Special Illusion! (continued)

The smile on Doflamingo's face abruptly faltered, though he was still grinning. "Fuffuffuffu, you're a perceptive little brat. But what are you talking about? I don't understand."

Doll's eyes trembled slightly. So this Shichibukai had attacked her? And Naito had protected her?

"Doflamingo, you're asking to die!"

Zephyr was furious!

"Fuffuffuffu, want to try me, Black Arm Zephyr?"

But Doflamingo didn't care in the least. He even spread his arms toward Zephyr. "Come on, go ahead and attack me!"

Zephyr did hesitate.

The Shichibukai were legally recognized pirates, an organization theoretically equal in rank to Marine Headquarters and directly subordinate to the World Government. To attack one of them required-

The ground shattered.

A figure flickered in front of Doflamingo like a phantom.

Doflamingo's eyes abruptly narrowed behind his sunglasses.

He saw a fist.

A pitch-black fist wreathed in surging waves.

"Serious Punch."

The fist slammed down.

Doflamingo only had time to cross his arms and coat them in Haki for defense.

Boom!

The air exploded, creating a vacuum in an instant.

At the center of that vacuum, Doflamingo had already been sent flying like a cannonball.

He punched a human-shaped hole straight through the wall at the end of the corridor, then continued onward, crashing through who knew how many more walls.

Only then did the surging waves burst forth, a ferocious shockwave sweeping down the corridor.

"Aaah!"

Caught off guard, Caesar was even blown apart into gas.

"Naito?"

Zephyr opened his mouth. That was so sudden?

Naito, who had sent Doflamingo flying with one punch, looked back and lazily scratched the back of his head. "He said to go ahead and attack him. What a ridiculous request, but I'm a kindhearted person."

"..."

The officers were dumbstruck.

Only one was an exception.

"Pfft-hahahaha!"

Commodore Doll couldn't help laughing aloud. The laughter brought some color back to her pale face. "That's right, Naito. That bastard was asking for a beating!"

Was Naito standing up for me?

This guy looks like he doesn't care about anything, but he actually has a warm heart.

Doll gazed at Naito.

Naito noticed her gaze.

But he paid it no mind.

Because...

"Brat! You're asking to die!!"

The ground rippled, and the walls twisted.

Everything turned into white thread in an instant and swept straight toward them.

"Doflamingo, what are you doing?!"

Zephyr shouted angrily.

"Teacher Zephyr, let me play with him."

Naito swept the hair from his forehead, his sleepy expression sharpening. "It's a good chance to test my current limits."

Zephyr paused at that, then shook his head helplessly. "You brat... do as you please."

Doflamingo was audacious, but Naito was no less so.

"Go ahead. I'll protect everyone."

That was what Zephyr said.

He was there to back them up anyway.

"Got it."

Naito immediately shot into the air. "Tempest Kick!"

A massive slash imbued with Flow Armament Haki and glowing a dark blue shot skyward, severing all the threads sweeping down like a tsunami.

Naito seized the chance to soar upward.

Doflamingo had activated his Awakening, turning everything around him into thread.

The rocks, soil, and even the trees and grass above the base had all disappeared, so Naito shot straight into the air and looked down at the surging sea of thread below.

He had to admit, a Paramecia Awakening was quite spectacular. He wondered what his own Dream-Dream Fruit's Awakening would look like.

"Brat!"

Not far away, Doflamingo stood atop a wave in the sea of thread. "You've got some nerve! Have you decided how you want to die?"

"By your hand?"

Naito smiled contemptuously. "You're just a Shichibukai. Don't you think a little too highly of yourself?"

"Fuffuffuffu! It's been a long time since anyone pissed me off so much I didn't even know what to say!"

Veins bulged on Doflamingo's forehead, and his extreme anger turned to laughter. "Who the hell do you think I am?!"

Hum!!

His violent Conqueror's Haki instantly became a raging gale, rushing straight at Naito with overwhelming force.

Naito merely tilted his head. "That's it?"

Hum!

An equally violent—no, even fiercer-burst of Conqueror's Haki roared out and slammed into Doflamingo's Haki.

The instant the two bursts of spirit collided, black Haki lightning leaped in every direction!

After a brief stalemate, Naito's spirit clearly overwhelmed Doflamingo's and bore down on him.

"What?!"

Naito's spirit blew Doflamingo's hair out of shape, but his face was even more distorted, filled with disbelief.

Conqueror's Haki?

And Conqueror's Haki of this magnitude!

Who on earth is this brat?!

As if his Armament Haki wasn't strong enough to leave my arms still trembling, he has Conqueror's Haki this powerful too!!

He only looks seventeen or eighteen!

Below, Zephyr, who had released his Haki to protect everyone, nodded slightly.

Conqueror's Haki couldn't be trained and could only grow stronger as its user's spirit and strength improved.

But that didn't mean people of equal strength necessarily possessed Conqueror's Haki of equal intensity.

Naito was a genius whose Haki was naturally far beyond that of ordinary people!

That was true of his Armament and Observation Haki, and naturally, it was true of his Conqueror's Haki as well!

"Spirit of this level,"

Naito said mockingly, "and you dare show it off?"

"Brat!"

Doflamingo really couldn't smile anymore.

Why do I keep running into monsters so young today?!

There was one among the fugitives, and now another has popped up in the Marines!

Doflamingo was already angry. How could he hold it in now?

"Billow White!"

Endless threads gathered into a massive wave and swept toward Naito.

"Too slow. Geppo - Instant!"

Naito darted through the air as if teleporting, easily dodging the enormous wave of thread and charging straight at Doflamingo.

"Naive brat!"

Doflamingo merely raised a hand, and endless threads gathered into a huge curtain in front of Naito, closing in around him.

"Tempest Kick!"

With a single vacuum wave, Naito sliced straight through the wall of thread.

Doflamingo gritted his teeth slightly.

That red dragon woman's body was terrifyingly strong, but her weakness was that her Haki was too weak.

This brat, on the other hand, had absurdly strong Haki!

But this brat didn't have destructive power as outrageous as that woman's. Doflamingo could still hold him off!

In his awakened state, Doflamingo could control an infinite amount of thread. Endless threads surged up in an instant, coiling toward Naito again and again.

Naito was thoroughly annoyed and fired several Tempest Kicks in succession, but they only held the threads back temporarily. The next second, they were already coming at him again.

"In that case, let me show you something interesting."

One corner of Naito's mouth lifted.

The next instant, his body became somewhat illusory.

The moment he shot forward, a multitude of dark shadows scattered from his body!

"What?!"

Doflamingo's eyes widened.