The White Threads Surge, infused with an immense amount of Armament Haki, hadn't even reached Maude before they were obliterated by consecutive Hakoku attacks.
Countless thin threads, like a sudden snowfall, whistled past Doflamingo, rustling his flamboyant pink feathered coat.
As the residual force of Hakoku dissipated, the myriad threads forming the White Threads Surge also faded into nothingness.
The two attacks had neutralized each other.
Yet, the sheer magnitude of their clash sent chills down the spines of both sides observing the battle from a distance.
If any of them had been caught in the blast, they might have lost their lives in an instant.
Only the pirates who had personally witnessed Jozu turn to dust were unshaken by fear. Instead, they stared at Maude and Doflamingo with murderous intent burning in their eyes, filled with overwhelming regret.
If only they had insisted on rushing to support Captain Jozu earlier, perhaps he wouldn't have been killed.
Driven by remorse, the pirates advanced toward Maude and Doflamingo with murderous resolve.
Their movement did not go unnoticed.
But Maude and Doflamingo paid them no mind.
"Fufufu…"
Doflamingo's face contorted with battle fervor.
Even though he could suspend himself in the air and move using his threads, his mobility was far inferior to Maude's Moonwalk.
Without hesitation, he landed on the ground, his peripheral vision catching sight of Law, who was waiting for an opportunity to strike.
The power of the Ope Ope no Mi, capable of swapping objects within its domain, combined with Maude's lethal abilities…
Could there be a more troublesome combination in the world?
Doflamingo's eyes grew colder.
Noticing Doflamingo's wary gaze, Law smirked silently and flicked a small stone toward Maude, who remained in midair.
Whoosh!
The stone shot through the air toward Maude.
"Room!"
With the activation of his ability, Law once again expanded his spatial domain.
Doflamingo's pupils contracted.
Maude, however, smiled slightly and swung his blade the moment the domain expanded, slashing toward the incoming stone.
Just as the blade was about to cleave the stone, Law seized the opportunity and swapped its position with Doflamingo's.
In an instant, Doflamingo was forcibly teleported directly into the path of Maude's descending blade.
"Damn you, Law…!"
Doflamingo's sunglasses reflected the incoming slash of Maude's blade, Shusui.
White Shield!
At this critical moment, already on guard, Doflamingo swiftly transformed his pink feathered coat into white threads, intertwining them into a Haki-infused shield in front of him.
Shusui's blade struck the White Shield.
Crack!
Both attacks were imbued with Armament Haki, but the White Shield failed to withstand the power of the strike and shattered instantly.
Doflamingo, as if struck by a meteor, plummeted from the sky and crashed heavily into the ground.
Boom!
The impact blasted open a massive crater in the already ruined plaza.
Lying on his back at the bottom of the crater, fresh blood trickled from the corner of Doflamingo's mouth, staining his neck.
Even Haki has its strengths and weaknesses.
The exchange just now had made it clear—Maude's Armament Haki was superior.
"His strength has grown even more…"
Doflamingo's heart was filled with uncertainty.
He could feel it—Maude was getting stronger with each consecutive battle.
But what puzzled him the most was Maude's seemingly endless stamina and Haki reserves.
"What the hell is going on?"
Doflamingo rose to his feet and wiped the blood from his lips.
Even among the strongest in the world, not even the one he feared most—Kaido of the Beasts—possessed such a monstrous ability.
It was beyond human limits, surpassing even the realm of monsters.
If Maude hadn't consumed the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Doflamingo might have suspected he had eaten some unknown Devil Fruit.
Above, in the sky…
Maude looked down at Doflamingo from above.
Without shadows, he couldn't fully unleash the power of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
However, Law's abilities helped compensate for that weakness to some extent.
But Maude didn't actually need Law's assistance.
Still, he couldn't just let Law stand idly by and do nothing.
Even if they defeated Doflamingo, Law wouldn't be satisfied with just being a spectator.
"Let's end this quickly."
Maude muttered to himself before tilting his body forward, stepping through the air, and shooting like an arrow toward Doflamingo in the crater below.
Doflamingo raised his head, his eyes glowing red as his Observation Haki worked at full speed.
In a situation where Law could teleport Maude to him at any moment, Doflamingo could not afford to let his guard down for even a second.
White Surge!
Doflamingo pressed his right palm downward, and the surrounding environment instantly transformed into a sea of white threads that surged toward Maude like a tidal wave.
Faced with this overwhelming wave of threads, Maude remained unfazed, cutting straight through it.
Whoosh—!
Several flashes of sword light streaked through the air.
The turbulent wave of white threads was instantly shredded into countless glowing fragments.
With the threads destroyed, Maude pressed forward, instantly appearing before Doflamingo and swinging his blade.
