A flash of steel split through the sky.
The flying figure of Donquixote Doflamingo suddenly froze mid-air.
"Zzzzt!"
Sparks erupted as his fingers extended into razor-sharp threads of hardened diamond wire, stopping Trafalgar Law's deadly slash in its tracks.
"Fufufufu… Law, why must you be so heartless?"
Doflamingo's voice carried that same mocking ease, though his eyes were dark. "I've always treated you like a younger brother. The position of the Donquixote Family's Heart Seat—my highest-ranking officer—has been left open just for you."
He smiled lightly, but rage boiled underneath. Years of effort raising that boy, and this was what he got in return—a wolf that bit its master.
Law's voice was ice.
"The moment you shot Corazon, you became my enemy for life!"
He swung Kikoku in a storm of precise, furious cuts, each one aimed to kill. Doflamingo met them all effortlessly—thread against blade, Armament Haki against cursed steel.
Doflamingo's mastery of Observation and Armament far exceeded Law's. Even Law's Ope-Ope powers couldn't break through his defense.
As for that talk of brotherly love—it was just another lie. Everyone knew Doflamingo only wanted Law for the immortality operation the Ope-Ope Fruit could perform.
If Souta Kiryuu's crew hadn't taken Law under their wing, Doflamingo would have shown his fangs long ago.
"About Corazon," Doflamingo snarled, veins bulging on his forehead. "Do you think I wasn't hurt? He was my brother—but he betrayed me! He fed our secrets to the Marines! He would've destroyed everything I built!"
The memory twisted his face into pure malice.
Did he enjoy killing his father and brother? Of course not. But that foolish father who gave up his Celestial Dragon status had doomed them all—robbed them of power, and led to his mother's death.
And that naïve brother—who thought justice mattered more than blood—had tried to finish what their father started.
"Corazon was your blood!" Law shouted, eyes burning with fury. "He was kind, selfless—my savior!"
Their blades clashed again and again, both shouting the ghosts of the past into the wind. In truth, neither was entirely wrong—but from Law's side, Doflamingo could only ever be his mortal enemy.
"Out of my way, Law! I need to speak to Souta Kiryuu!"
With a furious roar, Doflamingo unleashed a devastating kick coated in Armament Haki, blasting Law backward through the air. His eyes locked on the massive airship overhead—the Ark of the Commandments, Souta's flagship.
"Yahaha! That guy Law's still too green! He can't even handle a clone!"
From atop the main mast, Enel crouched like a thunder god, lightning flickering across his arms as he laughed at the sight of the approaching Heavenly Demon.
Nearby, Douglas Bullet gave Doflamingo a sidelong glance, his expression bored.
"Hmph. Not even worth a warm-up."
His Observation Haki told him what Souta already knew—this wasn't the real Doflamingo. Just a puppet woven from strings.
"Heheheh… this pompous Heavenly Demon once forced his way into the Seven Warlords with pure arrogance," cackled Gecko Moria, stepping forward with a twisted grin. "Maybe it's time I knock him down a peg!"
Behind him, Boa Hancock and Bartholomew Kuma stood beside Souta Kiryuu, silent and composed, their presence radiating quiet authority.
If Doflamingo's clone tried to force its way forward, they'd show him exactly what it meant to face kings.
"Shadow Lance!"
Moria moved first, hurling a spear of condensed darkness toward the approaching figure.
But—clang!
A nearly invisible wire sliced through the attack, scattering it in a spray of sparks.
"He's got some skill," Moria admitted with a crooked smile, sending out a swarm of shadow bats.
From above, Enel nearly fell off the mast laughing.
"Yahaha! Are you blind, you idiot? That's just a clone! You're getting serious against a puppet?"
"W-What!?" Moria froze mid-step, his fists tightening. He hadn't even realized.
A wave of embarrassment hit him—he'd just made a fool of himself in front of Souta again.
Rafitte and Capone Bege glanced at each other, their eyes narrowing slightly. They hadn't noticed either. Thankfully, Enel's mockery wasn't aimed their way.
"Fufufufu! Souta Kiryuu!"
Doflamingo's puppet called out toward the golden throne where Souta sat. "Tell me what you want! The Donquixote Family is willing to surrender half of its profits—or even serve under your flag!"
Even while fending off Law's renewed assault and Moria's flying bats, the clone held its ground, weaving threads that gleamed like steel. For a puppet, its power was frightening—stronger even than Moria or Crocodile.
Souta leaned lazily against the armrest of his throne, golden eyes half-open, voice calm yet laced with contempt.
"You want to negotiate… but you don't even have the guts to come here yourself? Don't tell me your real body is already running away."
His gaze pierced through the clone like a blade.
"Fufufu… The name God-Slayer Souta Kiryuu is known across the seas," the puppet sneered. "Who wouldn't be cautious?"
Souta chuckled softly. "Cautious? No. Cowardly."
Then—his eyes flashed.
A surge of golden light burst forth, a laser cannon blazing directly from his pupils. The beam roared across the sky like divine judgment, striking Doflamingo's clone square in the skull.
The Heavenly Demon's head exploded in a burst of flame and fiber.
The body unraveled into a tangle of pale strings—lifeless, empty.
Law and Moria stood frozen. They had struggled to bring the clone down together… but Souta had ended it with a single glance.
The difference in power was terrifying.
But then—the shredded remains began to writhe. Threads surged upward, twisting together into a rising column of silk.
Souta didn't even move. He just said one word.
"Hancock."
Boa Hancock stepped forward instantly, her voice soft and deadly.
"Understood… Mero Mero Gust!"
She shaped her hands into a heart, unleashing waves of pink energy that shimmered across the air.
The rising mass of threads turned to stone in mid-motion and came crashing down, shattering upon impact.
Law sliced once, and the petrified remains exploded into dust.
Doflamingo's ultimate move—Birdcage—hadn't even begun before Souta Kiryuu's crew snuffed it out completely.