Arrival

Doflamingo was leading his family members in battle against the Marines when he saw Vergo coming straight toward him and wondered why he had come at this time.

Vergo dropped to one knee, his voice low. "Doffy, Corazon is a Marine spy... that brat has already eaten the Op-Op Fruit."

As the words fell, the air seemed to freeze.

The corners of Doflamingo's mouth slowly curled upward, his smile as grotesque as a flower from hell. "My dear brother... betrayed me?"

The blizzard raging over Minion Island was cut to pieces by a sudden eruption of strings.

Doflamingo stood in the center of town, his pink feather coat flapping wildly in the wind and snow.

His five fingers spread slightly, and countless nearly transparent threads burst from their tips, ravaging everything like blades. The whole of Minion Island seemed tightly bound beneath an overturned cage.

"Fuffuffuffuffu... what an unpleasant night."

His laughter was chilling to the bone, his pupils contracted with rage behind his lenses, and his killing intent was almost tangible.

"Boom!!!"

Conqueror's Haki erupted like a thunderbolt!

"Kill him."

"Bring that brat... back!!!"

Deep in the snowfields.

Law carried the dying Rosinante on his back. Blood dripped through his fingers, winding into a glaring red trail.

He staggered through the blizzard, with killing intent howling after him.

"Law... put me down."

Rosinante's voice was weak, but resolute.

"No! We have to get out of here!" Law gritted his teeth, tears welling in his eyes.

Rosinante gently patted his shoulder, a familiar goofy grin appearing on his pale face. "Idiot, listen to me... my brother might not kill me right away, but you're different."

He raised a hand and pointed to a half-closed, abandoned treasure chest ahead. "Hide inside. I'll use 'magic' to keep you from being found."

"No! We're going together!"

Law's tears were on the verge of spilling over.

"That's an order!"

Rosinante's voice abruptly turned cold and sharp. The power of the Calm-Calm Fruit activated, and a soundless barrier pushed Law bodily into the chest before its lid gently closed.

"Remember, no matter what you hear... don't make a sound."

Snowflakes filled the air, and the world seemed to stand still.

Doflamingo slowly approached, his presence sharp as a blade.

"Corazon..."

His voice was low, as though it came from hell, carrying unrestrained killing intent. "Ten years. You had a lot of fun pretending to be mute, didn't you?"

Rosinante leaned against a broken wall, that same goofy smile still on his lips, his blond hair a bloody mess. "Long time no see, brother..."

Doflamingo's fingertips trembled slightly as strings traced chilling arcs through the air. "Where's the Op-Op Fruit?"

Rosinante looked up calmly. "That child already ate it... he's already escaped the Birdcage."

"Fuffuffuffuffu..."

Doflamingo's laughter suddenly twisted into a vicious roar, his eyes bloodshot. "Don't try to fool me with such a lousy lie!"

The next second, strings erupted and pierced straight through Rosinante's shoulder!

"Gah!"

Blood blossomed across the snow, staining the entire world red.

Inside the chest, Law bit down hard on his lip, tears blurring his vision as he struggled not to make a sound.

Doflamingo walked closer and slowly raised his pistol, its cold muzzle pointed at Rosinante's forehead. "Last chance... where's that brat?"

Rosinante slowly raised his head, tears glistening in his eyes, yet his smile remained warm. "He's free... brother."

"Bang!"

The moment he pulled the trigger, space suddenly warped!

"Whoosh!!!"

A tall figure appeared out of thin air, his white Marine coat billowing in the wind and snow. His palm, coated in Armament Haki, caught the bullet firmly!

"Roy!!!"

Doflamingo's pupils contracted sharply as he retreated at full speed, his voice breaking into an uncontrolled growl. "Roy... why are you here?!"

His hand trembled slightly. The man before him was the Monster Rear Admiral who could go head-to-head with the Red Hair Pirates!

Roy ignored the furious and panicked flamingo, turning instead to glance at the badly wounded Rosinante. His voice was low. "Thanks for your efforts. Leave the rest... to me."

Rosinante's eyes widened slightly, then he smiled in relief. "Ah... a reliable guy finally showed up..."