Doflamingo's expression tightened as he retreated quickly while simultaneously weaving a Haki-infused spiderweb from white threads, attempting to stall Maude's advance.
But Maude didn't care how many techniques Doflamingo had.
With another sweep of his sword, the Haki-infused web was sliced to ribbons.
Then, once again, Maude appeared right in front of Doflamingo.
With Shusui wrapped in Armament Haki, a pitch-black slash arced toward Doflamingo's body.
Doflamingo had no room to dodge. He had no choice but to meet the attack head-on.
Crossing his arms, he launched ten thick strings from his fingertips to intercept the blade.
Sparks erupted as the two forces clashed, accompanied by the grating sound of metal grinding against metal. Black and red lightning-like arcs crackled between them.
Whether intentional or not, their Conqueror's Haki collided fiercely at this moment.
Boom—!
A powerful shockwave erupted from the clash, radiating outward in all directions.
The pirates who had come close, hoping to strike at Maude and Doflamingo, were caught in the surge.
However…
The sheer force of Conqueror's Haki knocked them unconscious instantly.
Maude and Doflamingo never spared them a glance.
Their eyes met through the cascade of sparks and arcs of energy.
Then—
Maude grinned, speaking in an inexplicable tone: "As expected, without my shadow, my blade isn't as 'sharp.' It seems I've come to rely on my shadow more than I expected."
"..."
Feeling the pressure from Maude, Doflamingo's expression darkened. He remained silent.
He knew one thing for certain—if Maude had his shadow right now…
Then, in this clash, he would be powerless, just like Whitebeard had been, and his body would be carved apart by Maude's shadow attacks.
At that moment, a realization struck Doflamingo.
If he didn't end this battle before Maude's shadow returned—
Then the one who would fall here…
Would undoubtedly be him.
Doflamingo "saw" the crux of this life-and-death battle. Then, he saw Maude move his idle left hand and pull out a gun from his waistband.
"!"
A chill ran through Doflamingo's heart.
Bang! Bang—!
Maude raised his left hand and fired multiple rounds at Doflamingo at close range.
Each bullet, coated in Armament Haki, struck Doflamingo's body without obstruction.
However, due to Doflamingo's swift activation of his own Armament Haki for defense, the bullets didn't pierce through him.
Still, the sheer impact of the bullets felt like repeated heavy punches slamming into his chest and abdomen.
With each muffled thud, Doflamingo was sent flying backward, blood spurting from his mouth like raindrops scattering in the air.
"Room."
Law, who had been waiting for an opportunity, seized the moment without hesitation, expanding his spatial domain once again.
The battlefield, littered with scattered rubble, provided him with ample material to utilize his abilities.
"Shambles."
Law's eyes gleamed with killing intent.
Unable to suppress his emotions, he instantly swapped places with a piece of debris in Doflamingo's trajectory.
Clang—!
Kikoku left its sheath, slashing through the air with lethal precision toward Doflamingo's back.
Although there was still some distance between them, within the range of his domain's power, the strike landed exactly where Law intended.
However—
The expected scene of Doflamingo being cleaved in half did not unfold.
"Did he block it?!"
Law's expression changed drastically.
Doflamingo, who had successfully defended against the attack, sneered inwardly.
Clearly, he had anticipated Law's actions.
And from this moment, his victory was set in motion.
Holy Bullet – Divine Execution!
With blinding speed, Doflamingo conjured a thick strand of string, wrapped in highly condensed Armament Haki, and fired it straight at Law's chest.
The counterattack was faster than Law's ability to react.
Schlk!
The pitch-black Holy Bullet, tinged with a menacing purple hue, mercilessly tore through Law's chest.
"Urgh—!"
Law's pupils shrank as his body convulsed, a large amount of blood spurting from his mouth.
At the same time—
Doflamingo landed on the ground, skidding to a stop with ease.
"Fufufu… You're far too naive, Law."
Effortlessly neutralizing Law's threat, Doflamingo's grin stretched into an exaggerated arc.
Without Law's ability to teleport in and out of battle, the pressure of fighting Maude would significantly lessen.
"This is where you die."
Murderous intent flashed in Doflamingo's eyes.
Once the Ope Ope no Mi reincarnated, finding it again would just be a matter of time.
He prepared to land the finishing blow—but Maude wasn't about to let that happen.
In a swift motion, Maude closed the distance, forcing Doflamingo to retreat.
Momentarily pulling back, Doflamingo glanced at Maude, who had repositioned himself beside Law, and remained unfazed.
From the moment the Holy Bullet pierced Law's chest, whether Law survived or not, he would be unable to use his Devil Fruit powers anymore.
"There's only one opportunity—Maude must die here."
Doflamingo locked his gaze onto Maude, the ground behind him surging with waves of writhing strings.
