North Blue, an unnamed island.
"Bang!" A thunderous sound echoed, distant. Suddenly, a large crater appeared, and in it lay a man with a tormented appearance, with a frayed brimmed hat, two facial tattoos, and a red cape, dressed like a tribal warrior.
"Cough, cough, cough... Doffy, you're getting more and more monstrous!" Diamante, who was dragging himself out of the hole, said with great relief.
"Fufufufu, Diamante, you've been lazy lately. You're getting weaker and weaker, huh?" Doflamingo squeezed his right fist with his left hand, the veins on his forehead bulging, and his voice was quite hostile.
"Doffy, no way! It's you who is monstrous, too strong! How could I compare to you? Your effort these four years has scared us, only Vergo can keep up with your pace," Diamante replied cautiously.
Four years. Time flew by. Since awakening Conqueror's Haki until now, Doflamingo had become a distinguished young man. His 305 cm height would be considered gigantic in his previous life, but in the world of One Piece, that was insignificant.
With his flowing blond hair, sunglasses, white shirt, and capri pants, Doflamingo stood there. His slender figure and defined abs certainly qualified him as a heartthrob in the pirate world.
Completing the look, Doflamingo's arrogant and untamed expression, along with his king's aura, proved why he was the great villain loved by all. A pity that flashy pink coat was missing, otherwise the replica of the original Doflamingo would be perfect.
"Fufufufu!" Doflamingo's laugh interrupted Diamante's compliments. Doflamingo knew well who Diamante was: a man loyal to him. He didn't want to criticize him. After all, who doesn't like to be praised? Who doesn't want to have a "flatterer"? No matter if it's a man or a woman, as long as they flatter me, it's fine. Readers, do you agree?
The "Hell Game" four years ago, which decimated the island, yielded many fragmented souls from the residents, which made Doflamingo feel his spiritual power increase. In the following week, he almost couldn't control his body well. Over time, Doflamingo began to understand the true function of his "advantage."
Harvesting souls increased his spiritual power, and with the growth of the soul, his mental energy also rapidly increased, allowing him a deeper mastery of his own body, unlocking his "internal treasures." Just like in Taoist arts, where body and spirit are cultivated together, he became increasingly strong.
Upon understanding his "advantage," Doflamingo was ecstatic. He and Trebol then began to hunt pirates. On one hand, to train and increase his strength, and on the other, to test his soul harvesting ability.
However, everything has its rules. How could such a powerful ability not have limits? The weak were not even qualified to be nutrients for Doflamingo. Only slightly stronger people could have a part of their soul absorbed. Souls were intangible and invisible, which left Doflamingo very frustrated at the time, confused as to why the fragmented souls of those "weak commoners" could be absorbed.
Perplexed, Doflamingo simply attributed the phenomenon to the intensity of the commoners' resentment, which prolonged the permanence of their souls. This really suited Doflamingo. With this, Doflamingo's path to becoming king would be even more solid.
Having understood this, Doflamingo realized that soul growth was something rare and difficult to find. The weak were useless, but the souls of the strong were like a super-reinforcement pill, a great tonic! Thinking of Gol D. Roger, who would soon die, and Whitebeard and Ace in the Summit War, their souls were truly tempting!
Roger's execution day, the Summit War... he would definitely have to actively participate in these events.
"Fufufufu, alright, Diamante, any recent news?" Doflamingo asked, with his back to Diamante.
Diamante dusted off his clothes and said excitedly: "Doffy, the hottest news at sea lately is about Shiki, the Golden Lion, and Roger! They fought a great battle in Edd War! Shiki's great fleet, which has immense power, was defeated by Roger! Now Shiki is missing, and Roger emerged victorious!"
"Fufufufu, such a spectacular battle, and I here, languishing! The time has come. It's time to make our family's name echo! How can this beautiful sea be without me, Doflamingo?" Doflamingo opened his arms as if to embrace the entire ocean and laughed.
"Nee, nee, Doffy, we can't wait!" Trebol interrupted, hearing Doflamingo's conversation.
"Gather the family members! Head to Jaya Island!"
Doflamingo already had a plan. Only with the God Fruit could he guarantee a smoother path ahead. Although his current strength was not weak, it was barely enough to face second or third-tier Vice Admirals. Against those monsters, he would be powerless. Doflamingo did not want to experience that feeling of powerlessness a second time. Anyway, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit must be obtained.
