The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

Immediately afterwards, their heads swelled up strangely and rapidly as if being inflated, and then deflated abruptly as if deflating!

A mixture of red and white slowly seeped from their seven orifices.

The whole process was faster than anyone could have imagined, leaving them no time to react or feel any pain.

One second the pirates were arrogant and rampant, the next they were like mangy dogs with their bones removed.

They collapsed silently to the ground, turning into more than a dozen bizarrely shaped corpses.

The street fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the crackling of the flames and the suppressed, incredulous sobs of the rescued girl.

Gern and Hawkeye remained calm and continued walking forward without even pausing, easily stepping over the corpses scattered on the ground.

When he reached the terrified girl, Gern stopped, his tall figure casting a shadow that enveloped her.

He reached out and gently stroked the girl's hair, his voice softening considerably, a stark contrast to its previous coldness.

"It's alright now." After saying that, he withdrew his hand and walked side by side with Hawkeye towards the naval base.

All that remained behind them was a desolate street, burning flames, and a girl who had survived the ordeal staring blankly at the two figures.

Chapter 298 The Sand Crocodile and the Flamingo Meet

North Sea, Diaz Island.

The island is "notorious" for its chaotic waste disposal and recycling industry, with a harsh environment and a pervasive, faint smell of sour decay in the air.

Deep within the mountains of discarded materials and junkyards lies a renovated, albeit somewhat sturdy, house—the current temporary gathering place for the Don Quixote family in the North Sea.

Inside the hall, the light was dim, and the air was filled with the subtle smells of tobacco, alcohol, and the unique odors of a landfill.

The young Donquixote Doflamingo stood in front of a rough map of the North Sea, pointing at several points marked on it with a long stick.

His face already showed the beginnings of the wild and unrestrained spirit that would later appear, though it still looked a little immature.

“Fufufufufu… Our trading network and sphere of influence cannot be confined to a corner like Beihai forever.”

Doflamingo let out his signature laugh, but his tone was full of ambition, "The next step is to slowly and steadily approach the entrance to the Grand Line—Reverse Mountain! That's where the future lies!"

Around him gathered the first generation of family officials: the sticky Torrepol, the short and stout Diamanti, Jora, Pique, and Pica, among others.

They all listened intently to their young master's grand plan.

In the shadows of the corner, Rosinante, who had just gone through "great hardships" to find his brother and "successfully" join the family,

Corazon is now frantically trying to grab a cup of coffee to hide his nervousness and eavesdropping.

As a result, he was distracted and didn't notice that the coffee had already been over-salted and peppered by some perverse person named Luo.

"Pfft—!! Cough cough cough!" Corazon suddenly spat out a mouthful, choking and turning his face red, tears streaming down his face, coughing violently, looking utterly disheveled.

All eyes in the hall were instantly drawn to it.

The cadres burst into laughter.

Doflamingo looked at his clumsy, seemingly always-making-mishap younger brother, shook his head helplessly, but couldn't help but curl a genuine smile at the corner of his mouth.

He was deeply happy and cherished Corazon's return, a joy that had been lost and then regained.

This made him willing to tolerate all of his younger brother's "stupidity" and "carelessness".

He even felt that having such a clown-like younger brother by his side softened the cold atmosphere within the family considerably.

"Corazon, be careful." Doflamingo's tone carried a hint of barely perceptible doting.

Just then, the slimy Trebol suddenly wriggled closer to Doflamingo, lowering his distinctive high-pitched voice: "Doflamingo~ Eeya~ There's a very important guy outside~ He specifically wants to see you~"

Doflamingo's smile faded slightly, and he frowned.

What an incredible guy? In Beihai, who else would dare to use such a title and directly locate his hidden stronghold?

Seeing this, Doflamingo immediately suspended the meeting and waved to the executives who were playing around: "You guys discuss it yourselves first."

He then straightened his clothes and his signature blond hair, and his signature sunglasses.

And with that pink feather coat and cropped trousers that she was already used to wearing, she walked arrogantly towards the simple reception room at the back, wearing pointed shoes.

