"Doflamingo, how are things on your end?" Teach asked with a faint smile, holding the Den Den Mushi close.
From the other side came a low, amused laugh.
"Fufufufu. That old hag Tsuru is chasing me pretty closely. But overall, things are settled. Aside from Germa 66, the entire North Blue underworld has basically submitted to me."
The Den Den Mushi's face shifted into Donquixote Doflamingo's trademark arrogant grin.
"Though with the Marines hounding me these past few days, a few factions started having second thoughts. There were some losses. Nothing serious. I'm handling them now."
Behind him, screams rang out.
Doflamingo held the Den Den Mushi in one hand and lazily raised his index finger, the rest of his fingers curled inward.
The enemies facing him aimed their guns with stiff expressions.
"Bang! Bang bang!"
Bullets tore through the air toward him. Doflamingo simply swayed left and right, his body moving like silk in the wind. Every shot missed.
"Bullet String."
Thin white threads shot forward at blinding speed, sharp as rifle rounds.
They pierced through flesh, bone, and heart without resistance.
In the span of a breath, most of the gunmen collapsed.
The few survivors trembled violently, terror filling their eyes. The pink feathered coat draped over Doflamingo's shoulders swayed as he stepped forward, unhurried.
He had no intention of sparing them.
Fear had to be planted properly. If you wanted obedience, you watered it with blood.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea system had already been proposed and publicly announced. It would not be long before he left the North Blue. But this sea was his foundation. Its profits, its black markets, its weapon routes. He would never abandon it.
Kill one to warn a hundred.
That was the point.
"Doflamingo! I was wrong! Please! I shouldn't have even thought about betraying you!" The leader dropped to his knees, sobbing. Doflamingo's footsteps echoed like a death sentence.
Doflamingo stopped in front of him.
Even through the red sunglasses, that cold gaze felt suffocating.
"Repent in your next life."
From his palm, threads condensed into a long spear. It shot forward instantly and pierced straight through the man's heart.
Hidden observers watched from the shadows, chills running down their spines.
The lesson had been delivered.
"But you've been doing something interesting yourself lately. Fufufufu!" Doflamingo laughed loudly. Teach's recent actions delighted him. The world sliding toward chaos was always a beautiful sight.
Even while speaking, the slaughter behind him continued.
The name "Heavenly Yaksha" suited him more and more.
"Not bad," Teach replied calmly. "So when are you becoming a Shichibukai?"
"It's already in motion. Won't be long."
Doflamingo had his own leverage over the World Government. He was confident they would accept.
"And the Devil Fruits?"
Their relationship was simple. Teach funded Doflamingo's expansion. Doflamingo supplied Devil Fruits.
For Doflamingo, money meant influence. Influence meant power. Devil Fruits were resources. It was a mutually profitable arrangement.
"Fufufufu. I've collected two. They've already been sent to the Sabaody Archipelago. Once you arrive, they'll be handed over."
Another Den Den Mushi rang.
"Doffy," came the voice of one of his Family's Executive Officers, "Vice Admiral Tsuru has likely pinpointed your location. Her warship is approaching the island."
"I know."
Doflamingo had acted alone this time. He had not expected Tsuru to react so quickly.
Teach heard it clearly and chuckled.
"Sounds troublesome."
"It is a bit of a nuisance," Doflamingo replied lightly, as if discussing the weather.
"Then I'll leave you to it."
The call ended. Their alliance was best kept in the shadows.
It had been half a month since the Nightfall Pirates departed Water 7.
They passed several small islands but did not linger.
On deck, under Teach's invisible gravitational field, the pressure had reached twelve times normal gravity.
Training had become a slow-motion comedy.
Members trying to spar looked like they were fighting underwater. Every step was heavy. Every punch dragged.
Enel, however, was adapting at frightening speed.
His natural talent was high, and within a short time he was able to endure the intensified gravity.
Under relentless pressure, constant sparring, and his own pride, his potential was being forced out. His growth was visible.
He only slept four hours a day.
The rest of his time was split between training and being beaten up by stronger crewmates.
Teach had already hinted at his future.
Master Rokushiki. Master both Observation and Armament Haki. Then he would receive a powerful Devil Fruit.
