Do You... Still Want to Dance?
With a deafening roar, the Pluton Battleship shattered in mid-air, tearing open a gaping abyss that seemed to devour stars.
The core reactor erupted with a blinding crimson light, and a beam of black and red energy, a hundred meters in diameter, swirled and condensed, dragging space down like an interstellar pulse, as if the entire sky was howling in agony.
"--Fire."
Hiss!!
The beam of light tore through the sky, pierced the dome in an instant, and struck down like a divine whip of judgment, crushing the entire battlefield into dust.
The Revolutionary Army headquarters crumbled like paper under this attack. Steel turned into molten lava, rock layers instantly steamed and cracked, and a storm of wind, explosions, spacetime distortion and burning flames came together, turning everything into a destructive storm.
Countless warriors were annihilated into ashes in the crimson light before they could even react.
"Get out of the way!!!"
Sabo roared, his palms surging as he unleashed a raging wave of fire in an attempt to resist, but he was utterly powerless against this annihilating energy shock.
The dragon's expression turned grave. He abruptly flipped his hands, and a massive barrier of wind surged forth, forcefully carrying the surrounding survivors away from the epicenter of the explosion.
Boom!!!
The wind barrier collapsed, and the screen shattered. The dragon's left shoulder was grazed by the aftershock of the main cannon, his flesh and bones bursting apart. He staggered back, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The ground beneath their feet was scorched and collapsed; the former base of the Revolutionary Army was now nothing but a desolate wasteland.
Sabo struggled to his feet, bracing himself against the flame shield. Behind him lay a silent, tomb-like mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
They... lost.
A complete and overwhelming defeat.
"The Pluton System..." Sabo gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, his voice low and menacing, "It actually... fell into their hands too."
"Heh heh heh... So this is the miserable end of an 'idealist'."
A voice, tinged with languor and a touch of mischievousness, echoed from the scorched earth, accompanied by light yet eerie footsteps.
Amidst the raging flames, a figure slowly emerged.
Donquixote Doflamingo.
His pristine white feathered coat fluttered in the Kakkō and smoke as he strolled along like a vulture toying with a corpse on a battlefield, a habitual arrogant sneer playing on his lips.
"Hehehe... This is truly unexpected, Sabo, Dragon—you two have actually ended up like this?"
He raised one hand, his fingers spread slightly, and countless transparent threads silently intertwined in the air, as if he were controlling the entire battlefield.
"I thought... you could at least hold out until the three Lord Madara made their move, but what happened? You were too fragile and too naive."
He looked down at the remaining soldiers at his feet, his eyes filled with nothing but weariness and contempt, devoid of any pity.
"Ideals, equality, freedom... these things sound beautiful, but in reality—in this new era, they are nothing more than the cheapest slogans."
Smack
A single thread snapped, instantly breaking the neck of a Revolutionary Army, who fell silently to the ground.
Sabo roared and tried to get up, but his limbs were tightly bound by silk threads hanging from the sky.
"You want to rebel? You're still struggling? Whom do you want to avenge?"
"For those believers who have already been burned to ashes?"
"For that mad dragon whose ideals went bankrupt?"
"... Or is it for that empty shell called 'freedom' that has long since died in history?"
Sabo glared angrily, a dying flame burning in his eyes, as if he wanted to set everything ablaze.
Donquixote Doflamingo simply smiled, slowly leaned down, and whispered in his ear:
"In this New World, freedom belongs only to the strong—and you, you don't even have the right to be sacrifices anymore."
Bang--!
Another explosion rang out, and a Revolutionary Army who was fleeing in panic was killed by some kind of high-energy sniper long-range shot. Blood splattered and he fell to the ground silently.
The battlefield was like falling into a deep Purgatory.
Blood, fire, corpses, ashes. The world became a painting of hell.
Donquixote Doflamingo stood in the center of the scorched earth, a godlike, ironic smile still playing on his lips. His robes were tattered, yet his demeanor remained composed as he slowly raised his hand:
"Guards, drag those who still dare to resist away and present them to the two Lord Orochimaru."
He paused, his voice as cold as a verdict:
"They said they were still missing a few 'live subjects'."
As soon as he finished speaking, his men moved in response, the chains clanging like demons unleashed from their cages.
"Retreat?" Sabo asked in a low voice.
"...No." The dragon wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his expression as cold as iron.
"Sabo, lead the men to break through."
"And you?"
"I'll cover the rear."
His tone was calm, but his silhouette resembled a lone flag.
In that instant, he was no longer just a rebel who walked the shadows, but a "Revolutionary Army commander-in-chief" who stepped into the realm of gods and shook the heavens with a single hand.
Boom--!!
A sudden gust of wind arose, followed by a deafening roar of thunder.
Suddenly, a tornado of wind and thunder, like the roar of a dragon god, swept across the heavens and earth, tearing apart the scorched earth and crushing the remaining fire. He transformed into a thunderstorm, with lightning flashing and wind blades like knives, and wherever he passed, enemy soldiers were torn to pieces.
