"The Pink Queen and Her Seven Dwarfs? Not a bad name."
"Ma-hahaha! My darlings, Mama is in love again! This time, I'm marrying seven men! I want seven wedding cakes!"
Charlotte Linlin's eyes sparkled with excitement as she cheered and twirled in delight.
"...Seven cakes."
"Mama, don't worry, we'll prepare everything!"
"Wedding cake, wedding cake!"
"..."
It was obvious that, aside from the younger Charlotte children, the adults weren't exactly cheering with genuine enthusiasm.
Doflamingo could already feel the dagger-like gazes directed at him.
Not that he cared.
The appetizers were over.
Now, it was time for the main course.
Looking at the imposing figure before him, he spoke.
"Congratulations on your upcoming wedding, Charlotte Linlin. Now, let's talk about your dreams."
Charlotte Linlin turned her gaze back to the Numancia Flamingo, a grin spreading across her face.
"Ma-hahaha! Doflamingo, I'm quite satisfied with your gift. But do you really think I'd entrust my dreams to you so easily?"
As she spoke, an overwhelming pressure filled the air, thick enough to suffocate. The sheer intensity of her Conqueror's Haki made the atmosphere feel as if it had solidified.
Doflamingo raised an eyebrow. The younger Charlotte Linlin was full of surprises, but he and Enel were both quick on their feet—there was no need to panic. He smirked.
"Fuffuffuffu… So? What now, Charlotte Linlin?"
"Show me your resolve. Do you have what it takes?!"
As expected, negotiations between villains always boiled down to a fight. Young and ambitious pirates were insatiable.
Doflamingo abandoned any thoughts of peaceful discussion. His grin widened.
"The last person who tried to measure my resolve… is dead."
Charlotte Linlin's massive form cast a looming shadow over him.
Her pupils shifted, forming concentric circles that glowed ominously red.
A voice like the wail of the damned echoed from her throat.
"Mamama~ Life or Death?!"
The moment Big Mom revealed this form, the strained smiles of her children vanished. Chaos erupted.
"Mama is furious!"
"We… We can't stop her now!"
"Quick! Prepare the cake! This fool angered Mama, and now we have to deal with the fallout!"
"Katakuri, how much longer until you return?!"
"He's crossing the high-speed currents. Should be five more minutes…"
"But the magnetic field there is unstable! We can't reach him!"
"..."
On the other side.
Even though Enel stood behind his young master and didn't have to face Big Mom directly, an instinctual fear clung to his soul like a venomous curse. It was as if the question was aimed straight at his very being.
Still, if the Young Master wasn't moving, then there was nothing to fear.
The Young Master would handle everything.
So this is the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit's curse?
Terrifying.
Doflamingo could hear his own blood rushing through his veins, his heartbeat pounding like an engine roaring to life.
This wasn't fear.
This was pure, exhilarating excitement.
Black and red lightning crackled as his Conqueror's Haki surged outward. A manic grin stretched across his face as he answered.
"Life."
"Then die, brat!"
Linlin was furious at his insolence, unleashing her Soul-Soul Fruit's power once again.
"Life or Death!!!"
And yet, nothing happened.
Only the structures between their clashing auras began to crumble under the pressure.
Big Mom's children and subordinates, long accustomed to the fearsome power of her abilities, were utterly dumbfounded. They rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
Shock painted their faces.
"H-His soul isn't being pulled out?"
"No way!"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!!"
"Is he not afraid of Mama at all?"
"Not even the slightest trace of fear in his heart…"
"..."
Threads surged around Doflamingo, intertwining and wrapping tightly around his body, reinforcing his already formidable frame. Even his voice sounded heavier.
"Maybe you can kill me right now, Big Mom—but you can't make me afraid. I am a man who stands against the world itself!!!"
"Enel, watch carefully. This is what it means to be a top-tier fighter."
"Demon Form—Thread Piercing Fist!!!"
Doflamingo's already massive form grew even larger as his muscle fibers, woven from his threads, expanded.
His enormous right fist morphed into a spiraling, razor-sharp spearhead, gleaming with an eerie mix of colors as it spun at high speed, emitting a droning hum.
In the next instant, he vanished from the shore.
The best way to deal with a challenge was to charge straight through it.
"Boom!"
"Crash!"
A single moment of carelessness cost Charlotte Linlin dearly. Still reeling from her shock, she was sent flying.
Her massive body plowed through several cake houses, flattening them like a wrecking ball and kicking up clouds of dust.
Dozens of injured Homies wailed in pain.
The entire scene looked like a bakery trashed by a rampaging child.
"Masaka! (No way!)"
"M-Mama was knocked back?!"
"Waaahhh! Katakuri, where are you?!"
The last time they saw their mother in such a pitiful state was half a year ago—when the Roger Pirates visited.
'The impact just now… didn't even break her skin. So this is the so-called Iron Balloon. The true weight of an Emperor's strength…'
Doflamingo felt no joy in landing a hit.
His eyes sharpened as he fixated on the spot where Linlin had landed.
The next moment—
A pair of glowing red eyes shone through the smoke.
Black and red lightning erupted outward.
Prometheus, blazing like an inferno, dispelled the lingering dust.
Charlotte Linlin stepped out, standing atop a now-blackened Zeus, her pirate headscarf fully visible. In her hand, the grinning Napoleon gleamed menacingly.
She was completely unharmed.
"Prometheus, give this brat a warm welcome. Mama Raid!"
"Kukuku! Stolen Fire!"
Prometheus shot toward Doflamingo, morphing into a massive pillar of flames mid-air.
"Too slow! Arm Launcher!"
Doflamingo's right arm, reinforced with Armament Haki, rocketed forward, colliding head-on with the fireball.
"BOOM!"
Flames and shockwaves tore through the battlefield, engulfing everyone nearby.
...
Beyond the horizon, a ship with a scarfed figurehead slowly emerged.
A towering man, five meters tall, stood at the bow.
Katakuri had arrived.
-----------
+255 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg