Donquixote Doflamingo Attacks, Clash of Conqueror's Haki

At sea, the merchant ship Ian was aboard arrived at its original destination, Al Island.

Al Island was a prosperous, economically developed island famous throughout the seas for producing a certain kind of spice.

It was the economic hub of the surrounding waters. Countless merchant ships came here to purchase spices, bringing endless wealth with them.

A kingdom stood on the island. It was one of the World Government's affiliated nations and possessed considerable national strength, so pirates rarely dared invade it...

Ian disembarked, leaving under the reluctant gazes of everyone aboard the ship.

After all, they were not on the same path. It was better not to stay together.

Besides, Ian was not familiar with them. They were merely casual acquaintances with no real friendship.

By now, Donquixote Doflamingo had set his sights on Ian. Given that man's personality, he would come looking for him sooner or later!

The corner of Ian's mouth curled up. That was fine too. It was the perfect opportunity to test exactly what level his current strength had reached...

As Ian's thoughts shifted, a notification suddenly sounded in his mind—

[Ding. Mission One: Kill/Defeat Donquixote Doflamingo!

Reward: One lottery draw!]

Ian paused and rubbed his chin.

It seemed... every time a mission appeared, it was when such a thought arose in his heart, and the system would pop out.

Could it be that the system's missions were generated by his subconscious?

As he continued onward, Ian pondered this while walking through the streets, watching the bustling town crowds. He felt an inexplicable sense of reflection.

Not long ago, he had still been at home playing games. Now, he had somehow transmigrated into the world of pirates, gained a system, and acquired considerable strength. Thinking about it now, it still felt somewhat unreal...

Yet Ian realized that he did not have many complicated thoughts about it. Instead, he was faintly excited...

Perhaps he was someone unwilling to live an ordinary life. His previous life had been too comfortable. The grind of working 996 had already numbed Ian. Now that he had appeared in a world he knew well and possessed decent strength, this feeling... perhaps it was not so bad...

As Ian walked, a commotion suddenly came from ahead.

"Catch those freeloaders! Someone, get them!" an angry voice rang out from ahead.

Ian looked over.

Several figures were running in his direction, with more than a dozen people chasing after them...

Ian narrowed his eyes, noticing that the figure in front looked somewhat familiar...

Bare-chested, wearing a cowboy hat, freckles scattered across his face, and still chewing food in his mouth, the man ran toward him!

Fire Fist Ace? Ian revealed a surprised expression. He had not expected to encounter Fire Fist Ace here...

What a coincidence.

His Observation Haki spread outward, and Ian quickly sensed what had happened ahead.

The corner of his mouth could not help but twitch as he thought, Dining and dashing?

Ian understood why Ace was being chased. This guy had actually eaten at someone else's restaurant without paying. No wonder they were chasing him down to beat him...

However, Ian did not want to get too involved. Although he was very interested in people who had appeared in the original pirate story, he did not want to provoke this troublesome fellow.

That was right. In Ian's eyes, Fire Fist Ace was a troublesome guy...

Not wanting to bother with him, Ian sidestepped, pretending not to see the scene as he continued forward.

However, Ian also noticed that Ace had already eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit. He just did not know whether Ace had a bounty on his head yet.

Had he already been given the title of Supernova?

Of course, Ian was merely curious.

As the two passed each other, Ace, who was fleeing, suddenly seemed to sense something and turned to glance at Ian.

Although Ace had not yet awakened Two-Color Haki, the training he had undergone in the mountains since childhood had given him beast-like instincts. From this man, he sensed an extremely intense feeling of danger...

If he fought this man, he might be killed!

Ace glanced at Ian, then continued running with the people chasing behind him.

Thanks to the convenience of his Logia ability, the shots fired by his pursuers did not harm him...

But just then, Marines suddenly appeared ahead and moved to surround Ace.

"Huh? Marines?" Ace and his companions stopped, looking at the Marines who had surrounded them. The corners of his mouth could not help but twitch.

