Chapter 17 — If You Don't Agree, Let's Play Golf
Doflamingo's face darkened and tightened, flickering between fury and calculation.
Behind his tinted glasses, his sharp eyes locked on Akira.
The air inside the grand hall froze.
Two billion Berry.
The number echoed in his skull like a jagged knife.
He—Donquixote Doflamingo, the "Heavenly Yaksha,"
the Joker of the underworld,
one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—
When had he ever been talked down to like this?
When had anyone dared to humiliate him so openly?
A low crack sounded as he straightened his spine.
The muscles along his shoulders tightened; the sweat at his temple stopped dripping.
A suffocating aura began to seep from his body again—
the unmistakable pressure of a predator who ruled the dark world.
"Lord Akira," he spoke, his voice low, heavy, and tinged with menace.
"There's one thing I must confirm."
His mind spun rapidly.
He needed to know one thing—
Was this order from Kaido… or Akira's own idea?
The difference between the two… was the difference between Heaven and Hell.
If this was Kaido's command, then even if the price were three billion, he would pay it without a word.
Opposing the world's strongest creature was nothing short of suicide.
But—
If this was merely Akira's personal scheme…
Behind his sunglasses, the corner of Doflamingo's mouth twitched upward into a cold, thin smile.
A house steward, nothing more.
Not one of the Three Calamities, not a commander of destruction.
A "Fourth Commander" who rose in rank only through flattery and backroom influence—
and this nobody dared to point a gun at the Heavenly Yaksha?
That was a different matter entirely.
Doflamingo decided to test him.
He stepped forward, his voice dropping to a gravelly murmur filled with pressure.
"This transaction…"
"Is it a command from Kaido—or your own will?"
His piercing gaze bore straight through Akira, searching for the slightest twitch,
any trace of nervousness or deceit.
But Akira only smiled.
Leaning back into the throne, he adjusted his posture casually and crossed one leg over the other.
The tip of his boot rocked lazily in the air.
The way he looked at Doflamingo…
It wasn't the look of a man speaking to another man.
It was the look of someone watching a clown perform at a cheap carnival.
Then, his lips curved slightly, and two quiet words escaped them—
"Take a guess."
"…"
Doflamingo's fists clenched tight.
His nails dug into his palms until blood trickled down his fingers.
That wasn't an answer.
That was mockery.
A game.
He was being toyed with.
How dare this bastard—?!
'Good. Very good… "Take a guess," huh?'
His entire body trembled with restrained rage,
but he still held back.
He couldn't afford to gamble.
What if this was Kaido's order?
What if Akira was only testing his loyalty?
Doflamingo had survived this long not by brute strength,
but by instinct—and caution.
"Lord Akira, I—"
"Enough."
Akira's voice sliced through his words effortlessly.
He looked bored. Almost disappointed.
With an exaggerated sigh, he raised both hands slightly, as if giving in.
"Alright, alright. You look so confused—fine, I'll be honest with you."
"No need to waste our time."
Doflamingo's ears twitched, his mind sharpening like a knife.
This was it—finally, the truth.
Akira sat up a little straighter, his tone turning confidential, almost playful.
"The ship…"
"Kaido doesn't know about it."
He emphasized those words—
doesn't know—
with deliberate weight.
"I arranged everything myself."
"Lately, I've been running a little short on cash," he added with a sheepish scratch of his head.
"So I thought, why not visit an old friend… for a little help?"
BOOM—!!!
The words hit Doflamingo like lightning.
All the fear, all the caution, all the forced politeness vanished at once—
replaced by burning anger and barely contained laughter.
So that's it.
So this is just his private scam.
Inside his mind, Doflamingo laughed—hard and silent.
A "Fourth Commander" who isn't even a Calamity!
A glorified accountant who counts crates and manages warehouse ledgers!
A corrupt fool from Kaido's crew dares to swindle the Heavenly Yaksha?
He's lost his mind.
Does he think he's the king here, sitting on my throne?
Straightening his back, Doflamingo stood tall again—
his arrogance returning with every heartbeat.
The signature smile of the Joker crept back across his face—
mocking, vicious, and proud.
"Fufufufu…"
"Fufufufufufufu!!"
His laughter rang through the hall, sharp and grating.
He adjusted his feathered coat casually and began walking toward the throne.
Step by step.
"Akira…"
"Who would've thought?"
