Doflamingo looked at Chiba with cold, narrowed eyes and sneered, "Hahahahaha, Monkey D. Chiba, do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Chiba smiled calmly, glancing at Rebecca and Leo before turning back to Doflamingo. "Didn't you see it all? What else needs to be said?"
Doflamingo's gaze darkened, and an intense aura began radiating from him. Sensing the tension, Koby and Helmeppo immediately moved in front of Chiba.
"Stand back," Chiba said calmly. The two stepped aside, but remained alert.
With a smirk, Chiba addressed Doflamingo, "Mr. Dover, even if we can't be partners, I don't think there's any need for us to draw our swords against each other."
Doflamingo laughed coldly, his voice filled with malice. "Chachachacha, Monkey D. Chiba, you destroyed my Smile Factory, stole my Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan model—Yellow Dragon data, and now you think you can tell me not to fight you? Don't you think that's a little presumptuous?"
Chiba chuckled. "Oh? And what do you plan to do about it, Mr. Dover? Are you confident in your strength?" Chiba gestured to the people standing behind him—Ace, Marco, Vista, and the others.
Ace took a step forward, smirking. "Doflamingo, I suggest you reconsider. It wouldn't be wise to pick a fight with us."
Doflamingo's face darkened. He could sense the power surrounding Chiba's allies—Hina, Hancock, and the others all had formidable abilities. Especially Hancock, who exuded an intimidating aura. Ace himself was a formidable opponent, and Marco, Jozu, Vista, Koby, and Helmeppo couldn't be underestimated either.
If they all attacked together, Doflamingo and Vergo would be overwhelmed in an instant. Yet, he couldn't just let this insult slide.
With a twisted grin, Doflamingo said, "Hey, Chiba-kun, it seems you've become quite the pirate."
"Then let's settle this the pirate way. If you can defeat me, I'll let it go." As Doflamingo finished speaking, Ace burst out laughing.
"Doflamingo, you think you're worthy of fighting our captain? You should get through me first." Ace stepped forward, clearly unfazed. Back in Marineford, Ace had kicked Doflamingo across the battlefield, so he had little regard for him now.
But Doflamingo ignored Ace, keeping his eyes fixed on Chiba. "What's the matter? Are you scared?"
Chiba's lips curled into a slight smile. He stretched his arms, loosening up. "Since you're so eager to be humiliated, I'll oblige."
"Ace, step back. Let me handle him." Chiba walked past Ace with an easy confidence.
Ace laughed, "This Doflamingo actually thinks he stands a chance against Chiba. He's in for a rude awakening."
Not long ago, Chiba had demonstrated his overwhelming power to Ace, who knew all too well just how strong his captain was.
Chiba faced Doflamingo and said, "Doflamingo, despite your attempts to deceive me about the Devil Fruit technology, I'll give you a chance. I'll let you make three moves. Go ahead."
Doflamingo glared coldly. "Spare me the false kindness. You're here for my Yellow Dragon data, aren't you? Now that you've stolen it, don't act high and mighty. Let's finish this."
With that, Doflamingo's fingers twitched, and ten razor-sharp threads shot down from above, aimed at Chiba's joints.
In a flash, Chiba's hand moved, grabbing all ten threads mid-air. No matter how Doflamingo tried to manipulate them, the threads remained firmly gripped in Chiba's hand.
Chiba smirked. "Dover, that's one move."
Doflamingo's face twisted with frustration. His hands suddenly surged with Armament Haki, releasing a powerful black aura that radiated outwards like dark ribbons.
Everyone present felt the strength of Doflamingo's aura, and they grew tense. His Haki was formidable—stronger than most of those gathered. It would be a challenging battle for anyone.
"This… he's mastered the release of Armament Haki," Hina muttered, her expression serious. She recognized that Doflamingo's Haki was exceptionally powerful.
Ace's face darkened. "I didn't expect Doflamingo's strength to have grown this much in such a short time."
Even Ace had yet to master the release of Armament Haki. If he were to fight Doflamingo now, the power of Doflamingo's Haki would definitely be a problem.
Rebecca, too, watched Doflamingo intently. His strength was beyond her current abilities, and she realized she'd need to train even harder to stand a chance against him.
Marco observed carefully, thinking to himself, Since when did he refine his Armament Haki to this degree? Looks like I'll need to focus on my own Haki training.
In this world, Haki was the true measure of strength.
"Hey hey hey, Monkey D. Chiba, prepare to die!" With a crazed grin, Doflamingo vanished, reappearing in front of Chiba with his fist coated in dark Haki, aiming a powerful punch at Chiba's head.
Chiba's gaze sharpened, and he met Doflamingo's punch head-on, coating his own fist in Armament Haki. Unlike Doflamingo, Chiba didn't release his Haki outward, instead concentrating it all in his fist for maximum impact.
Boom!
With a thunderous sound, Doflamingo's powerful Haki clashed with Chiba's fist. The force of Chiba's concentrated Haki melted through Doflamingo's Haki like ice meeting fire, dissolving it and revealing Doflamingo's bare hand beneath.
Doflamingo's eyes widened in shock as he quickly stepped back, his expression one of horror. "You… you dispersed my Haki! How is that possible?"
