Chapter 118 – Law's Fiasco
Dressrosa – King's Place
Ace stepped alone into the palace at the top of Dressrosa, where Donquixote Doflamingo and the Beast Pirates' calamity known as Jack the Drought were already waiting.
"Hahahahahaha! So you finally came," Doflamingo drawled, striding forward with his trademark swagger. He spread his arms, fingers curled like orchids, face close to Ace's as he laughed wildly.
"'Fire Fist' Portgas D. Ace!"
Ace tilted his head, pressing his hat down with one hand.
"Doflamingo… I'm here to take your head."
"Take my head?" Doflamingo laughed louder, a cruel grin splitting his face. "You little brat—if you think you can, then go ahead and try!"
Ace smirked.
"Oh, I will. But before I deal with you… there's someone else who wants to try and see if his blade can take your life."
"ROOM!"
A familiar voice echoed as a hemisphere of spatial energy expanded across the plateau.
In an instant, Ace and Trafalgar D. Water Law switched places, and Law lunged forward, a short blade in his left hand already glowing with lethal energy.
"Gamma Knife!"
Boom!
The blade of condensed gamma rays plunged into Doflamingo's torso. The energy—capable of destroying organs at the cellular level—ravaged Doflamingo's body from the inside out.
"It's over, Doflamingo!" Law snarled, satisfaction flashing in his eyes as he prepared to deliver another blow with Kikoku.
But before the strike could land, Doflamingo's body unraveled into a mass of razor-thin strings and scattered into the air.
"Black Knight!"
Law's eyes narrowed in disbelief. The figure he struck had been nothing more than one of Doflamingo's thread clones.
"…I failed," Law muttered bitterly, raising his nodachi Kikoku. A mirthless smile twisted his lips. "To think I could beat a monster like you with just that…"
"Well, well," Doflamingo's real body stepped out from the palace shadows, sunglasses glinting. His tone darkened. "I had meant to use that trick on Fire Fist, but you've gone and ruined my fun."
His grin widened. "Tell me, Law… what should I do with you?"
"Law!" Doflamingo's voice cracked like a whip as he blurred forward. His long leg, wreathed in Haki, lashed out.
Law raised Kikoku to block, but the impact was monstrous. His arm went numb as the blow sent him skidding across the stone, rubble exploding in his wake.
Doflamingo followed relentlessly, his fingers curling as near-invisible threads extended from each fingertip, slashing at Law.
"ROOM!"
Law swapped himself with a chunk of debris just in time to avoid the grasp, reappearing several meters away to launch another attack.
But Doflamingo's threads coiled defensively, parrying the strike. "Cunning little Surgeon of Death… your Ope Ope no Mi has potential," he sneered.
"Five-Color Strings!"
Doflamingo's fingers slashed downward. The threads, sharper than steel, struck like blades. Law braced with Kikoku, but the threads pinned him to the ground.
Law gritted his teeth. He had not yet endured two years of growth like in the original timeline. His strength—though formidable—was still far from enough to match the Heavenly Yaksha.
Law raised his left hand to counter, but Doflamingo's boot slammed down, crushing his wrist. Sitting on Law's chest, Doflamingo gripped his face with one hand while raising the other, fingers poised like daggers.
"You're far too green to take me down, Law!"
"I know…" Law forced a grin despite the blood trickling from his lips. "But I had to try. Because if Captain Ace fights you next… you will die."
"My death?" Doflamingo's grin faltered for a moment before twisting into a snarl. "Fufufufufuhahaha! Such arrogant brats. Fine—I'll kill you first. Then I'll take my time with Fire Fist."
The threads on his fingers gleamed as they scythed toward Law's neck.
"Knight Thrust!"
A flash of steel interrupted. From within Law's coat, Cacus—a small armored companion—sprang forth, a lance wrapped in Armament Haki in hand. He lunged with all his might.
Pchhk!
Caught off guard, Doflamingo jerked his hand up, but the lance still punched through his palm, spraying blood.
"Go!" Cacus shouted, grabbing Law and leaping back to safety as threads whistled past them.
"Tch… so close…" Law gasped, clutching his side, bitter frustration burning in his eyes.
Law had prepared two stages of attack: the spatial swap with Ace, and Cacus's hidden thrust. Yet both combined had barely wounded Doflamingo.
Cacus perched on his shoulder, voice calm. "Don't let it crush you, Law. He's far beyond us right now. We live—and we grow."
"Hahahaha! Joker, getting stabbed by a brat?" Jack rumbled with a cruel laugh, not the least bit concerned. "I told you, the only way to handle these pests is overwhelming force!"
"Again and again…" Doflamingo hissed, staring at the blood dripping from his pierced hand, sunglasses flashing ominously. "You're all dead."
BOOM!
A crushing pressure exploded outward—Haoshoku Haki, Doflamingo's Conqueror's Haki, pressed down like a mountain. Law and Cacus staggered under the suffocating aura.
But then—
"It's bad manners… to bully my crewmates when I'm not around."
A calm voice cut through the tension.
BOOM!
An even greater wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted behind Law and Cacus, smashing into Doflamingo's presence and shattering it like glass. The air crackled, the stone beneath their feet splintered.
Ace stepped forward, firelight dancing in his eyes beneath the brim of his hat.
"You're looking for a king to fight, Doflamingo? Then face me."
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