Issho flew silently toward Dressrosa. Doflamingo had already reached the royal palace slightly ahead of him, but only by a small margin. Trying to prepare a defense against an Admiral—now that was wishful thinking.
Issho had already identified Princess Mansherry. Before his departure, Fleet Admiral Wright had specifically instructed him: if there was an opportunity to make contact with the Tontatta Tribe's Princess Mansherry, her safety was to be ensured at all costs.
Because Princess Mansherry possessed the power to create miraculous large-scale healing effects—
The Paramecia-type: Heal-Heal Fruit!
After the events of the Summit War, Issho and the entire Navy had come to a profound realization: just how devastating an impact a powerful healing-type ability user could have on the outcome of war.
To Issho's knowledge, Princess Mansherry was the fourth known healing-type ability user, alongside Wright, "Phoenix" Marco, and the "Okama King," Emporio Ivankov.
Strictly speaking, Marco's Flames of Resurrection primarily focused on healing himself; their effects on others were limited at best.
Ivankov's Horm-Horm Fruit could produce Healing Hormones, but their success depended on probability. Called a "Miracle Person" by many, the Okama King's healing depended heavily on a subject's willpower, mental state, and luck—activating the body's natural recovery in exchange for lifespan. If the target was unlucky or lacked mental fortitude, the process could fail and lead directly to death.
Currently, only Wright's Holy Light stood at the absolute pinnacle of healing powers.
And yet, Mansherry's Heal-Heal Fruit—as Wright himself had acknowledged—could stand shoulder to shoulder with Holy Light in terms of sheer healing potential.
The user of the Heal-Heal Fruit could heal any living being's injuries and illnesses. Even her tears possessed curative properties.
At its most advanced stage, the ability could restore things to their original state by sacrificing the user's lifespan—healing not just the living, but even reversing damage to inanimate objects!
This already went far beyond the conventional definition of "healing." It was the one area where the Heal-Heal Fruit surpassed Holy Light.
"I never imagined… I'd run into Princess Mansherry this early…"
"If Her Highness falls into Kaido's hands, the Beasts Pirates may truly become unstoppable!"
"It seems even Drake doesn't know the details of this exchange… That Doflamingo would be willing to part with a power of this magnitude—he must be desperate to gain Kaido's full backing…"
"Could it be… he's aiming to become one of the Four Emperors?"
Issho's brows furrowed. Doflamingo lacked the power and influence to be considered an Emperor on his own, but with Kaido's support… it wasn't entirely impossible.
"That bastard's turned the three neighboring nations into war zones just to profit from weapons sales… and that's only the tip of the iceberg."
"We must rescue King Riku."
As Dressrosa's central King's Plateau came into view, a thick thread-like structure suddenly erupted skyward from the royal palace.
"…That's the Birdcage!"
Wright had thoroughly analyzed Doflamingo's abilities and shared all his findings with Issho. The Birdcage—which had once annihilated the entire population of Minion Island in the North Blue—was especially critical intel.
"A cage that kills on the inside and defends from the outside… Hmph. A so-called inescapable prison… So this is how you plan to block my way?"
Through Observation Haki, Issho sensed the Birdcage beginning to take form. Thread pillars rose into the air and began to spread outward, anchoring themselves across the island's perimeter.
"…What a pity."
"I'm already inside."
Accelerating, Issho soared directly toward the royal palace. Destroying the Birdcage from the outside would be time-consuming and exhausting. But from the inside…
"I only need to take down the user."
...
Dressrosa Royal Palace, First Floor – Chapel Hall: The Discipline Room.
It was here that Princess Mansherry had once been imprisoned.
Deceived, she had been forced to heal the Donquixote Pirates over and over—for the sake of her 500 Tontatta comrades, who were enslaved and toiling away in Doflamingo's underground factory.
The Tontatta Tribe, famed for being able to cultivate any plant in the world, no longer operated the SMILE production facility seen in the original timeline. But with their low consumption, tremendous strength, and easy manipulation, they remained the perfect labor force—first-rate in every regard.
Nine hundred years ago, the ancestors of the Donquixote family had built the wealth of Dressrosa by enslaving the Tontatta people.
It was only after the Riku royal family freed the Tontatta that the illusion of Dressrosa's prosperity began to fade.
Mansherry had remained in that Discipline Room, never knowing the true evil of the Donquixote family—until Viola, the princess of the Resistance, was captured by Doflamingo. She had been injured so severely that she and former King Riku were placed in the Discipline Room to receive healing from Mansherry.
It was from Viola that she learned the truth.
Viola was Riku's second daughter. Her elder sister, Princess Scarlett, and her husband, Kyros, still led the Resistance alongside the Tontatta Tribe to oppose Doflamingo's rule.
Among Doflamingo's top officers, only Diamante remained. Though Dellinger and Sugar had matured and become capable in recent years, the loss of many veteran officers had left Doflamingo's grip over Dressrosa far weaker.
This was why Viola, the Paramecia-type Glare-Glare Fruit user, had caught his eye. If he could break her will, her royal lineage and her powers would bring him immense benefit.
Yet, when Viola saw her father—King Riku Doldo III—imprisoned in such wretched conditions, she had no choice but to feign compliance with Doflamingo, buying time in any way she could…
Until the day Princess Mansherry was sealed into a box and taken away.
At that moment, Viola realized—Doflamingo likely had a new plan. He might no longer need the illusion of royal legitimacy to control Dressrosa.
"Father… it's been half a day since Mansherry was taken away… Damn it! If her powers are abused by Doflamingo, the consequences will be catastrophic!"
Viola, her wrists bound in Seastone cuffs, was unable to use her ability and had no way of locating Mansherry.
"And Doflamingo hasn't even tried to sway me these past few days… What is he planning?"
"…Viola."
King Riku let out a heavy sigh.
Though he was once the king, he had been imprisoned by that demon Doflamingo for eight long years. Had Viola not been captured and brought here, he would never have even known that monster had become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"Whatever he's planning… we're powerless to stop it…"
"Oh, you might be powerless…"
"But we are not!"
A voice, rich with layered tones, rang out from the doorway.
King Riku and Violet turned in shock—their eyes wide with disbelief.
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