Willing to Die for the Young Lord

Fire, scorching flames burned, reflecting countless faces filled with rage and hatred.

"No, don't kill them so easily!"

"That's right, make their whole family live and suffer every torment!"

A man and two young, yellow-haired, buzz-cut boys were strung up and bound to the city wall, surrounded by a sea of angry people below.

One of the little boys was blindfolded, his tears flowing freely under the terror of death. "No matter what you do to me, I will survive!" The blindfolded boy clenched his fists tightly. "And then I will kill you—I'll kill every last one of you!"

Tears and angry shouts rang through the sky, and a latent aura of a king erupted from the injured youth, sweeping through everyone below like an irresistible tsunami.

"I'll kill you!" Doflamingo jolted awake from his sleep, immediately flipping himself up from the bed. But the moment he moved, a wave of immense pain surged from every part of his body.

Puff.

A mouthful of blood gushed from Doflamingo's mouth. He felt as if his internal organs had been crushed beneath a ten-thousand-foot mountain, and every inch of bone in his body had been displaced. If not for the dense, microscopic threads within his muscles constantly stitching his body back together, he would likely have been paralyzed by now.

All of this was caused by that person, that madman who called himself "God"!

At this thought, Doflamingo felt a profound sense of humiliation!

He, Doflamingo Homing, a noble of the world, a Celestial Dragon, a descendant of the gods, had actually been beaten to such a state in battle! Anger, unwillingness, and resentment intertwined, washing over his kingly heart.

One day, I will stand at the pinnacle of the world! I will trample all of you beneath my feet!

An invisible Conqueror's Haki erupted unconsciously from Doflamingo, slowly spreading outward, only to vanish the moment it struck an invisible barrier.

The next moment, an ethereal and indifferent voice rang out in Doflamingo's mind like a tolling bell:

[Main Quest "Ten-Tails Body", Status: Completed, Reward: 2 B-rank side story plots, 30,000 points]

[Reincarnator novice mission successful, unlocked status: Ordinary Reincarnator]

Following this came the Main God's novice welfare. A warm, yellow light radiated from the depths of Doflamingo's soul, and all the injuries across his body began to heal slowly. Before long, he had recovered as if he had never been hurt.

"Fufufufufu, this is the power of a god~" Doflamingo said, his face filled with intoxication as he savored the feeling of being reborn. "I am the one chosen by God."

In his mind, Doflamingo had already finished watching the "promotional CG" produced by the Main God. He felt exceptionally excited by the strange landscapes and countless legendary figures of the myriad worlds! A multitude of grand plans flashed through his mind; he even felt as if the Empty Throne in Pangea Castle were beckoning to him.

[Detected Reincarnator status as Ordinary Reincarnator. Special service unlocked: Custom Lifeform creation. Personality and memories are customized by the Reincarnator. Maximum strength: Tier 1 Advanced. Due to current Main God Space permissions in this world not being fully opened, custom lifeform strength is limited to Tier 2 Initial.]

"Creating life—fufufufufu, is this the domain of gods? Then, let's start with you."

Doflamingo recalled the information of the person he intended to create. A moment later, a mysterious power surged from the depths of his soul, and a mysterious figure took shape before him.

The construct was burly, possessing a golden inverted-triangle physique like a bodybuilder. He wore a blue cape, sported a hedgehog hairstyle, and had a resolute face. It was none other than the lord of the Dressrosa Kingdom, Riku Dold III!

"Young Master!" The artificial King Riku knelt on one knee, offering his loyalty to his creator.

"Fufufufufu, very good. I will make you the true King Riku. Come, follow me to meet the rest of the family."

"As you wish, Young Master!"

Thus, Doflamingo and King Riku headed toward the family meeting hall on this temporary island.

Half an hour later, in the meeting hall of this nameless island, the executives of the Donquixote Family were seated. Doflamingo sat at the head of the table, with King Riku standing silently behind him.

"Young Master, this... isn't this King Riku?"

