Hearing that unfamiliar voice—
Is it that cocky newcomer again? Looks like someone's about to get taken care of.
A flicker of schadenfreude and curiosity flashed through the eyes of the surrounding pirates, who didn't dare speak out. They turned to look.
Golden pointed dress shoes. A platinum-white tailored suit. A pink feathered cloak.
And crimson sunglasses.
The man known as the Heavenly Yaksha stood silently atop the ship's cabin, overlooking everyone below.
"B-Boss! That's..."
"D-Donquixote..."
Alibn's brow furrowed deeply. His hand, which had been gathering up money, froze mid-motion and left a heavy palm print on the gambling table.
There was someone on this ship who still dared to defy him?!
"Heavenly...? Heavenly what? I am the damn heavens!"
Alibn didn't even turn around before he started cursing.
"Interrupting my game? Who the hell do you think you are—"
Before he could even finish the sentence—
The speeding ship instantly screeched from full speed to a dead stop.
A massive jolt of inertia surged across the entire vessel.
The cages in the lower hold collapsed with a thunderous crash, clanging and crashing together.
On deck, the pirates—who moonlighted as human traffickers—hadn't even realized what was happening before they were launched into the air, completely losing control of their bodies.
Coins, gambling tools, and weapons all scattered, tumbling through the air toward the ship's bow in total chaos.
"AAAAAAHHHH!"
A few unlucky bastards in front were the first to hit the brakes—literally. Thin wires sliced through their bodies like meat grinders, turning them into mincemeat.
"Damn it!"
"What the hell is that?!"
...
The scene sent the traffickers—bloodied and dazed—scrambling toward the deck in sheer panic, their wounds forgotten.
"Get the hell off me, bastard!!!"
Alibn, still not understanding what was going on, let out a furious roar and hurled his underlings aside.
Only then did he cautiously glance upward.
Even though he'd once hunted a pirate with a 50 million bounty, this kind of overwhelming power....
It was beyond anything he could resist.
When his eyes met those behind those blood-red lenses, Alibn felt every hair on his body stand on end. Cold sweat poured from his body like a broken dam, soaking through his clothes.
He glanced behind him. All his subordinates had already wisely dropped to their knees in a neat line.
"Damn it! Not one of you thought to warn me?!"
Cursing internally, Alibn's legs gave out, and he fell to his knees with flawless form, trembling as he spoke.
"H-Heavenly Yaksha-sama, it would be an honor—no, a privilege—to join your gambling table!!!"
How could they resist a man who could kill a Marine Admiral?
"I quite liked the way you acted just now—so full of yourself. Let's see you go back to that."
Doflamingo floated in midair, his tone amused, and in his hand danced a puppet made of string—identical in appearance to Alibn.
At those words, the subordinates behind him pressed their foreheads even closer to the deck, not daring to breathe.
Alibn remembered what he had said earlier, and without hesitation, began slapping himself left and right across the face—SMACK, SMACK, SMACK!
Blood and teeth flew. His cheeks swelled instantly.
"Y-You must be joking. You are the true heavens of this world."
That made Doflamingo smirk ever so slightly and give a faint nod.
"Mm. You're qualified to join."
It just means... you can die later.
BOOM!
Strings tore through the shut hatch of the ship, snaking downward.
Below deck—
Cages were piled in utter chaos.
Curses and screams echoed back and forth.
"Ugh!"
Hancock touched the swelling on her forehead and the blood trickling down, drawing in a sharp breath.
Through a gap in the bars, she saw the shell at the door had vanished. Her heart lifted.
She lowered her head and gently nudged the two girls she had been shielding.
"Sandersonia, Marigold... I think the ship's under attack. Maybe Empress caught up with us."
"This could be our chance to escape."
The two little girls' eyes lit up with excitement.
"Really?!"
"Yeah." Hancock nodded, offering them a comforting lie. "I'm sure that's it."
Whether or not someone was really coming to save them... she had no idea. But for now, believing it was enough.
"We can't just sit around either. Sandersonia, Marigold, we—"
"What's that?!"
Sandersonia pointed behind Hancock.
"?"
Hancock tensed. Had one of the traffickers come to check on them?
She turned around—
Only to see countless thin threads weaving through the air.
Before the slaves had time to process it—
The world around them blurred. Everything outside the cage whirled in reverse.
And in the next instant—
Blinding sunlight struck them again, making their eyes ache from the sudden brightness.
Once her vision adjusted, Hancock looked around—and her pupils shrank.
Below them, the very traffickers who had strutted before them just hours earlier were now kneeling on the deck, humiliated.
As for the slaves—
They were now hanging in midair, surrounding the ship in tightly sealed rings, suspended by threads.
All of this... had to be the work of that man in the center.
Alibn's heart sank when he saw the display of slaves suspended in the air. Something told him this wasn't going to end well.
With a pig-faced, swollen expression, he cautiously looked up.
"Heavenly Yaksha-sama, I have the keys to the slave cages. May I ask... what are the rules of the game?"
If this was all about the slaves, he'd happily hand them over—as long as he could keep his life.
There was always more where slaves came from.
"Keys? I don't need something that boring."
Doflamingo flatly rejected the offer.
How could such a fun game end like that?
It had just begun.
With a malicious grin, he fired off a bundle of string from his hand and continued.
"As for the rules of the game... I've come up with something very interesting."
"There are thirty of you left. And there are one hundred cages holding these people."
In full view, a large spinning wheel made of strings formed in the air.
Big red letters stood out vividly on its surface.
They read: arm bone, leg bone, skull, ribcage, spine.
Just seeing the options made Alibn's unease grow.
And Doflamingo went on.
"Which means each of you must open one cage."
"And the material for the keys... you get to choose yourselves."
"Let's start with you. Set an example for your men."
The wheel slowly drifted in front of Alibn.
Huge drops of sweat rolled down his forehead and splattered onto the deck.
He had to open three cages. That meant three spins.
If he landed on skull or spine, it was over.
What should he do?
"To hell with this!"
In an instant, Alibn transformed into a giant werewolf, even taller than Doflamingo.
The deck exploded beneath his feet as he lunged forward, appearing right in front of Doflamingo in the blink of an eye.
All of his power condensed into one savage swipe, claws slashing down with a wave of destructive force.
Even the air split beneath the blow, carving out a trail of claw-shaped shockwaves.
"Boring."
Doflamingo casually flicked a finger, releasing a single thread laced with violet-red light.
Before Alibn's terrified eyes, his devastating claw wave shattered instantly.
And his body froze in midair.
"If you won't do it, then I'll help you."
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg