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

"Thump!" Before the words were even finished, this man, a top assassin in the first half of the Grand Line, seemed to have all his bones removed.

His eyes rolled back, foam came out of his mouth, and his massive body fell straight forward, crashing heavily to the floor, where he lost consciousness completely.

At the same time, the door to the reception room was completely flung open as he fell to the ground.

Inside the reception room, Doflamingo and Crocodile watched as they were instantly defeated.

Mr. 1 collapsed to the ground, and the two men's faces instantly turned extremely pale, their bodies instinctively entering a state of maximum alert!

Loyal and powerful senior officials were taken down silently like trash in a single encounter, without even a warning!

Their faces instantly turned incredibly pale, and their hearts sank to the bottom.

Big trouble!

The newcomer... is definitely a monster!

And it's more powerful than you can imagine!

.........

"D-Dover..." Trebol's voice trembled like a withered leaf in the wind, his sticky body shaking violently with fear. "A...a super scary guy has arrived!!"

Trebol's voice at that moment was like a bucket of ice water poured over Doflamingo and Crocodile's heads, instantly sobering them up a bit from their shock.

Doflamingo's eyes flickered violently behind his sunglasses. He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the pounding in his heart.

His first reaction was indeed to suspect Crocodile—was it a trap set by this sand crocodile?

But when he caught a glimpse of Crocodile's equally solemn, even incredulous, expression out of the corner of his eye, the thought was immediately dismissed.

Crocodile was no less shocked and wary than he was. This was no acting.

"Isn't it him...?" Doflamingo swallowed hard, feeling his throat go dry.

He then tried to twitch the corners of his mouth, attempting to recreate his signature maniacal laugh, but the sound that came out was noticeably dry and strained.

"Fufufu...fu..." The laughter was more unpleasant than crying. "Looks like...it's going to be lively today. Besides you, we've got another very special 'guest'."

His gaze fell on the tightly closed door to the reception room, as if he could see through the wooden planks and into the despairing aura emanating from the building below.

The terrifying aura that instantly knocked Mr. 1 down did not continue to spread, but instead remained steadily on the first floor.

The meaning couldn't be clearer: the other party was waiting for them to come down.

Doflamingo took a deep breath, looked at Crocodile's gloomy face, and made a suggestion that was unclear whether it was an invitation or a way to drag someone into the mess.

"Well? My 'ally'... how about we go down and 'welcome' this uninvited guest?"

He emphasized the word "ally" a little more. Doflamingo didn't want to go down and face a monster of that caliber alone.

If we can drag Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, into this mess, we'll at least have more confidence, or rather... have someone else to take the fall.

Crocodile frowned deeply upon hearing this, almost biting off the cigar he was holding.

Of course he didn't want to go down!

The aura emanating from the guy downstairs made him feel a deadly threat, a kind of oppressive feeling that he only experienced when facing a top-tier expert in the new world!

He just wanted to instantly transform into an element and slip away through the window.

But... he glanced at Doflamingo, then at Mr. 1 lying on the ground.

If he backs down now, not only will the cooperation just reached instantly collapse, but his reputation as "Sand Crocodile" will also be ruined. More importantly...

He would immediately lose Doflamingo as a potentially important weapons supplier.

Weighing the pros and cons, a ruthless glint flashed in Crocodile's eyes. He exhaled a heavy puff of smoke, and finally nodded with a grim face:

"Hmph... Let's go see who this person really is!"

The two powerful figures reached a consensus, stood up at the same time, and secretly gathered their power to the extreme. One after the other, they walked downstairs with solemn expressions.

Every step felt like it was treading on their hearts; the stairs leading to the first floor, in their eyes, were nothing less than the entrance to an abyss.

Chapter 302 Facing Me, This is the Level of Vision You Should Have

"Crunch—crunch—"

The wooden staircase groaned under its own weight as Doflamingo and Crocodile descended it one after the other, their steps heavy.

When they descended to the first floor, this was the scene that greeted them: the Don Quixote family's leaders—led by Corazon, Diamanti, Piqué, and others—

At this moment, they all stood like frightened quails, pressed against the wall, their faces pale and their foreheads covered in cold sweat. No one dared to sit down, and no one even dared to breathe loudly.

Their eyes were all fixed on the long sofa in the center of the living room, their eyes filled with fear and helplessness.

Two people were sitting on that sofa.

One of them sat upright with his back straight; he was none other than the world's greatest swordsman, Djorko Mihawk.

His enormous black sword, "Night," leaned casually against the sofa armrest, radiating a chilling, eerie light.

He crossed his arms over his stomach, his gaze calmly fixed on the stairwell beneath his hat brim, as if he were simply waiting for a pre-arranged meeting.

The person sitting next to him, however, was a completely different story.

The man was almost completely slumped in the sofa, his head tilted back, the back of his head against the sofa back, a hat covering his face, obscuring his features.

He spread his arms wide and rested them on the back of the sofa, crossed one leg arrogantly, and swung his foot every now and then.

His posture was languid, casual, and even a bit roguish, which contrasted sharply with Hawkeye sitting upright next to him, and also created a huge contrast with the terrifying and domineering aura he had just exuded.

Doflamingo, who was walking in front, was the first to descend the stairs completely and get a clear view of the situation below.

When his subordinates saw their young master appear, they all looked at him for help, but dared not move at all.

Doflamingo's gaze, hidden behind his sunglasses, quickly swept across the entire arena, immediately drawing all his attention to the upright, sharp-eyed Hawkeye Mihawk.

"Fufufu..." Upon seeing this, Doflamingo's tense nerves subconsciously relaxed a lot, and he even let out his habitual low laugh.

While Hawkeye Mihawk is also an extremely dangerous individual, at least that is known.

Therefore, he subconsciously assumed that the terrifying aura he had just witnessed was emitted by Hawkeye.

"I didn't expect the guest to be you, 'Hawkeye' Mihawk." Doflamingo's tone relaxed considerably, carrying a hint of familiar, albeit somewhat smug, probing.

"What a rare guest! May I ask what brings you here so suddenly?"

However, Crocodile, who followed closely behind, was taken aback when he heard Doflamingo's words.

wrong!

As a figure who left the new world before exiting the sea, Wu Wukai was a master of the game.

He had seen Hawkeye Mihawk and felt the other's incredibly sharp swordsman aura.

But that terrifying pressure, which was like the sky collapsing and was purely domineering, was not something that a swordsman like Hawkeye, who pursues the ultimate swordsmanship, would be good at emitting!

Just as Crocodile had completely descended the stairs, his gaze suspiciously swept over the sofa, finally settling on the man sitting slouching with his face covered by a hat.

Although the face cannot be seen, the figure...

In the next instant, a long-forgotten yet nightmarish memory struck Crocodile!

Many years ago, in the Sabaody Archipelago, he was a high-spirited supernova, but he didn't even have time to react.

He was crippled by that man's kick and arrested; it's fair to say his career ended in disaster right from the start.

He was only able to escape with the help of his companions and enter a new world.

When Crocodile came to his senses and saw him again, the figure in his memory gradually overlapped perfectly with the lazy figure on the sofa in front of him!

The next instant, Crocodile's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints, and he almost blurted out...

His voice, sharp and shrill with extreme shock and a hint of barely perceptible fear, cried out, "Gern?! 'Skyquake' Gern?! What are you doing here?!"

The name struck like a thunderclap in the deathly silent lobby!

Doflamingo's smile froze instantly!

All the Don Quixote family executives stared in horror at the paralyzed man!

"I've been recognized." Hawkeye glanced sideways at Gern beside him.

Upon hearing Hawkeye's voice, under everyone's gaze, Gern raised his long, slender hand and slowly removed the hat covering his face.

But he remained leaning back, not looking at anyone, just staring at the rough texture on the ceiling, a playful smile slowly curving his lips.