Why were Marines showing up here at a time like this?

Among the Marines, a burly man with several scars across his face and a Marine coat draped over his shoulders stepped forward. He stared at Ace with icy eyes and spoke coldly, "Fire Fist Ace, you will not escape this time. You dared destroy one of our Marine branch bases and kill its commander. This time, we must capture your Spade Pirates as a warning to others!"

Ian raised his gaze, narrowing his eyes. The leading Marine looked familiar. After thinking for a moment, he recalled the man's identity. A Marine Headquarters vice admiral, Onigumo?

Onigumo was a veteran vice admiral of Marine Headquarters, and even among vice admirals, he was considered strong. He had mastered the Six Powers and Two-Color Haki, trained the Six Powers to an extremely high level, and could use Life Return to control his long hair and grow arms from it. He was an eight-sword-style swordsman...

"Hey, are you people even reasonable? Do you not know what that branch did to the island's residents?" Ace frowned as he glared at Onigumo.

He had previously attacked a Marine branch base because its commander had done something that greatly displeased him.

Like some local tyrant, the commander had treated all the island's residents as slaves and forced them to work for him.

His methods had been exceptionally cruel as well. He slaughtered any residents who dared resist him at will. He was scum among the Marines!

Of course, there had naturally been another cause behind the matter.

If that had been all, Ace would not necessarily have destroyed that branch base. But a little girl who had once helped him had been targeted for execution by the Marines on the island simply because of her kind-hearted actions.

Unable to stand it, Ace had directly acted and killed the branch commander!

Onigumo said coldly, "A pirate is a pirate. After committing such heinous acts, you still dare speak so arrogantly!"

Although he knew some of the details, as a member of the Marine Hawk Faction, he took a hard-line approach toward pirates!

This was the Marines' own affair. The Marines would handle it themselves. Since when did pirates need to interfere?

Pirates all deserved to die!

"..." Ace's expression also turned cold. Onigumo's words had angered him so much that he almost laughed!

He was also glad that he had not listened to old man Garp back then. If the Marines were all this kind of trash, he would not be able to stop himself from killing them!

"No rebuttal? Then... surrender obediently!" Killing intent appeared in Onigumo's eyes as he waved a hand. "Everyone, move out! Capture every last one of the Spade Pirates!"

"Yes!"

All the Marines answered at once, loading their guns and cannons and aiming them at every member of the Spade Pirates!

Naturally, everyone watching nearby noticed the disturbance.

Seeing that a battle was about to erupt between Marines and pirates, they hurriedly fled, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

Pirates were all vicious criminals capable of doing anything!

Even the restaurant owner who had been chasing Ace did not make another move. Instead, he looked at Ace and the others with glee. You ate without paying, and look, retribution had come...

Ian merely glanced at the two sides facing off. He had not planned to interfere, but then his gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked toward the distance.

His Observation Haki had sensed an extremely powerful presence rapidly approaching!

High in the sky, a black dot grew closer and closer. Like a hawk soaring through the heavens, it was streaking this way at incredible speed!

As it approached, Ian finally saw its appearance clearly.

Upon seeing the man, Ian narrowed his eyes, then grinned and muttered, "Donquixote Doflamingo, heh... that was fast... Has he already found my trail after so little time?"

That was right. The person flying through the sky was none other than Donquixote Doflamingo, draped in a pink feather coat and wearing an arrogant, wild grin...

After Lao G was killed by Ian, Ian had been placed on Donquixote Doflamingo's death list!

His influence stretched across the world, and his intelligence network was among the best in the underworld. It was easy for him to search for someone's whereabouts. As long as that person did not deliberately hide, then... they could not escape the search of his intelligence network!

Once he learned that Ian's destination was Al Island, he had already begun moving!

Ian's ability to kill Lao G proved that he possessed decent strength. Originally, he had intended to send another officer to kill Ian, but he happened to have nothing to do lately, so he had come personally to teach this arrogant brat a lesson!