Trebol, the highest-ranking executive of the family, was astonished. He knew that King Riku had been their target just a short while ago. Although he had managed to escape, he had harbored deep hatred for Doflamingo and the others. How could he now be acting in such complete obedience to the Young Master?

Doflamingo smiled wickedly. "Let me introduce him. This is a new member of our family, Riku Dold. His loyalty to me is no less than anyone else present!"

Doflamingo scanned the room, taking in the varied expressions of his family members, but he had no intention of explaining further. He continued, "From today on, everything will be a new beginning. Your Young Master is no longer the same. I will crush everyone who stands against us, one by one!" Doflamingo's aura was on full display, his three-colored Haki manifesting and appearing even more refined than before.

Seeing their Young Master shed his past volatility and tyranny, and sensing that his strength had seemingly improved, the members of the Donquixote Family were stirred with excitement and vied to pledge their loyalty.

At this moment, a subordinate entered to report that the Ghost Mask Pirates had tracked them to this island, and that the "Great Undertaker" Piero had also arrived with his fleet, claiming he was here to assist the Donquixote Family.

"Fufufufufu, these pathetic hyenas. It's the perfect time for me to meet them!"

An hour later, a great battle erupted on the island between the Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo and the Ghost Mask Pirates' captain, Yiwen, along with the "Great Undertaker" Piero.

Doflamingo fought two against one without losing ground, standing his ground against them both.

Yiwen was a user of the Spider-Spider Fruit: Ghost Mask Spider Model. He had already transformed into a hideous, giant ghost-faced spider, his head half-human and half-spider. He constantly spat out various threads and toxins to restrict Doflamingo, while Piero was a master of physical combat and Haki, wielding a massive scythe.

Neither could defeat Doflamingo in a one-on-one fight, but Doflamingo had been kicked out of the Seven Warlords of the Sea a few months prior, and his strength had been compromised. This had caused the entire underground world to stir, and these two were simply the strongest and fastest to act.

However, Yiwen felt deeply frustrated. He had heard that Doflamingo had suffered a defeat and that his Haki and strength should have declined, so why did he feel even more powerful now?

Yiwen was actually right in his assessment. In this world, Haki cultivation is not only linked to one's physical training but also to one's mental state.

Haki is essentially the manifestation of willpower. If a person is extremely confident, having sailed through life without a single defeat, they often grow stronger with every battle—Garp and Red-Haired are typical examples of this.

But if one encounters a defeat or setback and fails to overcome their own mental barriers, their Haki will regress. Take Crocodile and Moria from the original story, for example. Both were Seven Warlords, but after being defeated by Emperors in their youth, they retreated from the New World back to the Four Blues. Their own will and convictions were shaken, leading to a decline in strength that turned them into stepping stones for the protagonist, Luffy.

It was only natural for Yiwen to suspect that Doflamingo's strength had declined, but how could he have possibly known about the tortuous experiences Doflamingo had endured during this time?

Doflamingo had suffered the failure of his plan to usurp the country, the revocation of his Seven Warlords of the Sea status, and being hunted by everyone. He had then been selected as a mysterious Reincarnator, been beaten to a pulp by Pain, and finally returned from the brink of death, successfully completing his mission and gaining the recognition of the Main God Space. He believed himself to be the chosen one, a king descending upon the world. His spirit and will had been tempered repeatedly, to the point where his Haki cultivation had not regressed but advanced, showing faint signs of a breakthrough!

Doflamingo unleashed his Devil Fruit powers recklessly during the battle, turning the entire island into an ocean of white strings. Watching Yiwen and Piccro struggle as they were pursued by the white threads, Doflamingo let out a wild, arrogant laugh.

"Fufufufu, what's this? Do you think you have the strength to challenge my majesty?"

While dodging the white string attacks, Piccro replied, "Joker, your strength is indeed as outstanding as ever. I only came to test the quality of my partner. Now that my goal has been achieved, I am willing to pay a price. Why don't we call it a day?"

