Lakeman ticulously cleaned himself, then stepped out of the bayhroom, his gaze cold and distant. He turned to Lily, his silver-haired maid, standing dutifully nearby. Her eyes glead with silent obedience.
"Take care of Hancock. Clean her thoroughly and ensure she rests in my chambers," Lakeman ordered, his tone unyielding and absolute. Lily bowed without hesitation.
"As you command, Master," she replied softly, her voice carrying a quiet, reverent devotion.
In the afternoon,
Rosinante, having completed his assignnt, arrived with a group of impeccably dressed individuals. Their mannerisms were polished, their expressions carefully asured. He led them to Saint Lakeman, who waited with an air of indifference, his sharp golden eyes scanning them briefly.
"Are you the guides Doffy arranged?" Lakeman asked, his voice smooth but devoid of interest. His gaze lingered on them for a mont before shifting away, as if they weren't worth the effort.
"Yes, Lord Saint Lakeman," They responded quickly, bowing with deep respect.
Lakeman offered them a faint, dismissive smile. "Then let's go."
The group straightened, clearly tense but eager to follow his orders. Rosinante walked beside Lakeman, half a step behind, his eyes subtly studying the young Celestial Dragon.
The more Rosinante observed, the more unsettled he beca. On the surface, Lakeman appeared calm, even serene, as if he were an ordinary youth strolling through a garden. His deanor was devoid of the fierce, destructive power Rosinante had witnessed earlier.
'He's like a dormant volcano,' Rosinante mused, his unease deepening. 'The devastation he caused this morning... How does he hide such unimaginable strength so effortlessly?'
Lakeman's serene façade belied the truth. Beneath the calm, there was a terrifying mastery, a control so refined that not a hint of his true power leaked out.
'To conceal so completely... He's mastered his strength down to the finest detail,' Rosinante thought in awe. 'This is beyond terrifying. I have only seen Garp and old man Sengoku, showing such restraint.'
A bitter smile crossed Rosinante's lips as he walked silently beside Lakeman. He had spent his life amidst powerhouses, and yet, this young Celestial Dragon possessed a refinent and control that eclipsed anything he had seen.
As they toured the Donquixote Family's territories, Lakeman's indifferent gaze swept over the scene before him. The streets were lined with the dark dealings of Doflamingo's empire—casinos, brothels, drug dens, and loan sharks profiting off the misery of others.
"How fitting," Lakeman murmured to himself, his expression cold, detached. "The strong prey on the weak. It is the natural order."
His voice was soft, almost casual, but Rosinante, walking beside him, felt a chill crawl down his spine.
'He feels no pity. No empathy. Only contempt for the weak.' Rosinante clenched his teeth, his inner turmoil hidden behind a composed mask. His resentnt grew, but he dared not let it show.
Lakeman's gaze remained indifferent as he walked through the filth of Doflamingo's empire, his thoughts far from the suffering of the people. To him, the Donquixote Family's rule was no different from the World Governnt's exploitation—both systems rely represented the strong subjugating the weak.
The World Governnt itself also exploited and sucked the blood of the common people, only their thods were more sophisticated and concealed.
But as the Donquixote Family had only just started, they couldn't bother with keeping up appearances, so they were openly devouring the lives of the common people.
anwhile, the system quietly delivered its feedback:
[You have received training feedback from Donquixote Doflamingo]
[Conqueror's Haki 1]
[Physique 1]
[Devil Fruit proficiency 2]
[You have gained insight into Conqueror's Haki]
Lakeman's heart stirred as he felt the subtle shift in his power. His Conqueror's Haki, already formidable, was responding to Doflamingo's influence, growing stronger.
At the sa ti, a flood of understanding surged through his mind. Lakeman gradually grasped the essence of Conqueror's Haki.
'A power of will,' Lakeman mused, his eyes narrowing slightly. 'Conqueror's Haki isn't rely brute force. It's the manifestation of one's dominance, one's will imposed on the world.'