The other Devil Fruits either already had owners, or had not yet appeared. Only the Rumble-Rumble Fruit had a "time compatibility" that fit him. At this time, Enel probably hadn't eaten the fruit yet. As a bonus, he could rescue Enel from his "swamp of suffering," adding another member to the family, and then turn Skypiea into his base. With that foundation established, the great ambition could be realized.
A few days before Doflamingo and his family set off for Jaya Island, in the Edd War sea area, an unprecedented battle was underway.
The two largest pirate groups among the strongest pirates, the Golden Lion Pirates and the Roger Pirates, had met and started the conflict.
The Oro Jackson, surrounded by countless ships from Shiki's fleet, looked lonely and helpless.
On board, the clown Buggy was terrified. Desperate, he said: "Captain Roger, life is the most important thing!" He grabbed his head with his hands, shaking it vigorously: "How about we surrender to Shiki?"
"Ah, Buggy, you can't die anymore, no matter how you're cut. What does it matter?" Shanks, wearing a straw hat, laughed and comforted him.
"What do you know? I also have many weaknesses, idiot!" Buggy shouted at Shanks, his face dripping with sweat, snot running from fear.
At that exact moment, Buggy noticed the ship's doctor behind him. "By the way, Mr. Crocus, how is the Captain's condition?" He ran to Crocus, looking at him. "He's not in condition to fight yet, right? As a doctor, stop him!"
"Unfortunately, he's in great shape now," Crocus, aware of Buggy's thoughts, laughed and waved the weapon in his hand.
Buggy, seeing that he couldn't convince Doctor Crocus, ran to Rayleigh, hoping to get comfort from him.
"Mr. Rayleigh!" Buggy shouted, one hand stretched out, grabbing the white ball on Buggy's hat, preventing him from moving forward.
"Give up, we've spent so much time with Roger and never managed to convince him," Gaban told Buggy, laughing.
"What do you mean..." Buggy shouted, desperate.
On the Oro Jackson, Roger stood on the ship's bow.
Looking at Roger's back, someone thought: "Trust the Oro Jackson, this ship built by Tom. Roger doesn't have much time."
The sky was dark, covered with dense clouds. A storm was about to arrive. Faced with nature, everyone felt small.
On the opposite side of the Oro Jackson, on a pirate ship with a huge golden lion head on the bow, its Admiral, Shiki, the Flying Lion, stood. A cigarette hung from his mouth, and his long golden hair, thick like a lion's mane, was lush and dominant.
"How many times have I said this, Roger? Although we had many disagreements in our youth, forget it," Shiki laughed, pointing forward. "If we have the weapons of mass destruction you know where they are, and my forces gathered, in addition to the perfect plan I've built over years, we can rule this world immediately."
Shiki opened his arms and laughed loudly, a powerful aura capable of engulfing everything erupting from him. "Become my right-hand man, Roger," he extended his hand to Roger.
"I'm not interested in dominating, Shiki," Roger said, smiling at Shiki, flatly refusing Shiki's invitation. "If I can't do what I want, what's the point of being a pirate?"
"No matter how much pressure you put on me, Shiki, I refuse your proposal."
Roger laughed loudly. Facing the vast fleet of the Flying Pirates, the Oro Jackson was surrounded. The sea churned violently, and hundreds of pirate ships blocked all escape routes for the Roger Pirates.
Without the slightest fear, Roger's companions were all behind him, without a hint of dread, even when facing tens of thousands of enemies.
"Don't say anything else, Captain! Do you know the enemy has dozens of ships?!" Buggy, pulling Roger's hand, shouted.
"So, your answer is that you want me to kill all of you here now, right?"
Upon hearing Roger's words, Shiki's face darkened. For someone as arrogant as Shiki, he had already given Roger a lot of honor, but was still mercilessly refused, although Shiki already expected this.
"It means I'm going to defeat all of you."
Roger laughed, facing Shiki's encirclement, ready to fight to the end. In the next instant, the ship's main cannon fired, and the cannonball flew directly towards Shiki, hitting one of the pirate ships to the right of the ship where Shiki was. Thus, the first shot of the great battle was fired.
With that, the great battle between the two legendary pirate groups officially intensified.