Dunn's voice was calm.
Yet in the quiet surroundings, it rang out as if it had exploded beside everyone's ears.
The pirates nearby held their breaths, afraid of drawing Dunn's attention.
But Dunn really wasn't paying any attention to them.
If someone had a Devil Fruit user working for him, he definitely wasn't part of any East Blue force. He was more likely connected to the Underworld or one of the North Blue mafias.
Dunn's Armament Haki-coated hand tightened. The agony of having his head squeezed nearly burst made the man cry out. He couldn't maintain his transformation and reverted to his normal form.
"Talk!"
Dunn tightened his grip again. The man on the ground twitched twice, then went still.
Dunn paused and released him.
The man on the ground had rolled his eyes back. He wasn't dead, just unconscious.
Dunn stood and glanced around, then looked toward the town.
Quite a few people were watching from that direction. Seemingly realizing Dunn had noticed them, they turned and ran, ducking into the houses on either side of the town.
Some tried to escape from the other side of the island.
Dunn said nothing. The pirates around him trembled with fear.
Just as when Dunn had first arrived, he had them surrounded.
The unconscious man on the ground kicked his legs twice and groaned before coming to.
Dunn looked down at him.
He looked to be in his twenties or thirties, rather scrawny. Maybe he'd deliberately trained himself to have this build to suit his Devil Fruit ability.
Still, Zoan Devil Fruit users did have impressive physiques.
Dunn had indeed used a bit too much force just now. He'd nearly crushed the man to death.
But the fact that he'd woken up after only a short while showed that he was physically tough.
When the man woke, his eyes were briefly clouded with confusion. The moment he saw Dunn looming over him, he came fully to his senses.
"It's the Shichibukai, Lord Heavenly Yaksha!"
Before Dunn could ask anything else, the man immediately revealed who was behind him.
"Doflamingo?"
Dunn paused, surprised.
Had that guy extended his reach into the East Blue?
Dunn knew Doflamingo had spent quite some time in the West Blue or North Blue. He'd apparently become some big shot in the Underworld, making money through black-market dealings while expanding his influence.
Even by the time Monkey D. Luffy set out to sea, Doflamingo still hadn't given up those businesses.
The pirates nearby couldn't help but erupt into an uproar.
Quite a few of them knew this Zoan user.
Before today, he'd been someone nobody on this Trading Island dared to mess with.
No one knew who was behind him, but everyone knew he sold all kinds of weapons. They were expensive, but they sold well.
Some pirates had tried to take him on, only to end up hung from a cliff on the island to dry.
They hadn't expected him to be one of a Shichibukai's men.
These pirates didn't know much about the New World or the Grand Line, but they knew plenty about the great pirates on the seas.
After all, most of the news in the papers dropped by News Coo was about people like them. And then there were those wanted posters with all those zeroes.
The Shichibukai, Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo, had a bounty of 340 million.
In the East Blue, where most bounties were only a few million and many pirates had no bounty at all, he was a legendary figure.
"Since you know Lord Heavenly Yaksha, you should know how terrifying he is."
After hearing Dunn say Doflamingo's name, the man on the ground seemed to regain some strength.
He seemed certain Dunn wouldn't dare cross Doflamingo.
"Leave now, and I can pretend this never happened."
He didn't dare fight back, and he didn't even dare demand an apology from Dunn.
He only hoped to use Doflamingo's name to make Dunn back down.
After all, this Trading Island had been set up at Doflamingo's behest as a foothold for expanding into the East Blue. If anything went wrong, he'd definitely die.
He knew all too well how the Donquixote Family treated people who made mistakes.
After all, that was exactly how his predecessor had met his end.
"Even Doflamingo himself wouldn't be entitled to say something like that."
Dunn's expression didn't change.
Doflamingo was indeed powerful. If this were after the story began—ten years from now—Dunn might not be able to beat him in his normal state and would have to activate Indomitable.
But he didn't fear the Doflamingo of this time.
"You..."
Dunn's words made the man's face change dramatically. He stared at Dunn with wide eyes.
The other pirates were stunned, too.
That was one of the Shichibukai, a major figure with a bounty of more than 300 million.
Was this man insane? He didn't even take someone like that seriously.
"Buru buru!"
Just then, a Den Den Mushi rang.
The Zoan user swallowed. Under Dunn's watchful gaze, he carefully took out the Den Den Mushi.
Then it changed appearance, becoming a face wearing a pair of sunglasses.
"Fufufufu. If you're still alive, I want to speak with that guy."
After a somewhat arrogant, strange laugh, a voice spoke.
"Yes, sir!"
Hearing the voice, the man held out the Den Den Mushi to Dunn.
Dunn glanced at it and took it.
"I don't care who you are. Leave now."
"Doflamingo, are you talking to me?"
Dunn looked at the Den Den Mushi and said with a cold snort.
"Fufufufu. You can't afford the consequences of destroying that place."
Doflamingo's voice turned cold.
"So you know who I am? If I destroy this place now, what can you do about it?"
Dunn narrowed his eyes as he spoke into the Den Den Mushi.
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"That place isn't as important as you think."
"I see. Then when I get to Dressrosa, I'll come see you."
After saying that, Dunn ended the call.
H-he hung up?
The Zoan user watched Dunn hang up on Doflamingo and thought of their brief exchange just now.
He swallowed and instinctively backed away.
"You lot, go round up everyone here. If you let even one person escape, I'll kill one of you. For every person who gets away, I'll kill one of you.
"Or you can try escaping yourselves."
Dunn sheathed his long sword and shouted to the pirates around him. Then he turned and sat on the rail of his ship, watching the pirates standing there dumbstruck.
"Time's almost up. If you don't get moving, everyone's going to die."
Dunn spoke calmly.
The pirates grew restless. They looked at one another, then one of them grabbed his weapon and charged toward the town.
Once one man took the lead, the others followed, rushing toward the town.
"Lord Heavenly Yaksha won't let you get away with this."
"Mm, I know."
Dunn nodded, looking unconcerned.
"You have no idea how terrifying he is."
He wasn't saying this for Dunn's sake. He was trying to save himself.
If the place was destroyed, he'd die. If he tried to persuade Dunn, he might die too. It was easy to see which choice made more sense.
Buru buru!
The Den Den Mushi rang again. Dunn hung up immediately.
In Dressrosa, a vein on Doflamingo's forehead suddenly throbbed.
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