Chapter 183: [183] : [BONUS] - Doflamingo's Dilemma, a Mandatory Summons! The Dawn of the Summit War!
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Sabaody Archipelago—
The island that served as the Grand Line's most crucial crossroads and a playground for the Celestial Dragons, was now eerily silent...
Only the sound of footsteps and clanking shackles echoed through the streets.
A group of bruised and swollen pirates, all in restraints, meekly followed a crew that radiated a terrifying aura, heading towards the auction house.
Hiding in the shadows, the residents of Sabaody, underworld figures, reporters from various news agencies, and the remaining pirates all stared in shock at the scene...
...
"That's 'Mad Monk' Urouge, captain of the Fallen Monk Pirates, bounty 108 million Beri!"
"And 'Big Eater' Jewelry Bonney, captain of the Bonney Pirates, bounty 140 million!"
"Look behind them! That's 'Gang' Capone Bege, captain of the Fire Tank Pirates, bounty 138 million!"
"And 'Roar of the Sea' Scratchmen Apoo, captain of the On Air Pirates, bounty 198 million!"
"Oh my god! 'Magician' Basil Hawkins, captain of the Hawkins Pirates, bounty 249 million, is there too!"
"Even that scary 'Surgeon of Death', captain of the Heart Pirates, Trafalgar Law, with a 200 million bounty!"
"The Supernovas—aside from the Kid Pirates and the Drake Pirates—have all been captured??"
"IDIOT! The Kid Pirates don't exist anymore. Those two Supernovas—Eustass Kid, captain of the Kid Pirates with a 315 million Beri bounty, and his second-in-command, 'Massacre Soldier' Killer, with a 162 million bounty—are dead!"
"And X Drake fled in terror the moment he heard Sky Sovereign Rowen had arrived—he barely escaped with his life!"
"Good heavens! Is this the consequence of angering an Emperor??"
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Countless horrified whispers filled the air.
Supernova—a title for super rookies. These pirates, already considered great pirates in the first half of the Grand Line, were meant to pass through Sabaody and enter the New World.
Though in the New World, the Four Emperors' positions were unshakeable, and batch after batch of Supernovas were either absorbed into their crews or had their dreams utterly crushed, buried in the New World.
But this generation of Supernovas was different...
The sheer number of them, their high bounties, their powerful abilities—even excluding Rowen and Straw Hats, this was the most formidable generation of Supernovas in history—
—And with the frightening and ruthless Sky Sovereign Rowen leading the charge, successively causing the Alabasta Incident, the Mariejois Incident, defeating Admirals Aokiji and Akainu, the Enies Lobby Incident, and a series of other heinous events.
This generation of pirates had been dubbed... the Worst Generation!
Of course, after the term 'Worst Generation' appeared, it gradually came to describe only the other Supernovas; Rowen and the Straw Hats were no longer included.
Because that term... was no longer worthy of describing that man!
So now, with X Drake having fled in terror, and the rest of the Supernovas either killed or captured by Rowen—to say that this man had single-handedly ended the 'Worst Generation'—was no exaggeration.
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At this moment, the pirates, residents, and underworld members on Sabaody Archipelago truly, personally felt how horrifying an Emperor of the Sea was!
These great pirates with bounties over 100 million—were so easily dealt with by this man, without him even getting his clothes dirty.
And these Supernovas were now so meek, heads bowed, their bruised and swollen faces hidden.
Click! Click! Click!
The sound of camera shutters echoed from the shadows.
As the crossroads of the Grand Line, every news agency had numerous reporters stationed on Sabaody.
Especially during the annual Supernova gathering, they deployed their main forces here.
It wasn't just the World Economic News Agency that risked their lives for a scoop. Besides, a report like this, showcasing the might of Sky Sovereign Rowen—was worth the gamble...
Seeing that Rowen indeed ignored them, the reporters sighed in relief, then immediately transmitted their data back to their headquarters, ensuring these reports would be spread across the world at top speed.
Countless newspapers, like snowflakes, spread to every corner of the world.
The headlines were all brutally direct.
[FOOLS HAVE THE AUDACITY TO CHALLENGE AN EMPEROR'S MAJESTY! THE WORST GENERATION—ANNIHILATED!]
