Doflamingo's Fear, Conqueror's Haki?

"Oh, so that's where it was hidden." Doflamingo's voice was tinged with laughter again, but it was more dangerous than before, like honey smeared on a blade.

He didn't ask how the other party got in, nor did he ask what kind of attack the family members kneeling on the ground had been hit by.

He simply resumed his steps, his pointed leather shoes treading over the gap between the kneeling Trebol and Diamante, walking step by step toward the throne, his pink feathered coat trailing behind him with a soft rustling sound.

Uchiha Natsu jumped down from the windowsill.

It landed silently, with only the hem of its garment swaying gently.

He stood before the throne, a full head shorter Doflamingo, yet when his Sharingan swept over him from above, the once-arrogant Shichibukai felt as if he were being looked down upon.

Indeed, it was a view from above— Doflamingo stood below the platform, Natsu stood above it.

The empty throne stood between the two, like a silent boundary.

Doflamingo stopped in front of the throne platform.

He didn't step onto those steps, but instead tilted his head and sized up the boy standing before the throne.

He looked exactly the same age as the madman who killed Saint Charlos in Sabaody, and his appearance was exactly the same as the expressionless profile on the wanted poster. Even his scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan were exactly as described in the intelligence.

Uchiha Natsu.

The Void Demon Tamer, with a bounty of four billion Beli.

The fifth Emperor of the Sea.

A madman who killed Celestial Dragons and escaped unscathed.

He stood before Donquixote Doflamingo's throne, while all his family's subordinates knelt at their feet like lambs to the slaughter.

Cold sweat trickled down Doflamingo's forehead, dripping onto the collar of his pink feathered coat. Yet he was still smiling. His signature "Fufufufufufu" echoed wildly in the empty Throne Room, making the crystal chandelier tremble slightly.

Only the constant trickle of cold sweat betrayed him.

Uchiha Natsu. A madman whose first bounty soared to 3.5 billion Beli.

The current bounty is as high as four billion – four billion, a figure that only the other four Emperor of the Sea can easily surpass.

And at this moment, this madman stood right in front of him, in front of his Donquixote Doflamingo throne, looking down at him with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"Void Demon Tamer Subduer's arrival is truly an unwelcome honor." Doflamingo suppressed the surging fear in his heart, his lips curving into a wider smile, his tone laced with a mixture of genuine and feigned flattery.

Where is Caesar Clown?

As soon as he said that, Doflamingo's pupils behind his sunglasses shrank to pinpoints.

He didn't answer immediately, remaining silent for two seconds.

In those two seconds, something deeper replaced fear—it was calculation, the instinctive reaction of an old fox who had sniffed out a bargaining chip in a desperate situation.

A strange smile returned to his lips, and his voice trailed off with a hint of probing. "Fufufufufu! Natsu, Caesar Clown... well, that's Kaido..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

A blinding red light suddenly erupted from those Sharingan. Doflamingo felt a blur before his eyes, and everything around him was instantly torn apart and reassembled— the Throne Room was gone, his family members kneeling on the ground were gone, and even the boy standing before the throne was gone.

Instead, a surging, boundless crowd appeared. People screamed, cursed, and hurled whatever they could at him—rotten vegetable leaves, rotten eggs, broken stones, and blood-stained rags.

"Get out of here! You damned monster!"

"Damn Celestial Dragons! Die!"

Celestial Dragons.

These three words were like a red-hot branding iron, fiercely searing his long-healed old wound.

His breathing suddenly became rapid.

In that moment of bewilderment, through a gap in the crowd, appeared a figure he least wanted to recall—his father, Saint Homing.

The man who was foolish enough to give up his Celestial Dragons identity was now kneeling humbly on the ground, holding him tightly.

No, that's not right. He looked down at his body—the body of a child of a few years old, thin, trembling, covered in mud and blood.

"No! Don't do this!" He heard his own childish voice screaming, a fear and helplessness he had never allowed himself to recall in the decades since he became an adult.

"Damn it!! You bunch of damned trash!! Die!!!" Doflamingo could no longer contain the rage raging within him. He roared and broke free from the illusory embrace, his body erupting with dark red Conqueror's Haki.

The terrifying aura, like a tangible storm, tore everything around it to shreds.

The crowd was being crushed, the streets were being crushed, even the sky was being crushed—and before all of this turned to dust, he saw the face of the Saint Homing.

That face still held that same timid yet loving look from back then, as if saying: I'm sorry.

Doflamingo's eyes were as cold as ice.

Without hesitation, a blinding crimson arc of light flashed, and the illusory figure's head flew off instantly.

The Genjutsu shattered.

Doflamingo suddenly opened his eyes, panting heavily.

Sweat dripped from his chin, hitting the stone floor and leaving a small, dark, damp patch.

His eyes blazed with undisguised rage, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and the lingering aftershocks of his Conqueror's Haki still emanated from him.

Standing before the throne, Natsu's cold, Red Eye flashed with a clear look of surprise for the first time.

Conqueror's Haki?

This was quite unexpected for him.

Natsu's surprise was not without reason.

Although he hadn't awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, thanks to the power of Indra's Eye and the continuous nurturing of Yang Release Chakra from his Perfect Sage Body, his Three Tomoe eye power had already far surpassed that of Mangekyo Sharingan in the ordinary sense—perhaps only Madara Uchiha's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan could steadily overpower him.

He believed that with this level of pupil power supporting his Genjutsu, beings below the Yonko Commander Level would have no chance of resisting.

The group of the Donquixote Family officials kneeling below were the best proof—he turned them all into puppets with almost no effort.

While Doflamingo was a cut above the rest, he shouldn't have reached the level of a potential Admiral like Gion. Yet, he managed to break free.

It wasn't through willpower that they endured it, but through Conqueror's Haki.

Natsu's gaze lingered for a moment on the lingering dark red aftershocks around Doflamingo.

It seems that this Conqueror's Haki is not just a decoration used to clear out mobs—it appears to be a natural weapon against Genjutsu.

That's true. In the One Piece World, those who become top-tier powerhouses are never pushovers.

The Conqueror's Haki, a kingly quality said to be "only found in one in a million," may inherently contain a power sufficient to resist spiritual erosion.

Thinking of this, a rare, almost imperceptible smile appeared on Natsu's lips.

interesting.

This trip to Dressrosa was definitely worthwhile.