He thought of legends, of powers that bent reality—Reality Marbles, AT Fields, the light of the soul.
Conqueror's Haki, too, was a form of ntal power, a force that shaped reality to the will of its user.
'The claim that Conqueror's Haki can't be enhanced through training isn't entirely accurate,' Lakeman pondered, 'It's just that the mind is elusive and hard to improve in a tangible way like the body can, making it seem impossible, as if it can only grow through the individual's self-developnt.'
'But there are still ways to enhance Conqueror's Haki—like seizing territory!'
A gleam of light flashed in Lakeman's eyes. Conqueror's Haki was the power of a dominant will. To enhance this power, one must conquer territory, rule over the masses, and impose their will, rewriting all the rules.
'Doflamingo is doing exactly this!' Lakeman thought.
By expanding the Donquixote Family, seizing vast territories, and ruling over millions of people, Doflamingo's Conqueror's Haki was slowly growing. But once he successfully seized Dressrosa and took over an entire kingdom, his Conqueror's Haki would reach its pinnacle.
'I didn't expect Doflamingo to bring such a surprise,' Lakeman thought with a slight smile. He hadn't expected such a thod to increase his Conqueror's Haki.
He wasn't interested in ruling the world; he rely looked down on the World Governnt, believing that as long as he was strong enough, he could rewrite all the rules, defy good and evil, and treat the whole world like a toy.
But unexpectedly, this disdainful mindset also nurtured the power of Conqueror's Haki!
'If I hadn't bound Doflamingo, I wouldn't have known different people have different ways of making their Conqueror's Haki progress,' Lakeman mused.
'Although Rayleigh also has Conqueror's Haki, he's retired, and his Conqueror's Haki was polished by battle and defeating opponents.'
'Heh, now I possess all three forms of Haki, and my strength has reached the pinnacle of admiral level. The only thing standing between and the invincible Imu is accumulation.'
As they continued their walk, Lakeman's eyes glead with understanding. 'Mind over matter. To conquer territory is to strengthen one's Haki. To rule is to rewrite the rules of the world itself.'
He could feel the stirring of his own Conqueror's Haki, pushing against its limits. His control over it was near perfection, but the surge in power made it difficult to maintain that control.
He turned his gaze toward the horizon, toward Mary Geoise. A fire burned within him—an unyielding desire to bring down Imu, the "god" who sat on the highest throne.
'My strength is nearly at its peak. Only ti separates from true dominance. When the ti cos, I will drag Imu from that throne and cast him into the abyss.'
At that mont, an almost imperceptible wave of pressure emanated from Lakeman. The group around him faltered, so of them shaking their heads as if to clear their minds.
"What's wrong?" one asked, looking confused.
"I felt dizzy all of a sudden," another murmured.
"It's nothing. I'm fine now."
They whispered among themselves, unaware of the real source of their discomfort. Lakeman's Conqueror's Haki had montarily slipped, touching their minds just enough to unsettle them.
Rosinante, though not affected, felt sothing off. 'Did I imagine that?' he wondered, glancing at Lakeman. 'A montary pressure? No... it couldn't be him. His aura is completely sealed.'
Rosinante tried to shake off the feeling, but the more ti he spent with Lakeman, the more uneasy he beca. The pressure from Lakeman was subtle, like an invisible weight pressing down on him, growing stronger with each passing day.
'This is Conqueror's Haki,' Rosinante finally realized, horror creeping into his heart. 'Saint Lakeman possesses Conqueror's Haki!'
Rosinante imdiately reported this discovery to Doflamingo, but to his surprise, no one seed shocked.
"Of course he has Conqueror's Haki," Doflamingo responded with a smirk. "Saint Lakeman without Conqueror's Haki? Now that would be surprising."
"He's a once-in-a-lifeti monster," another mber of the family chid in. "A power like that is only natural for him."