[THE MAJESTY OF THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS MAN—SKY SOVEREIGN ROWEN!]
[SUPERNOVAS CAPTURED! WHAT FATE AWAITS THEM?]
The annual Supernova gathering was already one of the sea's most anticipated events.
This year, with the Supernovas being dubbed the 'Worst Generation', and the heavyweight figure Sky Sovereign Rowen present—all the news agencies' printing presses had been on standby, ready to go.
The moment the frontline news arrived, the presses started rolling, and newspapers still warm from printing were sent by News Coos at top speed to all corners of the world.
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Dressrosa!
Doflamingo stared at the newspaper in his hand, veins throbbing on his forehead, his expression incredibly dark. His signature wicked smile had long since vanished from his face.
These past few days in Dressrosa, watching the news from the sea, had felt like an eternity.
Defeating Aokiji wasn't enough—Sky Sovereign Rowen had now defeated Akainu... And completely routed the Super Buster Call Akainu led!
WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE WAS THIS??
When Doflamingo first saw that news, his defenses shattered and he cursed loudly, refusing to believe it was real.
Akainu was a super monster. His strength was completely incomparable to Aokiji's! He was the top figure among the World Government and Marine HQ's public-facing combatants.
A Super Buster Call led by Akainu—even had the qualifications to wage war against the Beasts Pirates, the crew of the Emperor Kaido he feared most.
Yet, it had suffered such a catastrophic defeat. And Akainu had lost to Sky Sovereign Rowen in a one-on-one fight...
—What did that mean??
It meant Rowen could now challenge Kaido's title of 'World's Strongest One-on-One'!
Doflamingo could only hope the news was fake; he didn't even dare to use his connections to verify it with the World Government.
But soon, his desperate hopes were shattered.
Bounty: 3,988,900,000 Beri!
A new Emperor of the Sea!
This wasn't some title forcibly pushed by the World Economic News Agency—this was genuine acknowledgment from the World Government and Marine HQ...
Acknowledgment that Sky Sovereign Rowen was a true Emperor. A super great pirate on par with the Four Emperors!
Now, Doflamingo's face was permanently devoid of a smile.
His head... had been 'Reserved' by Sky Sovereign Rowen!
And then he received news from the World Government—after Crocodile, another Warlord, Gecko Moria, had been killed by Sky Sovereign Rowen!
The Warlord position, just recently filled, now had another vacancy!
Killing two Warlords in succession!
Sky Sovereign Rowen was proving with his actions that his words in Mariejois were no empty threat. He really intended to kill Warlords until the system was dismantled!
What terrified Doflamingo most—was that Sky Sovereign Rowen really possessed the strength to do so.
And his next target—was him.
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"Phew! I have to make preparations quickly," Doflamingo exhaled, looking at another document in his hand.
The World Government had issued a mandatory summons for the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
All Warlords were to gather at Marine Headquarters.
Previous Warlord meetings also issued summons, but they were ordinary ones; not attending carried no penalty—Often, only Kuma, who was completely subservient to the World Government, would show up.
But this was a mandatory summons. Failure to comply would result in being stripped of the Warlord title and becoming a wanted criminal again.
And as a former Celestial Dragon with complex connections, Doflamingo knew why this mandatory summons was issued.
"A public execution for Whitebeard's 2nd Division Commander, Fire Fist Portgas D. Ace?" Doflamingo's eyes were unreadable behind his sunglasses.
"This era of upheaval... is about to begin!" Doflamingo, who had once eagerly awaited global chaos, now felt no joy at all.
"Young Master! The Marine warship has arrived," Trebol entered, also sweating nervously, looking at Doflamingo. He too knew the terrifying pressure the Young Master was under.
"I know," Doflamingo replied, donning his signature pink feathered coat and opening the window.
Looking at the Marine warship docked by the coast, Doflamingo activated his String-String Fruit ability and flew towards it.
Once a mandatory summons was issued, Marine HQ would dispatch its strongest warships to escort the Warlords to Marine HQ.
These ships were crewed by elite Marines and a Marine HQ Vice Admiral. If a Warlord refused to comply, they would be designated for annihilation!
Though now on the warship, Doflamingo's brow was tightly furrowed. A thought even crossed his mind.
