"Is this… my limit?"
After blasting Ace away with another punch, Azure Orin felt his strength steadily draining.
He clenched his fist, feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
He hadn't even been forced into Dragon-Human form, yet Ace and Sabo were already like this—weren't they a bit too weak?
Or was his counterpart in this world just being stingy, afraid he might play them to death?
Azure Orin let out a sigh, a little helpless.
That was also because Ace and Sabo were truly absurdly tough—despite not even having one-tenth of his own durability, they kept getting back up again and again, successfully draining his energy completely.
"Well… whatever, I suppose that counts as your skill~"
Azure Orin sighed. As he caught Sabo's final punch, the very last trace of his strength was finally exhausted.
"You still have a lot to learn about the power of dragons, kid."
Azure Orin smiled. One hand transformed into a dragon claw and reached toward Sabo's head.
On Sabo's battered, barely recognizable face, tension appeared—then confusion—as he saw the dragon claw stop right in front of him, shatter into fragments, and slowly dissipate in midair.
"Oh right, there's also something the old man gave me. This was originally Black Gun's, wasn't it? Now it's being returned to its rightful owner. Remember to copy it out as soon as possible."
A Devil Fruit dropped from the interplay of light and shadow, landing in Sabo's hand.
There were also several photographs.
They were pictures Old Keek had left for him back then, said to have been given by Orin after he grew up—and Azure Orin knew that didn't refer to his true self.
So now, they were being returned to their rightful owner.
He told Sabo to copy them quickly because the last bit of his remaining energy was being used to maintain these photographs. Given enough time, they too would fade away.
Of course,
Azure Orin had also seen the photo album that Black Gun left for the old man in his own world.
Among them was even a picture of a heavily injured Black Gun sitting beside Rocks' corpse, silently smoking.
One of the photos in the album.
"...He… disappeared?"
At this moment, Sabo stared blankly at what he held in his hands—the Devil Fruit that looked exactly like the one described in rumors, the Paramecia-type Float-Float Fruit, along with a pile of unknown photographs—and fell into silence.
And then there were Azure Orin's words just now, which also left him silent.
Ace, meanwhile, struggled to get back up, but his arm went limp and he collapsed back onto the ground.
He had already reached his limit.
Seeing that Azure Orin had actually vanished, his feelings were both relieved and complicated, but…
"So… it's finally over…"
Both he and Sabo were at their limits. Sabo could barely stand at all—one more punch and he would've immediately lost consciousness on the spot.
The two of them lay sprawled on the ground in a star shape. Ace struggled to press the Float-Float Fruit into Sabo's mouth, making him swallow it whole.
"Wait!!!!"
"That wasn't originally meant to actually be eaten!!!"
Outside the arena, Diamante—who knew he had no way of participating in such a high-level battle—cried out in shock upon seeing the Float-Float Fruit get eaten.
Within the arena, the other battles were also gradually coming to an end.
Lucci, eyes rolled back, was knocked unconscious by an injured Luffy with a single Gear Fourth Rocket Punch.
As for Zoro and Kuina's battle, because of Haki and ghostly energy, Kuina ended up slightly inferior.
This peculiar power of ghostly energy existed only on the blade of Yami Karasu, and not on Wado Ichimonji.
Though both were sword racks of Orin, there were still differences between them. Wado Ichimonji, after all, had received far less influence than Yami Karasu.
Moreover, although Kuina had recently been personally trained by Orin in Haki,
Haki itself was closely tied to physical fitness and spirit. Kuina's original physical constitution was too weak, which meant her Haki was only average.
Before fully adapting to the physical boost brought by the Pink Dragon Fruit, it was difficult for her to raise her Armament Haki to a level that matched her body.
There was also a slight difference in swordsmanship. With the dual inheritance from Orin and Mihawk, Zoro's foundation was ultimately a bit more over-the-top.
Even so, Zoro only won by a narrow margin—and not easily.
"This time, I lost, Zoro…"
There was no trace of frustration in Kuina's eyes. Her resolve on the path of the sword was just as firm as Zoro's.
Back when Zoro first set out to sea and was defeated by Mihawk, his sword heart hadn't shattered—let alone Kuina, who was only slightly inferior this time.
"When we meet again, I won't lose to you next time!!!"
"Same here…"
Neither of them fought to the death, nor did they use ultimate moves that gambled their lives.
Once the gap was understood, they stopped there.
They were rivals—and also childhood friends.
Thus, the battle for the Float-Float Fruit officially came to an end.
Winner: Sabo!!!
...
"Are you kidding me!!!"
Bang——!!!
He crushed the wine glass in his hand in an instant, threads of crimson liquid flowing down.
Veins bulged one after another on Doflamingo's forehead. He hadn't expected those brats to survive the arena—let alone eat the Float-Float Fruit he valued so highly.
But at least… those people were already heavily injured…
Doflamingo tried to comfort himself.
But as the saying goes, misfortunes never come alone.
"Berururururu…"
The Den Den Mushi rang urgently, and Trebol's anxious voice came through.
"What happened?"
"This is bad, Doffy!!!"
"Sugar—she fainted from fright!!!"
"What?!"
At almost the same moment, on the screen before them, the toy spectators inside the arena began to change one after another.
Countless memories resurfaced.
The riot of Dressrosa had begun!!!
Not just locals of Dressrosa—there were also World Government officials, powerful pirates with high bounties, underground world tycoons, Marine officers…
Under the protection of the name Orin, Doflamingo had displayed even more inflated ambition than before, and the number of people transformed by the Hobby-Hobby Fruit was even more exaggerated than in the original timeline.
Now, everything had completely descended into chaos!!!
Veins throbbed violently as cold sweat appeared on Doflamingo's face.
Because of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit, even he himself didn't know how many people he had turned into toys over the years and used at will.
And according to Trebol, it was all because of one man.
That man—specifically emphasized by Orin.
The Sniper God,
God·Usopp!!!
Just thinking of this troublesome man filled Doflamingo with boundless rage.
"You think this means you've won?"
"Don't be naïve, you brats…"
He draped his pink feathered coat over his shoulders. There was not a trace of a smile left on his face.
"With Fire Fist Ace, Revolutionary Sabo, and Straw Hat Luffy all badly injured, how do you plan to face the Donquixote Family and Green Bull?"
Threads of the Birdcage began to activate, spreading out to envelop Dressrosa.
"Let's play a game~"
"Only when I'm dead—or when all the wanted criminals are dead—will the game end. First on the bounty list is…"
[God·Usopp]
[Bounty: Ten Stars]