His tone had changed completely—light, even amused.
"A little manager trying to blackmail Joker?"
"Your 'friendly request' isn't even worth a proper negotiation."
He chuckled, pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose,
the light gleaming off the lenses like the edge of a blade.
"Here's the deal."
"I'll give you 1.1 billion Berry. That's already generous."
"Even on the black market, that cargo would sell for, what, 1.3 billion at most?"
"If I take a 200-million margin and pay you 1.1, that's me being kind—for old times' sake."
Akira kept smiling.
But this time, his smile deepened slightly.
"So, in other words…"
"You're refusing my offer?"
"Fufufu!"
Doflamingo laughed louder, believing he'd won.
Still trying to threaten him?
How ridiculous.
"Lord Akira," he said mockingly, stopping right in front of the throne.
"You wouldn't want Lord Kaido to hear about this, would you?"
A sharp grin split across his face.
"I'll pay you 1.1 billion. That's my generous offer."
"You take it, and this ends here."
"But if not…"
His grin twisted cruelly.
"Then I'll raise the price to—"
"1.05 billion Berry!"
"Fufufufufufu!!"
He threw his head back, laughing hysterically.
In his mind, he had already won.
He was already imagining all the ways he'd humiliate this man later—
break his legs,
make him dance on strings,
turn him into another puppet to decorate his hall.
A corrupt Beasts Pirate dares act arrogant before me?
What a joke!
He was still laughing when, at his right—
the silver-haired woman holding a massive spiked club—
slowly turned her head toward him.
Her expression shifted.
From mild curiosity…
to pure disgust.
…
Yamato had run out of patience.
She was holding herself back—barely.
For quite some time now, she'd been itching to "sharpen her strength."
Three days of "training" on the ship had made her completely addicted to that intoxicating feeling—
that overwhelming rush every ten seconds,
that wild surge of power flooding through her veins,
that deep, satisfying vibration in every muscle fiber.
It was bliss.
Far better than those long, frustrating years on Onigashima—
training under her father's shadow, constantly being hunted and punished.
At first, she thought this "Mingo" guy might actually make a decent training partner.
But then—his three subordinates went down in a single hit.
Not one of them even lasted long enough for her to feel the slightest growth.
And now, watching this pink-feathered clown talk and talk and talk…
her expectations had completely collapsed.
Too much talking.
Too much noise.
Too much delay!
'This guy…'
Inwardly, Yamato's jaw twitched in irritation.
'You talk more than Father does at a banquet.'
'So annoying!'
'Can't you just shut up and fight already?!'
'I still have training to do—and a certain idiot dragon to beat after this!'
Finally—
when Doflamingo arrogantly said, "1.05 billion Berry,"
something inside Yamato snapped.
"Your nonsense…"
"IS TOO DAMN MUCH!!"
Her voice boomed through the hall like a cannon blast.
"W-what?!"
Doflamingo's laughter stopped cold.
He turned his head—only to see a massive shadow falling over him.
From above, a spiked club was already descending, trailing the sound of wind splitting apart.
"Shut your mouth!!"
Yamato swung her Hassaikai, every ounce of her absurdly amplified strength—
enhanced more than twentyfold by the Armor of Will—
exploding all at once.
No stance.
No technique.
No fancy move.
Just a raw, brutal horizontal smash—
the kind that split mountains in half.
"W–Wait—!"
Doflamingo's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
He tried to dodge.
He tried to harden his body with Armament Haki.
He even unleashed a net of Parasite Strings to stop the swing—
But it was all far, far too late.
Even with every defense he could muster,
he still felt it—
that terrifying, unstoppable weight crashing down upon him.
And the only thought that flashed through his mind before his vision went black was—
"That woman…"
"What kind of monster is she?!"
DANG—!!!
A sharp metallic chime echoed in Akira's ears—
the familiar sound of the Armor of Will activating.
[Ding! Valid combat condition detected!]
[Will Core: +1 Layer Accumulated!]
"Huh?"
Akira blinked.
"That idiot girl actually did it?"
"She really used Mingo as a training dummy?!"
And then—
BOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion that followed defied description.
Doflamingo's body was sent flying like a golf ball off the tee—
no, more like a cannonball tearing through the sky.
He blasted through the castle wall, his pink feather coat exploding into shreds midair,
scattering like petals as his body soared high above Dressrosa.
Then—
KABOOOM!!
