"You should understand what I mean, right? Bege."
Inside the palace of Totto Land, one of the Supernovas newly joined to Big Mom's pirate crew—Bege, who had once been punished by Orin to do hard labor in the Sabaody Archipelago—was now standing by, awaiting orders.
"Yes, Mama. I'll find a way to bring Vinsmoke Sanji back."
Bege took the intelligence dossier. The portrait on it was unmistakably Sanji—the Straw Hat crew member who had once suffered a brutal reality check together with him in the Sabaody Archipelago.
But when he saw the identity listed afterward, his pupils couldn't help but shrink.
He was actually that man's son…
Even if only an adopted son, it was still shocking enough.
Capturing Sanji would be easy—just shamelessly use Zeff as leverage—but he didn't know whether that would involve that man.
He really didn't want to relive the experience he had at Sabaody.
"Go. Pekoms and Baron Tamago will assist you."
Carrying information sufficient to threaten Sanji, Bege set sail toward the seas around Dressrosa.
...
On the other side,
Doflamingo also successfully returned to Dressrosa. Through a visual Den Den Mushi, he watched the scenes inside the arena.
"Fuffuffuffuffu…"
"Working this hard just to fight over the Float-Float Fruit, huh, you brats of the new era~"
Having returned to Dressrosa, Doflamingo finally figured out the exact situation.
He also understood why Orin had used his influence to even involve an Admiral of the Marines in this national-level battle in Dressrosa.
"Fire Fist" Ace, "Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff" Sabo, and "Straw Hat Kid" Luffy—
This trio of brothers who had once shone brilliantly at the Summit War had, after two years, appeared once again—this time on the path to overthrow him in Dressrosa.
Watching the scene,
As the three brothers with radiant smiles and overwhelming popularity made their entrance, Doflamingo pressed a hand to his forehead. Veins bulged violently, his ferocious appearance clearly revealing his current mood.
Yet the expression on his face was strangely intriguing.
Because he was smiling.
"Fuffuffuffuffu!!!!!"
"But do you really think the Float-Float Fruit will be so easily within your grasp?"
"The final stage of this arena game that Orin left behind is far beyond what naïve brats like you could ever imagine~"
Doflamingo's face grew vivid in the shadows, his smile blooming wider as he picked up the Den Den Mushi, as if issuing some kind of order.
Law, heavily wounded and bound in chains, saw this scene. His pupils trembled, cold sweat pouring down uncontrollably.
How could something this insane possibly be happening…
Meanwhile, Doflamingo grew even more excited, his voice carrying a faint tremor.
"Open your eyes wide and watch carefully~"
"What true fear really is!!!"
...
The moment of the finals arrived.
Outside the enormous colosseum, whether toys or real humans, the audience without exception was brimming with excitement.
So many famous competitors—some even renowned across the seas—had advanced to the finals, igniting an intense fervor among the crowd.
"I can't wait!!!"
"Yeah! The Pirate King's son, and the Revolutionary Dragon's right-hand man and son—both made it to the finals!!!"
"Are we going to witness a glimpse of the Summit War from back then, right here and now?!"
"I'm fired up!!!"
"I want to see blood flow like rivers!!!"
With emotions running high, every spectator stared eagerly into the arena.
They all wanted to see who would ultimately claim the grand prize—the Float-Float Fruit.
After their identities were exposed, Luffy and the others simply stopped bothering with further disguises.
Holding to the belief that strength decided everything, they weren't worried about Doflamingo pulling any underhanded tricks inside the colosseum.
Moreover, according to Sabo's judgment, this entire colosseum event probably had little to do with Doflamingo and was more likely…
"Where is it, where is it, the Float-Float Fruit!!!"
"Wait, Luffy!!!"
Zoro looked at the impatient, restless Luffy and called out helplessly.
"Sorry, my little brother usually causes you quite a bit of trouble, doesn't he~"
Ace watched the scene and smiled as he spoke to Zoro.
Zoro, seemingly long used to it, scratched his head.
"No need to be so polite… I figure Luffy just can't wait to go beat Doflamingo."
Just moments ago, Luffy had seen some of the cruel truths within the colosseum, as well as things Sabo had told him about the darkness of Dressrosa.
Being someone who followed his emotions, Luffy immediately wanted to go send Doffy flying.
But in the end, they discovered the matches weren't over yet.
They couldn't even leave the colosseum.
The explanation given was that this was not something within the Donquixote Family's authority.
It was a rule set by a "higher level."
With no other choice, they could only continue participating until the Float-Float Fruit's owner was decided.
The group remained fairly calm, showing no pressure at all toward the Donquixote Family officers they might face.
If anything, the only one who might feel a bit of pressure would be Zoro when facing Kuina.
Sabo even smiled rather easily.
"If the final match ends up being Doflamingo himself, that might be a surprise. Otherwise, the winner will most likely be one of us."
Luffy also grinned.
"I've gotten really strong too, Ace!!!"
The atmosphere among them was relaxed.
Yet in another passageway, someone was watching them from the shadows.
It was a man with face paint, holding a Den Den Mushi in one hand, a smile on his face.
"I understand, Doffy."
"The things Orin left behind—I've been keeping them safe all this time."
It was none other than Diamante, a senior officer of the Donquixote Family.
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, with a slightly tense feeling, Diamante pulled out an item from behind him—something that looked like a rolled-up scroll.
He slowly began to unroll it.
Beside him stood Kuina, who was also serving as a ring defender.
At this moment, driven by a swordsman's instinctive sharpness, the hairs on her body stood on end as she faced Diamante's direction.
"That is…"
After a brief silence,
"Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka—!!!"
"Boom—!!!!"
In an instant, waves of black-and-red lightning spread outward, surging from the passageway and crashing down onto the arena platform outside.
"Tap—"
"Tap—"
The sound of footsteps echoed across the arena.
An inexplicably immense pressure, like dark storm clouds, instantly flooded the hearts of everyone present.
"What is that?!"
Under this pressure, Zoro's sunglasses shattered violently. He clenched his teeth hard.
The few people on the field all wore expressions of sheer shock!!!
Everyone stared wide-eyed toward the Donquixote Family's defender passageway.
From within the shadows, residual black-and-red lightning crackled and dispersed as a figure with proud black hair slowly stepped out.
At that moment, a pair of vertical pupils, glowing with a scarlet light—carrying both a hint of confusion and a touch of interest—slowly opened.
"Interesting…"