"What about the Devil Fruit trade?! Who the hell killed Joker?! I've lost all my money now!"

"We should go to Dressrosa! Take the Devil Fruits from whoever has them!"

"Are you crazy? Even Joker was killed by some unknown force. If we run into them, do you really think we'll make it out alive?!"

Pirates, criminal syndicates, and underground brokers who had been trading Devil Fruits with Doflamingo all looked utterly hopeless upon hearing the news.

The artificial Devil Fruits—SMILEs—had been one of their key sources of combat power. Just one more ability user could elevate their fighting force to the next level.

But with Doflamingo dead, they could no longer buy SMILEs. No more new Devil Fruit users. Soon, they'd be crushed by rival factions waiting to take them down.

"Doflamingo's actually dead?"

"The entire Donquixote Family—minus a few—has been wiped out… Just who the hell had the power to pull that off?!"

At a table filled with pizza, chewing savagely and with no regard for manners, the "Gluttonous Woman" Jewelry Bonney frowned at the headline in the newspaper.

"So he's really dead, huh?"

"Then what about Caesar, who used to work under him… I wonder who he'll serve now. Boys, let's go grab him—we'll give him to Mama as a birthday present!"

Across the seas, Capone Bege of the Firetank Pirates also began moving toward Caesar Clown's location, intending to capture him.

"Doflamingo… reputed to be the most wicked of the Seven Warlords… An underground emperor of the New World, holding a massive intelligence network and an absurd amount of wealth… He was even the king of a nation and one of the rare Devil Fruit awakeners."

"Someone like that—even we didn't want to cross him casually. And now he's dead in his own country? What a shock."

"But… this might be our chance, don't you think? Killer, what do you say?"

Eustass Kid stepped on a corpse, newspaper in hand, and smirked coldly.

"I heard Doflamingo was collaborating with Kaidō… With Joker dead, Kaidō's definitely going to go berserk. Let those idiots who don't know what it means to be hunted by a Yonko taste true fear."

Killer, the "Slaughtering Swordsman," replied calmly.

Somewhere on a frozen island, in a blizzard of snowflakes—

"The news is real?"

"It's printed in the paper—how could it be fake?"

"I just wanna know who exactly killed Doflamingo… How could someone like that be unknown in this world?"

Members of the Beasts Pirates muttered heatedly as they stared at the paper.

"He's dead?"

"That useless Doflamingo couldn't even protect his own life. What a disappointment."

Wearing a topknot ponytail with braided sides, a massive physique, a metal jaw, and tusk-like ornaments on his head and shoulders, Jack the Drought scoffed as he chugged down booze. His body was draped in a feathered coat with spiked accessories.

Suddenly, a deafening boom echoed nearby—an iceberg had been shattered by something falling from the sky!

"Boss Kaidō! Stop playing your suicide games already!"

"That Joker idiot is dead!!"

"No more artificial Devil Fruits!!"

Jack the Drought shouted toward the snowy mountain peak.

And from the swirling blizzard, an enormous figure emerged.

Towering and muscular, with black fur on his head and shoulders, two sharp horns, a long beard, and a tattoo of scales on his left arm. He was bare-chested, wearing loose hakama pants, and a shimenawa rope at his waist.

It was none other than the Emperor of the Sea—Kaidō of the Beasts!

The man known as the "Strongest Creature in the World." With over 500 Devil Fruit users under his command, he was infamous for attempting suicide out of boredom—seeking death in the most extreme ways.

And yet he always survived.

He had just plunged from 10,000 meters above, smashed through a snowy mountain, and emerged without a single scratch.

"What did you say?!"

"Joker is dead?!"

Kaidō's eyes burned with a terrifying rage.

"The World Government already removed him from the Warlords, and publicly denounced all his crimes!"

"Hmph! Those hypocrites at the World Government only know how to kick a man when he's down! Boss Kaidō, want me to go deal with the bastard who ruined our business?"

Jack grinned with bloodthirsty excitement. "Anyone who could kill Joker wouldn't be weak. He might even last a bit longer under my torture than those other spineless weaklings!"

"Jack, are you an idiot?!"

"If Joker's dead, so be it! A fool who can't even protect himself is not worth our attention!"

"What matters now is Caesar! Go and bring him back immediately! As long as that guy is still around, I can keep creating the strongest pirate crew filled entirely with Devil Fruit users!"

Kaidō roared.

"Caesar, huh… I almost forgot about him. No worries, boss! I'll bring him back to you!"

"This time… I'll get to enjoy the thrill of destruction again!"

Jack the Drought's eyes glinted with sadistic glee.

As the entire world reeled in shock and fury over Doflamingo's death, the World Government and Marines were no exception.

At Marineford, Navy Headquarters...

"Doflamingo… Who the hell killed him? Why haven't we heard anything from CP0 yet?"

Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Sengoku the Buddha rubbed his temples with frustration.

He didn't care how Doflamingo died—he only cared about one thing:

Who killed him?

(End of Chapter)

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