Enel knew his weaknesses. For once in his life, arrogance was replaced with discipline.
He trained like a madman.
Meanwhile, the New World was in flames.
The war between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates had begun in full.
Though it had not yet reached its final climax, Edward Newgate and Sengoku had already clashed head-on. High-ranking Marines and Whitebeard's division commanders battled across sea and land.
Sengoku endured the Tremor power directly.
His Golden Buddha form radiated light, shockwaves exploding from his palms. His defense and recovery were monstrous. Both offense and defense merged into one.
The battle displayed the true strength of the so-called Resourceful General.
He stood against the "World's Strongest Man" and did not fall.
In their first collision, Whitebeard triggered a massive tsunami that nearly swallowed the G1 Branch whole.
At the critical moment, Kuzan unleashed Ice Age and froze the sea.
But Whitebeard was still in his prime. His Tremor-Tremor Fruit shattered the glacial mass.
The tsunami weakened, but it was not stopped.
Marine powerhouses poured everything into resisting the disaster. Even so, G1 suffered severe destruction.
This was Whitebeard's terror.
A man who could summon natural disasters at will.
Even Logia users who embodied elemental catastrophes struggled before that power.
The war was broadcast worldwide.
To many, it was justice versus evil.
To pirates, it was the world government challenging a Yonko.
After days of combat, the balance became clear. Whitebeard's individual strength was overwhelming, but the Marines possessed greater numbers of top-tier combatants.
On the Marine side:
Sengoku as commander.
Admiral Candidates Sakazuki and Kuzan, each requiring two Whitebeard commanders to restrain them.
Vice Admirals both old and young, capable of holding their own against division leaders.
And in Marineford, even more monsters remained.
Monkey D. Garp.
Kong.
Tsuru.
Borsalino.
The Marines quietly released information exaggerating their composure and strength.
Public confidence surged.
Teach found it amusing.
Against Whitebeard, the Marines had deployed the majority of their strength. More than half their Vice Admirals were present. Most elite forces had been redirected to G1.
And this was only one Emperor.
There were four.
And beyond them, forces like the Flying Pirates and countless overlord-level crews. [T/N: Shiki is also an emperor so dunno why author put it that way...]
From that angle, the situation was almost suffocating.
Still, the war proved one thing clearly.
A single Pirate Crew could not easily overthrow the Marines.
Only unity would make it possible.
But pirates were not built for unity.
Especially Emperors.
On the battlefield, rage ignited.
The Marines' manipulation of public opinion infuriated the Whitebeard Pirates.
Whitebeard's core crew was disciplined. But their many subordinate crews were not so restrained.
Fury spread through their ranks.
They attacked with reckless intensity.
Casualties spiked.
Soon, both sides were bleeding heavily.
More than half of G1 was destroyed.
To prevent total devastation of the island and protect the strategic logistics routes behind it, the Marines launched a ferocious counteroffensive.
They pushed Whitebeard's forces off the island.
The battlefield shifted to the sea.
Cannon fire roared.
Warships rammed pirate vessels.
Boarding battles erupted across decks slick with blood.
Ships sank.
Bodies floated.
The ocean turned red.
No Sea Kings approached.
The overwhelming Conqueror's Haki from two peak powerhouses drove them away.
Across the battlefield, Sengoku roared.
"Great Buddha Impact!"
His colossal golden palm descended, shockwaves compressing the air itself.
Whitebeard answered with a punch that shattered the sky.
"Empty Tremor!"
Cracks split through the atmosphere, invisible force colliding with divine impact.
The clash churned the sea violently. Fighters struggled to stand. Many ceased combat just to brace against the shockwaves.
Across the world, powerful figures watched.
Among them, Marshall D. Teach.
Whitebeard held a slight edge in raw power. But Sengoku's defense, recovery, and shockwave output made him extraordinarily durable.
This was the might of a Mythical Zoan.
The Human-Human Fruit, Model: Buddha.
Near flawless.
Except for speed.
Meanwhile, far from the chaos of the New World, the Nightfall Pirates approached the final stop before the New World.
The Sabaody Archipelago lay ahead.