Yiwen cursed his ally Piccro for his stupidity. Did he think Joker was running a charity? That they could just shake hands and call it even? But he couldn't betray Piccro either; they were on the same front now—united they lived, divided they died!

Doflamingo smiled with disdain. "The weak don't even get to choose how they die! And yet you dare to dream of surviving!"

"Doflamingo, don't push us too far! We are giving you a way out, otherwise, you wouldn't be able to do anything to us!" Piccro's face darkened. As a fellow king of the underworld, he felt he had already given Doflamingo enough face by offering to back down.

"Weakling, still clinging to your pathetic dignity. Very well, let me show you the power of a god."

Doflamingo crushed his pink heart-shaped sunglasses, revealing a pair of miraculous eyes.

Within those eyes were irises of sky blue, set against black sclera with white pupils. The white pupils reflected countless grid lines, as if they contained every visible and invisible line in the world! These were the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception that Doflamingo had obtained from the Main God Space!

Those who possess these eyes can see the "death" of things, receiving the intangible concept of death as visual information. To the eyes of the beholder, lines crisscrossing like a grid and points that form those lines appear on the surface of objects.

The lines represent the "Lines of Death," where the object can be easily severed or destroyed, and the points represent the "death of the thing." By destroying a point or cutting a line, the target can be erased instantly!

These powerful eyes had cost every single mission reward Doflamingo had risked his life to earn! But it was all worth it!

The moment the Mystic Eyes opened, Doflamingo felt as if he could see the essence of everything in the world: a world constructed of countless varied lines. Yiwen and Piccro were no exception; although their "Lines of Death" were tougher, they were not indestructible.

In that instant, Doflamingo had a feeling that he could control these lines, just as he controlled his white strings. He flicked his fingers in the air, gently plucking at Piccro's "Lines of Death."

Suddenly, Piccro's body froze. He felt an invisible, immense terror descending, as if his heart had been squeezed by a giant hand. He stopped, hunched over, and gasped for air. "Doflamingo, what... what did you do?"

"Fufufufu, I was just saying hello," Doflamingo said with a playful smirk, finding the sensation of manipulating the Lines of Death to be exquisite.

"Please go to hell and say hello to the gods for me." As the String-String Fruit ability activated, the "Lines of Death" representing Piccro snapped instantly!

Without any warning, Piccro collapsed to the ground, his life force extinguished as if his soul had been snatched away by a demon!

Yiwen, transformed into a giant Ghost Mask Spider, watched this eerie scene. The sensory hairs on his abdomen began to twitch frantically, and he asked in terror, "Your eyes... what kind of ability is this?"

"Fufufufufufu!"

Doflamingo clutched his forehead with one hand and laughed wildly toward the sky. "Didn't I already tell you? This is the power... of a god!"

"No, that's impossible! I don't believe it!"

The giant spider Yiwen went completely berserk, rushing toward Doflamingo along the white web he had woven, brandishing his massive spider legs.

"The meaningless struggle of the weak! Nothing can change!"

With a light flick of his finger, the "Lines of Death" representing Yiwen snapped!

The giant spider crashed to the ground, its life force severed!

With this, one of the emperors of the underworld and the manager of the assassin world, the "Great Undertaker" Piccro, was dead!

The captain of the New World Ghost Mask Pirates, with a bounty of 200 million Beli and a user of the Spider-Spider Fruit: Ghost Mask Spider Model, Yiwen, was dead!

The deaths of these two powerhouses became mere embellishments on Doflamingo's grand path to hegemony!

Turning around to face the countless members of the Donquixote Family, who were looking at him with fanatical eyes, Doflamingo issued his orders, his voice filled with Haki and a persuasive, magical charm.

"From this day forward, I will stand at the pinnacle of the world. I will become the king of the world!"

"Men, set sail! Destination: Dressrosa!"

Having witnessed the entire process, the members of the Donquixote Family fell into a frenzy, kneeling in unison and shouting, "We are willing to die for the Young Master!"