"Creak-creak-"
The wooden stairs groaned under the strain as Doflamingo and Crocodile descended one after the other, their footsteps heavy.
When they reached the ground floor, this was the sight that greeted them: the Donquixote Family's officers-Corazon at their head, along with Diamante, Pica, and the others-
All stood pressed against the walls like frightened quails, their faces pale and their foreheads slick with cold sweat. Not one dared sit down, or even breathe too loudly.
Their eyes were all fixed on the long sofa in the middle of the living room, filled with fear and bewilderment.
Two men sat on that sofa.
One sat upright, his back straight. He was the World's Greatest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk.
His enormous Black Blade, Yoru, rested casually against the sofa's armrest, gleaming with a cold, eerie light.
His hands were folded over his abdomen, and his gaze beneath the brim of his hat rested calmly on the stairs, as though he were merely waiting for a scheduled appointment.
The other man beside him presented an entirely different picture.
He was practically sprawled across the sofa, his head tilted back against the backrest, a hat covering his face.
His arms were spread wide across the back of the sofa, his legs crossed with brazen ease, one foot bobbing every now and then.
His lazy, casual, almost roguish posture stood in stark contrast to Hawk-Eye's formal composure beside him-and to the terrifying Haki he had just unleashed.
Doflamingo, who was in front, was the first to step fully off the stairs and take in the scene below.
At the sight of their young master, his officers cast pleading looks his way, but none dared move.
Doflamingo's gaze swept swiftly across the room behind his sunglasses, and the upright figure and sharp presence of Dracule Mihawk