Doflamingo's face turned ashen. He had finally realized he had run into someone he couldn't handle.
As he stood there stunned, a large hand tore through the smoke in front of him. The palm, coated in pitch-black Armament Haki and packed with monstrous strength, clamped around his neck.
"Young master!"
Seeing their king captured, the fallen family members tried to get up and rescue him. But with their strength, they were helpless against Roy and the others.
Doflamingo moved his fingers, and strands of thread emerged from his hand.
Seeing that he still wanted to struggle, Bullet clenched his right fist, wrapped it in flowing Armament Haki, and drove it hard into Doflamingo's stomach.
Violent force and Armament Haki that caused internal destruction instantly struck his organs.
"Argh!"
Blood streamed from the corners of his mouth and dripped from his chin onto the ground.
Bullet threw him at Roy's feet and slowly returned to Roy's side, leaving him with a contemptuous remark.
"Too weak. You couldn't even give me a warm-up."
Roy crouched down, smiling broadly at Xiao Ming, who still held his head high and refused to admit defeat.
"Well? We're pretty strong, aren't we?"
"Fufufu... Roy!!"
Anger and humiliation drove him completely mad. Ignoring everything around him, he swung both hands sharply upward.
"Five Color Strings!"
Roy was so close in front of him that Doflamingo was confident he could take his head off in a single strike.
A bloodthirsty gleam flashed in his eyes as threads too fine to see sliced through the air.
The sheen of Armament Haki could faintly be seen coating them.
"Roy! / Boss!"
"Captain, look out!"
Tesoro, Savi, Stella, and the others cried out from the side.
As they saw it, Roy was still crouching motionlessly in front of Doflamingo.
He was completely unprepared for an attack from Doflamingo, whom they thought was no longer capable of fighting back.
Only Bullet and Hawk Eyes remained calm.
What a joke. How could an attack like that determine the life or death of Roy, who was a notch stronger than they were?
If that really were the case, then their joining Roy's crew would have been a joke.
As Tesoro and the others watched and prepared to intervene, the sight of a head flying and blood spraying never came.
A flicker of astonishment crossed Doflamingo's face. The anger of being humiliated and the joy of nearly succeeding instantly froze on his face.
What happened?!
I clearly hit him. Why didn't it feel like I was cutting flesh?
"Boring!"
A red light flashed in Roy's eyes, and a trace of helplessness crossed his still-smiling face. He had thought this character, who had been quite popular in his previous life, might give him a surprise.
Apparently, this was all he was capable of.
"You still need more training, Xiao Ming!!!"
Roy extended a finger and pointed it at Doflamingo's forehead.
"I'll leave you a little souvenir. You're still too weak as you are now."
A concentrated mental shock pierced Doflamingo's brain in an instant, like countless fine needles.
"Argh-!"
Doflamingo let out a piercing scream and rolled on the ground, clutching his head. His bloodshot eyes were filled with pain and a trace of fear.
Roy calmly withdrew his finger and stopped looking at Doflamingo, who had collapsed on the ground.
If he could endure it, he might even gain some unexpected benefits!
Roy turned and waved to his companions.
"Let's go. We're heading to Sky Island."
He took one last look at Doflamingo's younger brother, Rosinante, the Navy spy who had been standing nearby from the beginning, dressed like a clown.
Roy paid him no more attention. He could report Roy's appearance to the Navy. Roy was going to announce their return to the world this time anyway.
Hawk Eyes put away his long sword, Savi changed back into human form and excitedly showed off to Bullet, and Tesoro and Stella quickly rejoined the group.
Roy and his companions calmly walked away past the Donquixote Family members sprawled across the wreckage, as though they had merely done something insignificant.
Only after they disappeared at the end of the street did Diamante and the others hurriedly crawl over to Doflamingo.
"Doffy! / Young master! How are you?!"
Doflamingo panted violently, beads of cold sweat rolling down his temples.
His eyes were filled with resentment, fear, and a trace of joy.
When Roy used the mental shock on his brain, he had not only caused him unbearable pain, but also left him with some Haki training methods and insights.
Doflamingo stared fixedly in the direction Roy had left, his fingers digging into his palm.
"Roy...!!!"
He roared the name, wanting to carve Roy's image firmly into his soul.
The next time they met, he would repay Roy tenfold, a hundredfold, for the humiliation he had suffered today.
On the way out of Mock Town, Tesoro, who had just recovered from the battle, approached Roy curiously.
"Boss, why didn't we just finish them off?"
Roy looked toward the White Dove in the harbor and said calmly:
"He's just a guy with a little potential. He's not worth wasting our time on."
"Our goal now is to go to Sky Island and get you the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and besides..."
The corners of Roy's mouth curved upward.
"The seas are too calm right now. The strong fighters of the previous generation are gradually growing old, and the seas need more troublemakers like us. A world without opponents would be boring, wouldn't it?"
"Hmph! Trash like them think they're worthy of being our opponents?"
"That swordsman of theirs was an insult to the very word."
Hawk Eyes nodded, agreeing with Bullet.
"You'll get your chance, Mihawk. There are a few powerful swordsmen waiting for us on Sky Island."
Roy patted Hawk Eyes on the shoulder.
The group made their way through the streets, and the pirates around them hurriedly moved aside.
They had witnessed the battle firsthand. Roy's crew was far too strong for them to provoke.
Only after Roy and the others had gone far away did whispers rise from the street.
"Hey, hey, those guys are strong!"
"Even a monstrous family like the Donquixote Family lost to them so easily."
"Ah! I know!"
A pirate suddenly shouted, drawing angry glares from the pirates around him.
"Hey! What do you know?"
He pulled a wanted poster from his clothes. The photograph on it was unmistakably Roy. Although Roy had changed somewhat over the past four years,
it was still clear that the person in the photograph was Roy beyond a doubt.
The pirate turned the wanted poster around and showed it to the people around him.
"Look, he's Heavenly Dao Roy. The Navy put a bounty of '500 million' Beli on him four years ago."
"No way. Is that for real?!"
Roy and his companions boarded the White Dove, unaware of the discussion behind them. Even if Roy had known, he wouldn't have cared.
The clash with the Donquixote Family was just a small ripple among the countless confrontations on the seas. Who would pay it any mind?