Scanning the room and meeting countless furious glares, Doflamingo continued to laugh, his voice echoing through the hall. "The first count: disregard for World Government regulations."
"The Royal Shichibukai is an organization pardoned and sanctioned by the World Government. Yet, Marine Vice Admiral Rowan engaged in a private duel with Hawkeye Mihawk without any prior authorization. During this duel, he severely injured Mihawk, a direct blow to the relationship between the Navy and the Warlords. He has destroyed the trust between the two wings of world power. Taken to its extreme, such recklessness could have triggered a direct, catastrophic conflict between the Navy and the Four Emperors."
"The second count: reckless escalation."
"To flex his authority within the Navy, this Vice Admiral didn't seek to de-escalate when facing four Emperors. Instead, he summoned the Navy's entire strategic combat force, nearly igniting a global war."
At this point, Doflamingo licked his lips and looked around. "If the Four Emperors and the full might of the Navy had clashed, do you understand the consequences? Every soul in this room knows. The chain reaction from such a war would have plunged the entire world into an age of darkness and chaos."
He turned his gaze back to the Five Elders. "To protect the peace of the common people from such warmongering, I propose we strip Rowan of his authority and imprison him on the charge of high treason."
The kings and ministers were livid. This man was twisting the truth so brazenly that it defied belief!
"I object! Mr. Rowan is a Marine hero who stood firm against pirates when the world was watching. He shattered the arrogance of the outlaws single-handedly! How can a hero like him be slandered by a man like you?!" a king stood up and shouted in rage.
"I object as well!" another king joined in.
"Oh?" Doflamingo hissed a cold laugh. He gestured toward the two masked CP0 agents standing nearby. "Would you two mind helping these noble kings find some... peace and quiet?"
To the horror of the assembly, the CP0 agents—elite assassins who answer only to the World Nobles and the Five Elders—actually moved toward the protesting kings.
The other monarchs felt a chill. How can he command CP0? Only the Celestial Dragons and the Five Elders have that power! Unless...
A terrifying rumor from decades ago resurfaced in their minds. There was a Celestial Dragon who had renounced his status and left Mariejois with his family—a descendant of the Donquixote line, one of the nineteen families that founded the World Government eight hundred years ago.
On the high dais, the Five Elders looked at each other. They seemed on the verge of nodding in agreement with the proposal.
But before a single Elder could speak, the massive doors of the conference hall creaked open.
In that instant, the arrogant Doflamingo felt a familiar, suffocating presence. He turned his head and saw the one figure he wanted to tear into a thousand pieces.
Rowan walked into the room, clapping his hands slowly. He looked at Doflamingo and smirked. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. The 'Heavenly Yaksha' certainly has a grand air about him! Twisting white into black, accusing me of treason... truly a creative set of charges."
It was Rowan!
And behind him stood Admiral Kizaru, Admiral Akainu, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and Rowan's blood brother—the Commander-in-Chief of the World Government, Steel Bone Kong!
Rowan stopped clapping, his face darkening into a mask of cold steel. "Whether I am guilty or not isn't for a pirate like you to decide!"
This man had provoked him one time too many. Today, Rowan wasn't just going to make the title of "Shichibukai" disappear from the sea; he was going to make Donquixote Doflamingo disappear from existence.
Doflamingo's arrogant smirk froze. The memory of being pursued and humiliated on the ocean a month ago flooded back. Fear, rage, and shock surged through him.
"You... how can you be here?!" Doflamingo stammered, his voice laced with disbelief.
Rowan might be the "Godfather," but his official rank was only Vice Admiral. Protocol dictated that only Admirals and the Fleet Admiral were permitted to attend the Levely. Doflamingo had come to Mariejois specifically because he was certain Rowan wouldn't be there. He had been so traumatized by their last encounter that he never would have set foot in the Holy Land if he'd known Rowan was attending.
"Why? Do I need to report my itinerary to a pirate like you before I travel?"
Rowan took the pipe from his mouth, exhaled a plume of smoke, and continued walking toward Doflamingo with a measured, calm pace.
Seeing Rowan approach, Doflamingo's heart nearly burst with terror. His feet moved involuntarily, stepping back again and again until his back hit the cold stone wall.
"You... I'm warning you... don't come any closer!"
The terror was so deep that his voice began to tremble.
"Don't come closer? I'm afraid a worm like you doesn't have the authority to give me orders." Rowan smiled, tucking his pipe away, but his feet didn't slow down for a second.
"You!"
Realizing he was trapped against the wall, Doflamingo suddenly remembered where he was. This was the Holy Land, Mariejois! He forced down his fear and barked at the two CP0 agents: "Vice Admiral Rowan is ignoring the laws of the World Government! He has entered the Levely without authorization! He is showing utter contempt for the law! Arrest this traitor immediately!"
The two CP0 agents frowned. They didn't like Doflamingo's tone, but he was technically correct—and his ties to the World Nobles were still a factor. Entering Pangea Castle without authorization was a violation of the highest order.
They had to act. Except...
Rowan was flanked by two Admirals, the Fleet Admiral, and the Commander-in-Chief of the World Government. Any one of those four was a match for them, and Steel Bone Kong was their direct superior.
And then there was Rowan himself—the monster who had repelled Kaido with a single punch.
The two CP0 agents stood frozen, caught in a lethal deadlock, unsure whether to draw their weapons or stand down.