Chapter 331: Absolute Rhythmic Crushing! Unfathomable Combo
Facing the jellybeans stagnant in mid-air, Victor's lips slowly curled into a composed smile.
In his eerie eyes—one red and one purple—cold killing intent and playfulness were perfectly intertwined.
"Let me demonstrate it for you."
As the ripple-like pattern of the Rinnegan in his left eye socket flickered slightly,
An unmatched spatial repulsive force erupted precisely with him as the center.
Only a muffled thunder-like explosion, "Bang," was heard.
Those Haki-infused jellybeans, originally floating still in mid-air, instantly reversed direction under the violent thrust of the repulsive force.
At a terrifying speed several times faster than they had come, they turned into a dense rain of black bullets, flying back toward Katakuri below along their original path.
Facing this overwhelming reflected attack, Katakuri's face, mostly covered by his scarf, remained indifferent.
This straight-forward counter-trajectory had long been seen through by his future-seeing Observation Haki.
With his excellent movement and speed, it was naturally impossible for him to be hit by such a crude attack.
However, at the very moment he prepared to calmly sidestep and dodge,
Katakuri's cold eyes suddenly widened.
In the predictive visions of his constantly active Observation Haki, he saw not only the trajectory of the jellybeans but also the fatal scenes following right behind.
Atop the roof, the crimson tomoe in Victor's right eye suddenly began to spin wildly.
In an instant, an incredibly eerie pitch-black flame crossed the distance of space and ignited without warning on Katakuri's shoulder and chest.
This ink-black flame seemed to possess a terrifying property of devouring all things.
The moment it appeared, it spread at a frightening speed, greedily consuming his tall and tough body!
Not only that, the turn of events was far from over.
At the moment their gazes met, Katakuri's consciousness suddenly sank.
He felt a strong wave of dizziness in his brain, and the surrounding dilapidated commercial street scenery actually shattered before his eyes like mirror glass struck by a heavy hammer.
After a brief trance, he found himself in a dark red void space, tied down firmly by countless invisible chains.
He had fallen directly into Victor's impossible-to-guard-against ocular illusion realm.
His body was being burned wildly by black flames, while his spirit was being dragged down by the illusion.
Faced with this dual terror—a simultaneous strike against both body and spirit—
This strongest sweet commander under the Four Emperors Big Mom finally revealed to the world his frightening willpower known as a "monster."
In this critical moment, Katakuri did not show the slightest hesitation or panic.
He suddenly gritted his teeth, his sharp teeth biting hard into his own lip.
Bright red blood seeped out instantly, and that intense, rust-like metallic smell, accompanied by a tearing pain, rushed straight to his brain.
Katakuri used this surge of real pain to forcibly pull his spirit out of the dark red illusory quagmire, reclaiming control of his body.
The moment his consciousness returned to reality, he immediately endured the agonizing pain of the black flames on his skin—which felt as if they were burning through his bone marrow—and his legs suddenly exerted force.
His massive body twisted into an incredible angle in the nick of time, dangerously sidestepping out of the area covered by the Haki jellybean bullets.
However, while still in mid-air and yet to land, Katakuri's forehead was instantly covered in large beads of cold sweat.
Because his overloaded Observation Haki was once again frantically issuing a fatal warning:
In the next second of the future, he was about to be sent flying by a monstrous force!
Without any hesitation, Katakuri immediately pushed his Mochi-Mochi Fruit abilities to the limit in mid-air.
He prepared to turn his body into a solid, highly resilient Armament Haki-infused mochi shield the moment his feet touched the ground to tank the impending impact.
Unfortunately, although his reaction was fast, it still couldn't keep up with Victor's storm-like offensive rhythm.
The soles of his boots had just touched the stone slabs of the ground, and he hadn't even had time to fully transform his fruit ability,
When Victor's smiling face appeared right before his eyes like a teleporting phantom!
"Too slow."
A whisper, like a proclamation from the Shinigami, sounded in his ear.
Victor left no room for the strongest sweet commander to catch his breath.
Accompanied by a loud grinding sound of bones, a dazzling dark purple light suddenly erupted from behind Victor.
Two massive Susanoo arms, radiating an aura of destruction, suddenly extended from Victor's back.
These two giant energy arms, one on the left and one on the right, were like two unshakeable steel pincers, firmly grabbing Katakuri's tall frame.
They pinned his arms tightly to his sides, lifting him off the ground and leaving him completely unable to move.
Tightly imprisoned by the Susanoo arms, Katakuri's eyes widened.
At this very moment, his Observation Haki once again saw a desperate scene.
A sky-filling fire was about to devour everything!
In this unavoidable life-or-death moment, Katakuri could only grit his teeth and push his Armament Haki with all his might.
The deep black Haki spread rapidly across his body.
He tried to forcibly form another layer of defensive shield while being burned by the black flames.
But it was all too late.
At the same time the Susanoo arms restrained Katakuri, the fingers of Victor's hands had already turned into a dazzling afterimage, completing a set of complex hand seals in an instant.
Victor's chest swelled high as he took a deep breath of air, then he suddenly opened his mouth:
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
"BOOM—!!!"
Accompanied by a terrifying whistling sound,
An endless, terrifying sea of fire, like a tsunami, gushed out of Victor's mouth instantly.
The scorching flames instantly turned the space ahead into a purgatory of fire, completely swallowing Katakuri's massive body.