Chiba remained calm. "That was two moves. You have one left, Doflamingo. But I suggest you give up—you're no match for me."
Doflamingo's face grew even darker. He knew that Chiba was trying to demoralize him, but if he backed down now, he'd lose all his resolve to face Chiba in the future.
Enraged, he clenched his fists, preparing to unleash his ultimate technique.
What Ace doesn't know is that he will never be able to cultivate Haki to the same level as Chiba, because Chiba cultivates the strength of the divine, and the Haki produced by the combination of this divine aura and his body's energy isn't comparable to ordinary aura and energy.
Especially the unique method of qi cultivation Chiba practices, which he has strictly kept to himself, is why Doflamingo's Haki was so easily broken by Chiba.
This is the suppression of bloodline.
Rebecca's eyes burned with admiration. Is this the strength of Lord Chiba? Such a powerful Doflamingo can't even resist him. When will I be as strong as Lord Chiba?
What am I thinking? How could I ever reach the same strength as Lord Chiba?
The others also had different thoughts, but they were all stunned by Chiba's overwhelming power.
"Hey hey hey, Monkey D. Chiba, do you think you can make me submit with just brute force? You underestimate me."
Doflamingo let out a piercing laugh as he pushed his String-String Fruit to its limit, causing the ground around them to tremble.
Fueled by Doflamingo's Devil Fruit powers, tremendous energy flooded into the earth, turning it into silk threads.
These threads were endless, like mountains and waves. The entire land transformed into a white ocean, and Chiba and the others were like a small boat caught in these waves, about to capsize at any moment.
Even Hancock's face grew serious. "I didn't expect Doflamingo to have awakened his fruit ability. The power of this String-String Fruit is terrifying."
Marco looked grim. "How did he get this strong? His Haki is already powerful, and now he's awakened his Devil Fruit. This is completely different from the man we fought during the Paramount War."
Vista swung his sword at the densely packed threads, but couldn't cut through any of them. His expression darkened. "Ace, this stuff is hard as steel. My sword can't even cut it."
The next moment, Ace's body released a powerful fire, burning the threads like a tidal wave, but it had no effect. Ace's face darkened. "Even my Mera-Mera Fruit can't burn through these threads. It seems that an awakened Devil Fruit really is powerful. I need to awaken my own fruit's ability, too."
Ace once again used the power of the Golden Crow form to destroy some of the threads, but the burning was slow, and his face grew more serious.
Koby also used his Shock-Shock Fruit combined with his martial techniques to deal with the threads, but the effect was minimal.
Doflamingo, who had long controlled the underground black market, had supplied various potions and enhancement pills to Whitebeard's crew.
Naturally, he had access to a considerable amount of these potions himself, which had allowed his strength to grow so quickly. His connections with the Marines and the Celestial Dragons brought him even more benefits, helping him to awaken his String-String Fruit and greatly increase his power.
"Hey hey hey… Monkey D. Chiba, let's see how you handle this!"
Doflamingo manipulated the wave of threads, forming them into sharp spears, each as thick as a tree trunk, but with needle-thin, gleaming tips. He launched the spears at Chiba with deadly intent.
The spears whistled as they cut through the air; a hit from these would mean certain death.
Chiba calmly clenched his fists, coating them in thick Armament Haki. The next moment, he swung his fist and struck the tip of one of the spears.
In an instant, the threads collapsed, disintegrating into dust. Chiba shook his head. "You wield the String-String Fruit, not a spear fruit. This attack has no strength."
"How is that possible?" Doflamingo's face filled with disbelief. This was the power of his awakened String-String Fruit. How could it be broken so easily?
Even Ace was stunned. He knew Chiba was powerful, but he hadn't expected him to be this strong. Not even the awakened String-String Fruit could withstand a single punch.
But Ace thought again—if Chiba's punch hadn't broken the spear formed by the String-String Fruit, wouldn't that mean Doflamingo's strength surpassed his own?
It was only natural for it to be smashed by Chiba's punch; at least it proved that Doflamingo's strength wasn't beyond his.
Marco exclaimed when he saw this. "Looking at Captain Chiba's strength, I feel like I'm facing Garp at Marineford. A single punch that I can't dodge, and my fruit abilities rendered useless… That's true power."
Vista nodded. "It seems our captain will surpass Garp one day."
"Senior Chiba is amazing!" Bartolomeo shouted excitedly. He could tell that the spear formed by Doflamingo's String-String Fruit would have pierced his barrier. But under Chiba's fist, it crumbled like flour.
Cavendish looked disappointed, sighing as he glanced at the sky. It seems I'll live in this guy's shadow forever. Why does a world like this have such a monster, stealing the glory that should have been mine?
Peacock was overwhelmed by Chiba's power, shouting excitedly, "Chiba, teach that arrogant fool a lesson!"
As her voice faded, Chiba appeared directly in front of Doflamingo, moving so quickly that Doflamingo barely had time to react.
Doflamingo's face twisted in shock. "So fast…!"
In the next instant, he saw Chiba's fist flying toward him. Doflamingo's Observation Haki tracked the path of Chiba's punch, but the movement was subtle and full of feints, making it impossible to predict accurately.
Just as he tried to anticipate the blow, Chiba's fist had already connected with his head.
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