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Rogers' death came as a shock to Ikki.
"Damn... who killed Rogers?" Ikki growled at the Den Den Mushi.
Everyone stared at Ikki. The caller had only said to save Rogers, not that he was dead...
But seeing Ikki's reaction, they all realized that Rogers might truly be gone.
When Luffy heard about the possible death of his companion, he immediately lost interest in having a party. Ace punched Caesar in the face again, ready to rush over and avenge Rogers.
Rogers was sincere and had a strong personality. Although they hadn't been together long, both Ace and the Straw Hats truly considered him a friend.
"It's... it's one of the Warlords... it's Doflamingo."
Hearing this, Ikki's expression darkened. Just as he spread his wings, preparing to fly over and avenge Rogers, he suddenly remembered something.
He had drawn a gold-level item earlier. He had planned to use it as a weapon for himself, but due to its special nature, he had never taken it out.
That weapon was Mjolnir, Thor's hammer from the Marvel world.
"I wonder if Mjolnir can save his life!"
While speaking, Ikki pulled out Thor's Hammer that he had acquired previously.
As he took hold of Mjolnir, Ikki felt a surge of thunder and lightning energy entering his body.
Because it was produced by the system, this version of Mjolnir directly recognized its holder as worthy, like Thor, the God of Thunder.
Holding Mjolnir, Ikki thought to himself, "Let's take a gamble! See if you can save Rogers' life!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ikki hurled Mjolnir toward Rogers' location.
After throwing Mjolnir, Ikki flew out of the laboratory and headed toward the shore of the Winter Island.
Seeing this, everyone else also left the laboratory and ran toward where the ships were anchored.
Meanwhile, Law handcuffed Monet and Caesar with Sea Prism Stone cuffs, then started the countdown for the laboratory's self-destruction before leaving.
Caesar's subordinates discovered that the laboratory was about to self-destruct and began fleeing one after another. They initially wanted to resistâafter all, Caesar was their benefactorâbut they realized they couldn't win. The enemy was simply too strong!
...
At the same time.
On the shore of Island.
After forcing the G5 Marine to shoot Rogers, Doflamingo walked toward the fleeing G5 sailors with his powerful stride.
But before he could act, violent heartbeats suddenly echoed through the air.
Doflamingo looked back in surprise to see Rogers' chestâthe man who had appeared lifeless moments agoârising and falling violently, with traces of thunder and lightning wrapping around his body.
"Not dead yet?"
After muttering to himself, Doflamingo aimed his strings at Rogers' neck, intending to decapitate him and finish the job.
Just as the strings were about to wrap around Rogers' neck, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck from the sky. At that same moment, Rogers raised his hand and caught the lightning bolt.
Rogers, now holding the lightning, stood up from the ground.
The G5 Marines standing behind were so excited they cried at the sight.
"Amazing! Mr. Rogers isn't dead!"
"It's great that you're alive. Captain Smoker will be here soon. He can definitely defeat that Warlord!"
...
Rogers looked at Mjolnir in his hand with confusion. "Isn't this Thor's hammer? Why is it here?"
While Rogers was puzzled, a string whip lashed toward him.
Rogers knew this wasn't the time for questions. He raised his shield with his right hand to block the attack, then swung Thor's Hammer at Doflamingo with his left.
Doflamingo smiled disdainfully at the sight. It looked like just a broken hammer to him. He reached out, planning to catch it directly.
Two sounds echoedâ"Bang!" and "Crack!"âas Doflamingo's left hand was instantly mangled!
After Rogers called Mjolnir back to his hand, he laughed and said, "Thor's hammer isn't so easy to catch!"
Doflamingo grew furious. He used his String-String Fruit powers to repair the fracture in his left hand, then attacked Rogers again.
Not content with a direct assault, he also sent parasitic strings into the bodies of several G5 Marines nearby.
The Marines suddenly lost control after being possessed by these strings. They all raised their guns and aimed at Rogers.
Having already fallen victim to this trick once, Rogers was on guard. He waved Mjolnir gently, and lightning bolts as thick as thumbs struck the Marines, knocking them unconscious without killing them.
"Boy, what's your name?"
As Doflamingo asked this question, a wave of Conqueror's Haki rose skyward.
Doflamingo wanted to crush Rogers' spirit with his overwhelming presence.
But Rogers wasn't so easily intimidated. The belief in his heart would never allow him to bow his head.
"Steve Rogers."
After introducing himself, Rogers once again raised his shield and charged toward Doflamingo.
Doflamingo realized that Rogers' strength came largely from the shield and hammer he wielded, so he avoided direct confrontation.
He closed his eyes, heightening his other senses to their limit, and began dodging while looking for weaknesses in Rogers' attacks.
But at that moment, a bolt of lightning burst from Mjolnir. A thunderbolt as thick as an arm struck toward Doflamingo.
Sensing the danger, Doflamingo had to dodge with all his might.
After evading the first wave of lightning, a second and third wave followed...
Rogers, recognizing the physical gap between himself and his opponent, decided to change tacticsâfrom warrior to mage.
Doflamingo grew increasingly frustrated. He could feel the life-threatening power in these lightning strikes and dared not take a direct hit.
But hiding like a coward wasn't his style.
Left with no choice, Doflamingo had to use his trump card: [Devil Fruit Awakening!]
While dodging, he began touching the ground with his hands. Soon, the snow beneath them transformed into strings.
Countless strings converged to form waves.
"Billow White String!"
Doflamingo manipulated the countless strings to form a shield against the lightning attacks, while he himself began accelerating, determined to close the distance to Rogers.
If he could just get close enough for hand-to-hand combat, Doflamingo believed that with his knowledge and Haki, he could find a weakness and deliver a fatal blow.
The white wall of strings continuously blocked the lightning attacks, but no matter how strong the strings were, they remained just strings. Thunder and lightning could easily burn through them.
Doflamingo could only try to get closer to Rogers while creating more strings to block the relentless lightning...
Finally, Doflamingo reached Rogers.
"Leg Shave String!"
Appearing behind Rogers, Doflamingo delivered a powerful kick, which was easily blocked by the vibranium shield.
Just as Rogers was swinging Mjolnir to counterattack, another Doflamingo suddenly appeared behind him. This second Doflamingo's kick struck Rogers' side, sending him flying and leaving several deep, bloody marks on his waist.