In this scorching sea of fire where the temperature was so high that even the air was warping,
Katakuri's proud mochi shield was like snow meeting a scorching sun, rapidly melting in a very short time.
Not only that, combined with the frantic burning of the pitch-black Amaterasu Flames that were already attached to him like maggots on a bone,
This masterpiece of the Big Mom Pirates, who had roamed the New World for many years, finally could no longer maintain his composure and pride amidst this beyond-limit pain.
He couldn't help but throw his head back and let out a shrill, agonizing scream.
Wrapped in endless flames and heart-piercing pain, a deep sense of powerlessness and frustration uncontrollably rose in Katakuri's heart.
This man's way of attacking was simply bizarre to the extreme.
Whether it was that invisible repulsive force, the unquenchable black fire, or the illusion that instantly pulled one into a dream,
Or these giant arms appearing out of thin air and the exaggerated sea of fire.
These were all strange moves he had never seen before and that defied all logic.
However, even more terrifying than these unknown moves was Victor's absolutely suppressive offensive rhythm.
Victor's attack speed was simply too fast.
The fatal combos, each link tightly following the next, poured down incessantly like a storm, giving him no gap to react.
Even if Katakuri's proud Observation Haki could see incredibly clearly what Victor was going to do in the next second,
And could predict the fatal landing point of every attack,
What of it?
His heavy body, currently severely burned by the flames and tightly imprisoned by the giant energy arms,
Simply didn't have time to make any effective dodging or defensive reaction.
Being able to see it but unable to dodge it—this was the cruelest torture.
Just as Katakuri let out a sky-shaking roar, his muscles bulging as he prepared to risk serious injury to forcibly break free from the restraint of the dark purple arms and launch a desperate counterattack,
Victor's figure flashed again, closing the final bit of distance instantly.
He suddenly raised his right leg, his muscles containing a chillingly terrifying monstrous strength.
A heavy, unadorned stomp kicked hard against Katakuri's broad chest.
"Crack—!"
Accompanied by a dull sound of bone fracturing,
Katakuri's tall and heavy body was violently sent flying like a cannonball just fired from its barrel under the massive impact.
His body drew a phantom-like arc in mid-air, smashing through one solid plaza building after another in succession.
The booming sounds were incessant, and dust flew everywhere.
Finally, this sweet commander of a Four Emperor crashed heavily into a stretch of scarred building ruins at the end of the street, buried by rubble.Chapter 332: The Rampaging Melee! The Absolute Deadline and the Unexpected Call
Katakuri struggled to straighten his body amidst the ruins of the buildings.
His heavy breathing was exceptionally clear in this deathly silent district, his tall frame swaying slightly.
On his chest was a clear, terrifying indentation, a mark left by the heavy blow from Victor's monstrous strength just moments ago.
However, more lethal than the broken bones was the pitch-black Amaterasu flames that clung to him like a curse.
This ominous black fire continued to burn ruthlessly on his flesh; no matter how much he patted it, it wouldn't go out.
Facing this otherworldly fire capable of burning everything to ash, Katakuri didn't even flinch.
His right hand was instantly coated in high-density Armament Haki, transforming into a sharp hand-blade.
Swish!
Without hesitation, he swung his hand-blade, cruelly cutting away the portion of flesh on his chest tainted by the black flames.
Blood spurted out instantly, but he immediately endured the piercing pain, activating his Mochi-Mochi Fruit ability to tightly cover his mangled body with a large amount of pure white mochi.
He forcefully halted the further spread of the black flames to his entire body.
Katakuri gasped for air, sweat mixed with blood dripping down his angular cheeks.
But when he looked up again, his sharp eyes were even colder than before.
Victor's unreasonable attack frequency and bizarre moves had indeed caused him to suffer a great loss.
But he was the Charlotte family's greatest masterpiece; his pride as the strongest sweet commander under the Four Emperors' Big Mom would never allow him to fall here.
"Since this body can't react in time..."
Katakuri's gaze sharpened, and he slammed both hands onto the ground.
In an instant, the Awakening power of his fruit erupted like a tsunami, and the ruins and ground within hundreds of meters were instantly assimilated into white mochi.
A massive amount of mochi surged into the sky like a fountain, churning violently in mid-air.
He made the most composed tactical change:
Since he couldn't keep up with the opponent's ghost-like rhythm, he would use absolute attack density to fill all the surrounding space, conducting indiscriminate fire coverage!
...
Meanwhile, inside the boisterous Corrida Colosseum in Dressrosa.
Gong—!
Accompanied by the deafening ring of a heavy bronze gong echoing over the arena, the indiscriminate elimination melee of Block C officially began.
In an instant, hundreds of ferocious gladiators, wanted criminals, pirates, and underground martial artists clashed together.
The crisp clashing of blades and the dull sounds of punches and kicks intertwined.
Blood fell like red raindrops, and screams instantly filled the entire massive colosseum.
Among this group of mostly burly, rugged-faced contestants...
The small-statured Lucy, wearing a floral shirt and a ridiculous bull-head mask, naturally became an easy target in many people's eyes.
Over a dozen gladiators holding heavy battle-axes, morning stars, and greatswords glanced at each other and grinned as they surrounded Luffy in unison.
They intended to clear out this seemingly non-threatening shorty first.
"Die! Kid!"
Facing the lethal flashes of blades and swords swinging from all directions, Luffy showed no fear.
He casually placed his hands on his hips, his footsteps moving slightly.
The siege that seemed lightning-fast to others was full of openings in front of Luffy.
With exquisite distance, he easily and perfectly dodged all lethal attacks; those sharp heavy weapons didn't even graze a corner of his clothes.
Then, Luffy simply threw a few casual punches.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Accompanied by several dull sonic booms.
Those dozen or so massive hulks didn't even see how they were hit before crashing heavily into the pool outside the ring, losing consciousness on the spot.
Just as the Block C contestants were fighting until their eyes turned red for the sole advancement spot...
The tens of thousands of spectators in the stands suddenly let out a cry of terror.
The heavy gate of the colosseum was slammed open, and a ferocious fighting bull, as massive as a small mountain with bulging muscles, charged into the arena.
Its eyes were blood-red, nostrils snorting white steam, as it rampaged across the stage.
Its pair of steel-hard horns ruthlessly tossed a dozen contestants into the air along its path.
Its terrifying monstrous strength even forced several massive giants to stumble back.
The tyrannical bull stopped in the center of the stage, huffing as it looked around.
Finally, its bloodthirsty gaze locked onto Luffy, who was standing with his back to it, wearing a very conspicuous red vest.
Moo—!
The bull let out a furious roar, kicked off with its four hooves, and launched a death charge toward Luffy.
Spectators in the stands cried out in alarm; some even covered their eyes in pity.
Thinking that the ridiculous little guy in the bull mask was about to be trampled into a pulp.
However, sensing the howling wind behind him, Luffy turned around.
Facing the charging behemoth, he reached out his hands and firmly caught the massive bull head with its staggering impact.
Man and bull entered a brief struggle of strength on the stage.
Luffy looked up slightly, his clear eyes behind the mask meeting the blood-red, irritable eyes of the bull, a bright smile spreading across his face:
"Oh? You look like you can eat quite a bit too!"
The entire audience held their breath instantly.
After a moment of breath-holding, eerie silence, that originally violent Shinigami bull actually became miraculously docile.
It not only stopped its attack but even gave an affectionate snort and submissively rubbed its large head against Luffy's palm.
Yoo-hoo! Awesome!
Luffy cheered and flipped over, nimbly mounting the broad back of the bull.
He patted the bull's neck, and the pair began to run happily across the stage.
This incredible scene caused the audience to erupt in gasps of stunned amazement.
...
On the battlefield of the town ruins leveled to the ground.
Katakuri, determined to fight to the death, went all out.
He pushed the Awakening ability of the Mochi-Mochi Fruit to its limit, instantly creating dozens of floating, giant white rings in mid-air—"Peerless Donuts."
Following that, massive, incredibly heavy square mochi fists, coated in high-level Armament Haki, shot out frantically from those donuts.
These giant black fists, known as "Power Mochi," rained down like a storm, covering the sky as they smashed toward Victor standing below.
This time, Katakuri completely changed his Observation Haki prediction strategy.
He no longer tried to capture Victor's elusive attack movements but instead directly predicted Victor's "landing points."
He used the massive attack range provided by the dozens of donuts to cover the area with indiscriminate fire, attempting to force Victor into a corner where he couldn't dodge.
Facing this terrifyingly dense and lethal attack, comparable to a meteor shower...
Boom—!
A majestic surge of Chakra soared into the sky, and a massive crimson Susanoo rose from the ground like an ancient god of war, firmly protecting Victor within.
The red giant in its half-body skeletal form wielded massive Chakra twin swords, weaving a dense light-shield of blades in front of it, ruthlessly slashing or forcefully parrying each of the whistling mochi fists.
The deafening roar echoed through the clouds, and the terrifying shockwaves of the collision completely ground the surrounding ruins into powder.
In the center of this world-destroying storm, Victor, under the absolute protection of Susanoo, looked smilingly at the gritting Katakuri in the air.
He slowly raised his right hand and gripped the hilt of the Great Grade Sword Shusui at his waist.
"Your will is indeed commendable, Katakuri."
"But it ends here."
"As a mark of respect for that will, I shall personally see you off with this blade."
The moment his voice fell, the tomoe in Victor's Sharingan began to spin frantically.
A mysterious, terrifying ripple that seemed capable of severing all the laws of the world instantly spread out.
——Futsu-no-Mitama!
In mid-air, Katakuri's pupils suddenly constricted.
In his Observation Haki perception, the moment Victor gripped the hilt, danger signals from the entire world were frantically sounding alarms at him!
But to his absolute horror, he found that in his "future sight," which he had always been proud of, it had turned into a deathly, absolute pitch-black.
In that desperate darkness, he saw no afterimage of Victor's attack, nor any trajectory of energy.
He only saw a black line emitting a dim light.
Facing this crisis that completely transcended common sense, Katakuri's heart beat violently.
"Don't even think about it!"
Katakuri roared in his heart.Chapter 333: The Solar Eclipse Black Hole! Conqueror's Haki and the Echoing Gunshot
Katakuri did not choose to sit and wait for death.
This battle-hardened sweet commander of the Four Emperors had the pride in his bones thoroughly stimulated.
His eyes were blood-red as he recklessly pushed the last of his stamina and Haki within his body.
The massive amount of white Awakened Mochi in the surroundings seemed to receive a king's summons, gathering frantically toward his right arm like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.
Accompanied by bursts of dull compression sounds, that resilient mochi continuously restructured itself.
