One Piece: Crown of Darkness

Everything was either like a farce or actually a farce. Doflamingo even wondered if Charlotte Linlin's frequent marriages were solely for the sake of eating wedding cake.

Regardless, Charlotte Linlin's current display wasn't grand, and her childish impatience meant she didn't want to wait a moment longer. So... as the important executives of the Big Mom Pirates, dispatched for plunder, received notice and were about to return laden with spoils, a wedding began to be prepared. It was so casual and haphazard that it was frankly speechless.

Beep beep beep~

Ding ding ding~

Anthropomorphic chess pieces played music, while anthropomorphic rainbows, clouds, suns, flowers, trees, and so on, automatically set the scene and created the atmosphere. Clearly, they were well-practiced in such tasks.

"Everyone, hurry up! Idiot, don't put it there!"

"..."

"Head Chef? Is it not ready yet? Mama's almost done changing into her wedding dress! You know how much she's looking forward to the wedding cake."

"..."

"Where's the groom?"

"..."

It was chaotic and noisy.

Because he'd teased her so much, Smoothie had run off, too embarrassed to show her face. Now, a solitary Doflamingo sat on the ship's railing, rubbing his temples. He felt he needed to leave quickly; his head was throbbing.

"Just endure it, endure a little longer," Doflamingo told himself silently, closing his eyes and letting out a soft sigh.

When Doflamingo opened his eyes, his vision darkened, bringing a momentary confusion in his eyes. It was still noon, not yet nightfall. It wasn't overcast either as a moment ago, the sun was shining brightly.

Then he looked up.

It was ships... flying ships, dense formations of flying ships that obscured the sky!!!

All the clutter and clamor turned into silence, and shock swept through.

"There is only one person who can achieve this level... 'Golden... Lion'," Doflamingo's eye twitched.

Thud~

The facts confirmed the accuracy of Doflamingo's judgment.

A figure slowly drifted down from the sky, landing on the bow of the singing ship.

Middle-aged, male, with golden, mane-like hair cascading down. He wore a kimono and geta, with two swords hanging at his waist, his eyebrows arched, and a cigar clenched between his teeth, exhaling smoke.

Undoubtedly.

It was Golden Lion!

The "Flying Pirate"!

The world's greatest swordsman!

The acknowledged strongest pirate force, the Admiral of the Golden Lion Grand Fleet, commanding nearly a hundred pirate crews and over twenty thousand pirates under his Flying Pirates!

A pirate among pirates, a monster among monsters!

Shiki!

Thump thump thump!!!

Heavy footsteps.

Charlotte Linlin sensed a danger that could threaten her. She hastily brought her newly changed wedding dress and confronted Shiki.

"Jihahahaha~ Getting fucking married again!" Shiki laughed boisterously, cursing and stating a truth countless people wanted to say but dared not.

Charlotte Linlin clenched her fists, gritting her teeth. "Gold! En! Lion!"

"Don't give me that 'poor victim' look! Big Mom! You know why I'm here!" Shiki paced along the bow of the singing ship. He wasn't particularly tall, but as his restrained aura erupted, that wild, domineering presence, like a lion roaring across the seas and aiming to devour the world, actually suppressed Charlotte Linlin, making him seem even larger than the massive Charlotte Linlin.

Every single anthropomorphic creature on the singing ship, except for the sun, clouds, and captain's hat that constantly accompanied Charlotte Linlin, withered and died in an instant, not even having time to scream, terrified by Shiki.

Every single person on the singing ship, except for Charlotte Linlin, felt immense pressure, even Doflamingo breaking out in a cold sweat. Few others could even stand steadily; trembling, collapsing, and fainting were widespread.

This was merely the result of Shiki not using his Conqueror's Haki, relying solely on his own dignity, the dignity of a lion-like man.

"I don't know!" If Charlotte Linlin were the type to yield, she wouldn't be Big Mom. She gave Shiki a firm and arrogant response.

Shiki's expression turned sinister. "Jihahahaha~ You don't know? You've got guts to say that! Who do you think I am? I'm the 'Golden Lion'! You needlessly invaded my territory, caused widespread destruction, and then you just leave as if nothing happened? You've offended me!"

"Fufufufu~ Hey, hey, if I may interject? Golden Lion... Admiral." Doflamingo had to step forward. If he let Charlotte Linlin and Shiki continue this conversation, they'd probably be in full-scale war after another two or three sentences.

Shiki turned to look, puzzled. "Oh? Which of Big Mom's sons are you, brat?" He thought for a moment, then cursed at Charlotte Linlin again. "You can sure as hell pop 'em out! Jihahahaha!"

"Golden Lion! You bastard!" Charlotte Linlin couldn't tolerate Shiki's extreme arrogance. She raised her fist, ready to charge.

"Big Mom! Leave it to me! Leave it to me!" Doflamingo quickly shouted. "Don't forget your dream. Be patient! Just a little patience, just a little."

Charlotte Linlin was panting heavily. She probably had a deep apprehension of Shiki in her heart, and ultimately heeded Doflamingo's advice.

Whew~ Doflamingo let out a long breath, stepped forward, and chuckled. "I'm not Big Mom's family! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Doflamingo, Captain of the Donquixote Pirates. Of course! None of that matters. What matters is that I'm also a businessman, fufufufu~ Care to talk privately, Golden Lion Admiral? I guarantee I have something you urgently need."

After a slight hesitation, Doflamingo leaned closer to Shiki and whispered something.

Shiki narrowed his eyes. "You better not be lying, brat." He grabbed Doflamingo by the shoulder and soared into the sky. "Jihahahaha... Someone's sticking up for you, you lucky fat hag! Don't let there be a next time, it won't be so cheap then."

————————

~ Access 100+ advance chapters —— patreon(.)com/EmperorGarus [remove the parentheses ( )]