"Honestly, I'm surprised it took this long for him to show it to us," Doflamingo added with a laugh. "I awakened mine when I was eight. He's just being polite."
Rosinante remained silent, his unease growing. Lakeman was not rely powerful—he was a force beyond anything Rosinante had ever encountered.
"Enough about that," Doflamingo said, dismissing the topic with a wave of his hand. "Let's talk about sothing more interesting. Flevance. It's a goldmine. Saint Lakeman had previously inford about it."
"Flevance?" soone asked, intrigued.
"Yes," Doflamingo continued, his smile widening.
"It's a kingdom built on Amber Lead, and the World Governnt has been buying the substance in bulk. But what they're not telling the people is that Amber Lead is poisonous. Prolonged exposure leads to death. Slowly, silently, it kills. And the people of Flevance? They're already dying."
Doflamingo's words sent a chill down Rosinante's spine.
"Should we expose the truth?" one of the family mbers asked eagerly. "If we reveal it now, we could drive the country into chaos. They'd revolt overnight!"
"No," Doflamingo said, shaking his head. " doing that would provoke a strong reaction from the World Governnt, prompting them to wipe out Flevance with a Buster Call,"
"The current situation is just perfect—a slow death will naturally filter out the resilient ones."
"Let them suffer. The longer they suffer, the stronger their desperation becos. And desperation breeds loyalty—to . I'll take the survivors, the strongest among them. They'll serve us, and we'll bring down the World Governnt together."
Few days later, a ship arrived from afar.
Onboard were pale-skinned, emaciated, and frail individuals. Yet, regardless of age or gender, their eyes burned with an astonishing will to survive.
"Follow to see the young master," Pica said to these people as he disembarked. These individuals, stumbling and shaky, followed Pica into the heart of the Donquixote Family's territory.
Before long, Doflamingo's excited voice could be heard.
"You wretches who should have died, be grateful to !"
"I've pulled you out of hell, and you must repay with your lives!"
"Burn your lives, burn your souls, and find a way to cure your diseases—only then might you survive."
"When you've truly survived, that's when you can join the Donquixote Family."
"And then, you can exact revenge on the World Governnt you despise!"
"I am the only one in this sea willing to protect you, hahaha, because I also want to bring down the World Governnt."
Doflamingo's arrogant and rampant voice, accompanied by the overwhelming force of Conqueror's Haki, swept in all directions.
Even though they were affected by the Haki, these individuals, who were already tempered by Amber Lead disease, stood their ground, their eyes burning with intense resolve. They stared intently at Doflamingo, their will to survive soaring to the skies.
"Now, go down and get so rest," Doflamingo said with a smile, waving his hand. Soone imdiately stepped forward to take them to a place where they could wash up and rest.
At this mont, a young man stepped forward from the side.
"That child is promising," said the young man, who was none other than Lakeman, his gaze falling on a child among the Amber Lead patients, who was conspicuously wearing a black-and-white spotted hat.
"I think so too." Doflamingo nodded at Lakeman's words, smiling as he said, "Pica ntioned that this kid, Trafalgar Law, led over a hundred people in convincing them to board Pica's ship."
"He's smart and decisive."
"I quite admire him."
Lakeman looked at Doflamingo upon hearing this. This evaluation was different from the original story. In the original tiline, Law had undergone the death of friends and family, which twisted his personality, turning him into sothing akin to a demon.
He had beco quite similar to Doflamingo in his youth. Both had experienced extre tragedies in their childhoods. But now, with Lakeman's arrival, Trafalgar Law had been recruited into the Donquixote Family in advance before enduring those tragedies, and his character hadn't been warped.
Naturally, Doflamingo wouldn't look at him with such favor.
"He's interesting. Lend him to for a while," Lakeman said, his voice carrying an undertone of curiosity.
"You've taken a liking to him?" Doflamingo asked, surprised. Then he shrugged, a grin spreading across his face. "Fine, take him. I've got plenty of recruits."
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