HST: Chapter 174/175

Chapter 174: Reckless Violence

"It's decent insight, but it's still just a prototype."

Caelan spoke calmly, not hiding his shortcomings.

After learning the method of training Conqueror's Haki coating from Rayleigh, he had been practicing it diligently.

Through nearly a month of focused training, and by referencing the techniques used by the Four Emperors, he had made considerable progress.

While it was still far from fully mastered, it was already showing results when applied.

At the very least, it was more than enough to deal with Doflamingo.

Caelan glanced at Shusui in his hand. The blade gleamed with a smooth, spring-like clarity—truly a top-tier famed sword.

Caelan brandished Shusui again, slicing through the white lines around him in a single sweep.

This white line technique made for a good testbed to gauge the power of his incomplete Haki coating.

"Damn it!"

Doflamingo's face was grim, teeth clenched in frustration.

His white strings couldn't even slow Caelan down. They were no more threatening than a child's toy.

He increased the density of the white strings, hoping to pose at least some level of threat.

But against Shusui, now enhanced by Caelan's Haki, the threads were easily shredded.

"Now then, you should be careful."

Caelan looked at Doflamingo, a smile tugging at his lips.

The experiment was over. He had a firm grasp of his current strength using Conqueror's Haki. There was no longer any need to play games with Doflamingo.

"What!?"

Doflamingo, who had been sending out strings on autopilot, suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Just as he was about to react, he realized—Caelan had vanished from his field of vision.

He immediately activated Observation Haki, straining to detect movement nearby.

"Slash!"

With explosive strength and blinding speed, Caelan appeared next to Doflamingo in an instant.

Then he brought Shusui down in a devastating arc.

Doflamingo's Observation Haki only caught the afterimage. Caelan had already closed in.

Panicking, Doflamingo summoned thick, layered white strings into a massive shield several meters thick.

Its defense at that moment was stronger than a fortress wall.

At the same time, he struck back with a counterattack, launching his ultimate technique.

Sixteen dense threads surged up from the ground, each reinforced with high-level Armament Haki, and all shot toward Caelan.

"Rapid Slash!"

Caelan remained composed. With a firm grip, his veins bulging, he clutched Shusui tightly and unleashed a flurry of wild, storm-like slashes.

The sixteen thick threads, enhanced with Armament Haki, were destroyed in an instant by the relentless barrage of cuts.

His overwhelming power and speed erupted all at once.

Boom!

With the sixteen holy threads annihilated, Caelan raised Shusui high and slammed it down on the massive shield of white strings.

Most of the five-meter-thick shield shattered on impact.

Then came a second strike—faster than lightning.

Caelan swung Shusui again, bringing it down upon the remaining shield structure.

Boom!

The last of the shield burst apart under the slash. Shusui's momentum slowed just slightly before it continued downward, straight at Doflamingo.

"No!"

Doflamingo's eyes were bloodshot as he watched Shusui cleave into his chest.

The blade sank two inches deep—nearly cutting him in half.

"Ahhh!"

Doflamingo screamed in agony as he quickly manipulated his strings to pull himself a hundred meters away.

In a single exchange, he had been utterly crushed by Caelan's sheer brute force.

"Haha, that's more like it."

Caelan shook the blood off Shusui casually, not bothering to chase him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a Marine soldier about to be killed by Donquixote grunts.

He casually flicked his blade, sending out a slash that turned the enemies into a mist of blood.

"Caelan-sama!"

The morale of the Marines surged. They shouted his name with reverence, treating him like a god.

He had just fought Doflamingo—one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—and seriously injured him in a single exchange.

And still, he had time to protect ordinary soldiers during battle.

Such strength and care for his subordinates made them feel beyond proud to follow him.

For a while, the Marines charged with unrelenting fury, beating the Donquixote troops until they were screaming for mercy.

"Mm."

Caelan simply nodded and turned his gaze back to Doflamingo.

By now, Doflamingo was lying on the ground, struggling to breathe.

The terrain affected by his awakened Devil Fruit powers had also returned to normal due to the injuries he'd sustained.

"So weak."

Caelan curled his lip in disdain.

He hadn't even had enough fun, and Doflamingo had already collapsed.