"Fufufufufu... Let me see which distinguished guest has graced us with their presence..." He pushed open the door to the reception room with his distinctive laugh.

Inside the room, a figure with his back to him was examining the rough decorations on the wall.

The man was wearing an expensive black fur coat, and even in the dimly lit room, he exuded an air of extraordinary presence, reminiscent of an Italian Mafia boss.

Hearing the door open and laughter, the person slowly turned around.

He had a long, horizontal scar on his face, and a thick cigar dangled from his mouth. Amidst the swirling smoke, he revealed a wild and domineering smile.

"Long time no see, 'Joker'... or should I call you Donquixote Doflamingo?"

The newcomer was none other than Crocodile!

........

living room

Doflamingo frowned even more deeply behind his sunglasses as he looked at Crocodile, who had arrived uninvited.

He showed no sign of timidity; instead, he strode confidently to the only old, worn-out sofa in the center of the room.

He sat down arrogantly, crossed his legs, and lightly tapped the tips of his pointed shoes in the air.

"Fufufufu..." Doflamingo let out a low laugh, "The infamous Shichibukai, 'Sha' Crocodile, isn't running your casino business on your Grand Line?"

It's rare to see someone come all the way to this 'small place' of Beihai, a garbage dump, to find me.

He tilted his head, his tone a mix of mockery and probing: "You couldn't have received orders from those old guys in the World Government to come and arrest me on purpose, could you?"

I'm a very well-behaved 'businessman' now.

Hearing Doflamingo's seemingly lighthearted joke, Crocodile sneered and exhaled a thick cloud of cigar smoke, the grayish-white smoke almost reaching Doflamingo's face.

"Stop with the pleasantries, Doflamingo." Crocodile's voice was hoarse and menacing. He cut to the chase, not bothering with pleasantries. "The North Sea's underworld, from drugs and human trafficking to weapons of mass destruction..."

"You've pretty much exhausted all these shady dealings over the past few years, haven't you?"

His sharp gaze swept across the shabby reception room, his tone filled with undisguised sarcasm: "Doflamingo, are you really content to spend your whole life holed up in this garbage-smelling, shabby corner, just a local tyrant?"

Your ambitions surely extend beyond this, don't they? The North Sea, this pond, has long been too small to contain a man-eating shark like you.

Crocodile's words were like a precise dagger, piercing directly into Doflamingo's deepest thoughts.

His laughter stopped, his sunglasses obscuring his eyes, but his slightly pursed lips and brief silence undoubtedly confirmed Crocodile's judgment.

Yes, his business in Beihai has reached its ceiling; the resources and scale there can no longer satisfy his ever-expanding ambitions.

He had already been planning to shift the family's focus to the Grand Line, which was broader, more chaotic, and where he could better exert his abilities, or even the New World!

Seeing Doflamingo remain silent, Crocodile knew that his words had had an effect.

He took two steps forward, the hem of his black fur coat sweeping the ground, his voice lower but more authoritative:

"Stop being silent, Dover. The reality is, even if you don't want to leave, you probably can't."

He paused, then dropped a bombshell: "The Vinsmoke family... can no longer tolerate you."

They feel that you've overstepped your bounds in Beihai and are blocking their way.

As far as I know, they've already begun preparations to 'clean up' you, this unstable element.

"Ugh...!" A suppressed syllable escaped Doflamingo's throat.

The Vinsmoke family! The true uncrowned kings of the North Sea, war experts who possess cutting-edge cloning technology and formidable military power!

If Germa 66 really decides to take action against him, even with the Donquixote Family's current strength, it will definitely be a catastrophe!

Crocodile saw Doflamingo's body tense up instantly and knew that the time was right.

He puffed on a cigar, a knowing smile spreading across his face: "So? Are you going to stay in the North Sea and wait to be crushed by the Vinsmoke, or... cooperate with me?"

Don't worry, I know what you want.

And I happen to know a shortcut to the 'beasts'...

Chapter 299 The Struggling Tycoon Struck Down

Doflamingo's reaction to Crocodile's almost ultimatum-like words, which carried both threats and promises of cooperation, was unexpected.