Ultimately, it transformed on his right arm into a massive, high-speed rotating Spiral Lance.
"Crackle—!"
High-concentration Armament Haki, like violent black lightning, tightly coiled around this massive Spiral Lance, emitting heart-palpitating waves of destruction.
With madness in his eyes, Katakuri attempted to use this extreme point-to-point penetration power—sufficient to easily pierce through an entire mountain range—to forcibly crush that black line of death about to descend upon his head.
In mid-air, the Mangekyo Sharingan in Victor's eyes began to spin frantically.
Two divine ocular powers—'Futsu-no-Mitama' and 'Amaterasu'—were activated one after another.
"Whoosh!"
Amaterasu's black flames instantly coiled around the pitch-black blade of Shusui like venomous snakes.
The profound black flames perfectly blended with the high-concentration Armament Haki, causing the entire blade to emit a dark luster capable of swallowing everything in the world.
Victor gripped the hilt of Shusui tightly with both hands, his Chakra and Haki climbing to their peak at this moment.
Looking down from above, he aimed at Katakuri below and swung his blade with a roar:
"Amaterasu: Solar Eclipse Slash!"
In an instant, a dark slash mixed with extreme heat and violent Haki burst through the air.
This slash was like a miniature black hole that could ruthlessly swallow even light; wherever it passed, space itself rippled with visible distortions.
"Don't... underestimate me!!!"
Feeling that suffocating pressure of death,
Katakuri's arms bulged with veins as he let out a deafening roar like a mad lion.
Instead of retreating, he advanced, wielding the giant Spiral Lance in his hand and stabbing fiercely toward that black hole slash that devoured all!
"Boom—!!!"
The ultimate powers of both sides collided violently at this moment!
Surprisingly, no blinding firelight erupted from the center of the collision, only extreme darkness and hair-raisingly warped space.
The two forces were frantically crushing and devouring each other.
Immediately after, the terrifying shockwave, compressed to its limit, transformed into a near-tangible hurricane of destruction that instantly swept outward.
As the violent wind passed, the building ruins of several surrounding blocks were instantly leveled like scraps of paper, turning into flying ash.
This world-shaking vibration spread along the crust, plunging more than half of Dressrosa into a violent shaking as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth was rending...
...
Meanwhile, on the steel suspension bridge connecting Green Bit and the main island of Dressrosa.
"ROOM!"
Accompanied by the translucent blue hemispherical light circle constantly expanding and flickering in mid-air,
Law gritted his teeth and, using his 'Shambles' ability, performed a series of frantic teleporting escapes among the ruins of the dilapidated steel bridge deck.
Law's current appearance could only be described as miserable.
His signature black coat was already in tatters, he was covered in blood from head to toe, and wounds deep enough to see bone were visible everywhere.
His stamina had long been exhausted to its limit during the previous fierce battle, and his lungs were gasping for air like a bellows.
Now, every time he activated a teleport, he couldn't help but cough violently, spitting out a large mouthful of crimson blood.
"Run, keep running!"
"Where can you possibly escape to?!"
In the air behind him, Doflamingo was using 'Sky Path', thin strings connected to the clouds, to pursue him relentlessly like a pink vulture toying with its prey.
A hair-raising, tyrannical sneer was plastered on his face, his eyes filled with the cruel pleasure of a cat catching a mouse:
"Die!"
As soon as he spoke, Doflamingo suddenly curled the five fingers of his right hand and swung them fiercely toward Law, who was in the middle of a teleport.
"Five Color Strings!"
Five strings, like sharp steel knives, instantly sliced through the sky.
Due to excessive blood loss and severe stamina depletion, the heavily injured Law was ultimately half a beat slow in his perception and movements.
He had just emerged from the spatial shift and had no time to swing his long sword to block.
His thigh and left shoulder were instantly pierced right through by those sharp Five Color Strings!
"Ugh!"
Law let out a pained groan and instantly lost his balance, pinned firmly to a piece of steel wreckage on the bridge deck by the powerful impact, unable to move.
Just as Doflamingo pulled back his strings with a cold laugh and prepared to descend from the air to end Law's life once and for all,
A low sound of rushing air approached.
Admiral Fujitora, standing on a piece of floating rock, arrived quickly from the sea behind.
There was no expression on Fujitora's wrinkled face.
His blind eyes were closed, and the Shikomizue in his hand instantly unsheathed half an inch.
Accompanied by the friction of the blade, circles of purple gravity waves descended like a surging tide, indiscriminately enveloping Doflamingo ahead and Law on the ground.
Under this incredibly terrifying pressure,
The massive and sturdy steel suspension bridge immediately let out a groan of warped agony under the burden.
The bridge deck began to sink over a large area, and countless steel rivets shattered and flew in all directions.
Doflamingo, situated in mid-air, bore the brunt of it.
His body was held down by this invisible heavy pressure, sinking abruptly until his feet slammed heavily onto the bridge deck, even stamping two deep pits into the hard steel plate.
Looking at this blind Marine who had repeatedly obstructed his plans,
The veins on Doflamingo's forehead throbbed violently like earthworms.
He gnashed his teeth as the tyrannical killing intent in his chest boiled over to its peak at this moment.
"Get... out of my way! Marine!"
Accompanied by a suppressed roar of extreme fury,
A violent, overbearing, dark red Conqueror's Haki erupted from Doflamingo's body like a bursting ocean!
