At the very moment when Donquixote Doflamingo seemed to have complete control of the battlefield—with Luffy trapped inside the seastone cage, Zoro and Kin'emon forced back, and Trafalgar Law hovering on the edge of death—
"Crunch… crunch…"
A strangely out-of-place chewing sound suddenly echoed from the far end of the street.
It came from behind Doflamingo and the others—out of the drifting smoke that had yet to fully disperse.
Then, a half-eaten apple rolled slowly out of the haze.
It tumbled across the pavement and came to a stop in the open space between the two sides.
Everyone's gaze was instinctively drawn toward the bizarre sound—and the apple rolling across the ground.
The smoke gradually thinned.
A tall figure emerged.
He carried a distinctive golden staff casually over one shoulder. His upper body was bare, revealing a lean but powerful physique. His earlobes were impossibly long, and behind him rested the iconic thunder drums that symbolized his power.
His eyelids drooped lazily, as though nothing in front of him was worth even the slightest interest.
Then, in a voice dripping with impatience and absolute condescension, he spoke.
"Mortals."
"God wishes to ask you something."
He tilted his head slightly.
"This place… is called Dressrosa, correct?"
"!!!"
The instant Luffy and Zoro saw the man's face, their pupils shrank to needlepoints.
The memory hit them like a tidal wave.
Two years ago, on the Sabaody Archipelago—the crushing defeat they had suffered at this man's hands.
The terrifying figure who had called himself God.
Enel.
"'God' Enel…"
Doflamingo's brows knitted tightly together behind his sunglasses.
"The Calamity under Gern's command…"
"What is this troublesome bastard doing here?!"
At this moment, Enel displayed a truly classic case of terminal face blindness.
He completely failed to recognize the battered Straw Hat trapped inside the cage—or the green-haired swordsman standing nearby with three blades drawn.
Perhaps their current disguises and pitiful states made it impossible for him to connect them with the people he had once fought.
So when his question received no response—
Enel's previously lazy expression darkened instantly.
His eyelids lifted.
Dangerous arcs of lightning flickered across his palm.
"Hey."
"You insects."
"Did you fail to hear God's command?"
His voice carried a rising edge of anger.
"Answer my question!"
Doflamingo knew Enel served as one of Gern Reginald Sigmar's Calamities, but he had never personally witnessed Enel's strength.
Relying on the pride of a Warlord of the Sea and his absolute confidence in the String-String Fruit, he subconsciously believed he could easily handle this so-called "God" from the sky islands.
Hearing Enel's arrogant demand, Doflamingo laughed in irritation.
"Fufufufu…"
"Sorry, but I don't have time to answer your questions right now."
Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth—
The fingers of his left hand curled slightly.
Razor-sharp strings condensed instantly.
He was about to deliver the final killing blow to the dying Law.
"ZZZT—!"
A blinding bolt of lightning flashed across the air like teleportation.
Doflamingo suddenly felt a heavy pressure beneath his chin.
A cold, hard sensation.
His eyes widened in shock.
The end of Enel's golden staff had somehow appeared beneath his jaw—forcing his head upward and abruptly interrupting his attack.
Enel's half-lidded eyes lifted.
Lightning crackled within them.
A cold fury burned in his gaze.
"Who…"
"…gave you permission to behave so rudely…"
"…in front of God?"
At the same time, his Mantra—his observation ability—clearly sensed the faint contempt and dismissal lingering in Doflamingo's heart.
His tone turned even colder.
"And…"
"Your heart dares to look down upon God, mortal."
Doflamingo had endured humiliation before—
From Gern, perhaps.
But to suffer such disrespect from Gern's subordinate as well?
The thought twisted his expression into something ferocious behind the sunglasses.
The moment the staff pressed beneath his jaw—
He retaliated instinctively.
"Five-Colored Strings!"
His free right hand slashed forward violently.
Five brilliant, razor-sharp threads shot toward Enel's neck like gleaming blades.
But—
"SWISH!"
The strings sliced cleanly through Enel's neck—
As if cutting through air.
No resistance.
No flesh.
Enel's neck had already transformed into pure lightning, shimmering blue energy crackling where his body should have been.
Doflamingo's pupils shrank violently.
And in that fleeting instant—when his attack missed—
Enel moved.
The golden staff withdrew.
His right hand surged forward, lightning dancing across his palm.
It moved faster than the eye could track.
Gently—
Almost casually—
He placed that crackling palm against Doflamingo's forehead.
Enel looked down at the stunned warlord.
His voice fell like a divine verdict.
"Divine Judgment."
"BOOOOOOM—!!!!"
A terrifying eruption of lightning exploded outward.
A colossal pillar of thunder burst from Enel's palm like a spear of heavenly punishment, completely engulfing Doflamingo.
Blinding light flooded the entire street.
Thunder roared so violently that the ground itself trembled.
At the same time—
At the western entrance of the colosseum.
Gern Reginald Sigmar stood before the heavily fortified entrance corridor.
His gaze fell upon the thick seastone bars blocking the passage.
He raised an eyebrow slightly.
Without hesitation—
He drew the black blade at his waist.
Eight Desolations.
"SHING—HUM!"
The wrappings around the sword burst apart layer by layer.
The dark blade vibrated with a deep, resonant hum.
Then—
With a motion as casual as slicing tofu—
Gern swung the blade horizontally.
"SHHK!"
A faint cutting sound echoed.
The supposedly impregnable seastone bars, along with the reinforced steel locking mechanism behind them, were cleanly severed in a single stroke.
The cut surfaces were so smooth they reflected light like mirrors.
Gern sheathed the blade.
Just as he stepped forward to enter the dim corridor—
A figure emerged from the shadows inside the passage.
The two walked directly toward one another.
The man had short wavy blond hair and a noticeable scar beneath his left eye.
He wore a black top hat with goggles strapped around it.
A brown leather jacket rested over a white ruffled shirt and tie.
In his hand he carried a simple metal pipe.
The two figures stopped simultaneously at the mouth of the corridor.
Light and shadow overlapped between the interior and the outside world, leaving both men half illuminated and half concealed.
Gern's gaze lingered briefly on the metal pipe in the man's hand.
Then it moved to the young face before him.
Something flickered in his eyes.
Recognition.
Meanwhile, the newcomer had also clearly seen the person blocking the exit.
The unmistakable Marine justice coat.
The bandage-wrapped sword at his waist.
And the face that had shaken the seas.
"A Marine Admiral…"
The fingers gripping the pipe tightened slightly.
The relaxed smile on his face faded.
Just moments ago, he had claimed the Flame-Flame Fruit inside the arena.
And now—at the exit—he encountered the strongest combat force of the Marines.
That was no coincidence.
Gern looked at him calmly, his expression unreadable.
Then he broke the silence.
"Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army…"
"Sabo."
His voice was steady.
"It seems…"
"…the excitement inside the colosseum has already come to an end."