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

"Does it feel like you're no longer in control?" Natsu said flatly, staring at Doflamingo.

"Heh heh heh! I originally thought the rumors were just the Navy covering up their humiliating defeat, but I didn't expect the Smile Pirates to truly be monsters," Doflamingo laughed sinisterly, shaking his numbed arm and tilting his head.

"So?" Natsu asked, unfazed.

"So, I should make sure you stay here forever. Young people are too arrogant, and sooner or later, they'll pay the price!" Doflamingo sneered.

"Hahaha! If you're not arrogant when you're young, are you even young?" Summer said, slightly exasperated. In the pirate world, arrogance was a common trait, and there were always stronger people around.

"String Line!"

Doflamingo raised his finger, and a transparent string shot out, moving at the speed and force surpassing bullets.

"Cling~ cling cling~"

Natsu activated his golden light magic, and the golden aura enveloped him. All the incoming string lines were blocked, with a clear metallic ringing sound from the impact.

"Strange power!" Doflamingo muttered, bewildered. This kind of ability was unheard of, and it didn't seem like a Devil Fruit power because there were no obvious connections to it.

"Thunder Strike: Eightfold Thunder!"

A Taiji Bagua formation appeared beneath Natsu's feet as he summoned thunderbolts in his hands. A huge ball of lightning formed, spreading in all directions. With a swift wave of his hand, it attacked Doflamingo from all angles, accompanied by the crackling sound of thunder.

"Ugh... Cough, the power to control lightning?!" Doflamingo exclaimed as he formed a protective shield with his string-based power. The shield blocked the lightning, but the shockwave caused him to fall from the sky, landing on an island as the two battled relentlessly. If not for this, Doflamingo might have turned into a mere pile of ashes.

The string shield slowly unraveled, and Doflamingo wiped the blood from his mouth, his eyes filled with fury as he glared at Natsu. Countless transparent threads shot out like bullets, enhanced by his armed haki, significantly increasing their power.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The golden aura shield rattled under the force of the attack, but this time, Doflamingo aimed at the same spot repeatedly.

"Crack!"

The sound of breaking glass rang out. Finally, the string lines wrapped in armed haki broke through Natsu's golden shield, with a thread piercing through to a depth of several inches, heading straight for his chest. But, it was suddenly stopped. No matter how hard Doflamingo tried, the string couldn't move any further.

"Super Speed!"

"Serious Mode: Earth's Split Fist!"

Natsur's body vanished in an instant, moving so fast that even Doflamingo's Observation Haki couldn't predict his movements.

A fist appeared out of nowhere!

Doflamingo instinctively used haki to block, crossing his arms tightly. The punch landed with a crushing force.

"Crack!"

The sound of breaking bones echoed, and the immense pain caused Doflamingo to break out in cold sweat. He looked up at Natsu, realizing that he had been deceived. Natsu had not been using his full strength from the start.

"Boom!"

The whistling sound of wind was heard as Natsu's form rapidly descended, growing smaller by the second. In the blink of an eye, he struck the ground, creating a massive crater. The shockwave caused the earth to crack like a spiderweb, spreading for hundreds of meters.

"Smash!"

A crisp sound rang out. Doflamingo's once-evil-looking pink glasses were shattered into pieces, lying quietly on the ground. Blood continued to flow from his mouth. After a long silence, a string shot out, and Doflamingo's battered body was launched back, his gaze now filled with wariness as he looked at Natsu.

"What a pity!" Natsu muttered, shaking his head. He had hoped to witness Doflamingo's Devil Fruit awakening, but it seemed he hadn't pushed him hard enough.

"What pity?!"

Doflamingo's veins bulged as unprecedented rage filled him. The pitying expression from NAtsu made him feel humiliated—no one had ever dared to look at him that way.

"Whoosh!"

Before Doflamingo could make his next move, a flash of red flame landed next to Natsu. It was Gin, followed by the arrival of Flame Calamity.

"How does it feel, Gin?" Natsu casually asked, seemingly unaffected.

"Not bad! The Four Emperors' pirate crews are nothing special," Gin replied, his expression unreadable. He wasn't a person known for displaying much emotion. However, Flame Calamity, watching from the side, couldn't help but feel a sense of humiliation. Natsu's words were a direct insult to their enemies, and despite the desire to retaliate, Flame Calamity knew his own limitations.

It was possible that after fighting for days and nights, he could eventually win, but...

Flame Calamity glanced at Natsu, whose clothes were slightly dirty, and at Doflamingo, whose glasses had been shattered. He inwardly sighed, realizing that Natsu had gained the upper hand in this battle.

Moreover, the Joker wouldn't actually risk his life for the Beast Pirates.

"Let's go."

Flame Calamity gave one last, deep look at Natsu and Gin, then flew off into the sky, ready to report today's events to Kaido. The Navy hadn't exaggerated—perhaps they even understated the situation.

The Smile Pirates were a serious threat to the future. The only thing they lacked now was a top-tier, royal-level fighter.

"Hey, Joker, I think we could sit down and talk. After all, you know what they say: no hard feelings, just business." Natsu called out as he saw Doflamingo preparing to leave.

"Huh? Talk?" Doflamingo's face froze. He had just been pummeled, and now Natsu was suggesting they sit down and chat? Was he crazy?

"Yes, talk. There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests, right?"

"I think we can cooperate. For example, in arms dealing!"

"Arms dealing?!" Doflamingo repeated, his interest piqued. He quickly wove a chair with his strings and sat down, examining Natsu carefully.

"Yes, as a Warlord of the Sea, you must have thousands of subordinates. I need weapons. Unlike the elusive Great Pirate treasure, I prefer tangible wealth. I think arms dealing could be very profitable."

"Heh heh heh... You plan to get involved in arms dealing?" Doflamingo chuckled darkly.

"Exactly. A new kind of weaponry. This world could get a lot more interesting." Natsu continued. According to Hiro, the first batch of intelligent robots would be mass-produced within a month. Though their power was average, they could easily reach the level of pirates with a bounty of ten million Berries.

The main point was that a single person could form an entire army, an army of fearless soldiers who would charge forward.

"New weapons?"

"Yes, just like the Pacifista, the Peacekeepers that the world government's genius, Vegapunk, designed!"

Although the Peacekeepers were first introduced in the year 1520 in the Sea Circle Era, Natsu was confident that the World Government had already begun research much earlier, and someone like Doflamingo would be privy to some of these secrets.

"Heh heh heh... Truly mysterious. It seems there's much more to you, Monkey D. Natsu. A pleasure to cooperate!" Doflamingo laughed, revealing his admiration for Natsu's hidden depth.

"A pleasure to cooperate!" Natsu replied.

To be continued...

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