One Piece: Rising to Power as a Warlord of the Sea

"What's this? As a traitor of the Celestial Dragons, do you still aspire to become Pirate King, Donquixote Doflamingo?"

"A traitor of the Celestial Dragons?!" Just five words made a shadow rise in Doflamingo's heart. The mention of being a traitor to the Celestial Dragons struck a painful nerve, one that he could never tolerate anyone exposing. If it weren't for his foolish father, he would still be at the top, ruling as a Celestial Dragon.

"You're asking for death! Natsu!" Doflamingo's hand transformed into a beast-like claw, and five thin strings shot out from his fingers, seemingly aiming to tear Natsu into six pieces.

"Bang!" Natsu responded without hesitation, his fist wrapped in Armament Haki, clashing directly with the strings.

"Sorry, did I touch a sore spot?" Natsu smiled coldly, "But it doesn't matter now. The moment you stepped into this place, you and I became enemies!"

"Hehehehe! And so what? Do you think you'll survive this day?" Doflamingo's laughter echoed in the air.

"Of course not! Anyone who dares to provoke the Beasts Pirates must die!" A cold, ruthless voice rang out from the sky, and black wings cast a shadow over the Smile ship. A toothless wyvern descended, looking down at Natsu from above.

"Flame Disaster Alber! Looks like you've been planning this for a while! So, this permanent log pose is a fake?" Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"Hmph! The permanent log pose wasn't part of our plan, but once we kill you, it'll belong to the Beasts Pirates!" Alber's voice was tinged with excitement under his mask. He hoped the log pose could lead to Raftel, making Kaido the Pirate King and confirming his theory.

"Well, that's a relief! As long as my money wasn't wasted!" Natsu laughed happily, relieved that his payment wasn't for nothing.

"Hmph, sharp tongue!" Alber scoffed.

"Flame Emperor!"

Flames gathered on Alber's beastly claw, and a massive fireball shot toward the Smile ship, aiming to engulf it.

"Fire attack? Gin, handle this one! Be careful, this guy is one of the three main pillars of the Beasts Pirates, his strength is not to be underestimated!" Natsu ordered.

"Understood, Captain!" Gin shifted into his beast form, though not revealing all of his heads. Like a simple firebird, he soared toward the incoming fireball.

"Scatter!" Gin shouted, flapping his wings to dissipate the flames, then ascended higher, meeting Alber at the same altitude.

"Hey, Donquixote Doflamingo! Is this your trump card?!" Natsu sneered, clearly underestimating him.

"Ordinary Punch: Sky Shatter!" Natsu concentrated his power, forming a massive fist-shaped shockwave and launching it toward Doflamingo.

"Hehehehe!" Doflamingo shot out a thin, transparent string from his hand and yanked it, propelling himself out of the way just in time to avoid the punch. Floating in the air, he looked down on Natsu, laughing maniacally.

"Flying, huh? Looks like I can do that too!" Natsu grinned.

"Wind Style: Gale!" A breeze lifted Natsu off the ground, and a pair of sky-blue wings sprouted from his back, allowing him to soar up to meet Doflamingo in an instant.

"Wind Style: Wind Rope!" Natsu shouted, conjuring ropes of wind that whipped toward Doflamingo from all directions. Despite the strings cutting through the ropes, they couldn't stop the force.

"Is this guy also a Devil Fruit user?" Doflamingo thought, recalling some intelligence he had gathered. Could he be a suspected Devil Fruit user?!

Doflamingo quickly unleashed a flurry of strings, his body darting around in the air, using his Observation Haki to avoid the wind ropes. He glanced over at the other side and saw something that shocked him: Gin and Alber were evenly matched, neither giving ground, meaning no quick victory would come from this battle.

Though Gin's Haki seemed to be less refined than Alber's, his Devil Fruit abilities helped compensate for the gap. It was a well-known fact that Zoan-type Devil Fruits were extremely valuable, even more so than Logia types.

"Flame Emperor: Blaze Slash!" Alber, who had been battling Gin in close quarters, decided to switch strategies, wielding a massive flaming sword to cut down his opponent.

"Ghost Hammer: City Breaker!" Gin, seemingly unbothered, pulled out his twin hammers and swung them with all his might. The fiery blade collided with the hammers, sending a shockwave through the air, and Gin was knocked back several meters.

"One hammer forty, two hammers eighty, gather a thousand hammers to myself, Twin Hammer Style: Raging Gale Hammer!" Gin quickly retaliated, spinning his wings and swinging his hammers in rapid succession, each blow heavier than the last.

Alber gritted his teeth, feeling the power of Gin's attacks. With no fancy techniques, it was pure force—and it nearly knocked his sword from his hands. His arms tingled from the impact, and he began to regret not bringing more backup for this ambush. But alas, there was no turning back now; this raid was doomed to fail.

"Heavenly Fire!"

Gin unleashed a strange, otherworldly fire that took the shape of a lotus blossom and flew directly toward Alber. Alber couldn't feel any heat from it, but instinctively, he began to retreat. He couldn't afford to dismiss it.

But as soon as Alber moved, the flame seemed to track him, following his every move.

"Impossible! I can't shake it!" Alber thought as he slashed at the flame, only to see the fire split and follow the path of his sword, igniting his weapon and quickly climbing up to his body.

"What's happening?! I can't get rid of it!" Alber exclaimed in shock.

As the fire consumed him, he screamed in agony. The soul-burning fire felt like it was eating away at him from the inside. For a moment, Alber feared he was done for.

"Ugh…!"

After what seemed like an eternity, Alber staggered and recovered, brushing his head and reabsorbing the flames back into his body. He tightened his grip on his sword, his expression grim.

His speed and strength had escalated once again. Alber focused intently, knowing now that no Devil Fruit ability was invincible. Even the most terrifying powers had countermeasures.

Thinking back, he realized that the only way he had survived the strange fire attack earlier was by using his Haki to resist the soul-shattering effects.

Once again, the battle resumed, fierce and unrelenting, as the sky burned with vibrant red flames.

To be continued...

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