Taking You Down Has Nothing to Do with You

At the very center.

The web Doflamingo had created rapidly compressed, and he was swiftly driven into the ground.

Once the dust settled.

A massive crater had sunk into Spiders Cafe Town. Doflamingo lay within it, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. At the crater's edge stood a hard-faced man in a fitted tank top, stretch workout pants, and a baseball cap, steam rising from his body as he gripped two enormous dumbbells.

"Cough, cough, cough~"

Inside the crater.

Doflamingo coughed as he climbed to his feet. Looking up at the muscular man standing at the crater's edge and staring down at him, his face darkened to an extreme.

He had underestimated his opponent's strength.

"Marine Tough Guy Wilton."

"Donquixote Doflamingo."

Wilton looked Doflamingo over from head to toe as well.

He really was domineering, roguishly handsome, and flashy.

Blond hair, sharp sunglasses, that iconic pink feather coat, cropped pants, pointed shoes—just standing there, he exuded an unruly and dangerous air.

One of the year's most cruel and ruthless villains.

He had originally been a Descendant of Gods, one of the world's noblest people. Unfortunately, he had ended up with a father full of naive ideals.

In the end, he killed his brother and father, becoming the most dazzling one of all.

He was also the future King of Newspaper Reading.

Honestly.

If Wilton had endured a childhood like Doflamingo's, he would either have been crushed beyond recovery or gone mad. He would definitely have become even more cruel and twisted than Doflamingo.

Those who had never suffered another's pain had no right to urge them to be kind. That applied to anyone.

Fufufu--

"I admire your courage. Though you are a Marine, hurting my family means it will be difficult for you to leave this place alive."

Once he confirmed it was Wilton, Doflamingo's expression calmed. The blood at the corner of his lips instead seemed like an adornment, making him appear even more dangerous.

That arrogant, unyielding dominance radiated from his bones. Wilton was only a vice admiral; even if it had been Onigumo, Momonga, or other veteran vice admirals, he would give them face if he felt like it, and refuse if he did not.

"You're pretty arrogant."

Wilton fell silent for a moment, then the corner of his mouth curled up slightly. He continued meaningfully, "Remember this: I really like that look of yours, that wild, overbearing, nobody-is-worth-your-notice expression."

"I hope you keep it up."

"That Machvise you mentioned has already been taken down by me. The reason is simple: he was a pirate. And another reason is that he looked at me."

Wilton began bouncing rhythmically in place, rolling his neck. Every movement was brash and domineering.

It had to be said that Wilton was even more arrogant than Doflamingo right now.

The provocation was obvious.

He was practically saying he wanted to shit on Doflamingo's head.

Appreciation was appreciation, but that was separate from everything else. When it was time for a fight to the death, it was still a fight to the death.

"That reason fits this world's basic rules quite well."

Doflamingo narrowed his eyes. Wilton's words had not angered him, but the bulging veins revealed that he was merely suppressing his rage.

He understood this world's rules all too well.

The strong needed no reason to attack the weak. If they wanted to take you down, they took you down; it had nothing to do with the weak themselves.

It was cruel.

But that was reality. Weakness was the original sin.

All of a sudden.

Doflamingo laughed. After only a few words, Wilton had left a deep impression on him.

He could tell that this Marine differed from those hypocritical Marines.

This guy understood the world's essence: the weak were prey to the strong, power reigned supreme, and only victors had the right to define good and evil.

As for why he felt that way, it was naturally because they were the same kind of people. That instinctive feeling could not be wrong.

Even if it was hidden deeply.

"I thought you'd spout some bullshit about justice. Looks like Machvise could only blame himself for looking at you one time too many."

In an instant.

Doflamingo exploded into action, appearing out of thin air above Wilton's right side. With both hands in his pockets, his right foot was covered in Armament Haki, and every gesture radiated dominance.

Wilton's gaze sharpened. He raised his dumbbell, covered in Armament Haki, before him with his right hand, showing no intention of dodging. It was merely a small test.

Whoosh--

Immense force came crashing down, and Wilton frowned.

The dumbbell smashed uncontrollably into his face. He then shot diagonally away, blasting through distant buildings before crashing heavily into the ground and kicking up rubble and dust.

When everything dispersed, Wilton stood in the crater and stared up at Doflamingo in midair. Beneath the gentle sunlight, Doflamingo could be seen standing on a transparent thread.

Shaking his slightly numb right hand, Wilton grew a little excited.

Dragon, Ace, and Crocodile had brought him enormous prestige. It was time for Doflamingo to add icing to the cake.

His prestige was still nowhere near enough.

The ground beneath his feet exploded and cracked as Wilton appeared before Doflamingo, the dumbbell in his hand wrapped in Armament Haki.

Iron Body had long since been activated.

The Ton-Ton Fruit was in use as well. Compared to yesterday, his weight had reached eleven tons.

He went all out from the very beginning.

He was fighting with pure ferocity.

"Five-Colored String."

Doflamingo grinned sinisterly. Five differently colored threads emerged from the fingers of his right hand, wrapped in Haki as they collided head-on with overwhelming force.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle--

Sparks burst everywhere. Doflamingo felt as if an enormous warship had rammed into him; the force was unimaginably great.

Though the Ton-Ton Fruit had only reached eleven tons, the force Wilton swung out was definitely several times that.

A piercing whistle rang out.

Doflamingo turned into a streak of light, smashing wildly through the area. After collapsing several taverns, he forcibly flipped backward several times in midair. Finally, his feet sank deep into the ground, and after sliding some distance, he came to a stop. He looked at Wilton in the distance with some surprise.

That force had quite an impact.

From the initial test, his opponent was only slightly stronger than an ordinary vice admiral. He was no match for Doflamingo.

Without warning.

The two vanished from where they stood at the same time. When they reappeared, they were already in midair, a foot and a dumbbell colliding together, both coated in dense Armament Haki.

Their builds were roughly similar.

However, Wilton looked bulkier, especially with the two dumbbells enhancing his presence. Visually, he seemed more formidable.

Boom--

Doflamingo's eyes widened beneath his sunglasses. At close range, an overbearing and forceful will surged toward Wilton like floodwaters bursting through a dam, endless and unstoppable.

Streaks of Black and Red Lightning-like sparks spread outward.

Wilton leaned backward, his baseball cap blown away to reveal his short black crew cut. The fervor in his eyes abruptly faded into blankness.

In that instant, transparent threads appeared around Doflamingo's right foot as he delivered a heavy kick to Wilton's swollen chest.

Accompanied by a metallic clang, Doflamingo frowned. It felt as if he had kicked a thick steel plate. Why was this guy's chest so hard?

A deafening roar erupted.

Wilton became a streak of light, shooting away and leaving a chaotic trail behind him before landing at its end, buried beneath dust and rubble.

A violent wind howled.

Wave after wave of Overlord Will spread outward from Doflamingo. Fortunately, there were barely any people left at the scene; most had already fled far enough away.

Even so.

Those using various means to watch the battle could not stop themselves from trembling in fear.

"Could this be the Conqueror's Haki, the King's Qualification possessed by only one person among millions?"

"There's no mistake. This is Conqueror's Haki."

Some well-informed pirates swallowed hard. Even from such a distance, they could feel that pressure coming from their very souls.

It was the hallmark of the strong, the born king.

Possessing invincible spirit and the dominance to rule the world...