Should he... renounce his Warlord position??
Sky Sovereign Rowen considered the Warlords a thorn in his side. If he gave up the position, could he escape that man's attention?
But the Warlord position was too crucial to his plans; giving it up would cause a chain reaction of problems.
His status as one of the kings of the underworld, his ability to have Caesar conduct research so wantonly, his connection to Kaido—all were shielded by his Warlord status!
And if he lost the Warlord position, Marine HQ and the World Government wouldn't spare him either.
But the pressure from Sky Sovereign Rowen...
Doflamingo, inside the Marine warship heading towards Marine HQ, frowned deeply.
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Amazon Lily.
"Boa Hancock! What Is The Meaning Of This?? Release My Men From Their Petrification! Do You Want To Be Stripped Of Your Warlord Title And Become A Wanted Criminal Again?? If So, Marine HQ And The World Government Will Completely Destroy Amazon Lily!"
Marine HQ Vice Admiral Bastille roared.
On the warship sent to retrieve Boa Hancock, all the Marines had been turned to stone by the Pirate Empress's Love-Love Fruit ability.
Due to needing to recuperate and be in peak condition for the upcoming war, Momonga, who was originally sent to retrieve Hancock, was replaced by Bastille.
But the result was the same; all the Marines were petrified.
Even Bastille was heavily injured. His Haki couldn't completely defend against the Love-Love Fruit's power; his left arm was already petrified.
The Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, also possessed Conqueror's Haki—both her Devil Fruit ability and her Haki were extremely powerful.
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"Elder Sister, what should we do?" Sandersonia, with her green hair, asked her sister, the Warlord Boa Hancock.
"I loathe that place—" Hancock stated simply, her red lips barely moving.
As a Warlord, even for a joint operation with Marine HQ, they were first required to gather at the Holy Land, Mariejois. And that place, for Hancock, was somewhere she absolutely never wanted to return to.
"Snake Princess! Now is not the time to be stubborn! Marine warships can now cross the Calm Belt! Amazon Lily's natural barrier is no longer safe! If you are stripped of your Warlord title, our entire country will be in danger!"
Elder Nyon, the former, former, former empress of Amazon Lily, yelled at Hancock, thumping her staff—
"Granny Nyon! Are you trying to make Elder Sister recall those painful memories??" the orange-haired Marigold yelled back.
"That's right! So what if we go to war! It's just Marine HQ!" Sandersonia stated firmly. Elder Sister was everything to them! Even if it meant death, they wouldn't let her relive her past trauma!
"JUST MARINE HQ?? DO YOU THINK SNAKE PRINCESS IS SKY SOVEREIGN ROWEN?? Snake Princess is strong, yes, but compared to that man, she is nothing! To truly be able to face Marine HQ, one must become a super-powerhouse like him!"
Elder Nyon's staff thumped repeatedly, telling the three sisters the gravity of the situation.
Only a true Emperor was qualified to contend with Marine HQ.
Hancock, though called the Pirate Empress, hadn't even mastered Haōshoku Coating—even with Conqueror's Haki, forget an Emperor, her strength was at best on par with an Emperor's second-in-command...
Such strength was completely insufficient against the vast military might of Marine HQ—they wouldn't even need to dispatch an Admiral—numerous warships and a few Vice Admirals could take down Amazon Lily!
Warships, against a man like Sky Sovereign Rowen, were nothing. But against a powerhouse of Hancock's level, an endless barrage of cannonballs could wear her down to death.
Elder Nyon, having once been on the Rocks Pirates' crew, understood this truth all too well.
"Sky Sovereign Rowen..." Hearing the name, Hancock's eyes flickered.
"Alright, alright! Granny Nyon, Elder Sister, don't argue! Let's look at the news to calm down. There's a new report about Sky Sovereign Rowen," Marigold interjected, trying to mediate.
Though few News Coos came to the Calm Belt, they could still get some newspapers.
Especially since Sky Sovereign Rowen's meteoric rise, reports about him always seemed to reach all corners of the world quickly.
The Calm Belt was no exception—
Ever since the Mariejois incident, Elder Sister had been very interested in this man, Sky Sovereign Rowen.
Marigold and Sandersonia had been deliberately collecting reports about him...
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