Neural Scan

The chaos at the Port erupted with startling speed.

Just as Aleus's Flagship sailed into the Port, the unrest broke out. The ordinary merchant ships originally moored there shed their disguises, row upon row of pitch-black cannon muzzles aiming at the warship entering the Port. Cannon fire that shook the air and the waves echoed endlessly across the Port's sky like exploding firecrackers.

The bombardment continued for quite some time.

Choking gunpowder smoke spread between the ships like thick fog.

"That old bastard Umit really dared to do it! Senor, did you deliver Doffy's words?" On a rooftop terrace, Diamante lowered his binoculars from the Port and turned to look at the iron-blooded hard man behind him—Senor, a member of the Block Army.

"I relayed every word to Umit."

"Tch! That old bastard... Doffy, should we stab that old bastard in the back?"

Diamante proposed.

Unlike his iron-blooded subordinate Senor, Diamante had always been willing to use any means necessary for victory. So long as it could bring victory, no matter how despicable the method, he would use it.

"Just watch."

Doflamingo sat in a beach chair, his eyes closed beneath his sunglasses.

He was not using his eyes to observe the Port. Compared to eyes that could sometimes be deceived, he trusted the information he could "see" through Observation Haki more. Just as he dismissed Diamante's foolish suggestion, he suddenly sat bolt upright.

"Doffy?"

"Young Master?"

The Donquixote Family officers were startled.

Led by Diamante and Trebol, the Family's two highest-ranking officers, the group carefully attended him from both sides, studying Doflamingo's face as a hint of gravity appeared there.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Before anyone could ask, Doflamingo coldly issued the order.

Though frustrated, the Family members' loyalty to Doflamingo was beyond doubt. Even with their stomachs full of confusion and questions, they obediently closed their mouths, communicating only through their eyes as they asked one another what had happened.

Unfortunately, everyone was completely baffled. Even the two highest-ranking officers had no idea what was going on.

Come to think of it, aside from Doflamingo, only Vergo, who had infiltrated the Marines, seemed to possess Observation Haki. Not a single other member of the Donquixote Family had it, leaving them as blind as bats as they watched Doflamingo.

"Sokachio Aleus..."

Doflamingo stood before the beach chair, his eyes wide beneath his sunglasses as he gazed toward the Port shrouded in rolling gunpowder smoke, slowly calming the storm that had risen in his heart.

He had "seen" it.

That special power he had never encountered before.

It was somewhat like Conqueror's Haki, but as a Conqueror's Haki user himself, he could confirm that it was absolutely not Conqueror's Haki.

Though the two possessed extremely similar traits, different was different. To anyone with a discerning eye, they were not things that could be confused with one another.

"Black Prince, Aleus... Fuffuffuffu! Interesting, interesting!" Doflamingo leaned back against the beach chair once more, his usual laughter sweeping away the Family members' unease. "Watch the show properly! The Black Prince and the King of Maritime Transport... This will definitely be a spectacular show rarely seen, fuffuffuffu!!!"

The Family members exchanged looks, but no one dared ask what had happened. They could only raise their binoculars one after another, each finding what they considered a suitable viewing spot and watching the Port.

The seagulls cried uneasily in the sky, frightened by the cannon fire below.

"Not very refined, are you?"

Aleus stood on the bow deck, his gaze passing through the gunpowder smoke that was gradually thinning in the sea breeze as he looked at the seagulls filled with unease and panic. "To actually use such a boring, lousy trick... King of Maritime Transport, have you run out of options?"

He mocked without restraint, even though Umit was not before him.

This surprise attack had been completely useless.

The four Aides, along with Farug, the Aide's Aide, formed an impenetrable defense around Aleus's Flagship. The shells flying in from every direction were knocked back before they could even draw near. In the end, aside from the spreading smoke worsening the air somewhat, it had accomplished nothing.

Moreover, Every ship that had fired was ruthlessly crushed by his Spirit Pressure. Umit's subordinates collapsed soundlessly at their posts, while only their souls, still lost in confusion, streamed over under invisible attraction and were devoured cleanly by the Hogyoku, leaving not even a trace behind.

"His Highness, below..."

"Keep moving forward."

Aleus waved a hand, interrupting Eschbach's question. "Dillon, Eschbach, Dick, Casper... I am giving you five minutes. Five minutes from now, I will disembark and go ashore. Remember, this is an order."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Even Casper, usually the most sluggish of them all, honestly lowered his head and accepted this seemingly overbearing order.

Next, The four Aides moved out in succession, each displaying their own abilities with every gesture as they blasted apart every ship blocking their path.

Five minutes—

Was short!

But it was not an utterly hopeless order.

With enough effort, it might not be impossible.

The Aides worked hard. Dick charged at the very front, transforming into a massive Giant Leopard and tearing apart every ship along the way. Dillon and Casper followed behind, clearing away all manner of wreckage and debris. Even Angelo, the Strangling Ghost, was driven underwater by Dick to eliminate hidden dangers and ambushes beneath the surface, ensuring the route ahead remained completely clear.

As for Eschbach, he rowed an assault boat, towing the massive warship with iron chains as he sped along the newly cleared route at an astonishing pace.

Four and a half minutes later, Aleus's flagship docked steadily at the shore, and the gangway was firmly connected to the land of the pier.

"Not even a single greeter... Looks like this prince still doesn't have enough presence!" Aleus walked down the gangway, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the pier before quickly settling on the vast stretch of undulating Mushroom Rock to the southeast.

There, he sensed an enormous number of souls. Clusters of flames of varying brightness appeared in his mind, helping him pinpoint the locations of one powerful individual after another.

This was—

[Neural Scan].

It was another ability developed from Spirit Pressure, something that could be called "Spirit Pressure Perception." Combined with Observation Haki, it allowed him to sense the soul fluctuations of everyone nearby, enemies included, discern their strength and location, and display the targets he detected in his mind as burning flames.

Besides the enemies inside the Mushroom Rock, he also 'saw' the intensely blazing flames hidden atop the rooftops of buildings not far from the port.

"I watch the scenery from the bridge, while those watching the scenery watch me from upstairs... Joker really is taking it easy." Aleus muttered a few words, paying little attention to the Heavenly Yaksha secretly watching the show. His focus was fixed on the deep, heavy, filthy malice within the Mushroom Rock region.