He crashed into the city below the King's Plateau,
the impact shaking the earth and sending shockwaves through the entire island.
"..."
"..."
The King's Plateau quaked three times in succession.
Dust clouds billowed.
Chunks of rubble rained down.
Inside the shattered throne hall,
only Akira and Yamato remained standing.
Yamato still held her Hassaikai in a follow-through stance.
"Pheeww—"
She exhaled deeply, her expression bright and satisfied.
"Finally… peace and quiet."
She turned to Akira, eyes gleaming like an excited child.
"Akira!"
She raised her club proudly.
"How was that?"
"That swing was amazing, right?!"
"Don't you think I'm stronger than you now?!"
Akira: "..."
"If you really think that," he said flatly,
"then don't beg for mercy tonight."
Yamato's face froze instantly.
Her mouth snapped shut like a trap.
Akira sighed and walked toward the gaping hole in the castle wall.
"Yamato, could you please hold back a little next time?"
"If you keep breaking the place down,
where exactly are we supposed to sleep tonight?"
…
A few kilometers away, amidst the smoking ruins of Dressrosa—
"Ugh…"
Doflamingo coughed out a thick stream of blood mixed with bits of his own organs.
He wasn't dead—
but it sure felt like he was.
Light flickered in his eyes.
Scenes from his past flashed through his mind in a chaotic blur.
His childhood.
His foolish father, Donquixote Homing,
who had abandoned the privilege of a Celestial Dragon and dragged their family into hell.
He saw the angry mob beating him and his brother,
the flames licking at his skin.
His mother, coughing blood, dying in poverty.
He saw himself shooting his father dead with trembling hands.
He saw his rise—
his empire,
his throne,
his kingdom.
He saw himself—Joker—
ruler of the underworld.
"W-wait… this—"
"I'm… seeing my life flash before my eyes?!"
His consciousness snapped back.
With a desperate surge of will, he bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood.
The searing pain pulled him back to reality.
"I—I'm alive!"
"I won't die here!"
"I can still—"
He tried to move.
He tried to stitch his broken body together with his String-String Fruit.
But then—
he realized something horrifying.
He couldn't move.
Not even an inch.
His neck felt shattered.
His body… was completely numb.
Only his eyes could still move.
"M-monster…"
"How… how strong is she…"
"That woman…"
"Who the hell is she…?"
Regret consumed him like acid.
Regret for testing them.
Regret for threatening them.
Regret for ever underestimating them.
He'd thought he was dealing with a "mere manager."
He was wrong. So very wrong.
Now, all he could do was pray—
pray that the silver-haired demon wouldn't come back to finish the job.
If only he had time…
if only his men could find him…
maybe he could still—
But then—
A massive shadow fell over him.
With great effort, Doflamingo rolled his eyes upward.
And there he was.
The man in black, walking toward him with calm, measured steps—
each one sending dread crawling up Doflamingo's spine.
Akira.
His gait was slow, deliberate.
Too composed.
Too terrifying in its lack of urgency.
He stopped right in front of Doflamingo's broken form.
Thud.
A polished black boot pressed down against his bloodied face,
pinning it to the rubble.
"Tsk, tsk…"
Akira accepted the bloodstained Hassaikai from Yamato's hand,
inspecting it as though he were examining a fine golf club.
"Doffy, your body's disappointing."
"Couldn't even last long enough to help train properly."
He looked down at the half-conscious man, smiling faintly.
"I managed to spar with Yamato for three whole days…"
"But you?"
"One hit, and you're already like this?"
Resting the Hassaikai on his shoulder,
Akira shifted his stance—
just like a golfer lining up a perfect shot.
The spiked head of the weapon hovered right above Doflamingo's skull.
Akira's voice softened,
his smile widening into something gentle…
and utterly demonic.
"Alright then."
"Let's change the price."
"Three billion Berry."
"You agree, don't you, Doflamingo?"
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Read ahead and support the story on Patreon:
🔗 patreon.com/FaaanzKun
✅ 10+ chapters ahead of WebNovel
✅ 2 new chapters every day (Monday–Saturday), exclusive on Patreon
🌙 Note: Sunday is a rest day, so there will be no updates tomorrow. Regular uploads resume as usual on Monday.
Thank you all so much for your amazing support 💖
Your encouragement keeps this story alive and growing stronger every single day! 🌟
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —