New World — Green Bit Island
At this very moment, Donquixote Doflamingo and Trafalgar Law had already clashed.
Two figures tore through the dense forest of colossal trees, one chasing, the other fleeing.
Up ahead, Trafalgar Law sprinted through the undergrowth, his expression grim as he tried to widen the distance between them.
Behind him, Doflamingo pursued relentlessly.
The trademark wild grin still stretched across his face—but the thin sheen of cold sweat gathering along his temples betrayed the pressure gnawing at his mind.
He had already begun to sense the deadly danger hidden within Law's scheme.
Right now, the Marines led personally by "Skyquake" Gern Reginald Sigmar were watching like predators ready to strike.
At the same time, the destruction of the SMILE factory meant he had effectively offended Kaido, one of the Four Emperors.
Two forces.
And at this moment—
he couldn't afford to provoke either of them.
Worse still, he had just received urgent news from one of his family executives:
Some members of the Straw Hat Pirates had already appeared in Dressrosa—his very own stronghold.
"Fufufufufu…"
Doflamingo let out a low laugh, trying to dispel the unease creeping through his chest.
Fortunately, the competition over the Mera Mera no Mi at the colosseum had drawn the attention of several Straw Hat crew members.
For now, they were still indulging in the island's food, drink, and festivities.
But that fragile window of breathing room wouldn't last long.
Which meant he had to end this quickly.
Here.
Now.
He needed to kill Law, reclaim the scientist Caesar Clown, and most importantly—
retrieve the heart in Law's possession.
"LAW!" Doflamingo barked sharply, his five fingers snapping open.
"In accordance with our agreement—I've arrived!"
Invisible strings shot forward like blades, slicing through the tree trunks blocking the path ahead and aiming straight for Law's back.
"You should hand over Caesar—and the heart!"
The two plunged deeper into the forest, one chasing, the other fleeing.
Doflamingo's mastery of the String-String Fruit had reached a terrifying level. His fingers danced through the air like a conductor leading a symphony of death.
Trees collapsed with thunderous crashes, their cut surfaces smooth as mirrors.
Occasionally, faint flashes glinted in the air—nearly invisible threads catching the light.
Deep slicing marks carved into the ground and tree trunks wherever the threads passed.
Under the relentless barrage, Law was forced onto the defensive.
He quickly deployed ROOM, performing short-range spatial shifts while wielding his cursed blade Kikoku.
The long nodachi flashed as he attempted to sever incoming threads or counterattack using the fruit's surgical abilities.
"Injection Shot!"
Seizing a brief opening, Law teleported a massive boulder directly toward Doflamingo.
Unfortunately, Doflamingo's combat experience—and his mastery of his Devil Fruit—proved superior.
Around the locations where Law might potentially reappear after teleporting, Doflamingo had already laid countless nearly invisible threads.
So when Law used ROOM again to avoid a lethal Overheat-style whip attack, reappearing beside a massive tree—
"Got you!!"
Doflamingo's feral grin widened as he jerked his fingers.
"SHRRK!"
Dozens—no, hundreds—of transparent threads that had been hidden in the air and foliage suddenly tightened.
In an instant, they wrapped around Law's limbs and torso.
Before he could react, he was violently bound against the rough bark of the giant tree—forced into an utterly humiliating position.
"—Ugh! Aah!!"
The threads dug deep into his flesh.
The pain and crushing restraint made it nearly impossible to breathe. His grip on Kikoku almost slipped.
Doflamingo gave him no chance to struggle free or activate his ability again.
Using the tension of his threads to propel himself through the air, he lunged forward—
and delivered a crushing kick straight into Law's chest.
BOOM!!
The immense impact snapped the massive tree behind Law in half.
Wood splinters exploded through the air.
Law groaned as blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. His body was launched backward and slammed violently onto the clearing beyond.
Before he could recover from the devastating blow—
Doflamingo dropped down like a descending hawk.
His knee slammed into Law's abdomen while his right hand clamped around Law's throat like an iron vise, pinning him flat to the ground.
Leaning forward, Doflamingo's sunglasses reflected the dappled forest light, hiding the murderous intent in his eyes.
But his voice was icy and merciless.
"I don't have time to keep playing games with you, Law."
"Hand over Caesar—and the heart."
"Or I'll snap your neck right now."
Pinned to the ground.
His throat crushed beneath that iron grip.
Yet instead of fear—
Law forced out a hoarse, mocking laugh.
"Kh… you won't kill me…"
"Caesar's heart… is still in my hands."
"That's right! Doffy, calm down!"
Not far away, Caesar Clown peeked from behind a rock, only daring to stick out half his head as he shrieked nervously.
"My heart! My heart's still in that bastard Tra-guy's hands!"
Doflamingo ignored Caesar's frantic shouting entirely.
A grin spread across his lips.
His free left hand flicked its fingers.
Nearly invisible threads slid into Law's clothes like living tendrils, searching and pulling.
Soon enough—
a faintly beating heart wrapped in a thin transparent membrane was carefully drawn out by the threads and placed in Doflamingo's palm.
"Fufufufu…"
Doflamingo stared at the heart, letting out a triumphant chuckle.
"Now…"
"…it isn't."
"Oh? Is that so?" Law rasped, still forcing a mocking tone.
"You're that sure… this is the real one?"
He was gambling.
Gambling that Doflamingo wouldn't dare risk Caesar's life.
Gambling to buy time.
Unfortunately, Law had no idea that while he fought desperately here to gain those precious seconds—
the Straw Hats in Dressrosa weren't making effective use of that time at all.
Some of them were still enjoying the island's food… and the excitement of the colosseum.
Seeing Law maintain such stubborn confidence even while restrained made Doflamingo's brows knit tightly together.
A flicker of doubt crossed his mind.
But stronger than that—
was the fury of being toyed with.
Without another word, the veins on the hand gripping Law's throat bulged.
At the same time, his other hand tightened around the heart with brutal force.
"CRUNCH!"
"AAARGH!!"
Outside the fight, Caesar immediately let out an exaggerated scream and collapsed onto the ground, clutching his chest as he rolled dramatically.
Yet aside from Caesar's theatrical performance—
neither the heart itself…
nor Law, whose throat was still being crushed—
showed any reaction that should have accompanied such agony.
Doflamingo's face darkened instantly.
"…Fake."
The word slipped out through clenched teeth.
The fury of being deceived shattered the last fragments of his restraint.
Murderous intent surged through his eyes as the grip on Law's throat tightened further.
He was ready to use the cruelest methods possible to force the truth out of him.
And then—
at the very last moment—
"ROOM!"
With the final shred of strength and space he could muster, Law shouted hoarsely.
A hemispherical transparent field instantly expanded outward from his body.
"Shambles!"
FLASH!
Light burst forth.
In the next instant—
the Law who had been pinned beneath Doflamingo…
his iconic spotted fur hat…
his cursed blade Kikoku lying nearby…
and even Caesar Clown, who had been rolling around on the ground acting—
all vanished simultaneously.
Doflamingo suddenly felt the empty space beneath him.
The prey he had held so firmly—
was gone.
He lifted his head sharply.
His Observation Haki instantly caught their presence.
Law—and the Caesar he had taken with him—had reappeared far away near the eastern shore of the beach, sprinting desperately toward the Thousand Sunny, the Straw Hats' ship docked there.
Doflamingo slowly stood up.
He brushed the dust from his coat.
His expression was terrifyingly dark.
"You're not getting away."