This magnificent aura of pressure even caused the surrounding air to produce visible warped tremors.
Under the impact of this tangible kingly pressure, even the unfathomably strong Fujitora was involuntarily forced back.
The heavy purple gravity field that had been pinning the two down was also instantly filled with cracks under the violent impact of the Haki, before being blown apart.
Fujitora was forced to stop his steps, leaning both hands on his Shikomizue.
Although he still kept his eyes closed, he was greatly shaken in his heart.
Feeling that suffocating sense of oppression in the air, he was secretly alarmed:
"Is this... that innate kingly quality that only appears once in a million... Conqueror's Haki?"
"This man's level of danger truly lives up to his reputation."
Having successfully broken free from the shackles of the gravity field, Doflamingo paid no more attention to Fujitora behind him.
Carrying a full body of hostility, he took large strides and walked straight up to Law.
Doflamingo reached out his large hand and firmly grabbed Law's black hair, which was already soaked with sweat and blood.
Ignoring Law's pain, he roughly lifted Law's head and slammed it fiercely against the hard steel bridge deck!
"Thud!"
Blood splattered as Law's forehead instantly split open, and his vision became blurred.
Doflamingo showed no mercy.
He reached into his coat with his other hand and pulled out a specially-made Flintlock Pistol engraved with exquisite patterns.
He looked down at Law, pressing the cold muzzle firmly against Law's still-bleeding forehead.
Through his red sunglasses, a flash of heart-palpitating cruelty and coldness appeared in Doflamingo's eyes:
"It's all over, Law."
"Since you miss that idiot so much, then go to hell and properly repent for your incompetence to that traitor Corazon."
"Remember to say hello for me!"
His index finger on the trigger slowly tightened.
At this moment when the Shinigami was about to arrive,
"Boom—!!!"
From far ahead, in the direction of Dressrosa's city center, a massive commotion like the heavens collapsing and the earth rending suddenly erupted!
What followed was a violent vibration that even this steel suspension bridge could clearly feel.
That was the aftermath triggered by the ultimate collision between Victor and Katakuri.
This sudden abnormality and the massive roar caused Doflamingo, who was fully focused on firing, to falter for a brief moment.
His gaze involuntarily glanced toward the city center.
In this final moment of life and death, a strong desire to survive suddenly erupted in the dying eyes of Law, who was pinned to the bridge ruins.
With blood constantly overflowing from the corners of his mouth, his fingers moved with difficulty, and he weakly squeezed out a word from between his blood-stained teeth:
"ROOM..."
A faint blue light circle flashed and vanished before the muzzle.
"Bang—!"
A dull and piercing gunshot echoed for a long time over the fractured steel bridge.Chapter 334: A Cruel Multiple Choice! The Severed Iron Bridge and the Heavenly Yaksha's Scheme
On the steel suspension bridge, a wisp of pungent smoke was rising from the barrel of a specialized flintlock pistol.
A breeze blew past, and the smoke gradually dissipated.
The cruel, hideous grin on Donquixote Doflamingo's face froze.
He saw that Trafalgar Law, who should have been under his foot, had vanished into thin air.
In his place was a stone that had been shattered on the spot by the lead bullet!
"Law!" Doflamingo gritted his teeth.
In the ruins of the bridge deck dozens of meters away from where the shot was fired, Law—who had nearly fallen unconscious from overdrawing his life force—slammed heavily onto the cold steel plate.
In that microsecond between life and death just now, Doflamingo had been distracted for an instant by a massive explosion coming from the city center.
Law had precisely seized this fleeting opening, using the last of his strength and the heavy price of severely overdrawing his life to forcibly activate his ability.
He swapped positions with a piece of rubble dozens of meters away, narrowly escaping the clutches of the Shinigami.
"Cough... cough cough..."
Law lay prone on the ground, vomiting mouthfuls of startlingly red blood.
Consecutive heavy injuries had caused his vision to be eroded by bloodstains and darkness.
He bit his teeth and propped his hands against the ground, trying to force himself up to continue his escape.
Suddenly, a familiar purple gravity wave descended once more, silently.
This gravity didn't carry destructive killing intent; instead, it acted like an invisible giant hand, gently pressing him flat against the steel plate and stripping away his ability to resist.
Accompanied by the crisp sound of geta treading on rock, Fujitora leaned on his ordinary shikomizue and flew through the air atop a floating piece of rock.
He slowly landed in front of Law: "My apologies, Trafalgar."
"As a Marine, I cannot allow you to continue your escape any longer."
Seeing his prey fall into the hands of the Admiral, Doflamingo's expression turned grim.
Just as he was radiating killing intent, prepared to rush over and take the man from Fujitora by force—
From the direction of Dressrosa's urban area, another series of continuous, terrifying tremors rang out, and one could even faintly see lightning soaring into the sky.
Sensing this unusual commotion, Doflamingo halted his steps and let out a cold snort.
With such a huge disturbance, he suspected it was highly likely that the brats from the Straw Hat Pirates had entered into full-scale war with his top executives.
Doflamingo gritted his teeth, his mind quickly calculating the current situation.
He had spent far too much time here trying to kill Law, far exceeding his initial tactical estimates.
As the King of Dressrosa, he knew he couldn't be trapped here now.
He needed to personally return to clean up his subordinates' mess and stabilize the situation.