"Fuffuffuffu... you think you can escape my grasp?"

Ignored, Doflamingo grinned viciously and moved two fingers slightly. The Birdcage's strings began to contract, glinting coldly in the wind and snow like the grim reaper's scythe.

Under his control, the entire island of Minion was like a sealed cage.

"This whole island is my cage!" Doflamingo spread his arms and laughed, his voice brimming with unparalleled confidence and domineering force.

Yet faced with this terrifying blockade, Roy merely raised a hand and flicked a finger.

"Whoosh!"

Space warped, and Roy, Rosinante, and Law in the chest vanished without a trace.

Only the snowflakes remained, swirling in the cold wind.

"What?!"

Doflamingo's smile froze, his eyes flying wide as his Observation Haki spread out like a tide, trying to pick up their vanished traces.

"I can't... sense their presence at all?!"

His heart jolted, and he flew into a rage. "Could it be... this guy's teleportation isn't restricted by the Birdcage at all?!"

Outwardly, he continued to grit his teeth, but a trace of relief quietly flashed in his eyes—

Just as well that Monster Rear Admiral ran off... if we really fought, it'd be hard to say who'd win...

But before the thought had fully formed—

"What are you thinking about, little turkey?"

A teasing voice suddenly sounded beside his ear!

Doflamingo's expression changed drastically. He spun around, his pupils shrinking!

Roy had somehow reappeared before him, his white coat snapping in the wind and snow, as though he had never left.

"I just... put them somewhere safe first."

Roy's voice was indifferent, his gaze as cold as polar ice, carrying an air of superiority.

"Now, it's time for us to settle our score."

"Fuffuffuffu...!!"

Doflamingo froze, then broke into a vicious grin. "Interesting!"

"Bullet String!"

He flicked two fingers, sending several Haki-wreathed strings tearing through the air like blades, straight for Roy's vital points!

"Whoosh!"

Roy's figure flickered and vanished the next instant. The Bullet String pierced nothing but an afterimage.

"Behind you."

The icy voice sounded like a nightmare.

A chill ran down Doflamingo's back, but before he could turn around—

"Bam!!"

A heavy fist coated in Armament Haki slammed into his back!

The tremendous impact sent him flying like a cannonball, crashing through several buildings and scattering snow and rubble.

"Cough... damn it..."

Blood trickled from the corner of Doflamingo's mouth. He wiped it away, the sinister look in his eyes deepening.

"Athlete!"

His arm lashed out, and a thick column of strings swept across with a howl. Streets and buildings collapsed everywhere it passed, as though the end of the world had arrived!

Yet faced with the astonishing attack, Roy merely raised his hand and clenched it lightly into a fist.

"Boom!"

He punched out, blasting the column of strings apart!

The powerful impact sent the snow along the entire street flying, filling the air with snow dust.

Doflamingo's pupils narrowed slightly, all trace of contempt gone from his face. "Ordinary moves... are completely useless against him!"

Grinning viciously, he spread his arms, and the ground beneath his feet began to tremble violently.

"Awakening: Ever White!"

The ground across the entire island transformed into a surging sea of strings like a great beast roused from sleep. Countless python-like strings churned and coiled, wildly bearing down on Roy to crush him!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Roy's figure flickered rapidly between the countless waves of strings, dodging precisely each time. Moving like a ghost, he closed in on Doflamingo.

"It's useless! Inside the Birdcage, you have nowhere to run!"

Doflamingo laughed wildly, the sound echoing through the snowy night.

"Is that so?"

Roy smiled faintly, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

"Rokushiki Ogi: Instant Prison Collapse!"

"Boom!!!"

The next second, Roy's figure became dozens of afterimages, striking at Doflamingo from every direction at once like a god or demon on the move!

Every punch carried powerful, destructive Haki, the force of the blows tearing open pitch-black cracks as though even the air itself had been smashed apart!

"What?!"

Doflamingo's expression changed drastically. He hastily wove his strings into a giant shield, but several Haki-clad fists still punched through it, sending blood spraying from his mouth!

"Fuff... fuffuffuffu...!!"

He staggered backward, a slight tremor in his vicious laughter.

"Monster... you really are a monster, Roy!!"