A Ridiculous Choice

Xia Le spoke calmly, his gaze resting on the man before him.

"Fuffuffuffuffu!"

"How interesting. I never thought I'd find Vice Admiral Xia Le here after so many years in seclusion."

Doflamingo regained his composure. His eyes narrowed slightly as he smiled.

To many pirates active in the world today, Xia Le had indeed disappeared long ago. He might as well have gone into seclusion.

"If I were still serving at headquarters, you would never have had the chance to make a name for yourself on the seas," Xia Le said coldly.

"You may have been famous in the last era."

"But that was the glory of an age gone by, Vice Admiral Xia Le."

"The age we live in now is something history has rarely seen—the Great Pirate Era!"

Doflamingo spread his arms. The fear behind his sunglasses had vanished, replaced by excitement and madness.

Yes, the man he had feared was the world-renowned marine he had seen beneath the Execution Platform that day.

But more than ten years had passed since then, and he was no longer that boy.

He was more mature, more powerful. He had earned the right to contend for a place among the world's strongest.

"If you dare stand in my way,"

"Then even against you, I won't hesitate to strike!"

A sharp gleam flashed across Doflamingo's sunglasses. He vanished in an instant and reappeared before Xia Le.

He raised his right leg high, then brought it down in a vicious kick.

"Arrogant brat."

"In my eyes, you're still that frail boy who hid in a corner of Loguetown, trembling as he watched me."

Xia Le gave a cold laugh.

He raised his right leg too and kicked toward Doflamingo.

Bang!

Their feet collided with tremendous force.

"That frail boy has grown into a