Donquixote Doflamingo's pupils contracted slightly, then he chuckled softly:
"Hehehe... He's not quite dead yet, 'the world's most dangerous sinner'."
His silken threads danced wildly in the storm, like an invisible spiderweb, silently weaving killing intent, intertwining and colliding with the dragon's thunder and wind, the air being sliced apart by countless sonic booms and tearing sounds.
The dragon roared, its two palms converging:
"Thunderous Wind Fang Sky Strike--!!"
Boom--!!!
The sky shattered, thunder roared, and the gale condensed into sharp, giant fangs, converging into a towering pillar of wind and thunder that slammed fiercely towards Donquixote Doflamingo!
And at this moment--
Spot number three merely raised one finger.
He stood atop the warship, facing the sky, his five fingers spread out, his index finger slightly raised, and his palm slowly facing down.
In an instant--
Boom!!!
Heaven and earth fell silent.
The wind has calmed and the thunder has stopped.
The flames freeze.
The dark clouds seemed to be bound by invisible chains, as if someone had pressed a "pause" button on the entire celestial scene.
The air seemed to freeze, time itself seemed to stand still. Even the light and shadow of the flames seemed to freeze in mid-air, like unfinished brushstrokes in an oil painting.
The dragon's pupils dilated, and its face turned horrified.
"... What kind of power is this?"
Madara didn't look at him, but merely gazed down at him with a coldness colder than death.
"Do you... still want to dance?"
His voice was deep and divine, and his fingers gently closed.
Click!!
--The heavens have crumbled!
The thunderclouds shattered, and the lightning vanished.
The storm was crumpled up like paper scraps, and the raging fire was instantly extinguished by the heat source being absorbed.
The entire sky was stripped of its clouds, leaving only a deathly white emptiness, as if even the concept of "weather" had been erased from the world.
Between heaven and earth, only his will remained, looking down.
Boom!
Blood spurted from the dragon's mouth, the wind and thunder elements within his body exploded out of control, and his internal organs were burning with excruciating pain. He knelt on the ground, his fingers trembling, but even the thought of "getting up again" seemed like a delusion.
He was utterly defeated.
It's not that we're less skilled, but that we've been ruthlessly deprived of our reliance on "nature."
Ban, however, still didn't look at him directly, his gaze seemingly fixed on some helpless, struggling insect:
"The resistance of the weak is a joke."
Amidst the smoke and dust, a figure slowly emerged, his cloak intact and his feathered robe fluttering as before.
Donquixote Doflamingo licked his lips, his eyes flashing even colder.
"That almost hurt!"
He reached out and closed his five fingers together.
Click!
The dragon's body suddenly stiffened. Its limbs had been pierced through the gaps in its bones by invisible threads, and its knees were forcibly bent, forcing it to kneel heavily on the ground.
"Your 'storm' is too noisy."
But that's about it.
He stepped onto the dragon's back, pressing the rebel leader to the dust.
Sabo roared as he broke free of his restraints, his entire body engulfed in flames, and with a stomp of his foot, he charged straight upwards.
"Stop it!!!"
His furious fist ignited with fire, striking Donquixote Doflamingo squarely in the face. The flames transformed into a giant crimson dragon, roaring and tearing at the enemy.
--Smack!
The flames were abruptly interrupted by a lock array of silk threads that suddenly appeared in the air. A powerful repulsive force struck from above, sending Sabo flying backward in mid-air before he crashed heavily into the ruins, splattering blood everywhere.
"How pitiful."
Donquixote Doflamingo looked down at them as if watching a group of meaningless insects struggling.
"Revolution? Rebellion? Aren't you thirty years too late?"
At that moment, another eerie voice came from afar:
"Ahem... 'materials,' preferably with the brainstem intact."
Orochimaru No. 2 walked slowly from the crowd, wearing a black robe, his eyes full of interest in the live test subjects.
"Especially this one..."
His gaze swept over Dragon and Sabo. "The Revolutionary Army leader... if he could be made into a 'consciousness-implanted white body,' he wouldn't be a bad sample."
On the other side, Yakushi Kabuto Number Two adjusted his glasses and calmly said:
"The laboratory is ready."
Donquixote Doflamingo laughed and pulled on the threads, dragging Sabo and Dragon's bodies until they were covered in blood.
"Still want to resist?"
He leaned down and stared into Sabo's eyes with an almost cruel intensity.
"Your flame has been extinguished."
Sabo opened his mouth, blood gushing out, yet he still whispered:
"... As long as there are people who remember freedom... it will not die."
Smack!
Donquixote Doflamingo raised his hand and slapped him so hard that blood splattered everywhere.
"Hehehe... then let's strip you of your memories as well."
He turned around and waved, indicating, "Take him away."
Beneath the ruins, the last resistance fighters of the Revolutionary Army had fallen silent.
After blood and fire, came a silent despair.