Chapter 266: Fear
"Filming? Video transmission?"
Doflamingo froze upon witnessing a figure outside the Birdcage holding a Den Den Mushi and recording everything.
As a master strategist and tactician, he grasped Rhodes' true intentions almost instantaneously.
The Birdcage could isolate all radio wave transmissions, and its continuous contraction would systematically destroy all evidence—whether people or Den Den Mushi. However, it possessed a critical flaw.
As long as someone stood outside the Birdcage's perimeter holding a Den Den Mushi, they could record the scene and even broadcast it live worldwide!
It was entirely conceivable that everything occurring within Dressrosa had already spread throughout the world and become known to all.
He was absolutely correct.
From the precise moment the Birdcage rose, attempting to annihilate Dressrosa entirely, the broadcast transmission had already begun.
Rhodes had merely initiated it.
Then, fueled by the Revolutionary Army and numerous other forces harboring grievances against the World Government, it rapidly disseminated across the entire world.
Even with the World Government's desperate damage control efforts, they couldn't suppress it in time.
The impact proved too catastrophic!
The World Government had invested enormous propaganda resources into Dressrosa as a model "reformed pirate kingdom," and now faced immense international criticism.
The Five Elders' expressions turned extraordinarily grim, and they couldn't suppress growls of absolute fury.
Doflamingo's death was merely one concern, and even Rhodes himself wasn't such a critical threat.
Setting aside the fact he hadn't yet reached Whitebeard's level of era-defining influence, even if he had, the World Government wouldn't fear him fundamentally.
Throughout countless eras, the World Government had remained steadfast, standing atop the Red Line—that represented its true strength.
However—
The ramifications of the Dressrosa incident proved unprecedented in scope.
At minimum, this generation of Five Elders had never encountered such a catastrophic public relations disaster.
If that powerful figure learned of this debacle, he might very well unleash his wrath upon them directly.
Contemplating this possibility, the Five Elders wished they could immediately execute that worthless Doflamingo themselves.
The horrifying truth about Dressrosa was something even they hadn't known about.
It had erupted completely unexpectedly, and their enemies had seized the opportunity to weaponize it against them.
This was utterly unacceptable.
"Has Kizaru not arrived yet?"
"Momentarily."
"Have Kizaru and Kalos coordinate and attempt to eliminate the Thunder God Swordsman. If unsuccessful, withdraw from Dressrosa immediately. This incident is too severe—we must distance ourselves and minimize losses as much as possible."
The Five Elders' faces darkened ominously as they made the calculated decision to shift all blame onto Doflamingo in order to salvage the government's tarnished reputation.
Meanwhile—
Kizaru, looking genuinely irritated, leaped from his warship at maximum velocity and transformed into his elemental light form, rushing toward Dressrosa at near-lightspeed.
"How troublesome... how troublesome..."
"You... you'll completely enrage the World Government."
Doflamingo understood he could never recover from this defeat, yet his gaze toward Rhodes still held genuine disbelief.
Everyone operating in this world understood the unspoken rules: you could provoke the Shichibukai, challenge the Marines, even anger the Four Emperors—but you must never provoke the World Government!
The World Government, which had ruled the world for eight hundred years while standing atop the clouds, possessed power and resources beyond anyone's comprehension—they remained utterly unfathomable.
Even the arrogant Doflamingo held them in absolute awe.
"Whether they're enraged or not makes no meaningful difference,"
Rhodes replied casually.
The Five Elders dispatching someone of Kalos' caliber to eliminate him was crystal clear evidence of their intention to destroy him—their hostility couldn't be more blatant.
It was almost comical that anyone would worry about provoking them when both sides had already abandoned all pretense of civility.
And since all pretense had been abandoned, Rhodes naturally intended to extract even greater strategic benefits from the Dressrosa battle.
For Rhodes, the greater benefit meant more faith power accumulation, which required spreading this decisive battle's influence throughout the entire world.
Perhaps the Dressrosa battle couldn't compare to the pivotal Summit War at Marineford in scale, but Rhodes hadn't been a protagonist during Marineford either.
To some extent, if the Dressrosa battle truly achieved worldwide recognition, the faith power gained might not prove inferior to Marineford's yield!
"Was everything in this decisive battle within your calculations from the beginning?"
Doflamingo murmured, feeling genuinely disheartened and somewhat desperate.
He was an intelligent man.
From Sugar's unexpected elimination and the video transmission positioned outside the Birdcage, it became painfully obvious that this entire final battle had likely remained under Rhodes' control from the very beginning.
Doflamingo, like those puppets he'd previously manipulated with his Ito Ito no Mi, had acted step by step according to Rhodes' predetermined calculations.
Not only had he suffered complete personal ruin, but he'd also created massive problems for the World Government itself.
Doflamingo was a genuine great pirate and tyrant.
Such a figure feared death less than most, yet at this moment, an uncontrollable terror rose within him as his mind trembled violently.
This was intellectual domination taken to its ultimate conclusion.
Everything about him had been seen through completely. His so-called trump cards were absolute jokes. The invisible web of fate had ensnared him, controlled him, and led him inexorably toward death.
Even Vice Admiral Tsuru—who'd once pursued him relentlessly and whose strategic brilliance had overwhelmed him—paled in comparison to this level of calculated manipulation.
"Any last words? Perhaps you could tell me what the so-called Celestial Dragons' 'National Treasure' actually is?"
Rhodes looked down at Doflamingo, half-collapsed on the ground and covered in blood, chuckling softly.
"Fuffuffuffu..."
"Telling you won't hurt anything... I'm about to die anyway."
Doflamingo grinned with his characteristic laugh, then immediately coughed up blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.
"Oh?"
Rhodes stepped forward with apparent interest.
"Fuffuffuffu..."
"The Celestial Dragons' National Treasure is—"
Doflamingo lowered his gaze, concealing the desperate fluctuations in his eyes. Simultaneously, fingers hidden behind his back suddenly flicked, as though unleashing some kind of suicidal killing technique.
But in that precise instant—
A streak of silver sword light suddenly tore through the void.
SLASH!
The blade moved with incredible velocity, instantly severing Doflamingo's head, which rolled across the ground, his shattered sunglasses scattering.
"I didn't actually expect you to tell me,"
Rhodes stated calmly, shaking his head with mild disappointment.
He never underestimated his enemies, especially someone of Doflamingo's exceptional caliber.
Such a person's dying counterattack would prove astonishing—perhaps insufficient to kill Rhodes outright, but certainly enough to inflict severe injuries.
Doflamingo had attempted to trap Rhodes with conversational bait, and Rhodes had similarly used words to approach Doflamingo close enough to deliver a fatal execution strike.
As Doflamingo's life ended, the massive Birdcage covering Dressrosa crumbled and vanished from the world entirely.
"Doflamingo has been defeated!"
Countless Dressrosa residents wept tears of overwhelming joy and relief.
This triumphant scene was clearly broadcast throughout the entire world.
Bepo, the polar bear mink who'd been stationed outside the cage's perimeter, witnessed the Birdcage dissipate and quickly approached with his Den Den Mushi broadcasting equipment.
Looking directly at the Den Den Mushi, Rhodes understood perfectly that he was being broadcast live to the entire world at this moment.
He'd only experienced this level of global attention once before—during his legendary duel with Whitebeard.
Rhodes, naturally, felt no intimidation whatsoever.
"Darkness hidden beneath the light, evil concealed beneath righteousness—that represents the most terrifying threat of all,"
he declared calmly to the watching world, then turned and disappeared into the ruined town.
(End of Chapter)
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