The most pressing task now was to take Law—the perfect bait to restrain the Straw Hat crew—and quickly return to the royal palace to take charge.
Having made up his mind, Doflamingo's fingertips twitched slightly, preparing to act.
However, Fujitora's shikomizue unceremoniously barred his path.
Simultaneously, that suffocatingly heavy gravity field ruthlessly locked onto the space where Doflamingo stood.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Fujitora turned toward Doflamingo expressionlessly, his low voice echoing in the sea breeze.
"According to your public statement in the newspapers earlier, you have resigned from your title as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"In other words, you are now just a dangerous pirate, Heavenly Yaksha."
"As a Marine upholding the justice of the sea, I have no reason to let you leave this place."
Hearing these words, Doflamingo looked at the stubborn, blind Marine before him, the veins on his forehead throbbing like enraged earthworms.
"Damn Marine..." he cursed inwardly.
Doflamingo knew that if he went head-to-head with an Admiral candidate here, he would definitely be bogged down.
His gaze swept coldly across the surroundings, looking down at the steel bridge spanning the strait beneath his feet.
This originally magnificent structure was already teetering after the repeated gravity pressure and Haki collisions from earlier.
It was emitting a series of tooth-aching, shrill groans, as if it would disintegrate at any moment.
Finally, Doflamingo's gaze crossed the bridge and landed in the distance at the bridgehead.
Stationed there was a large number of ordinary Marine soldiers waiting in full battle array.
They were clutching their muskets, looking nervously toward the battle in the center of the bridge.
Looking at those ordinary Marine soldiers, the corners of Doflamingo's mouth slowly curled upward into a cruel smile.
Since a head-on confrontation will get me stalled by you, blind man, then I'll give you a multiple-choice question.
Let's see which weighs more in your heart: your so-called justice or human lives!
Doflamingo suddenly crouched down, his hands pressing firmly against the crack-riddled steel bridge surface.
The eyes hidden behind his sunglasses flickered with manic killing intent.
He spread his ten fingers, and the sharp thin lines—capable of cutting gold and breaking jade—instantly shot out, frantically slicing through the bridge's structure:
"Choose wisely! Marine!"
"Screeech— Crack!"
Accompanied by a series of extremely ear-piercing metallic snapping sounds, sparks flew everywhere.
Doflamingo had actually used those indestructible invisible strings to directly sever the underlying main load-bearing structure of this massive cross-sea bridge connecting the two islands in the blink of an eye!
Losing the support of its main structure, the already riddled cross-sea bridge could no longer sustain its own immense weight.
The massive bridge body snapped from the middle, and along with sky-filling steel debris and gale-force winds, it crashed straight down toward the surging sea below!
Feeling the massive bridge deck falling frantically beneath his feet, Fujitora's usually calm face was instantly filled with shock and fury.
He roared angrily in Doflamingo's direction:
"You lunatic, what have you done!"
"This is an important facility!"
If such a massive bridge body were allowed to crash into the sea, the terrifying waves triggered would directly swallow the ordinary Marine soldiers at the bridgehead who had no time to retreat.
To prevent the soldiers on the bridge and the perimeter from falling into the sea and ending up in the bellies of fish, Fujitora had no choice.
He could only grit his teeth and forcibly shift the direction of the shikomizue in his hand, instantly reversing the massive gravity originally used to suppress the enemy into an upward 'lifting force' that could hold up all things.
The purple glow surged as Fujitora exerted all his strength, using invisible gravity to death-grip the falling wreckage of the massive bridge, attempting to make it hover in mid-air.
However, Doflamingo obviously wouldn't just stand by and watch Fujitora save people.
He let out a mocking laugh, curled his fingers into claws, and swung forward violently.
He shot five 'Five Color Strings'—capable of shredding steel—at Fujitora, who was struggling to maintain support in mid-air!
These five lethal strings carried a whistle that tore through the air, heading straight for Fujitora's vitals.
Fujitora was forced into a corner.
If he didn't defend himself, he would surely be sliced into pieces.
He could only spare one hand to swing his shikomizue to parry the incoming lethal strings.
"Clang—!"
Blade and strings collided, sparks flying everywhere.
But this parry inevitably caused Fujitora's focus to waver; the gravitational lift, which was already difficult to maintain due to the bridge's sheer size, instantly spiraled out of control.
Having lost part of the gravitational support, the massive steel bridge wreckage lost its final obstruction and, like a falling star, slammed heavily into the deep sea.
"BOOM—!!!"
The deafening, terrifying impact force felt as if a super bomb had been detonated on the sea surface.
The sea surface instantly caved in, and then, the compressed seawater shot into the sky, kicking up a massive tsunami wave dozens of meters high!
This tsunami, created by the massive steel object, was like a wall of water blotting out the sun, roaring as it swept toward the Marine positions at the bridgehead.
Taking advantage of the chaos as the sky-filling mist obscured vision—
Doflamingo moved like lightning, quickly reaching Law's side and grabbing him as he lay completely unconscious from heavy injuries and exhaustion.
"The prey is mine."
Doflamingo didn't linger for a second.
"Farewell! Marine!"
His fingers flicked repeatedly, shooting countless invisible thin lines into the clouds in the sky.
Then, treading on the strings in the clouds, he let out bursts of wild laughter and flew at high speed toward the city center of Dressrosa, vanishing from sight in an instant.
On the ruins of the bridge, the sea breeze howled.