From the start of the battle, he had spared no effort or Haki, demonstrating his unwavering determination to kill Maude here and now.
Law lay on the ground, blood continuously oozing from his chest.
His face was filled with unwillingness.
Maude glanced at Law's wounds, inwardly sighing at his recklessness, though his own expression remained calm.
"Can you hold on?" he asked.
"D-Don't worry about me… Just… fulfill the promise…"
Law's voice was weak and breathless, but his gaze toward Maude burned with an intensity that transcended death.
Vengeance.
It didn't matter how it was done.
As long as Doflamingo died!
That was his reason for continuing to live.
Maude nodded. "Doflamingo is as good as dead. You have my word."
"…"
The corners of Law's bloodstained lips twitched slightly.
After a brief pause, Maude added, "Don't die."
With that, he turned his head toward Doflamingo.
"Game over, Doflamingo."
The cryptic remark elicited no reaction from Doflamingo.
But at that moment, a shadow streaked across the ground from the harbor, swiftly approaching Maude's back.
Thanks to the efforts of the Pacifistas and Sentomaru, the shadow carrying Whitebeard's corpse returned to Maude without issue.
Seeing his shadow return, Doflamingo's expression grew solemn.
The only fortunate part was that he had taken Law down before Maude's shadow came back.
"Fufu, game over?"
Doflamingo sneered, just about to retort—when suddenly, he stopped.
His eyes widened in shock.
At this moment—
The returned shadow swirled around Maude like twin black fish, ceaselessly weaving around him.
Shadow Flow – Twin Fish Circulation.
Maude remained calm.
The shadowy fish-like forms, as if infused with Armament Haki, suddenly condensed and fused into Maude's body.
Within moments, his face, neck, arms, and legs were marked by swirling black wave-like patterns.
The intricate design closely resembled the patterns found on the surface of Devil Fruits.
Simultaneously, Maude's irises darkened, encircled by an abyssal black ring.
Uncertain of what Maude was becoming, Doflamingo instinctively opted for an all-out offensive.
Sixteen Holy Bullets – Divine Execution!
The surging tide of strings behind Doflamingo split into sixteen highly condensed lines—the same technique that had pierced Law's chest.
Only this time, he unleashed all sixteen at full force!
The lethal strands shot toward Maude from every direction at extreme speed.
Maude's expression remained calm as he simply swung his blade, releasing a brilliant arc of cutting light.
The incoming Holy Bullets slammed into the blade's energy and ricocheted into the air.
Clang—!
The ultimate technique Doflamingo prided himself on was deflected effortlessly.
"What—?!"
Doflamingo's eyes shrank in sheer disbelief.
His most powerful attack—nullified so easily?
Staggered by the shock, even his Observation Haki faltered for a moment.
In that instant, Maude vanished with the wind.
Shadow Flow – Twin Blade Wheel Slash!
Countless crescent-shaped slashes appeared across Doflamingo's body before vanishing like illusions.
The next moment—
As Maude reappeared behind him—
Blood erupted from Doflamingo's wounds, drenching the ground beneath him.
"!!?"
Doflamingo's face twisted in astonishment. His strength drained away with the blood, and he collapsed heavily onto his back.
Maude turned, gazing down at the bloodied Doflamingo, and slowly sheathed his pristine blade.
Not far away—
Law's face was pale, drenched in cold sweat.
He maintained a small localized ROOM around his chest, painstakingly repairing his damaged organs.
Though his chest had been pierced through, it had narrowly missed any vital points.
A misfortune, yet a stroke of luck.
Even if his wounds were fatal, he would still struggle to prolong his life—just to witness Doflamingo's fall with his own eyes.
Having steeled himself for this moment, Law began his self-treatment.
"I can't lose consciousness... at the very least."
As he initiated the process, he forced his head up with difficulty and looked toward Maude.
And then—
He saw Doflamingo lying motionless on the ground.
"Eh?"
"It's... over?!"
Law's eyes widened in stunned disbelief.
Meanwhile—
The sight of Maude killing Doflamingo was broadcasted live across the world.
In that instant—
The world erupted.
The Underworld, in particular, was struck by an unprecedented quake.
Who was Doflamingo?
A kingpin who ruled the Underworld with an iron grip!
Yet now, he had fallen by Maude's blade!
Countless people who witnessed Doflamingo's downfall through the broadcast were utterly dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning.
"Doflamingo... is dead?!"
"It's over... it's all over..."
Among them were Doflamingo's black-market clients—the backbone of his arms trade.
For war profiteers, losing their primary weapons supplier meant certain defeat.
But the impact of Doflamingo's death extended far beyond that.
And among all his clients, the one who could least afford to accept this reality—was none other than Kaido of the Beasts, one of the Four Emperors...
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