Some pirate you are.

What happened to your legendary endurance?

A real man should be tough and resilient.

Only those who can do sit-ups endlessly and stand tall, like himself, deserve that title.

Looking at Doflamingo in this state, Caelan didn't finish him off.

The guy's former identity as a Celestial Dragon could still be useful.

"Cough…"

Doflamingo spat blood onto the ground, eyes full of disbelief as he stared at Caelan.

He had nearly died.

So this was the God Slayer—the one even the World Government couldn't suppress?

Doflamingo's pupils dilated with dread. He felt completely powerless in front of Caelan.

He had gone all out, and it was still meaningless.

He couldn't even block two of Caelan's ordinary sword swings. Even with Observation Haki, all he could see was a blur.

And even during their fight, Caelan had the leeway to help his subordinates.

The gap between them was like heaven and earth.

Could it be that Caelan really was invincible?

Doflamingo felt as if he had fallen into an endless abyss. His body went cold.

"Cough!"

He coughed up blood again, unable to keep thinking clearly due to the pain.

Clutching his chest, he used his strings to sew his gaping wound shut, doing emergency treatment to stabilize his injuries.

But just as he finished, he heard the agonized screams of his men echoing across the battlefield.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 175: The Whole Line Is Crushed, The End of Doffy

Doflamingo looked over, eyes bloodshot.

Pica had used the power of the Stone-Stone Fruit to assemble a hundred-meter-tall rock giant, its every step causing the earth to tremble.

But such a massive stone giant was nothing more than a giant target in front of Gion.

With Konpira in hand, Gion easily sliced the rock giant apart with a few sword swings.

No matter how Pica twisted and dodged through the stone, he couldn't escape the lock of Gion's Observation Haki. In the end, he was struck down by a single sword.

Pica tried to get back up and continue fighting, but he no longer had the strength.

"So this is... an admiral candidate…"

Pica collapsed to the ground with a bitter smile.

Against Gion, he didn't stand a chance.

He was never meant to face someone of her level.

The other two top officers nearby didn't fare much better.

Gecko Moria, having regained his fighting spirit—and shed some weight—completely overwhelmed Diamante.

This high-ranking officer, user of the Ripple-Ripple Fruit, was toyed with from start to finish.

If Moria hadn't been intentionally drawing things out to enjoy the nostalgia of his prime, Diamante would've been defeated even faster.

Once Gion wrapped up her battle with Pica, Moria immediately stopped holding back and stomped Diamante into the ground.

"Now that's more like it!"

Moria laughed loudly, clearly pleased with himself.

Even though he was bullying someone weaker, the joy of combat had returned. It felt like he was reliving his days in the New World.

Diamante's face turned green with resentment.

Damn it! One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea actually toyed with him like a clown!

Trebol had it even worse. He had already been turned into a statue and couldn't speak.

He was the first of the three elite officers to fall.

Hancock had used Mero Mero Mellow to incapacitate him instantly and turned him to stone.

Hancock gazed at Caelan with starry eyes, utterly intoxicated by his strength and presence.

Doflamingo had been crushed in a single exchange. Her Caelan was truly invincible!

Doflamingo turned his head and looked toward his other officers… only to see they had all been captured.

Tashigi, having transformed into a Nekomata swordswoman using the Cat-Cat Fruit, captured Baby 5 with ease. Even with her Weapon-Weapon Fruit barrages, she was no match. Assassins are always a threat to ranged bombers, after all.

Vivi transformed into a Garuda using the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Garuda, and utterly dismantled Buffalo.

Kalifa, with her Mythical Zoan Pink Dragon form, flattened Lao G with overwhelming force.

Uta's Song-Song Fruit resonated across the battlefield, trapping several of the Donquixote officers in dreamlike illusions, their bodies collapsed while their minds sank into a world of melody.

The overwhelming strength of these Devil Fruits meant every battle was a one-sided rout.

Each of them could be compared to top-tier executive officers.

Beating these second-rate cadres was effortless.

The Heart Army, Diamond Army, Spade Army, and Club Army—Donquixote's four major forces—were all crushed by the advancing G-5 Marines.