He wasn't angry or panicked; instead, he seemed to have heard an extremely funny joke and suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter!

"Fufufu...fufufufufu!!!"

He laughed so hard he almost fell over, even slapping the armrests of the sofa exaggeratedly. His laughter echoed in the simple reception room, full of irony and madness.

However, the laughter stopped abruptly the next second!

Doflamingo abruptly fell silent, his smile vanishing instantly, replaced by an extreme coldness and ferocity, a glint of cold light flashing on his sunglasses.

"You think..." His voice was terrifyingly low, carrying an icy chill, "that I wouldn't know these things?!"

The moment the words were spoken, there was a "whoosh".

Five extremely fine, yet sharp enough to cut through anything, transparent threads—overheat.

At a speed impossible to detect with the naked eye, it suddenly shot from Doflamingo's fingertips, instantly crossing and passing Crocodile standing in front of him!

"Hey!"

Without any chance to resist, Crocodile's body was instantly sliced ​​into five neat pieces, as if cut by the sharpest laser!

Head, chest, waist, legs... dislocated and separated!

Mr.1 Daz Bones, who stood solemnly like an iron tower to the side, suddenly narrowed his eyes. Almost instinctively, his arm instantly transformed into a sharp blade, ready to rush towards Doflamingo!

“Stop, Daz.” A calm voice rang out.

Even though his body was cut into five pieces, Crocodile's split face still retained that cold smile with a cigar in his mouth, and he could even speak!

Mr. 1's movements were abruptly stopped.

The next moment, Crocodile's severed body parts suddenly turned into countless tiny grains of yellow sand.

It flowed onto the ground with a splash, then quickly gathered and shaped itself, before being restored to its original state unharmed in a whirlwind of sand and gravel.

Crocodile calmly separated the severed cigar from the sand.

He gently extinguished it with his fingers, then slowly took out a new one from his coat pocket and lit it.

He took a deep drag, exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, and looked at Doflamingo with a calm expression, as if the deadly attack had never happened.

"The Vinsmoke family, as the 'royal family' of the North Blue..." Crocodile began in a calm, factual tone, his voice coming through the smoke.

"Although it no longer has a fixed territory, its lineage and status are still recognized by the World Government, and it is qualified to participate in the World Conference."

He paused, his gaze deepening, carrying an almost official indifference: "In other words..."

As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, recruited by the World Government and enjoying the legal privilege of plundering, while also bearing a certain degree of obligation to 'maintain order on the seas'...

“I, Crocodile, have a strong ‘duty’ to help ‘clean up’ some… unstable factors when I receive a reasonable request from a ‘legitimate royal’.”

After he finished speaking, the meeting room fell into a deathly silence.

Doflamingo sat on the sofa, leaning slightly forward, his fingers interlaced in front of his chin, his sunglasses fixed intently on Crocodile.

Crocodile stood still, a cigar dangling from his lips, letting the smoke swirl around him, staring back at his opponent without backing down.

The air seemed to freeze between the two, as murderous intent and ambition clashed silently.

War, peace, or cooperation? All possibilities are brewing fiercely in this suffocating silence.

Mr. 1 held his breath, his muscles tensed, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.

Just when the atmosphere was so tense it was about to freeze and explode, Trebol, who had been sticking to Doflamingo like a puddle of slime, appeared...

He cautiously crept closer, whispering in his high-pitched, sticky voice, "Dover~ calm down, calm down~ now's not the time to break ties with the Seven Warlords, eh~"

Doflamingo's eyes flickered behind his sunglasses; he was certainly not a fool.

Crocodile's displayed strength and the "righteous" legitimacy he represented made him instantly weigh the pros and cons.

Going to war with the Vinsmoke family is already an imminent and enormous risk; if they were to offend another powerful family at the same time...

With the Seven Warlords of the Sea having World Government backing, the Donquixote Family might really be wiped out of the North Blue.

"Fufufufufu..." Doflamingo suddenly laughed again, but this time the laughter was no longer filled with murderous intent.