One Piece: The Devil Fruit Collector-Chapter 242: As a Clown, You are Very Qualified
Chapter 242: As a Clown, You Are Very Qualified
After hearing Doflamingo’s demand, the gaze cast from the other end of the Den Den Mushi seemed to carry a strange color.
"A promise..."
He softly murmured the word.
Within His gaze, it seemed as if He had returned to that distant era.
He saw again the figure that came beneath the tree.
"Hey, Tree — they all say you are the ’World’ and can fulfill people’s strongest wishes."
"In that case... how about listening to mine too?"
That ambitious young man who changed everything in the world.
"This world is too boring!"
"To be born, then live a plain and uneventful life — that kind of thing is utterly boring, like being trapped on a fixed track!"
"So... let this world become dangerous. Let it become interesting!"
The stronger the individual, the purer and more powerful the wish — and the greater the miracle it could bring.
And undoubtedly, that man had majestic ambition and a greed that could swallow the world whole.
That was the world’s first and strongest ’Desire’.
And the Abyss, trapped within the shadow of the tree, responded.
"Then, let’s make a promise!"
Thus, the boundless sea was born.
"Let everything in the world become free, let the world become a land of adventure — and then... I will conquer it!"
Everything in the world gained the ’possibility’ of pursuing freedom, including the ’God’ who was supposed to sink into the shadows forever.
And now...
"Lord! This man is disrespectful to you."
"Lord, such an overstepping demand — he should be executed immediately!"
"Lord, we will handle The Zodiac ourselves. There are still powerful fighters among the Celestial Dragons. You know of ’Shamrock’ from the Figarland Family — he possesses extraordinary abilities. Please trust us..."
The Five Elders spoke urgently, their reactions intense.
Of course, it wasn’t truly out of devotion to the deity they served.
Simply put — they couldn’t accept losing the ’Highest Authority of the World’. They couldn’t accept someone else being elevated above them. So they hoped that God, in recognition of their years of service, would reject the madman before them.
But in the next moment, their souls felt the cold weight of God’s gaze.
He knew exactly what they were thinking.
"An outstanding gambler."
Imu simply looked at Doflamingo and gave His evaluation.
The meaning was already clear. God didn’t care whether the Five Elders were willing or not — they were servants. He didn’t care about the ordinary people of the world — they were slaves. He didn’t even care about power itself. He only needed to eliminate hidden dangers and reclaim freedom, and everything in the world would grovel at His feet.
God found it... interesting.
"You want to become Davy..."
Imu murmured the name.
Now someone else was trying to make a Promise with Him — trying to become the next ’Davy’.
"Interesting."
With that single word, the sunny smile on Doflamingo’s face finally spread to its fullest.
He knew — he had succeeded. God had acknowledged him.
He would become the ’King’ — just as his family had always believed he would.
So he gently raised his hand, and his strings dragged the tree root downward... and let it fall.
VMMM!
From within the tree root, a formless power began to surge. It twisted and shifted, connecting with the anger and hatred in the hearts of every citizen in Dressrosa below.
Then —
VMMM!
Across the entirety of Dressrosa, the Abyssal Magic Circle carved into the country began to spread a pitch-black hue.
The Source Energy of Lineage Factor within the tree root was drawn out, merging with countless malicious wishes.
The tree root continued to fall, and the darkness swallowed the land of the entire country.
At the heart of that darkness, a massive energy began to emerge from nothingness.
An [Abyssal Sea Contract] was taking shape.
Even before the contract fully formed, a phantom was already visible within the magic circle — a vast, pitch-black creature swimming through the darkness. It was light, was dark, was evil, was fire, was butterfly, was moth, was dragon — the condensation of all the world’s evil, and its ruler.
"Fuffuffuffuffuffu!"
The Heavenly Yaksha covered his face with one hand, the other controlling the fall of the tree root, his laughter erupting in a tremendous burst.
Yes. This was the true grand finale of his conspiracy.
Like those ancient legends — Donquixote Doflamingo would offer everything of himself, everything of this country, as a sacrifice, in exchange for the descent of the ’Demon’. Imu’s power descending here, darkness falling over the world — that would be the ’Night’ he had been waiting for.
He would completely shatter that stifling world order built by the Celestial Dragons, become a king in the night, and rule over everything.
But...
Just as Doflamingo was imagining all of this.
"Hm?"
He felt a change in his strings. They began to reverse uncontrollably. Even the tree root that was nearly at the ground became impossible to hold.
Then, a lazy voice sounded in his ear.
"As expected, you’re here."
The words fell.
In the next instant, the place where Doflamingo had been hiding came apart.
The pure white clouds dispersed, revealing his hiding place in full.
It had been a cloud — heavy clouds bound together by invisible fine strings, constructing a secret room unknown to anyone. But now the strings snapped and the clouds shattered.
Amidst Doflamingo’s stunned expression, a figure had already appeared before him.
A man wearing a Tiger Mask.
"The Zodiac... Toratora?"
The moment he saw the figure, Doflamingo recognized him immediately.
He knew him well. Because in fact, the key piece of his plan — the tree root — had come into his hands because of this very person. It was precisely because Toratora had attacked Germa and killed Vinsmoke Judge and Buckingham Stussy that Caesar, originally hidden in Dressrosa, had panicked and come running to Doflamingo.
"Hey, Joker... something happened! The Zodiac are coming for me. They killed Judge and Buckingham... they must be after that thing."
It was through Caesar that Doflamingo had learned of the tree root’s existence. And by chance — having visited the Room of Flowers and seen the tree itself — he recognized the root’s origin at a glance and pieced together the reason behind The Zodiac’s recent movements.
He had never expected to encounter this Zodiac member under these circumstances.
"How could you possibly know where I was..."