Fujitora's face was taut as he heard the terrified cries of the soldiers facing the massive tsunami in the distance.
Between pursuing the pirate and saving the lives of his innocent subordinates, he gave up on chasing Doflamingo.
"Ha!"
Fujitora took a deep breath and swung his shikomizue violently.
He released the massive gravity field within his body without reservation to forcibly suppress that terrifying tsunami disaster,
protecting the ordinary Marine soldiers on the bridge's perimeter from being swallowed by the destructive aftermath.Chapter 335: Straw Hat Exposed! Long-awaited Brothers and the Concluding Deathmatch
Inside the Corrida Colosseum.
Amidst the deafening cheers, Luffy and the bull ran joyfully across the water stage like a pair of perfectly synchronized partners, one riding the other.
Luffy let out bursts of laughter, turning this bloody and murderous deathmatch into a "bull-riding show."
However, in this Shura field where countless outlaws of the New World gathered, this lighthearted joy did not last long.
"The colosseum isn't a place for playing around, shorty!"
Accompanied by a violent, deafening roar that sounded like muffled thunder.
A suffocatingly massive shadow suddenly descended, completely blotting out the sunlight above Luffy's head.
It was the giant warrior from the legendary giant kingdom of Elbaf, Hajrudin!
His massive body, towering like a mountain, stood before the charging bull like an immovable demon god.
Hajrudin gripped his incredibly heavy weapon with both hands, veins bulging on his thick arms as he smashed it down toward the man and bull below!
"Moocy!"
With a shrill and painful cry, the bull—which was already quite large—seemed like a mere toy before a true giant.
Hajrudin's terrifying, monstrous strength poured down without reservation, smashing the bull along with the hard stone stage beneath its feet into pieces.
The poor bull coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell heavily amidst the flying debris and dust.
"Moocy!" Luffy let out a cry of surprise in mid-air.
Relying on his excellent combat instincts, he had leaped from the bull's back a second before the impact.
Like a light feather, he landed nimbly on a broken, upturned stone slab.
As the breeze blew, Luffy kept his head down.
Seeing Luffy alone, the surrounding gladiators, whose eyes were already bloodshot, thought they saw an opportunity.
They immediately brandished their swords and swarmed from all directions, attempting to take advantage of the situation.
In front of him, the giant Hajrudin let out a contemptuous snort, roaring as he raised his heavy fist—capable of crushing city walls—once again, prepared to thoroughly squash this jumping "bug."
In the next second, the surface of Luffy's body instantly turned bright red.
The blood inside him flowed at high speed like boiling water, and wisps of scorching white steam rose from his pores.
"You guy..."
Luffy slowly raised his head, his clear eyes now filled with cold fury.
"How dare you... beat up my new friend like this!"
He suddenly clenched his teeth and stretched his right fist back to its limit.
Immediately after, high-density Armament Haki flowed like water, instantly covering his rapidly expanding right fist.
"Gum-Gum—"
Luffy's gaze locked onto the arrogant giant ahead, and he let out a roar that shook the heavens:
"Grizzly Magnum!!!"
*BOOM—!!!*
A pitch-black giant fist filled with rage, like a heavy meteorite fired from a cannon, slammed directly into the giant Hajrudin's broad chin!
Under the horrified gazes of the tens of thousands of spectators—as if they were seeing a ghost—the massive giant warrior, who had been so majestic just a moment ago, was struck until his eyes rolled back.
He didn't even have time to let out a scream before his mountain-like body lost all consciousness and collapsed backward with a roar.
Hajrudin's falling body created a terrifying shockwave, which swept away the gladiators trying to sneak attack and the remaining powerhouses in Block C like falling leaves, violently knocking them all out of bounds!
Water splashed everywhere amidst continuous screams.
The Block C battle, which had been a stalemate, was decided in an instant by this single punch!
Sitting on the high platform, the announcer Gatz excitedly grabbed his microphone:
"The winner has been decided!"
"The final Victor of Block C!"
"The Bull-Man Slayer who one-shotted a giant! He is the gladiator Lu..."
However, before Gatz could finish his sentence.
Following Luffy's world-shaking heavy blow.
The conspicuous bull-head mask he was wearing, which already had some cracks, finally reached its limit under the tearing force of that terrifying shockwave and let out a crisp "crack."
Luffy's iconic Straw Hat and his expressive true face were revealed without any concealment to the entire audience.
"Gladiator... Straw Hat Luffy?!"
The announcer Gatz's high-pitched voice instantly stammered.
He rubbed his eyes vigorously, staring in disbelief at the close-up shot on the large screen.
Then, after a brief, dead silence, the entire Corrida Colosseum erupted in a chorus of gasps and screams!
Everyone recognized that face!
It was the Supernova who had shone brilliantly two years ago in the Marineford War and turned the entire world upside down!
The Straw Hat boy, Luffy, who had defeated one powerful enemy after another and was now famous in the New World, causing countless headaches for the Marines!
"Oh my god! Am I seeing this right? That's Straw Hat Luffy!"
"The great pirate with a bounty of one billion! Why would he be here?"
"Run! This guy is a complete madman!"
The previously orderly stands instantly fell into total ferment and uncontrollable chaos.
Some spectators screamed and tried to flee, while others frantically waved their fists and shouted wildly.
Hearing the overwhelming shouts around him, Luffy quickly reached out to press down the Straw Hat on his head, shouting back in a cold sweat in an attempt to hide his identity:
"Hey! You've got the wrong person! I'm Lucy! Not some Straw Hat!"
But such a weak, unconvincing defense was useless at this point.
The Marine undercover agents in the stands had already begun taking out Den Den Mushis to call for backup.
Just as Luffy saw the situation spiraling out of control and prepared to slip away amidst the chaos.
A man with a green mohawk, a face full of ferocity, and a nose ring suddenly pounced directly to Luffy's feet like a vicious dog catching the scent of meat!
This person was the rookie known for his cruelty and madness, "The Cannibal" Bartolomeo!
However, under the gazes of everyone in the arena whose jaws dropped in shock.
This Underworld boss, who struck fear into the hearts of those outside, did not look the least bit fierce right now.
He lay on the ground, crying so hard that snot and tears covered his entire face.
With trembling hands, Bartolomeo reverently pulled out a bounty poster with Luffy's bright, smiling face on it from his coat.
Then he clung tightly to Luffy's leg, letting out an excited, pig-like wail:
"Lu... Luffy-senpai!"
"Waaaaah! I finally got to see the real thing in person!"
"I'm your super fan! Please give me an autograph! Sign it on my chest!!!"
Looking at this strange fellow who was twitching madly with excitement and even blowing huge snot bubbles from his nose, Luffy felt a massive headache.
His mind was currently full of the fact that his identity had been exposed; he didn't want to get tangled up with a weird fan here at all.
"Agh! I don't have time right now! Let me go!"
Luffy shouted, his legs suddenly exerting force, and with a "whoosh," he launched himself high into the air.
He traced an arc in mid-air and, with a "bang," forcibly smashed through the solid stone wall at the edge of the colosseum.
Leaving a trail of dust, he fled desperately toward the complex corridors inside the colosseum, leaving Bartolomeo behind, crying and holding the bounty poster.
...
In the dim Underworld.
Luffy sprinted through the labyrinthine underground corridors of the colosseum.
"Honestly, that green mohawk guy is so persistent!"
Luffy complained while quickening his pace.
Just as he ran past a dimly lit corner.
A slender arm holding a Steel Water Pipe suddenly reached out from the shadow of a stone door without any warning.
That hand grabbed Luffy's back collar with pinpoint accuracy.
Even Luffy, who possessed extremely strong Observation Haki, was completely caught off guard by this force that lacked any hostility while he was distracted by running and being chased.
He felt his body go light as he was pulled into a secret room by this familiar and powerful strength.
With a "thud," the stone door closed tightly behind him.
Luffy quickly stabilized himself in the darkness, his sharp combat instincts causing him to instantly clench his fists as Haki faintly flowed, preparing to strike first.
However, before he could throw a punch, a voice with a hint of doting laughter quietly rang out in the silent secret room:
"In such a hurry, rushing around like that—where are you going, Luffy?"
The moment he heard that voice, Luffy's Haki-wrapped fist stopped dead in mid-air.
His clear eyes instantly widened, and his pupils trembled violently.
Luffy snapped his head up and finally saw the appearance of the person before him.
It was a young man with a tall, upright posture.
He wore a black top hat with a pair of goggles tied to it, and his short golden hair was still conspicuous even in the dim light.
Looking at that face which had appeared in his dreams countless times, the tears in Luffy's eyes instantly burst through the floodgates.
He opened his mouth wide and let out a cheer filled with heavy sobbing:
"Sabo!!!"
Luffy lunged forward, giving the golden-haired youth a big hug.
Feeling the reality of Luffy's body heat in his arms, Sabo reached out to press down his top hat, his smile gentle and brilliant as he lightly patted Luffy's back.
After the brief excitement, Luffy released his arms and grinned widely with a laugh:
"Sabo! It's been about two years since we last met, hasn't it?"
"The last time we met was at... oh, whatever!"
"Why did you suddenly come to this country, Dressrosa?"
Seeing Luffy's usual simple-minded behavior, Sabo explained with a smile.
He stated that he was here on a secret mission specifically to investigate the dark trade of weapons being smuggled from this country to the rest of the world.
He truly hadn't expected to run into the Straw Hat Pirates here by such a coincidence.
The two brothers, reunited after a long time, shared a brief catch-up in the darkness.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed Luffy's mind.
He remembered the earth-shaking, terrifying commotion he had felt while fighting on the stage earlier.
With a face full of curiosity, he asked Sabo what major event was happening outside.
Hearing this question, Sabo was slightly stunned.
Then, a mysterious smile curled at the corners of his mouth:
"That world-shaking commotion just now wasn't caused by anyone else; it was your Vice Captain."
"He just had a head-on clash in the plaza of Dressrosa with a top powerhouse sent by the Four Emperors' 'BIG MOM' Pirates."
Hearing the words "Four Emperors," Luffy was stunned for a moment.
Then, he instantly stood up in a panic:
"What?! Someone from the Four Emperors! Victor is in danger!"
"No, I have to leave here right now. I'm going to help him blow those guys away!"
As he spoke, Luffy turned to push open the heavy stone door.
However, Sabo laughed and reached out, firmly pressing down on Luffy's shoulder.
Under Luffy's puzzled gaze, Sabo shook his head slightly, the smile on his face deepening.
"No need to go, Luffy."
Sabo's gaze seemed to pierce through the thick stone walls as he murmured softly:
"The battle over there... is already over."