Outside the Flower Capital.
"What is it, Doffy?"
Trebol watched Doflamingo suddenly raise his head and look into the distance. He leaned closer with concern.
"Nothing. I just suddenly felt… something's off." Doflamingo shook his head, then immediately saw Trebol's huge face and the two crystal pendants hanging from his nose. "I told you not to suddenly get this close!"
"Doffy, you're very nervous right now."
"We're trying to take a whole country… and not a small one like Dressrosa." Doflamingo looked at the Donquixote Family members placing Dyna Stones around them. "And we're using Dyna Stones as bargaining chips… this is an unprecedented gamble."
"Speaking of Dyna Stones… Doffy, if we lose the bet, are we really going to detonate them and blast the entire Land of Wano into the sky?"
"What do you think?" Doflamingo showed a wicked smile.
The next moment, the Den Den Mushi in his arms rang.
"Buru-buru-buru… buru-buru-buru… click."
"Hello, who is this?"
"Doflamingo… you don't seem to be in Dressrosa."
"Ah, Tsuru." Doflamingo froze, the smile instantly vanishing. "I'm just out to relax a little… after all, no one said a king has to be tied to his throne every second, right?"
"If it's just a stroll, then be careful. The seas have been turbulent lately… don't end up flipping in a ditch."
With that, Tsuru hung up on her own.
Doflamingo's face darkened. He threw the Den Den Mushi into Trebol's arms.
"D-Doffy, have the Marines discovered us?"
"Of course. As a Shichibukai, we're always under surveillance…" Doflamingo looked at his own hand. "But this time, if we succeed… then the Marines will never again be able to hold me in their grasp!"
"Then… if that person shows up again…"
"You mean Michael?" A smile returned to Doflamingo's face.
"Facing Kaido, Bullet, Red the Aloof, and the World Destroyer all head-on… and with Dyna Stones threatening from behind…"
"Even if Michael really were an angel from the Bible, he'd still be sent back to that city in the sky!"
...
"Your strength truly is extraordinary." Kaido looked at the wound on his chest and shook his head.
"It's my first time seeing Conqueror's Haki Infusion suppressed by ryuo."
"You haven't seen anything yet."
Michael's wings unfurled slightly, Holy Light spreading gently across the ground.
The barren, dead soil began to sprout green under its blessing.
His entire presence became…
Sacred.
"That so? Then I really want to see your true form soon."
Kaido exhaled. His overwhelming Conqueror's Haki surged out once again.
But for Michael…
It still wasn't enough.
Even if Kaido had a stronger and healthier body than the Golden Lion—
It wasn't enough.
He had already witnessed, in the Golden Lion, the current pinnacle of Conqueror's Haki.
And from Kaido… Michael knew that no matter what, Kaido's Conqueror's would not surpass the Golden Lion's final aria.
But…
Michael had another expectation for Kaido.
His body.
Among all his opponents, Kaido possessed the greatest physical might.
Even having seen Whitebeard in his prime, even having seen Charlotte Linlin before her eating disorder…
Michael would still judge Kaido as—
A perfect fusion of talent, Vegapunk's experiments, and physical training.
Whitebeard's strength wasn't purely his body.
And Charlotte Linlin had the greatest natural physique, but never trained it, lazily coasting her way into becoming a Yonko.
"Kaido, this still isn't enough."
"Your spirit, your killing intent—still too little!"
"Right now, I don't see even the slightest chance of you defeating me!"
"Come on, Kaido. You're the strongest opponent I'm facing after killing the Golden Lion… don't you dare disappoint me now."
Michael completely released himself.
His Conqueror's Haki shot into the heavens.
The two forces collided—sky and earth trembled.
Kaido listened to Michael's words. His originally tense expression grew tangled…
But then, in a single instant—
It all faded into stillness.
His entire aura changed completely.
"Seems like… fighting someone like you leaves no room for even a moment's distraction."
"I'll admit it—I've been stalling. Waiting for Bullet, fused with the Clank-Clank Fruit and the More-More Fruit, to reach Wano. Waiting for the Beasts Pirates to land with the Dyna Stones… no matter what, I thought victory was guaranteed."
"But that mindset made me forget the essence of battle…"
Kaido suddenly raised his head, smiling.
But beneath that smile was killing intent like a demon's stare.
"I should thank you, Michael… a real fight must be to the death." Kaido said, rolling his shoulders.
"Stalling insults you as an opponent… and insults myself even more."
The instant he finished—
Kaido vanished.
Michael's pupils shrank.
Kaido's speed and agility had always contradicted his massive body.
Previously, he was still within Michael's expectations.
But now… Kaido's speed had doubled.
So this was the strongest creature with all burdens cast aside?
Michael was…
Truly satisfied.
The next moment, Michael raised Myōjō without warning, blocking the massive kanabō swinging down at him.
Though there was no Conqueror's coating, this blow was far stronger than all previous ones.
"Michael! Fight!"
"Fine—'til one of us dies."
Abandoning techniques, pursuing pure physical might and speed—
"Kaido… you may be a vile schemer, but I admit your strength… and right now, all that remains in my heart—"
"Is the desire to kill!"
"Michael! Enough talk! Either kill me—"
"Or go die for me!"
"Michael!"
"Kaido!"
Their eyes met—both men grinned like beasts—
"ORARARARARARARA!"
"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"
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Fanfic is finished. 583 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg