Doflamingo felt that fate had been somewhat unkind to him as of late.
Not long ago, he had hit a wall at Mary Geoise, and now, upon returning to the North Blue, he had encountered yet another strange fellow. His sinister gaze fixed on the man dressed in a light gray kimono, he ground his teeth together.
"You, get out of my way!"
Doflamingo had always been an unruly one, and at his current age, he was in that phase where everyone and everything rubbed him the wrong way. He wanted to bite anyone who crossed him, just to show them all how tough he was.
Ren's superior, condescending attitude made Doflamingo's blood boil just looking at him. He even considered simply shooting this person dead on the spot, a convenient way to vent his frustration.
Ren was also somewhat exasperated. No wonder this kid would one day be known as the "Joker of the Sea" — he had been a rotten seed from the very start. Of course, Doflamingo's experiences over the years had likely contributed to this as well.
But someone who shared similar experiences, Corazon, had turned out completely different.
Seeing that Ren had no intention of moving aside, Doflamingo actually felt a surge of twisted delight.
"You asked for this by not getting out of the way. Don't blame me then!" He drew his flintlock pistol with a cruel grin, his heart racing with an almost electric thrill.
The thought of those high-and-mighty people crumbling helplessly before his eyes sent a rush through Doflamingo, as though some internal switch had been flipped. His entire body trembled with excitement.
His shaking finger squeezed the trigger. With a bang, the round lead bullet hurtled straight toward Ren.
Right before his eyes, in his stunned gaze, Ren casually caught the bullet that could have torn through flesh and bone. Then, in a flash, Ren appeared behind him, grabbed the back of his collar, and hoisted him into the air.
A ten-year-old Doflamingo was pathetically weak.
Being grabbed by the scruff of his neck so effortlessly filled Doflamingo with terror, but even if he were dying, this kid's mouth would still be defiant. He thrashed about wildly.
"Let me go, or you're dead!"
"How amusing. You're this weak, yet this confident."
"Color me impressed." Ren deliberately provoked him.
Sure enough, Doflamingo was stung by the remark. The Conqueror's Haki lying dormant within him surged forth, crashing toward Ren in response.
Seeing this, Doflamingo began to smirk. Over time, he had come to understand what the "Supreme King's disposition" truly meant. That was precisely why he had such confidence in himself.
However...
Ren felt as though a stiff breeze had blown past him, and that was it.
"Such impressive Haki. You've messed up my hair." Ren smiled at him, then, under Doflamingo's ugly expression, struck back with his own Conqueror's Haki.
Doflamingo's mind went completely blank. He thought he saw something — or perhaps it was just endless darkness. His mouth hung open, but no sound came out before he collapsed, unconscious.
Ren thought the kid's Conqueror's Haki was pretty weak, barely competing with Kid for the title of weakest Conqueror's Haki user. But he didn't really care. For someone who couldn't use advanced Conqueror's Haki infusion, the existence of Conqueror's Haki was essentially worthless.
The weaker the Conqueror's Haki, the easier it was to control.
That's right — unlike Buggy and the others, Ren planned to place the Serpent Seal directly on Doflamingo to control him. He wasn't worried about this kid betraying him. A guy who trembled at the mere mention of Kaido's name wouldn't cause any major upheaval even if he did turn.
This move was simply to prevent Doflamingo from pulling any irritating stunts behind his back in the future.
Besides, Ren wasn't worried about betrayal at all.
Among those who had been branded with the Serpent Seal, only the now-deceased Garo had resisted the mark's control. That was because his strength was considerable. Shutenmaru was also quite powerful, but he had pledged loyalty to Ren from the very beginning, so the Serpent Seal made no difference.
Doflamingo in the future might reach their level of strength, but having the Serpent Seal implanted from childhood made him fundamentally different from Garo.
The mark would embed the command to submit to Ren deep within his psyche starting from this age, accompanying him throughout his entire growth. It was like a young elephant bound by rope — even after growing strong enough to break free, it could never escape the ropes within its mind.
After leaving the Serpent Seal on him, Ren left Doflamingo where he lay.
He had no intention of bringing Doflamingo back. This fellow's identity was rather sensitive, and leaving him here to develop on his own would be far more useful than taking him along.
Doflamingo's ability to become a major figure in the underworld was related not only to his personality but also inextricably tied to his experiences.
The North Blue's underground forces were already immensely powerful. The famous assassin family — Germa — was a North Blue power.
On top of that, there were numerous mafia organizations. It was practically a hotbed of villainy, with "customs" even more rustic than Gotham City.
After finding Doflamingo, Ren made it back to Kuri before year's end to celebrate the New Year. Naturally, he avoided Kaido's watchful eyes.
Now, the year had reached 1491.
Ren remembered that in the original story, Kozuki Oden had rescued the cat, the dog, and Kawamatsu on the shores of Kuri. He was quite interested in these three little ones.
Nekomamushi and Inuarashi both possessed strength capable of rivaling the All-Stars' Jack the Drought. Under a full moon, they could unleash another burst of power, making them quite formidable combat assets. Not to mention the Mink Tribe standing behind them.
Kawamatsu's strength was no slouch either, roughly on par with those two.
Naturally, Ren planned to take all three as subordinates.
So he had his people keep watch along the coast this year, ensuring these three wouldn't be burned at the stake as monsters by anyone.
Meanwhile, on Onigashima, Kaido was spending the New Year poring over intelligence gathered from the Flower Capital, a puzzled expression on his face.
In his hands was a newspaper several years old, the paper slightly yellowed but still perfectly legible.
The newspaper carried news of Kuri's pacification, along with a photograph taken when the Kuri daimyo had arrived at the Flower Capital.
The person in the photo was clearly different from the Ren that Kaido had met. The Ren he had encountered had purple hair and eyes sharp as lightning.
But this person...
Had long black hair, and an altogether colder, more sinister demeanor.
More importantly, even the color of the pupils was different.
"Could it be that the daimyo of Kuri and the leader of Inazuma are not the same person?" Kaido thought back and realized that Kurozumi Orochi had never mentioned any connection between the two.
"But they share the same name. Could it just be an incredible coincidence?"
Kaido's mind was filled with far too many questions.
[
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