Starting as a Roger Pirates Apprentice

Chapter 464: Barrier… why did it disappear?

On the other side,

Inside the Dressrosa royal palace.

The palace reception hall, which had not been used for a long time, welcomed a rather important guest today.

Within the quiet castle, a tall figure walked forward under the guidance of a maid.

Pica, with his burly body, squinted his eyes and emerged from the stone. As a cadre of the Donquixote Family, he currently looked almost like an ordinary guard.

He looked solemnly at that guest—an Admiral from Marine Headquarters.

And according to rumors, unlike the other new Admiral, Fujitora, his personality was not so gentle and kind; instead, it was much closer to the current Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, what he upheld was—

"Do-or-die Justice"!!!

Inside the reception hall, the man wearing a pink feather cloak had one leg casually crossed over the other, waiting there with an evil grin on his face.

Doflamingo was exactly this confident. Even with an Admiral right in front of him, he still refused to show any respect, sitting there firmly like a big shot.

Only when Green Bull walked over toward the sofa did he finally turn his head.

"It’s really rare~ for a Marine Admiral to actually come to Dressrosa..."

Long before Green Bull reached the palace, in fact, he had already received news from Orin—saying that in order to fight against the attacks of foreign pirates, a special reinforcement had been found for him.

Thinking of this, Doflamingo couldn’t help feeling quite pleased.

Was this the influence that the most powerful people in the world could exert?

Truly frightening...

Although Doflamingo felt that dealing with a bunch of brats plus some messy pirates shouldn’t be a problem at all.

Overflowing with confidence, he swirled the wine in his glass, the sunglasses reflecting a blood-like glow.

"Fufufufufu!!!"

"Is it really okay, Admiral Green Bull~?"

Doflamingo, for the most part, loved to bluff without restraint.

For example, in the original story, even though he wasn’t that strong, he still dared to kick Fujitora, provoke Kuzan, and even boasted wildly while being escorted by the Marines.

Sometimes even Orin couldn’t figure out why Doflamingo was this confident.

To the extent that he could even be compared with Crocodile.

"Clearly not long ago, you still listed our Boss Orin as a target of attack, yet now you’re here to help me—the Shichibukai who is no longer favored by the World Government!!!"

Doflamingo grinned wickedly.

"In the end, isn’t it because the Marines—or rather the highest figures of the World Government—bow down before overwhelming power?!!!"

"Fufufufufu hahahaha!!!"

On the other side,

Seeing Doflamingo so arrogant—and even feeling proud because the Marines and World Government were helping him—Green Bull couldn’t help grinding his teeth.

If it weren’t for having a mission, just seeing such an arrogant pirate like Doflamingo, he would arrest him on sight.

"Don’t be happy so soon, Doflamingo..."

Really unable to stand the other party’s arrogance, Green Bull said with a cigarette in his mouth,

"Within the Marines, there have always been voices supporting the abolition of the Shichibukai system!!!"

Hearing this, Doflamingo didn’t look pleased.

"That would break the balance of the seas."

"That’s not something I need to worry about~"

In truth, Green Bull also sighed inwardly—whether the Shichibukai system existed or not was already unimportant. Anyway, after this incident, Doflamingo would most likely be arrested.

It was just a pity he still thought victory was in his grasp.

"By the way, the people sent by CP0 have probably already arrived in Dressrosa as well. They’re likely attending the colosseum."

"It’s hard to imagine that a heinous pirate like you wouldn’t pull some dirty tricks."

Doflamingo simply smiled and walked to the window, looking toward the distant colosseum.

"I can’t interfere there. Important people are watching this gladiator game~"

...

"Alright!!!"

"What’s about to begin is the second elimination round!!!"

"The popular contestants in the arena include Bellamy, King Elizabello II..."

A young man carrying a steel pipe and wearing a top hat also appeared, completely unremarkable in the crowd.

Orin stood at the high commentator’s platform and looked toward the arena.

The first person he noticed wasn’t Sabo, but rather a green rooster-comb hairstyle.

"Right, this guy really does appear here."

The rooster-combed man before his eyes was none other than Bartolomeo, who had been struck by Orin in Loguetown two years ago and had questioned his very life.

Other notable ones were Sabo, and the king who had been gathering power—King Elizabello II.

The King’s Punch?

As the fights on the field continued, Orin’s pupils slowly turned red, and the "fine perception" aspect of Observation Haki began to activate.

Every detail of King Elizabello II’s King’s Punch appeared vividly in Orin’s mind.

"The longer it charges, the stronger it becomes?"

Orin wondered if, by charging for a year or half a year, he could perhaps exchange blows with Joy Boy.

But Haki was also an extremely important factor...

Just then, inside the resting room, Luffy—who was watching Sabo’s fight—was recognized by Chinjao for his true identity.

Because he had been struck by Garp before, he tried to take revenge on Luffy on the spot.

Ace of course couldn’t stand it.

Trying to bully Luffy—even if it was an old guy from the previous era—was unacceptable. Flames immediately burst from his clenched fist.

But before the fight could really break out—

"Quiet."

Orin’s voice appeared there, and the few of them froze in place as if they had been hit by a paralysis spell.

Even Chinjao, that disgrace of the old era, of the same generation as Roger and Garp, was frozen solid by a single sentence from Orin, who was of a younger generation.

"Can’t you just quietly watch the match..."

Orin complained, then turned back toward the arena—and his words stopped in his throat at once.

Because from his angle, he could clearly see Bartolomeo actually peeing into the pool???

"You little punk..."

So that’s what you’re showing me?

Orin’s eye twitched as he looked at Bartolomeo pulling up his pants, revealing a "kind" smile.

And Bartolomeo?

He completely ignored everyone in the arena. Even though the young man carrying the steel pipe had already come up behind him, he remained entirely unafraid.

"Doing that during the match... you’re looking down on us way too much, aren’t you?!!!"

Sabo frowned, clenching his fist, Armament Haki quickly wrapping around it.

Bartolomeo grinned, looking absolutely begging for a beating.

"Give it up, you can’t possibly defeat me!!!"

Facing that heavy, powerful punch, he calmly crossed his fingers.

Then—

"Puh—"

A solid punch landed straight into Bartolomeo’s gut, almost making him vomit bile.

"Why..."

In a haze of pain, Bartolomeo let out a soul-deep question.

"Why didn’t the barrier appear..."