Chapter 262: Awakening
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Previously, even with Doflamingo and both companions working together, they'd barely managed to defend themselves. Now, having lost one teammate, the situation naturally became exponentially more dangerous.
Within just a few brief exchanges—despite both Doflamingo and the remaining CP operative exercising extreme caution, adopting purely defensive tactics without counterattacking—they were still slashed open repeatedly, accumulating wounds across their bodies as they continuously retreated.
If this continued, it wouldn't be long before more casualties occurred!
CRACK!
Doflamingo's expression turned grave. He crossed his arms and swung them violently forward, sending two extraordinarily thick whips of string attacking Rhodes from opposite flanks. The air itself detonated from their passage.
Rhodes remained utterly composed, casually swinging his Raiu blade twice in smooth arcs.
Slash! Slash!
The two massive thread whips—powerful enough to slice a Marine battleship clean in half—were directly severed by Rhodes' twin strikes, the segments falling to the ground and dissipating into nothingness.
"Rairyu—Thunder Dragon!"
Rhodes gripped his sword with both hands and slashed ferociously toward Doflamingo.
ROOOAR!
Raging electrical power transformed into a massive lightning dragon, churning the atmosphere violently as it hurtled toward Doflamingo with devastating intent.
"Taju Kumo no Su Kabe—Multiple Spider's Web Wall!"
Doflamingo unleashed his full power, spreading both arms wide in desperate defense.
BOOOOOM!
The thunder dragon roared forward, tearing through the air and violently deforming the layered web wall. Armament Haki and raw lightning collided and exploded repeatedly, the snapping of countless threads echoing across the battlefield incessantly.
In less than a second, even the Multiple Spider's Web Wall was pushed beyond its structural limits and collapsed catastrophically.
Doflamingo was blasted backward by the overwhelming force, smashing through several buildings in succession, spitting out multiple mouthfuls of blood as his face turned deathly pale.
But he quickly recovered his positioning by using his strings to traverse through the air itself—moving like a spider across its web—darting through the ruined town to evade Rhodes' pursuit before rejoining the CP operative.
"Damn it!"
Doflamingo wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. Together with the CP operative, he desperately resisted the dazzling sword energy tearing through the air toward them. Forced backward again by the explosive impact, he finally understood with complete clarity.
He could no longer conceal his true power. Otherwise, he wouldn't survive Rhodes' assault.
Forget two hours—he couldn't even hold out for two more minutes!
Whoosh!
Rhodes flashed forward several times in rapid succession, arriving mere dozens of meters from Doflamingo and his companion.
Almost instantly—
A strange power suddenly spread outward in all directions like a contagion, covering a massive area of ruined buildings throughout the vicinity.
BUZZZZZ!
Under everyone's shocked gazes—
The destroyed buildings, starting from their foundations, transformed into countless white threads, the conversion eventually spreading to their very peaks.
"What the hell is that power?!"
Rhodes' section of the battlefield attracted numerous observers, with most of the reporters' cameras focused directly on this critical area.
When this bizarre phenomenon manifested, every single spectator watching worldwide was left utterly stunned.
"Devil Fruit Awakening?"
"So he's finally using it?"
Observing the buildings being assimilated into threads before his eyes, Rhodes' gaze flickered with genuine interest, though not the slightest trace of fear.
Awakening a Devil Fruit wasn't some miraculous panacea.
Doflamingo's physical capabilities and Haki mastery remained fundamentally unchanged. A dramatic power increase was impossible—at most, he'd gain half a tier of strength.
"Now this is getting interesting. Otherwise, your death would've been too boring, making me look weak,"
Rhodes chuckled with dark amusement.
Hearing this taunt from within the ruins, Doflamingo couldn't suppress a cold sneer.
"Arrogant bastard!"
"The power of Devil Fruit Awakening is far beyond your imagination!"
he declared with renewed confidence.
After awakening the Ito Ito no Mi, both the quantity and individual strength of his threads would increase dramatically, causing his overall combat power to surge substantially.
This ability had always been his ultimate trump card—today marked the first time it would be revealed to the entire world.
"Harite—Wild Wave White Line!"
With a sweeping motion of both hands, the endless threads formed from assimilated ruins created continuous white waves, surging wildly forward and sweeping toward Rhodes as though they would shred him to ribbons in the next instant!
A vast expanse of pure white, radiating pale killing intent.
