Under the healing of the String-String Fruit, Doflamingo climbed out of the dirt, having recovered quite a bit. His face was covered in blood, and he panted heavily, his expression uncertain.
This time, he did not rashly step forward.
Being tricked twice in a row had left quite a shadow on him. He feared Wilton was using the same trick again. He might look like he was on the verge of death, but who knew whether he would suddenly sit bolt upright from his deathbed and brutally smash him over the head with a hammer again?
There were still cracks in his skull. Once he returned to Dressrosa, he would need at least a month or two to recover. His head was still buzzing.
His vision was still somewhat dark.
If he took another hit, he might collapse on the spot.
"Ever White."
The ground in every direction was assimilated once more. Tens of thousands of transparent white threads continuously arranged themselves into a furious, wave-like torrent and rapidly surged toward Wilton.
Doflamingo had gotten smarter.
He would use ranged attacks.
He himself stayed in a relatively safe position, allowing him to react quickly if anything unexpected happened instead of falling into passivity like the previous two times because he had gotten too close.
Wilton, whose consciousness was also growing hazy, sighed inwardly. There was no way to trick Doflamingo a third time.
This guy had gotten smarter.
Now, he could only use his ultimate move.
In an instant.
Colorful rains of life light drifted through the air. Wilton, who had been on the verge of death, rapidly exuded a stronger aura, while his battered body quickly recovered by more than half.
The flesh and blood around his broken waist regenerated swiftly.
All negative effects vanished. Once again, he was lively and vigorous, resurrected at half health.
He rapidly leaped thirty meters away. Wilton picked up the dumbbell from the ground and looked up at the dark-faced Doflamingo.
"You despicable bastard."
Doflamingo gritted his teeth, his mentality utterly collapsing. This bastard really had been baiting him again. If he had stepped forward earlier, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Boom, crack!
The two violent wills continued clashing. Clouds filled with Lightning and Thunder churned overhead, and a suffocating pressure swept across the entire battlefield.
"I never expected you to be a Devil Fruit User."
Doflamingo's gaze was chilling.
Given the other man's freakish recovery ability, he could think of nothing besides a Devil Fruit. Wilton had hidden it deeply indeed.
Because of Crocodile, Doflamingo had paid attention to Wilton some time ago.
The intelligence had not indicated that Wilton was a Devil Fruit User. Now, it seemed he was not only a Devil Fruit User, but one with recovery-related abilities.
At that thought, Doflamingo's expression turned even uglier.
His condition was poor after two consecutive mistakes, while his opponent could rapidly recover through his Devil Fruit ability. If the fight continued, the advantage would not be his.
He no longer had absolute confidence that he could kill his opponent.
If he had gone all out from the very beginning...
Doflamingo regretted it deeply. He had held a hand as good as a Royal Flush, yet his arrogance and carelessness had squandered it all.
"Explosive Double Axes."
Wilton did not answer Doflamingo. Instead, he launched another charge, springing into the air and smashing toward Doflamingo.
He still looked ready to die together with Doflamingo.
To be honest, Doflamingo could hardly endure this style of fighting. It was simply too reckless—charging in from the start with the intent to trade life for life.
He desperately needed a breather.
"Shield White Line."
Two massive bundles of white thread rose from the ground. As they firmly blocked Wilton's attack, Doflamingo simultaneously withdrew. Amid deafening thunderous crashes, Wilton flipped and landed on the ground.
"Fufufu—"
"I'll remember you."
Doflamingo looked sinister and vicious. He did not intend to keep fighting Wilton. In his current condition, even if he killed Wilton, he would likely be at death's door himself.
If he was not careful, Wilton might actually drag him down with him.
It was not worth it.
His life was priceless.
As Doflamingo vanished from the spot, the battle came to an end.
Wilton's clothes were tattered, and he looked utterly miserable. The dirt beneath his feet had already been stained crimson.
He did not stop Doflamingo from leaving. He had to admit that he still lacked the strength to crush Doflamingo the way he had crushed the Straw Hat Pirates.
If not for his mutually destructive fighting style and the Golden Finger backing him up, he really would not have been Doflamingo's match.
Thinking it over.
Since Loguetown, he had crushed everyone in low-tier fights. In mid-tier fights against people like Ace and Doflamingo, although he was at a disadvantage and not their match, his fighting style could make up for that gap.
In the end, it could be considered an even match.
If he was a little more underhanded, he could still leave his enemies severely wounded or psychologically scarred.
Only in high-tier fights did he truly have no means of fighting back. Even after using every trick he had, all he could do was get crushed, like in his battle with Dragon.
Even a mutually destructive fighting style could not bridge that chasm.
For now.
In low-tier fights, he crushed others. In mid-tier fights, even if there was a gap, he could still force things into an even match. Only high-tier fights were still beyond him.
His recovery, healing technique, and ultimate move, Justice Potential, had all been used up. It was no longer suitable for him to continue using the strategy of taking his enemy to the grave with him.
Doflamingo had happened to lose his nerve first, so Wilton might as well take the easy way out.
Once the Ton-Ton Fruit was developed, fighting Doflamingo again would not be so exhausting. This time, even after revealing all his trump cards, he had not been confident he could kill him.
Still, this battle had brought him many gains.
Awakening Conqueror's Haki was an especially pleasant surprise. Wilton had always thought he lacked that kind of aptitude, but after being provoked several times in succession, he had awakened it.
It had happened so suddenly.
"Lord Wilton."
Sadi and a group of Marines ran over, all looking at Wilton with worship and awe. As always, the earlier battle had made their blood boil.
Even if one of the Four Emperors stood here now, as long as Wilton gave the order, they would charge forward without fear and shed their blood.
Even in death, they would tear a chunk of flesh from the enemy.
That was the influence Wilton had.
There was no helping it.
Wilton always led from the front and feared no death. Over time, naturally, not a single coward remained under his command.
"You know how to do this too?"
Wilton was surprised again as he watched Sadi skillfully bandage his wounds. She clearly knew some medicine.
This crazy woman's work abilities kept exceeding his expectations.
He was not actually in serious condition. After activating Justice Potential, half of all negative effects disappeared, even from a body riddled with wounds.
"Isn't this something everyone knows how to do?"
Sadi bounced around as the white bandages slid smoothly through her hands. After quickly applying medicine, she wrapped Wilton's upper and lower body.
He looked like a mummy on the verge of death.
Wilton did not refute Sadi. He merely marveled inwardly that he had truly picked up an all-purpose treasure of a subordinate. So what if her work ability came with a bit of madness?
"Notify the nearest Marine base and have them send five warships. I'm going to wipe out the pirates in Spiders Cafe Town."
Wilton rolled his neck. He intended to strike while the iron was hot and wipe out Spiders Cafe Town. Even though he knew it would only treat the symptoms rather than the root cause, he needed to build his reputation and establish the image of a fierce, straightforward man who hated evil and upheld justice.
He had been cultivating that image from the moment he became a Marine, because a good image could spare him a lot of trouble.
Having just driven off a Shichibukai, his subordinates' spirits were at an all-time high. Their bold, spirited bearing made that obvious.
The matter of awakening Conqueror's Haki certainly could not be kept hidden, but that was no big deal.
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