Chapter 264: Another Slash
Dressrosa.
At the precise instant Sugar collapsed into unconsciousness—
All the victims previously transformed into toys by her Hobi Hobi no Mi abilities reverted to their original human forms.
The pirates and gangsters who'd been double-crossed, the pirate hunters and Marines who'd opposed Doflamingo, the government agents investigating the Donquixote Family, King Riku's loyal soldiers, and countless others... all returned to their true forms instantaneously!
Simultaneously, innumerable residents of Dressrosa regained their lost memories in a sudden, overwhelming rush.
A daughter discovered that her ever-present toy dog was actually her biological father. A mother realized her beloved toy companion was her long-lost husband. Both were moved to tears of joy and anguish.
Only the stepfather stood nearby, looking somewhat awkward.
The entire kingdom of Dressrosa descended into absolute chaos.
"What the hell is happening?!"
Doflamingo perceived this catastrophic scene through his Observation Haki, his expression changing drastically.
Kalos and the remaining CP operative also displayed visible shock.
Even CP—the World Government's elite intelligence division—hadn't known that the toys throughout Dressrosa were all transformed humans.
Sugar's existence represented the Donquixote Family's most closely guarded secret.
All traces of those transformed into toys would be systematically erased from existence. Aside from Doflamingo and a select few top executives, absolutely no one knew of Sugar's abilities.
Ignorance didn't prevent Kalos from making a tactical judgment.
He flashed forward, forcing Jinbe backward momentarily, and simultaneously retrieved a Den Den Mushi to contact the Five Elders directly.
"What's the situation?"
Through the visual projection screens, the Five Elders couldn't directly perceive the dramatic changes unfolding within Dressrosa.
While releasing concentrated killing intent to suppress Jinbe, Kalos rapidly reported the truth about the Toy Kingdom's horrifying reality.
"What?!"
The Five Elders reacted with genuine shock, cursing Doflamingo's reckless methods while immediately comprehending the catastrophic consequences of this truth being exposed.
"Too many eyes are watching the Dressrosa battle worldwide. I'm afraid we cannot suppress this information," one of the Five Elders stated grimly.
"Destroy Dressrosa completely! Bury everything beneath the ocean floor!"
The lead Elder, his aura radiating murderous intent, spoke each word with crystalline clarity.
The Five Elders quickly reached a decisive consensus, speaking urgently into the Den Den Mushi:
"Coordinate with Doflamingo... eliminate all witnesses immediately... bzzt..."
But before they could finish issuing complete orders, the transmission line went completely dead.
Simultaneously, faction leaders throughout the world watching the broadcast all saw their screens go black, utterly unable to receive any further information from Dressrosa.
"The signal's been blocked?"
"It must be Doflamingo's countermeasure."
The Five Elders, with their vast political experience, immediately deduced the situation and hurriedly commanded,
"That works in our favor. Issue immediate orders for Kizaru to proceed there at maximum speed, assist Kalos in burying all secrets permanently, and temporarily arrest Doflamingo for interrogation."
Meanwhile—
Dressrosa.
Doflamingo withdrew both hands from maintaining the Birdcage, his expression turning absolutely frigid.
His reaction speed proved extraordinarily swift.
In the brief moment he'd realized Sugar had been compromised, he'd executed the optimal possible response.
At this moment, countless threads—like a massive cage—enveloped the entirety of Dressrosa from the sky itself.
The "Torikago—Birdcage" represented a trump card Doflamingo had prepared long ago, precisely to prevent any potential disasters involving Sugar's exposure.
These cage-like threads not only isolated all internal and external radio wave transmissions but would also systematically destroy all evidence and witnesses.
Lost territory could be rebuilt with time and effort, but if a scandal of this catastrophic magnitude became publicly exposed, the World Government would face immense international pressure.
He would fall from grace completely, his Shichibukai status would crumble instantly, triggering a devastating cascade of serious consequences.
"Quite the swift reaction,"
Rhodes observed, sword in hand, a half-smile playing across his features.
"..."
Doflamingo's face darkened ominously, his gaze toward Rhodes overflowing with murderous intent.
