The Greatest Disgrace in Marine History-Chapter 250 - 152: Father and Son

The hall was cold and dim, shadows flickering in the pale glow of the chandeliers.

"Doffy, how have you been lately?"

Darren spoke lightly as he sprawled on a plush leather sofa, legs crossed, a snow-white cigar between his fingers. He asked the question as casually as if it were about the weather.

Trebol and the other Donquixote Family officers stood stiffly in the shadows, barely daring to breathe. The atmosphere was suffocating.

They risked cautious glances at Darren's figure. Just by sitting there so idly, he exuded an overwhelming pressure—like a predator half-asleep, ready to pounce and tear them all apart at a moment's notice.

This man... he's more terrifying than ever...

The rumors Senor had shared recently—tales of Darren's blood-soaked rampage through the Beasts Pirates' headquarters—made their hair stand on end.

At that moment, none of them dared entertain even the faintest flicker of rebellion. Only deep, bone-chilling fear remained.

Across from him, Doflamingo sat with his usual nonchalance, taking the golden-embossed cigar that Darren tossed his way. Clenching it in his teeth, he offered a small, easy smile.

"Thank you for your concern, Godfather."

"With Supreme Commander Momonga's full support, the family's business and influence have been flourishing."

Darren gave a faint smile, shaking his head.

"No. I'm not interested in how the Donquixote Family is doing—I have absolute faith in your abilities. Otherwise, I never would've handed the entire North Blue underworld to you in the first place."

"What I care about is your growth, Doffy. After all, you are my godson."

He regarded the young man before him—a blond youth clad in his signature pink-feathered coat—his senses tracing the surge of bio-magnetic force radiating from him.

"Seems you haven't let me down. You've grown quite a bit..."

Raising a hand, he gestured a height marker in the air and chuckled.

"I remember when I left the North Blue a few months ago, you were only this tall. And now you're nearly one-eighty."

Darren wasn't entirely sure of Doflamingo's exact age—probably twelve or thirteen. But boys that age shot up fast—especially a natural-born "Dark King" like Doflamingo.

To Darren's eyes, the changes were obvious. The boy's body and aura had transformed utterly since his departure.

Most striking was the sheer intensity of Doflamingo's bio-magnetic field—doubled, at least.

The defiance in his aura, the cold savagery in his brows... it was starting to overlap with the image of that future "Shichibukai" that Darren remembered. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Small wonder even Momonga couldn't sit still around this boy.

His growth... truly astounding.

"This is good," Darren said softly.

Very good.

Doflamingo pressed his lips together, silent.

Outwardly calm, he couldn't help the wary suspicion creeping in. What exactly did Darren mean by those words?

"Any struggles in your training recently?"

Darren spoke again, smoke curling from his lips like a dragon's breath.

Doflamingo's brow twitched.

What was he getting at?

Pushing down his unease, he answered steadily:

"Nothing too troubling. I've kept up my training diligently. I've been honing my Devil Fruit powers, but I haven't neglected my physical conditioning, either."

"Oh?"

A faint smile played on Darren's lips.

In an instant—without a single warning—he vanished from the sofa.

Doflamingo's pupils contracted to pinpoints, every muscle in his body tensing like a drawn bowstring.

A chilling sense of lethal danger enveloped him, and sweat prickled along his spine.

He couldn't see it.

He couldn't track Darren's movements at all!

Instinct alone guided him. His fingers clawed out at the empty air before him in a flash of motion.

Clang!

Sparks flared in a shower of firelight, illuminating the dark-haired Marine's arrogant, domineering face.

Five nearly invisible threads of razor-sharp wire held Doflamingo's clawed hand in check, shimmering coldly in the light.

Threads that could slice through stone and steel—yet they couldn't cut through flesh.

"Young master!!"

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Damn it!!"

Trebol and the other officers finally reacted, faces twisting in alarm as they reached for their weapons.

"Stand down!"

Doflamingo snapped coldly, halting them in their tracks.

A bead of sweat slid down his temple, tracing his cheek as his sunglasses caught the faint glint of Darren's amused, unshakable smile.

Doflamingo met that smile and let out a low, sinister laugh.

"Heh heh heh... no need to panic. The Godfather is merely testing the fruits of my training."

Trebol and the others paused, still shaken. Their eyes darted to Darren, uncertain.

Testing training, huh?

Yet that moment of killing intent had felt like a mountain of corpses and rivers of blood. It had been suffocating.

Still, they trusted Doflamingo. One by one, they took a breath, lowered their weapons, and stepped back.

They knew the truth. If this Marine wanted Doflamingo dead, there was nothing any of them could do to stop it.

Seeing this, Darren's smile grew satisfied.

"Very good. Your reactions are sharp... and your strength—"

He casually flexed his fingers, pulling those razor-sharp threads taut.

In Trebol's and the others' stunned gaze, those threads—normally unbreakable—twisted and bowed under the light pressure of Darren's grip.

"—has grown quite a bit."

He looked into the young blond's eyes, smiling warmly.

"I can see it clearly—you haven't been slacking off at all. As your Godfather, that pleases me."

"Remember this, Doffy: industry, trade, territory, power... all those things that seem so grand and important? They're just illusions."

He gestured vaguely toward the long hall leading to the banquet, the faint echoes of clinking glasses and polite laughter drifting down the corridor.

"Some people spend their entire lives chasing those illusions. They call themselves successful, even great. But to the truly strong, they're nothing but insects."

"Don't let your eyes be clouded by shallow success. This ocean... in the end, it's a cruel jungle where only strength matters. Strength is the only thing that can truly lift you above it all."

"Now... take a shot at me. While I'm back in the North Blue, let me guide your training personally."

He smiled faintly, eyes glinting.

"Otherwise, I wouldn't be much of a Godfather, would I?"

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To be continued...