Watching Luffy bounce around in his Gear Fourth form, a murderous glint flashed through Doflamingo's eyes.
He had underestimated Luffy after all.
But before he could react, Luffy had already appeared right in front of him.
"Gomu Gomu no Kong Gun!!!"
Luffy's massive fists compressed backward into his arms using the elasticity of rubber, then exploded forward like giant springs toward Doflamingo.
Doflamingo's pupils shrank.
"I can't dodge this!!!"
Boom!!!
In desperation, Doflamingo crossed both arms in front of himself, coating them with Armament Haki in an attempt to block the attack.
But he had still underestimated Luffy's power.
His body was smashed violently into the ground!
And it still wasn't over.
Luffy instantly appeared above him again, both feet slamming down onto Doflamingo's abdomen.
"Rhino Schneider!!!"
Crack!!!
The already devastated ground split apart even further.
Only then did Luffy stop attacking and leap backward.
Doflamingo slowly climbed out from the rubble, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"You damn Straw Hat brat!!!"
His eyes were filled with killing intent.
"You think this little bit of power is enough to defeat me?!"
The moment he roared, an overwhelming energy burst from his body.
It was the true power of his Devil Fruit.
"Aaaaagh!!!"
"This is real power!!!"
As Doflamingo shouted, everything around him began transforming into strings.
The houses.
The ground.
Every surrounding object.
Under the influence of his awakened String-String Fruit, everything became part of his ability.
In an instant, half the island transformed into a white ocean of strings.
Luffy stared at him with a grim expression.
This was a level he had yet to reach.
Nearby, Green Bull raised an eyebrow.
"So this is Devil Fruit Awakening…"
After thinking for a moment, he decided not to interfere yet.
After all, the satisfaction of awakening a Devil Fruit was something impossible to describe.
And just as Green Bull expected, Doflamingo now felt invincible.
He looked at Luffy and crooked his finger provocatively.
"Come on, Luffy. Let's continue."
"Hmph! Doflamingo! No matter what tricks you use, I'm gonna beat you!!"
Luffy roared.
The incredible elasticity of Gear Fourth erupted again, launching his body through the air.
"Rhino Schneider!!!"
His Haki-coated legs slammed toward Doflamingo once more.
But Doflamingo only sneered.
"Off White!"
Swish!
Several massive white strings burst from the ground, instantly blocking Luffy's attack.
"What?!"
Luffy froze for a split second before reacting immediately.
Kicking off the air, he closed the distance and hurled his blackened fists at Doflamingo.
"I told you already… it's useless!!"
"White Wave!!!"
Doflamingo shouted.
Countless white strings surged forward like a raging tidal wave, swallowing Luffy whole.
Feeling Luffy's position within the strings, Doflamingo clenched his fist tightly.
The strings twisted together like giant ropes, trying to shred Luffy apart from within.
But Luffy had no intention of sitting still.
Inside the sea of strings, a fierce look flashed across his eyes.
He inhaled deeply and pumped all the air into his right arm.
Boom!!
His fist rapidly expanded, becoming enormous like a giant's arm.
Then Armament Haki coated the massive fist completely.
"Gomu Gomu no King Kong Gun!!!"
With Luffy's furious roar, the gigantic fist smashed outward from within the strings.
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion erupted.
Under Doflamingo's shocked gaze, Luffy burst through the strings once again!
"How is that possible?!"
Doflamingo shouted in disbelief.
But after unleashing such an attack, Luffy could no longer maintain Gear Fourth.
He collapsed to the ground, panting heavily as he desperately tried to recover his stamina.
Moments later, Doflamingo snapped out of his shock.
"Damn you, Luffy!!"
He slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Ever White!"
Rumble!!!
The entire battlefield transformed into a churning ocean of strings.
Luffy suddenly felt his body sink.
The strings beneath him were pulling at him violently.
His expression changed immediately.
Using all his strength, he leapt away from the area, barely escaping the grasp of the strings.
But even then, the ground beneath him remained a sea of white threads.
"Damn it… the sky's the only safe place…"
Luffy made his decision.
He would use Gear Fourth again.
Before his strength completely ran out, he would defeat Doflamingo!
"Haaah!! Gear Fourth!!"
With a low roar, his body transformed once again.
Stepping on the air itself, Luffy temporarily escaped the white sea below.
But he didn't waste even a second.
He swung his massive fists toward Doflamingo.
Doflamingo grinned wildly.
"Fufufufufu! That's more like it!!!"
The two charged at each other once again!
Meanwhile, inside the colosseum…
Sabo and Gibbs had entered the final stage of their battle.
As Sabo dodged Gibbs' attacks, his gaze drifted toward the Flame-Flame Fruit nearby.
A sharp gleam flashed through his eyes.
He already had a plan to claim Ace's power.
Outside the arena, Zoro and the others were still struggling against the endless trees.
It wasn't because they were weak.
The problem was the trees' absurd regenerative ability.
Destroy one, and another would immediately grow back.
The endless vines were even more troublesome.
One moment of carelessness and someone would be grabbed and dragged toward the trees.
Just as Zoro decided to unleash a large-scale attack to wipe them all out at once…
The forest suddenly stopped attacking.
The trees slowly parted to both sides, revealing a narrow path.
"Did… did we win?" Usopp asked uncertainly.
Zoro frowned.
Something felt wrong.
"No… someone's coming."
Everyone immediately became alert, staring into the dark forest ahead.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the trees.
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
The moment Zoro saw her, his entire body froze.
"K-Kuina?!?"
-----------------------------
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