The massive Birdcage encased the Kingdom of Dressrosa, and those ensnared by the Parasite strings were forced into a gruesome dance of fratricide.
Simultaneously, the countless citizens who had regained their human forms from toys—former Dressrosa Royal Army soldiers, pirates, and contestants from the Corrida Colosseum—began a frenzied campaign of retaliation against the Donquixote Family.
The air was thick with the thunder of gunfire, deafening explosions, the shrill cries of the dying, and the metallic clang of clashing blades. The once-prosperous "Land of Love and Passion" had been reduced to a wasteland of rubble and corpses. To call it a living hell was no exaggeration.
However, seeing the Birdcage deploy, the members of the Donquixote Family understood their Young Master's resolve: leave no witnesses.
Led by Diamante, the Diamond Army joined forces with Dimitri, Quiniel Vito, and Cavendish inside the Corrida Colosseum to surround and slaughter the remaining contestants who had narrowly avoided being turned into toys.
Jesus Burgess of the Blackbeard Pirates and Bartolomeo, who was eager to prove himself to the Chris Pirates, stood firmly with the Donquixote-Chris Pirate Alliance.
On the other side, the Resistance was spearheaded by Sabo and Max, bolstered by many contestants from Groups C and F, such as Gergiel Haunger and Calotte.
The central ring had long since collapsed; the spectator stands and the preparation rooms had become the new frontlines. As for the Flame-Flame Fruit still tied to the back of the Fighting Fish Boss in the surrounding pool, no one had the luxury to claim it. The weak couldn't defeat the Fighting Fish, and the strong were too preoccupied fighting the executives of the Donquixote and Chris Pirates.
"You damn bastard! Last time you were lucky enough to escape from Alvis, but this time, I won't give you the chance!"
A terrifying, ink-blue beast stood atop the spectator stands, arcs of electricity dancing across its fur as it let out a low, gravelly roar.
BOOM!
In the next instant, Vito transformed into a bolt of lightning and lunged. The stone beneath his feet shattered upon impact.
Recalling the torture he endured back in Alvis, Sabo's expression darkened with fury. "We'll see if you actually have the skill to back that up this time!" he barked.
Sabo's right hand twisted into a three-fingered "Dragon's Claw" stance, meeting the charge with a Dragon's Hook Claw.
RUMBLE!
A massive explosion erupted. Blinding lightning clashed with sheer force, causing the entire Corrida Colosseum to shudder. A terrifying shockwave swept outward, creating a vacuum that swirled through the air.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Meanwhile, a series of thunderous impacts echoed from within the preparation rooms. Two figures were locked in a blur of combat, each exchange of blows sending ripples through the air.
Max had fully transformed into his werewolf form. Utilizing his four-meter height, he used his hands, claws, and tail in a relentless assault against Dimitri. His strikes were fierce and oppressive, forcing Dimitri back step by step.
"ROAR—!"
Suddenly, Max let out a feral howl and swung a massive claw downward. Dimitri didn't flinch; he met the strike with a straight punch aimed directly at the center of Max's palm.
CLANG!
A dull thud echoed as a violent gale erupted from the point of contact, knocking over every weapon rack in the room and pinning them against the walls. Max followed up immediately with a horizontal sweep of his leg, the limb slicing through the air with a high-pitched whistle like a sharpened blade.
"More-More: 10x Speed!!!"
Dimitri's silhouette flickered. He vanished instantly, appearing several meters away as if he had teleported.
CRASH—!
The whip-like kick slammed into the wall instead. The half-meter-thick brick shattered like tofu, leaving a jagged crater and sending stone shards flying everywhere.
"More-More: 10x Shrapnel!"
Dimitri growled, his fingers digging into the stone floor and ripping out a handful of pebbles the size of fingernails. He hurled them at Max.
In the next second, the volume of the stones expanded tenfold. Coated in the jet-black sheen of Armament Haki, they accelerated to lethal speeds, whistling through the air.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Faced with a hail of projectiles, Max had no time to dodge. He crossed his arms in front of his face, tanking the hits. The shrapnel, more powerful than sniper rounds, bit into his flesh, making him snarl in pain.
As the volley ended, Max, stinging all over and consumed by rage, prepared to lung forward to tear his opponent apart. However, he looked up only to find Dimitri leveling an ivory flintlock pistol directly at him.
"More-More: 100x Gun!" Dimitri whispered, his finger squeezing the trigger.
BANG—!
A single shot rang out. Muzzle flash flared as a thumb-sized lead ball spiraled out of the barrel.
"Not good!"
Max's face went pale. Without a second thought, he threw himself to the side.
The moment the lead ball left the chamber, its size ballooned a hundred times, transforming into a projectile comparable to a 48-pound heavy cannonball. Wrapped in Armament Haki, it roared through the air, obliterating the very wall Max had previously kicked.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rocked the structure. Brick walls and structural pillars thick enough for two men to hug were shredded by fire and shockwaves. Stone debris was blasted outward like a hurricane through the preparation room. The outer wall of the Colosseum was punched through, leaving a hole over five meters wide, raining debris onto the streets below and crushing bystanders.
At that moment, over a dozen powerful Mink warriors appeared in the spectator stands, finally revealing themselves. Some had been disguised as toys, others were hidden under black robes or tailored suits with masks, but now they cast aside their disguises.
"Charge, warriors!"
Duke Inuarashi tossed aside a massive boulder with one hand and drew his sword, leading the charge.
"Nya~ Guardians, with me!"
Nekomamushi wore a savage grin. Brandishing his dual-headed steel trident, he lunged toward Cavendish with a wild war cry.
The sudden intervention of the Mink Tribe shifted the tide, catching the Donquixote and Chris Pirate forces completely off guard.
CLANG!
Cavendish raised Durandal, parrying Nekomamushi's strike. The collision of steel ignited a fierce pressure wave.
"Damn it! You Mink bastards!"
With the Minks joining the fray, the battle within the arena escalated to a new level of intensity. At the entrance, Caribou and his brother Coribou watched the surge of "Beastmen" with faces that had turned a sickly shade of green.
"What is this? Where did these animals come from?" Caribou stammered. As a newly minted combatant for the Chris Pirates, he had never experienced a battle of this caliber.
Beside him, a brawny Chris Pirate looked on grimly. "Caribou-sama, we have to intercept these beasts!"
"Right! Stop them!" Caribou snapped out of his shock and shrieked, "Hurry! Activate the Dragonians!"
The arena wasn't the only theater of war; the Underground Trade Port had also descended into a free-for-all. This was where the highest concentration of former toys, and the strongest among them, were located.
Trebol was struggling to protect the unconscious Sugar while commanding the port guards to hold back the enraged mob of humans who had just regained their forms.
Hajrudin the Giant, Sai and Boo, Ideo, Blue Gilly, King Elizabello II, the Funk Brothers... one after another, these powerhouses were venting their suppressed fury. Trebol couldn't hold them all back and was being forced into a retreat.
"You miserable pests!"
Suddenly, a high-pitched, shrill voice pierced the chaos. The ground of the trade port began to undulate like ocean waves.
A statue-like stone giant emerged from the earth, rapidly growing until it loomed even larger and more imposing than Hajrudin.
It was Pica, one of the three Top Executives of the Donquixote Family, leader of the Pica Army, and user of the Paramecia-type Stone-Stone Fruit.
Appearing alongside him were the officers of the Pica Army: Gladius, Baby-5, and Buffalo.
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