"Tsk..." He clicked his tongue softly, his tone carrying a hint of unexpected pleasure, "I originally came to chat with a flamingo..."

His gaze finally slowly moved down, sweeping over Doflamingo before settling on Crocodile, whose face was extremely grim. His smile widened.

"Unexpectedly, there's been an unexpected bonus, Mr. 'Sand Crocodile'."

“One is a Paramecia type, the other a Logia type…” Gern slowly stood up from the sofa, stretching lazily as if no one else was around.

He then yawned and muttered to himself, "Taking so long to go down the stairs... what a waste of time."

At this moment, Doflamingo keenly noticed that from the time Gern stood up until now...

Aside from that initial glance at Crocodile, he never looked at me directly again!

His gaze seemed to be fixed on... his chest and below?

This feeling of being completely ignored made the proud and arrogant Doflamingo extremely unhappy.

But he still wore that nonchalant smile, trying to build rapport, while subtly taking a few steps forward.

Deep down, he still firmly believed that his identity as a "former Celestial Dragon" was a protective charm, and that even if the other party was a Marine Admiral, they would never dare to kill him easily.

"Fufufufu... I never expected that a dignified Marine Admiral like 'Skyquake' Gern would grace us with his presence in a small place like the North Blue!" Doflamingo said with a smile, his tone carrying a hint of deliberate familiarity. "It truly makes our humble outpost shine."

Seeing that Gern still didn't react and didn't even bother to look up at him, his displeasure intensified, and he couldn't help but continue, "Are the eyes of a Navy Admiral... on the top of his head?"

Can't you even look at the person you're talking to? That's incredibly rude.

Crocodile, standing nearby, broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing Doflamingo's almost suicidal provocation.

He knew all too well how terrifying and unscrupulous the man before him was, so he quickly hissed in a low voice, "Hey! Dover! You..."

However, before Crocodile could finish speaking, Gern suddenly spoke up, his voice calm yet carrying an enigmatic meaning.

"We can't make eye contact."

This seemingly random statement stunned everyone present, including Crocodile, who was about to unleash his power, and the confident Doflamingo.

"Huh?" Doflamingo frowned, his eyes behind his sunglasses filled with confusion and a hint of annoyance at being teased. "What nonsense are you talking about? I..."

The instant he uttered the word "I"

A Conqueror's Haki aura a thousand times more terrifying than when he cleared out the miscellaneous soldiers suddenly erupted from Gern's body!

This time, it was no longer a wide-ranging intimidation, but rather a terrifying torrent that coalesced into an incredibly sharp and heavy force, precisely crushing towards Doflamingo alone!

Doflamingo's smile froze instantly!

He felt an indescribable force slam into his soul!

He was young and impetuous, and subconsciously roared, frantically urging his nascent Conqueror's Haki to try to resist!

"Ugh—!"

However, his pitiful kingly qualities were like a firefly compared to the bright moon in front of Gern, and he couldn't even last a second before being crushed to pieces like fragile glass!

"Kneel down." Gern's voice remained calm, without even a ripple, yet it carried an unquestionable commanding power, like a divine decree!

"Thump!!" Doflamingo's knees couldn't withstand the terrifying pressure originating from the soul level, and they suddenly buckled.

With a sickening thud, it slammed heavily onto the cold floor!

A sharp pain shot through his knee, but he had no time to pay attention to it at the moment!

"Damn it..." A huge sense of humiliation overwhelmed Doflamingo. He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, and struggled to raise his head to glare at Gern.

And just as he raised his head, his gaze finally meeting Gern's cold, icy stare that looked down at him.

Doflamingo suddenly realized something!

He realized the true meaning of what Gern had just said, "We couldn't make eye contact!"

Sure enough, in the next instant, Gern leaned slightly forward, looking down at the person kneeling before him with his disdainful eyes.

Doflamingo, trembling with humiliation and oppression, spoke softly, his tone as if stating a perfectly natural fact.

"Doflamingo, face me..."