Even if he somehow won this decisive battle, he'd effectively been reset to square one.
Over a decade of meticulous accumulation, destroyed in a single instant.
This bone-deep hatred drove Doflamingo toward the edge of genuine madness.
Yet paradoxically, the more hatred he felt, the calmer Doflamingo's tactical mind became. He conjured a shield of white threads to block Rhodes' incoming slash while simultaneously manipulating additional threads to hinder Rhodes' forward advance.
But such a catastrophic development still significantly affected Doflamingo's mental state, and his accumulated injuries further hampered his Observation Haki's effectiveness.
Whoosh!
Seizing advantage of a brief gap in the thread waves' coverage, Rhodes surged forward with lightning speed, breaking through numerous defensive obstacles to close directly on Doflamingo. His Raiu blade, imbued with devastating sharpness, slashed outward with lethal intent.
While Doflamingo's manipulated threads excelled at defensive applications, his personal physical defense remained relatively vulnerable. If Rhodes delivered a clean direct hit, he would undoubtedly be cleaved completely in two.
At this critical moment, the CP0 operative intercepted the attack.
He roared with desperate intensity, his blood surging violently as he threw a powerful punch with everything he possessed.
"Tekkai: Busō—Iron Body: Armament!"
Wearing reinforced gauntlets coated in dense Armament Haki, he met Rhodes' devastating attack head-on.
BOOOOM!
Blade and gauntlets collided with apocalyptic force.
An unprecedented roar echoed across the sky—like countless artillery shells detonating simultaneously.
Rhodes' sword strike carried incredible destructive power.
Doflamingo and his companion had struggled immensely just to withstand Rhodes' ranged sword energy attacks.
Almost instantaneously, Rhodes' extraordinarily sharp blade pierced through the CP0 operative's Armament Haki coating, then tore through the specialized reinforced metal gauntlets, striking his exposed fist directly.
"AAAAGHH...!"
The CP operative screamed in absolute agony as the sword severed his fingers and continued through his arm.
At that moment—
Doflamingo's thread counterattack finally arrived, slicing viciously toward Rhodes from multiple angles.
Rhodes snorted coldly, unleashing a spinning slash that tore through the air, severing the razor-sharp threads effortlessly.
Meanwhile, Doflamingo desperately used his strings to yank the CP0 operative backward to relative safety.
Observing the CP operative's severed wrist, Doflamingo's face turned extraordinarily grim.
The two of them together had already been struggling desperately against Rhodes' overwhelming power. Now, with this CP operative severely crippled, the tactical balance would inevitably shift even further against them.
Could they even manage to hold out until Admiral Kizaru's arrival?
Doflamingo gradually lost all remaining confidence.
Noticing the deteriorating situation, Kalos frowned deeply and attempted to rush toward Doflamingo's aid, but Jinbe immediately seized the opening, delivering a devastating Gosenmaigawara Seiken that tore open a deep, bleeding wound.
"Your opponent is me!"
Jinbe's voice came out hoarse—the result of accidentally piercing his own throat with one of Kalos' steel needles earlier.
"Damn you!"
"You're not afraid of death, but aren't you terrified the World Government will unleash its wrath upon Fish-Man Island?!"
Kalos roared furiously, enduring the searing pain radiating from his wound.
Jinbe offered no verbal response. He was in genuinely poor condition himself. Kalos remained, fundamentally, an Admiral-level combatant—even if ranked at the bottom of that tier, he still possessed overwhelming suppressive capability.
The repeated penetrations from steel needles—though largely blocked by Jinbe's powerful physique and Armament Haki—were gradually draining his stamina through countless minor wounds and steady blood loss.
A combatant of Jinbe's caliber could engage an Admiral-level opponent competitively, but a prolonged battle would inevitably lead to defeat. If he didn't retreat strategically, he might genuinely die here!
"DAMN IT!"
Kalos roared with mounting desperation, pushing his Devil Fruit abilities to their absolute limits, attempting to eliminate Jinbe as rapidly as possible.
He'd noticed that Rhodes, in the distance, had already finished off the severely wounded CP0 operative and was now relentlessly pursuing Doflamingo with lethal intent!
(End of Chapter)
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