and their pirate ship split directly in two, Clark flew into a rage. His entire body turned into a smoke dragon as he charged forward.

It was fortunate that this guy was a Smoke Fruit ability user. If it had been any other Logia Devil Fruit ability user who could not fly, he would probably have already been finished.

When fighting Devil Fruit ability users, destroying their ships had always been the most effective and effortless method.

Watching the smoke dragon charge at him, Doflamingo narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Smoke-Smoke Fruit's combat power was among the weakest of the Logia types. Its rare ability to fly was the only thing that made it slightly troublesome.

But no matter how poor it was, it was still a Logia. Compared to ordinary Devil Fruits, its elementalization ability naturally made it far stronger.

Moreover, Doflamingo's intangibility attacks were greatly weakened against Logia Devil Fruits. After all, he could not imbue them with Haki while intangible. This was also a form of mutual restraint between abilities.

"Still..." Black Haki slowly spread over the Chidori in Doflamingo's hand. His eyes narrowed as his Observation Haki locked onto the smoke dragon's core. "Do I need to use my intangibility ability against such trash?"

"Chidori—Resonance!"

As Doflamingo swung the Chidori in his hand, a straight sword beam shot like an arrow toward the white dragon flying at him. At the very tip of the sword energy curled a strand of dark Armament Haki.

"Argh!" Amid a scream, the smoke dragon swiftly contracted, revealing Clark's figure. A hole pierced clean through his right chest by Doflamingo's sword energy, and he immediately plunged headfirst downward.

"What trash!" Doflamingo shook his head. Aside from developing his Devil Fruit ability fairly well, this Devil Fruit ability user was a complete mess. His physical strength, Observation Haki, and Armament Haki were all utterly pathetic.

He probably had not even awakened Observation Haki. Otherwise, with the elusive and unpredictable nature of the Logia Smoke Fruit, there was no way he would have failed to dodge even a single move.

Of course, the smoke dragon development method was still somewhat interesting. At the very least, it showed far more imagination than White Hunter Smoker.

Using Geppo, he returned directly to his warship. After landing, he saw his adjutant, Navy Petty Officer Kaufmann, along with the other Navy soldiers, all staring dumbly.

Was that really necessary? Had they never seen a true powerhouse fight during their time in the Navy? Doflamingo muttered inwardly, casually tossing the Chidori in his hand to him. "Bring the ship over and see whether he's dead. If he isn't, haul him aboard. If he is, haul up his head too."

With that, he turned to head back into the cabin.

"Understood!" The instant his words fell, Kaufmann straightened his chest and raised his head, full of vigor as he began issuing orders to his subordinates.

The ordinary Navy soldiers were similarly fired up and immediately sprang into action.

"S-So amazing!" Kikyo's mouth hung open and her eyes bulged, as though her entire worldview had been refreshed.

Petty Officer Kaufmann had seen powerful people before, but he had truly never seen someone like Doflamingo, a powerhouse even stronger than an ordinary Navy Vice Admiral.

Kikyo, on the other hand, simply had no experience at all. In her eyes, anyone capable of cutting cannonballs apart, mastering the Navy Six Styles, and unleashing Flying Slashes was already an incredibly powerful expert. Someone who could split a large ship in half with a single sword strike was an expert among experts.

"All right, hurry up and find the next pirate crew! My Chidori is already hungry for more." Doflamingo pinched Kikyo's cheeks with an amused smile, closing her wide-open mouth.

Coming back to her senses, Kikyo hurriedly composed her expression. Even so, she could not hide the excitement on her face.

"Let me see. The next one is the Kongo Pirates. When I last saw the intelligence report, they should have been three hundred nautical miles directly west of us. Taking the sea currents, their speed, and the next island they plan to visit into account, we should be able to catch up with them in six days."

"Fine, I'll leave that to you."

"Don't worry, I guarantee the mission will be completed!" Kikyo smiled so broadly that her face seemed to bloom. The more pirates Doflamingo caught, the more her own achievements would rise as well. Technical personnel like them had ranks too.

The other Navy soldiers were equally excited. Following a powerhouse like Doflamingo meant they could earn merits without even having to fight. Of course they were delighted.

After wandering around the cabin twice, Doflamingo somehow found himself in the kitchen.

Looking at the cooking utensils before him, he murmured, "Since I'm already here..."

Half an hour later.

Clark, captain of the Smoke Pirates, was quite lucky. Although Doflamingo had pierced his chest with one sword strike and he had fallen into the sea for half an hour, the tenacious vitality of people in the Pirate World meant that the Navy still managed to rescue him.

Doflamingo had brought several pairs of Sea Stone handcuffs with him this time, and Petty Officer Kaufmann now gave Clark one pair.

As for his subordinates, Doflamingo's warship only had a dozen or so people aboard. There was not enough food to waste on them, so they were naturally left to fend for themselves at sea.

Having lost all his subordinates, been easily defeated, suffered serious injuries, and been captured by the Navy, Clark was exhausted in both body and mind when he suddenly caught a strong aroma.

It was not just him. Every crew member aboard the warship swallowed hard under the tempting fragrance, their eyes turning toward the ship's kitchen.

"Hey, Will, what did you make that smells so good?"

"Yeah, yeah, it smells incredible. Is it Sea King meat soup?"

"I'm hungry, Will! When are we eating?"

The ship's cook, Will, looked utterly baffled. He remembered perfectly well that he had not simmered any soup in the kitchen.

Squatting in the kitchen, Doflamingo shoveled mouthful after mouthful of Seafood Fried Rice into his mouth and drank Sea King Bone Soup, then wiped his mouth. "Delicious!"

He swept through all the food he had personally prepared like a whirlwind, leaving nothing at all for anyone else.

After all, what boss ever cooked for his underlings?

Leaving aside just how shocked everyone aboard was when they learned that Doflamingo had made the food, and how the cook Will looked utterly devastated and despairing after licking Doflamingo's leftover plates clean, Doflamingo had discovered some benefits after his cooking skills improved greatly.

After all, Little Chef's cooking was not the cooking of the real world. While it did not possess techniques as outrageous as those in Toriko, many of its abilities already surpassed ordinary imagination.

Controlling people's hearts, eliminating poison addiction, and treating illnesses—if one's cooking skills were good enough, there were quite a few things one could do.

At the very least, he could use food to nourish himself and increase some of his potential.