The CP operative's expression remained grave as he flashed to Doflamingo's side, releasing a quiet breath. He knew about Devil Fruit Awakening's existence—it seemed this battle was far from concluded.
On the main battlefield, Pica and the other executives locked in fierce combat with Enel and his allies watched this development with flickering eyes.
As Doflamingo's most trusted confidants, they were aware of his Devil Fruit Awakening capability.
Yet none of them had anticipated that in such a remarkably short time, Doflamingo would be forced to reveal his greatest trump card so prematurely.
"The Thunder God Swordsman..."
Lao G's expression proved the most complex.
A year ago, although he'd been no match for Rhodes, he'd at least fought respectably well. If he faced Rhodes now, he probably couldn't even withstand a single sword strike.
"The Thunder God Swordsman is undeniably powerful, but with the Young Master's Awakening, maintaining the defensive situation shouldn't prove difficult. Once the Navy arrives, everything will be resolved decisively."
Trebol—the highest-ranking officer currently protecting Sugar, a key figure stationed at the underground port—stated in a deep, gravelly voice.
Sugar, casually holding a basket of grapes, ate while watching the visual projection before her and asked offhandedly,
"How much longer until the Navy arrives?"
"Just over an hour. The situation remains under control. If circumstances deteriorate critically, as long as the Young Master and Kalos reunite, they can hold the line for a considerable duration."
Trebol replied in his distinctive deep voice.
But he failed to notice that in the shadows not far away, a figure quietly crept closer, gripping several black metallic objects in their hands.
The pale sea of threads surged forward like a ravenous beast devouring everything in its path, exuding a terrifying pressure.
"Tentei Raizan—Heavenly Thunder Slash!"
Rhodes gripped his sword's hilt tightly with both hands as lightning power suddenly surged to form a three-meter-high blade extension, slashing downward with devastating force.
BOOOOOM!
A brilliant arc of sword energy, carrying immense electrical power, roared forth—tearing through the sky and colliding violently with the endless surging threads.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
Sword energy and lightning exploded continuously, threads snapped repeatedly, and the air itself vibrated with resonant humming.
Rhodes discovered that following Devil Fruit Awakening, the threads' resilience had increased dramatically.
Previously, Rhodes could effortlessly sever the threads with a single sword strike, encountering virtually no resistance whatsoever. But now, these awakened threads could actually hinder his sword energy's advance noticeably.
Simultaneously, the sheer quantity of threads had undergone a qualitative transformation, becoming functionally limitless.
As far as the eye could see, there existed only pure white.
With this seemingly endless support structure, the sea of threads withstood the bombardment of sword energy and lightning through sheer overwhelming volume.
Devil Fruit Awakening truly deserved its reputation as a qualitative evolution.
Doflamingo's raw attack power still remained inferior to Rhodes' devastating strikes.
However, after his Devil Fruit awakened, he could manipulate far too many threads simultaneously—sending them forward wave after relentless wave.
This, to a considerable extent, dramatically enhanced his defensive capabilities, proving sufficient to withstand Rhodes' lightning-infused sword energy through sheer volume.
"Interesting."
Rhodes' eyes gleamed as he watched the lightning sword energy below being gradually consumed by the thread waves, then he suddenly stomped the ground with explosive force.
WHOOSH!
He instantly transformed into a blur, traversing the battlefield at incredible speed and charging directly toward Doflamingo.
Doflamingo's expression remained grave, his hands moving in constant motion as threads formed continuous waves that swept toward Rhodes from every conceivable direction.
The waves' speed wasn't particularly fast—certainly far slower than Rhodes' explosive pace.
Yet Doflamingo remained completely calm, his hands moving in rapid, coordinated succession like a master conductor leading an orchestra, waves of white threads converging from all directions and systematically blocking every potential escape route.
He didn't need to move faster than Rhodes.
As long as he surrounded all possible vectors, he could naturally trap Rhodes within the net!
Doflamingo's status as a former Celestial Dragon standing among those second only to the Four Emperors was partly attributed to his formidable personal strength and tactical brilliance.
"The outcome is already decided."
The Five Elders and other observers watching the broadcast on their screens all revealed faint smiles of satisfaction.
Given their elevated status and extensive combat experience, they were intimately familiar with the characteristics of an awakened Ito Ito no Mi.
While it might not possess overwhelmingly destructive offensive capabilities, its defensive utility and battlefield control were absolutely unparalleled—genuinely comparable to a Marine Admiral's strategic dominance!
(End of Chapter)
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