To let Ian know that in this world, not everyone could be offended!

Donquixote Doflamingo used thin threads to latch onto the surrounding buildings, suspending himself in the air as he "flew" toward Ian!

"Brat! I finally found you!!" His Observation Haki swept below, locking onto Ian. A chilling smile hung on Donquixote Doflamingo's lips as his sinister voice echoed through the sky...

The sudden change drew everyone's attention toward the sky. Seeing something flying overhead, they were all stunned, initially believing it to be some kind of bird.

But upon looking carefully, they realized it was not a bird at all, but a person...

"Someone is flying this way!"

"Is he a Devil Fruit user?"

"..."

Some people voiced their confusion. Clearly, they did not recognize Donquixote Doflamingo.

However, those who were better informed went blank the instant they saw him. Their carefree expressions turned to terror!

"It is... a Seven Warlord of the Sea... one of the Seven Warlords, the Heavenly Yaksha, Donquixote Doflamingo!!!"

"Why is a great pirate from the New World appearing here?!"

"Is a huge battle about to break out here?"

"Run! It will be too late if we do not run now!"

Although Donquixote Doflamingo had not revealed any aura or used Conqueror's Haki, the title of Seven Warlord of the Sea alone was enough to frighten these people out of their wits!

The people around them began fleeing like headless flies, panicking in every direction!

They had to get away from here. They did not know why Donquixote Doflamingo had come, but they knew they had to leave!

Something major... was very likely about to happen here!

The title of Seven Warlord of the Sea carried immense weight across the seas, especially in the first half of the Grand Line. Anyone with decent information knew of the Seven Warlords!

There were already six Seven Warlords at this point!

And every one of them was a famous figure in the world!

Donquixote Doflamingo was incredibly fast. Before long, he had arrived not far from Ian.

Ian also raised his head slightly and sized up Donquixote Doflamingo.

Golden hair, sunglasses, a pink feather coat, a wicked and chilling smile across his lips, and eyes that looked down on everything as if he regarded no one as worthy of his attention!

He was so utterly aloof!

"Fuffuffu, brat, you do not intend to run even after seeing me? You have quite the nerve..." Donquixote Doflamingo fixed his gaze on Ian. His cold, mocking voice reached Ian's ears.

This guy had some courage. He looked extremely confident, though it was unclear whether he was merely putting on an act!

"You moved pretty quickly, Donquixote Doflamingo..." Ian merely smiled as he looked at him. In the perception of his Observation Haki, the man before him was completely unlike any enemy he had encountered before, even giving him a faint sense of threat.

Donquixote Doflamingo's lips curled into a chilling smile. "Then... are you prepared? Prepared to die here? I came personally for you. You should feel honored!"

"Honored? You will not think that in the next moment..." Ian replied with a light laugh.

"Fuffuffu... then... let me see where your confidence comes from!" Donquixote Doflamingo revealed a wanton, arrogant smile. At the same time, his eyes narrowed, and a fierce aura erupted from his body, pressing down on Ian!

This was... Conqueror's Haki!

"You will find out if you try!" Ian met his gaze without yielding in the slightest as an equally powerful aura erupted from his body!

Rumble!

The two auras collided fiercely. A thunderous boom suddenly erupted in midair, while dark clouds had somehow already gathered overhead and violent winds howled!

This was a clash of Conqueror's Haki!

Crackle!

As the Conqueror's Haki collided, countless black bolts of lightning as thick as arms appeared in the air, exploding across the sky!

The shockwaves from the clash of their Conqueror's Haki cracked the ground and walls. Rubble constantly trembled loose and fell!

Countless people around them were swept by the uncontrolled Conqueror's Haki. The weaker ones rolled back their eyes and collapsed limply to the ground!

Before the strong, the weak did not even have the right to stand!

In this world, strength was supreme. The weak could only submit!