Doflamingo understood that with someone like Douglas, there was only one way to win him over—beat him into submission.
So when he counterattacked, he didn't hold back in the slightest.
He also didn't open by using his powers. In Doflamingo's view, he had to crush Douglas at what Douglas prided himself on most—raw physicality—if he wanted to tame him.
And that's exactly what happened. When Doflamingo unfurled his Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki), Douglas felt an invisible pressure clamp down on him. In terms of sheer dominance of will, he was completely outclassed.
What shocked Douglas even more was that every one of Doflamingo's punches landed like a rampaging elephant. With each blow, his internal organs felt like they were shifting out of place.
It wasn't Douglas's imagination. Since obtaining the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit), Doflamingo hadn't slacked on taijutsu at all—because the body is the foundation. He hadn't fully mastered the advanced Haoshoku Haki infusion, but even his "low-spec" coating was something Douglas couldn't withstand.
"So strong!" Waves surged through Douglas's heart. He hadn't expected someone like this to exist in the world. "Hahahaha! I didn't come to the wrong place. Fight me—until one of us can't stand!"
The longer Douglas fought, the more exhilarated he became. Years of brutal battles in the army had carved unyielding habits into him. Though he was on the back foot, he avoided fatal damage. He couldn't figure out why his Gasha Gasha no Mi (Clank-Clank Fruit) wasn't responding smoothly, but he reveled in the thrill of his own blood.
With every spray of blood across his skin, his fighting spirit climbed higher. At last, when his upper body was soaked red, he pulled back, reached out to touch everything within arm's reach, and roared, "Chū-gata Baretto Keitai (Medium Bullet Form)!"
He fused with the surrounding objects through his fruit power and swelled into a towering machine more than ten meters high.
"Big, sure. But can that form of yours take a single punch from me?" Doflamingo quietly gathered strength, entirely unimpressed by the change in size.
Lightning crawled over his body. In the next instant he flashed to the machine's head and drove a punch straight into the bull's-eye.
From the crown downward, a spiderweb of cracks raced across the freshly formed armor. With a crisp crack, the plated shell disintegrated. Douglas's figure reappeared, gulping air in ragged breaths.
"Hahahaha! Interesting—so interesting! This is too interesting!" He wasn't discouraged; his eyes reddened instead. His skin darkened, muscles surged and ballooned, and he took on the look of a mindless fiend.
It was Douglas's unique Akuma Keitai (Devil Form)—merging his Haki with the Gasha Gasha no Mi (Clank-Clank Fruit), massively boosting speed and strength, like a devil risen from hell.
"Devil Form, huh? Then try a move I just finished cooking up." Doflamingo's eyes gleamed. Staring at Douglas's sky-high defense, he couldn't resist testing his newest technique.
He shaped a spearhead of lightning in his hand, poured Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) into it, then layered Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) on top—carefully balancing the three forces. With a sharp throw, he sent it screaming at Douglas. "Raijin no Ikari (Thunder God's Wrath)!"
With a searing buzz, the spear reached Douglas in a blink.
Douglas didn't flinch. He swung his fist to meet it head-on.
But this was Doflamingo's "low-spec" Haoshoku infusion—still far beyond what Douglas could manage.
After a heartbeat of stalemate, the spear blew Douglas away.
Under Doflamingo's deliberate control, the blow carried no lethal intent, but it still knocked Douglas cold. As his consciousness faded, the Devil Form evaporated, and a few bright lightning-shaped scorch marks were left etched across his body.
The area around the bar had been wrecked beyond recognition by their fight—craters everywhere, not a flat patch of ground to stand on. Doflamingo had no interest in lingering. He slung Douglas over his shoulder and flew off toward the next island.
When Douglas came to, he was lying on a bed in the Donquixote Family's 8th Base in the North Blue.
Staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, he remembered getting taken down by a sunglasses-wearing man. Frustration boiled in his chest. He tried to rise and go another round with Doflamingo—only for the stabbing pain all over his body to force him to compromise. He gritted his teeth, dragged himself upright, and wolfed down the mountain of food that had been set out for him.
At the 8th Base—inside the commander's quarters—Doflamingo lounged half-reclined in the seat of honor. Trebol stood at a very polite distance, no longer daring to mash his mucus-slick face up close like before.
The reason was simple. The last time he'd approached, a tingling current had raced through his body on contact. Trebol could be a pain, and sometimes words weren't enough; a dose of "electro-discipline" had made him behave.
Trebol's newfound restraint was only a minor note. The real reason Doflamingo chose to linger here was to wait for Douglas to wake so he could recruit him. Compared to Vegapunk's band of scientists—measured by immediate value—Douglas was the obvious priority.
"Ne, ne—Doffy, just how strong are you now?" Trebol asked, nerves prickling under a single glance from Doflamingo that somehow felt dangerous.
"How strong?" Doflamingo wasn't sure how to quantify it. In raw power, bodywork, and fruit ability, he already stood at the summit of the world. He settled on an image Trebol could grasp.
"Strong enough to erase this country with one strike."
"Uwooh! That strong?! Doffy, then in the North Blue we can walk sideways—hahaha!" Trebol was ecstatic. The king's strength is the underling's strength—he could already see a future where the North Blue bowed only to them. The pace of his sniffles quickened without his noticing.
Doflamingo's brow creased. His fist half-clenched; veins stood out on his forehead. He disliked this attitude. From trying to boss him around early on to blurring the hierarchy now, Trebol behaved like he was the boss.
He didn't lash out, though. Not yet. Trebol still treated him with respect, and the Family's growth still needed him. But when their power swelled further—if Trebol kept this up—then… fufufu.
He chatted with Trebol a while longer—until a knocking at the door interrupted.
"Waka-sama! The man you brought back is awake!"
"At last." Doflamingo's grin sharpened. "Fufufufufu—let's see whether the era shifts because of my move."
(End of Chapter)
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