He seemed to be indirectly indicating that he did have some ties with the Beasts Pirates, but these matters would have to wait until after the current situation was resolved.
After that, Law's ROOM once again enveloped the previous area, and Law and Robin returned to their earlier positions.
After adjusting his state, Law rejoined the battle. He had made some arrangements for what was to come, but he had no intention of calling it a day just yet.
Gear 4 Luffy and Doflamingo's fight was still ongoing, and during this process, Sanji wasn't able to make much of a difference.
At his current strength, it was difficult for him to get involved in a top-tier fight, and Robin's words before she left had further unsettled his mind.
Everyone has things they don't want to face, and for Sanji right now, what he didn't want to touch was the past involving the Vinsmoke family.
As the special one among the children, under Judge's way of thinking, Sanji's childhood was very unhappy, especially after his mother died.
Normally, these things didn't affect him much, but in this kind of moment, when he already lacked enough strength, he was even less able to participate in the fight.
Back on the battlefield, Law looked at Luffy and Doflamingo, who were evenly matched, and at first thought this was a good thing, but if Luffy always acted according to plan, he wouldn't be Luffy.
With another punch from Luffy, his whole body deflated like a balloon and he dropped down again.
"Takt!"
Law used his ability in time to transfer Luffy away. Seeing Luffy suddenly go limp, Law couldn't figure out what was going on.
"Straw Hat-ya, what's your situation?"
"This is my first time using Gear 4 in actual combat. The consumption is even greater than I expected…"
In the original timeline, before Luffy and Doflamingo's final battle began, Doflamingo had been hit by Law's Gamma Knife. Although he used threads to repair his insides, his condition was still affected.
Now, although Doflamingo had been attacked by Redfield earlier, at that time Redfield hadn't been fighting seriously, so Doflamingo's condition was much better, while Luffy's exhaustion was much greater.
"So what now?"
Seeing Luffy like this, Law had a very bad feeling.
"So… I won't be able to use Haki for the next ten minutes. Tra-guy, I'll leave these ten minutes to you. I'm going to rest for a bit."
With that, Luffy demonstrated what absurd trust looked like by falling asleep right in front of him, starting to rapidly recover his stamina.
"Blackleg-ya! Beetle! Don't just stand there, check on your captain!"
Law didn't want this kind of trust at all, but he had no choice but to respond, tossing Luffy to Sanji, and then facing off against Doflamingo himself.
At this point, Sanji had also emerged from the Vinsmoke's shadow, but he directly handed Luffy over to Hercules, as he encountered new trouble of his own.
They weren't the only ones with helpers. Doflamingo's own executives were present too. Trebol had returned to the scene and directly confronted Sanji. The responsibility of stalling for time while carrying Luffy now fell to Hercules.
Meanwhile, Katakuri and Marco, who were still in a standoff nearby, saw some new developments.
"Marco, I still have a few younger sisters of the right age. If it's you, Mama would be even more interested."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Don't you get it? Whitebeard is already dead. Since the day he died, you've already lost the qualification to reign over this sea.
With just your group, there's no way you'll be able to gain a foothold in this sea's future. If you join us, your forces might have a chance to shine again.
Without Whitebeard, you've become much more cautious in everything you do. If it were two years ago, you'd probably have fought me first before saying anything."
"…"
Without Whitebeard, the Whitebeard Pirates lost their main pillar. The remaining members could barely keep the crew from falling apart, but developing further had become extremely difficult.
When it comes to outsiders she values, Charlotte Linlin's way of forming alliances has always been through marriage, and Marco was just this kind of person.
It wasn't just Katakuri. Back then, after Whitebeard's death, Red Hair also tried to recruit Marco, but Marco refused them all, and even now that hasn't changed.
"What Pops left behind, we have to protect ourselves."
"The Quake-Quake Fruit is right in her bag. Admit it, Marco, you all don't have what it takes. In this turmoil, you won't be able to hold on for long."
Most of the affairs of the Big Mom Pirates were handled by Katakuri and Perospero, and recruiting strong fighters was always a constant subject for the pirate crews. Katakuri felt this was only reasonable.
But Marco's attitude remained firm. He simply raised his head and looked toward the higher part of the battlefield, for that was where the real fight that would decide everything today was taking place.
"Hallowed Glacier Slash!"
In White Mode, her flying speed was not at all slower than in Dark Mode, and from above, Yamato swung her kanabo down hard at Redfield.
Unlike before, there was no obvious lightning or flames entwining the kanabo, but wherever Takeru swept, white mist would rise. At this moment, the kanabo's temperature had reached an extremely low state.
Since just a moment ago, cold air had been continuously filling the surrounding environment. When Yamato's second swing came down, Redfield finally noticed what was different about Yamato's attack this time.
Suddenly, a burst of white flame erupted from Yamato's kanabo. Although it was fire, it didn't have the slightest bit of heat.
That white flame seemed to burn through anything, spreading to everything it touched, but the instant it made contact, it unleashed a bone-chilling cold.
If Dark Mode had Freeze Shock, White Mode had its opposite: Ice Burn.
Freeze Shock was swift as thunder and lightning, relentlessly pursuing the enemy, while the Ice Burn was as pervasive as wind and fire, gradually invading every inch of land, leaving nowhere to hide.
Redfield's umbrella was now bearing a weight no ordinary umbrella could endure. Haki made it as tough as a Great Grade Blade, but Haki couldn't extinguish the Ice Burn.
During her earlier battles, Yamato had compressed the power of the Ice Burn into her weapon.
Then, with another swing, she released it all at once, causing the umbrella in Redfield's hand to be thoroughly corroded by the cold flame. To prevent the flame from corroding his arm, Redfield finally chose to let go, allowing the cold flame to completely freeze the umbrella before it fell to the ground.
"Your ability really is complicated, huh? Fire and ice are two opposing elements, and you can do this with them?"
"It's nothing special. Old man, you're out of weapons now, so shouldn't you give up?"
"Hahaha, little girl, there's no need to say things like that. Losing the weapon isn't a reason for a fight to end. But now that I think about it, I've gone too long without fighting. This body, after being dormant for decades, still hasn't regained its strength."
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