"Ah, about that —"
Toratora’s gaze settled on Doflamingo, drifting mainly to the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
The transmission of sound waves is also a part of ’Vectors’. After entering the area, Toratora had already heard most of what Doflamingo had said. He naturally knew who was on the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"Nezumi told me you were nearby. As for the source of the information... a girl named Baby 5."
As he spoke, he casually activated his ability to shred the surrounding strings.
Doflamingo gritted his teeth. His strings couldn’t impede Toratora’s ability at all — the difference in power was stark.
But he couldn’t understand.
"Baby 5?"
How could that woman possibly know he was here? This secret room woven from clouds and strings was unknown even to the highest executives of the Donquixote Family.
"That’s what I wanted to ask, too."
Toratora chuckled.
"Nezumi said the girl asked me to pass a message to you."
"She said... she always considered this place her ’Home’."
Doflamingo’s expression froze.
Then, unbidden, certain memories surfaced in his mind.
On ordinary days, whenever Baby 5 had free time, she would always have Buffalo take her up into the sky. She would look down from above at every street, every house in Dressrosa. Even after exhausting assassin training sessions, she would lie on the training ground, gaze up at the sky of Dressrosa, and wear a quietly satisfied expression.
Doflamingo had never paid much attention to these details — his subordinates all had their own quirks. But now he suddenly understood. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
"Because... it’s home?"
Home is the warmest and most familiar place. Of course one would remember every corner of it clearly — every street, every detail, filled with quiet gratitude. Including a certain cloud in the sky that never seemed to drift away.
And just as mentioned before — Baby 5 was very good at keeping secrets. She never shared her discoveries. She never told anyone the Young Master’s secret.
"So she asked me to tell you —"
On behalf of a certain young woman, Toratora raised a middle finger.
"The person who destroyed this old lady’s home — this old lady will absolutely not let them off."
BOOM!
A massive force suddenly manifested, pulling Doflamingo toward Toratora.
Only now did Doflamingo seem to fully grasp what was happening.
"Are you kidding me!"
He snarled.
"How could I lose for such an absurd reason!?"
"Overheat!"
"Five-Color Strings!"
He activated his abilities without hesitation, unleashing them at Toratora.
But —
Slash!
The long string capable of cutting a building in two slashed toward Toratora, who couldn’t even be bothered to dodge. He merely raised his hand, and Doflamingo’s own strings reversed uncontrollably, cutting off both his arms and legs.
A moment later, Doflamingo’s body was seized by Toratora.
The intense pain brought him to the edge of death.
VMMM!
He felt it — a segment of memory being pulled from his mind.
Then —
"Go."
He heard Toratora’s voice. "Someone is waiting for you below."
With that, Doflamingo felt himself hurled downward.
The Den Den Mushi fell with him. The rushing wind shattered his glasses, nearly blinding him.
But he could still see.
That golden figure rising from the Corrida Colosseum below.
"Didn’t I say it?"
Saru’s roar reached his ears.
"I will personally... smash your head!"
The golden staff swung.
Doflamingo gritted his teeth. Veins rose across his forehead, his composure shattered completely.
He knew it — this massive gamble, he had lost.
He couldn’t accept it.
Just as he had said — he threw everything onto the table. His family, his partners, all of it as chips. And in the end, he lost because of Baby 5’s attachment to a place called ’Home’.
Didn’t that make him look like a complete...
"Mu heard your nickname in the lower world is — Joker?"
And exactly then, Doflamingo heard a voice nearby.
Imu’s voice, from the Den Den Mushi still falling beside him.
His words seemed to carry an inexplicable amusement. And within that amusement, there was coldness.
"You are not Davy."
That was also the reason Imu had agreed to Doflamingo’s request in the first place — or perhaps, from the very beginning, He had already foreseen this ending.
The ambition, the cunning, the meticulous planning — Doflamingo had been impeccable in all of it. But he could never be Davy Jones. Imu had never regarded him as an existence on the same level.
Because —
"You do not have that kind of power."
"But as a clown, the result of this performance was not bad. Mu is very satisfied."
Click.
The Den Den Mushi went silent.
"You —"
Doflamingo’s furious roar never finished.
The iron staff arrived.
BOOM!
His head was violently crushed.
A moment later, the headless and limbless body of the Heavenly Yaksha fell from the sky.
The Birdcage dissipated.
But at the same time —
VMMM!
On the ground of Dressrosa, above the Abyssal Magic Circle, the pitch-black energy did not fade with Doflamingo’s death.
On the contrary.
VMMM!
Somewhere in Dressrosa, a pitch-black, massive, arrow-like tail had already slowly extended from beneath the ground.
Still illusory — constructed from Source Energy of Lineage Factor — the mark of the Abyssal Sea Contract was forming upon it. But it was gradually solidifying, turning into a real body.
That was the true meaning behind Imu’s words just now.
Although only a small portion of the tree root’s power had been drawn out before Toratora intervened, that small portion was already enough to allow the Abyssal Magic Circle on the island to connect with the essence of the ’Abyss’. It was already enough for Imu to descend a fragment of the power imprisoned in the Room of Flowers.
In a few moments more, this Abyssal Sea Contract would fully take shape and form a descending ’Body’. Although the effect of this body would certainly not match the two special ’Vessels’ He had already chosen, it would be sufficient for Him to exert a portion of His power.
And the power of a God — even just a fragment — cannot be resisted by mortals.
He would capture The Zodiac, examine their memories, and then —
"Find the Star Lord."
Imu could almost see the future He anticipated: the world plunging into eternal night.
But —
"Looking for me?"
A voice reached Him.
The pitch-black tail turned slightly.
There were no eyes on the tail.
But Imu had already seen that wisp of starlight.
☆☆☆
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