And whenever a Marine soldier was in danger, Caelan would casually swing Shusui, instantly obliterating the attacking enemy in a mist of blood.

The Marines would cheer again, their admiration for Caelan reaching new heights.

Caelan's side had completely crushed the Donquixote Family, as if it were a dimensionality reduction strike.

Even more shamelessly, Caelan used the battle to gain reputation and boost morale.

"We lost… All of us lost…"

Doflamingo muttered to himself in despair.

In just over ten minutes, the entire Donquixote Family had been completely crushed by Caelan. From the top officers down to the grunts, not a single one was spared.

The empire he had spent years building crumbled like paper before Caelan.

It was all over. Everything he built was gone.

In contrast, Caelan stood tall, brimming with spirit.

"We really beat Doflamingo!"

The Marines of the G-5 branch roared in triumph.

In all their years serving as Marines, this was the first time they had defeated such a powerful pirate.

In one sentence: We, with Caelan, are truly unstoppable!

Hina was so excited that she chirped like a bird around Gion.

"…"

But Gion, Nami, and the other girls remained calm, only offering quiet smiles.

Compared to Caelan's earlier feats—fighting two admirals on the Sabaody Archipelago or unleashing the God-Slaying Spear in the East Blue—defeating Doflamingo wasn't particularly impressive.

Doflamingo listened to the victorious cheers and looked at his fallen officers. His mind teetered on the edge.

"Hehehe… hehehe… burn it all down!"

Doflamingo cackled maniacally, overcome by hysteria and rage.

"Birdcage!"

He poured every last ounce of his strength into one final move.

Thousands of razor-sharp white threads shot into the sky and, upon reaching their peak, began to fall like a meteor shower.

Countless threads wove together in midair, encasing the entire island of Dressrosa in a massive cage.

As the cage continued to shrink, its thin, sharpened threads would cut through everything—ultimately annihilating Dressrosa.

"I'll destroy Dressrosa!"
"You get NOTHING!"

Doflamingo screamed at Caelan with a deranged, sorrowful grin.

This was his final card. His strongest, most desperate technique.

With him actively compressing it, the birdcage would shrink rapidly. In just a few seconds, it could obliterate the entire kingdom.

Even if Caelan could cut the strings, he couldn't possibly destroy the entire birdcage in mere seconds.

You want to take my kingdom?

You'll get nothing!

And that treacherous woman Violet—I want her to watch as everything she loves turns to ash!

Doflamingo laughed wildly, his face twisted with malice.

"Caelan-sama!"

Violet cried out in panic.

She knew exactly how dangerous this technique was.

Stone walls and houses meant nothing to those razor-sharp threads. And fragile human bodies? Even less.

If the birdcage completed its compression, Dressrosa would become a graveyard.

"Birdcage…"

Watching Doflamingo unleash that all-too-familiar technique, Caelan felt a strange sense of nostalgia.

Once upon a time, that birdcage had trapped one of the Yonko and a Marine admiral.

That had been Doflamingo's peak.

He wondered how Doflamingo would feel reading the papers from prison later.

But Caelan wasn't interested in dragging this out.

"Secret Sword: Swallow Return – Septuple Strike!"

Caelan gripped Shusui and whispered.

Inspired by Sasaki Kojiro's famous technique from Fate, he unleashed three slashes at the same time, each curving like a swallow's flight path.

Naturally, such a technique wasn't purely physical. Achieving it required mastery of time, perception, and sword control beyond conventional means.

Normally, the "Swallow Return" was already considered an impossible triple-slash.

But Caelan?

He multiplied it by seven.

Secret Sword: Swallow Return – Septuple Strike!

In an instant, twenty-one shimmering sword arcs burst from his blade, covering the entire sky.

The birdcage, barely formed and yet to even begin shrinking, was sliced into short fragments in midair.

Doflamingo looked at the raining threads in stunned silence. His twisted grin froze.

He stared blankly at Caelan.

What the hell is this guy…?

How can he be this strong!?

"What were you planning to destroy?"

Caelan stepped in front of Doflamingo and looked down at him.

"Haha… You monster…"

Doflamingo spat bitterly.

Then he collapsed completely, silent and still.

(To be continued.)