Restore

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Fierce winds swept through the skies above Mock Town.

The once-bustling streets had fallen silent. Dust drifted up from the ruined buildings.

Those who had fled in panic hid behind cover in the distance, watching nervously and swallowing hard, their hearts trembling.

"Fuffuffuffuffuffuffu!"

Suddenly, a low laugh rang out.

River raised his head and looked toward a rooftop off in the distance.

There stood Doflamingo, three meters tall and wearing a pink feather coat, looking down at him. A glint flashed beneath his sunglasses.

"Fighting an elder like you really puts me under a lot of pressure!"

Doflamingo grinned.

"Enough nonsense, Doffy."

River's voice was cold.

He vaguely remembered that twenty years ago, although this fellow's personality had been the opposite of Corazon's, he had always listened to him.

He had respected him, too.

Sure enough, obedient children always became irritating once they grew up.

"Show me some real strength. Let me see how much you've grown over these twenty years."

As he spoke, he bent slightly forward.

Children would always stray down the wrong path as they grew, and it was up to the adults, their elders, to guide and teach them in time.

In his eyes, the renowned Heavenly Yaksha, Doflamingo, was nothing more than a naughty child.

"Times have changed, Uncle River!"

"Haven't you noticed? You spent twenty years in Impel Down. The world outside has already been turned upside down!"

"The number of pirates keeps soaring, and the world changes every day."

"And now!"

At that, Doflamingo grinned, bent his knees, and suddenly dove down.

"Your era is long over!"

His pink feather coat shook violently as he became a pink streak of light, hurtling toward River.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Wild winds surged. In River's eyes, Doflamingo grew larger and larger until he was right in front of him.

"You want to talk to me about eras?"

"Wherever I stand!"

"That is my era!"

He raised his right hand and abruptly clenched it into a fist. At the same time, a strange aura covered his arm like armor.

Armament Haki!

This was the first time River had used Haki since leaving Impel Down.

But the nephew before him clearly warranted it.

His opponent was no third-rate fighter.

He stomped down hard with both feet. A wave of air surged with a hum, shattering the paving beneath him. Then his body shot forward like a cannonball, straight toward the diving Doflamingo.

"Show me your strength."

"Otherwise, you'll die!"

River said coldly.

In an instant, the two figures hurtled toward each other, and River threw a vicious punch.

Clean and decisive, without the slightest flourish.

Doflamingo's pupils contracted, and he raised his arm to block.

Bam!

Air churned as tremendous force erupted. His descending body abruptly stopped, then shot backward even faster.

Still holding his punching stance, River slowly straightened and looked ahead.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

A string of crashes rang out as River's punch sent Doflamingo flying through a swath of Mock Town's buildings. He only stopped when he landed in the forest beyond the outskirts.

Dust billowed, and a distinct furrow had been carved through the street.

"What?!"

The people secretly watching the fight trembled at the sight.

That was Doflamingo, yet this man had sent him flying with a single punch. He seemed utterly powerless to resist.

Then they saw the man bend his knees slightly. With a boom, the ground beneath his feet shattered, and he shot toward the forest outside town like a cannonball.

A short while later, River saw Doflamingo stagger to his feet among the broken trees.

"So this is your strength?"

Rubbing his aching arm, Doflamingo smiled, but the gaze behind his sunglasses was deadly serious.

He had never underestimated the man before him.

No matter which era of this world one searched, there was no other prodigy as monstrous as him.

In just one year, he had risen from a Marine Intern to a powerhouse who could stand alongside Roger, Whitebeard, and the others.

That was simply beyond human capability. It was nothing short of a legend.

Doflamingo also knew the secret of the man before him all too well.

He possesses a terrifying ability that would drive the entire world mad.

Even he, deep down, longed for that man's help and the gifts he could bestow.

"Then it's my turn now!"

Doflamingo suddenly moved, hurtling forward with Armament Haki coating his right fist.

In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of River.

He too threw a punch without the slightest flourish.

River raised his head, clenched his fist, and punched.

Bam!

Air churned, and a ring of ground collapsed beneath River's feet. Dust flew outward in every direction.

Doflamingo's expression shifted slightly as tremendous force surged toward him. Once again, he was sent flying backward, smashing through more than a dozen trees before finally stopping.

The gap between their strength was obvious.

"Strength to rival a monster! No, his entire physique!"

Doflamingo stood up again, his gaze solemn.

"Fuffuffuffuffuffuffu!"

"Then let me show you my greatest power!"

His body swayed as he abruptly spread his hands, his gaze turning fierce.

"Developing a Devil Fruit goes beyond ordinary control. There's a higher level: Awakening!"

As he stepped forward, the weeds and ground beneath his feet, along with the trees around him, turned into thin white strings that rippled gently like waves.

"And I've reached that level."

Once the number of white strings reached a certain point, Doflamingo thrust both hands forward.

"Ever White!"

Tens of thousands of thin white strings surged toward River like roaring waves, twisting and spiraling around him.

Like a giant snake, they sought to crush him in their coils.

"Awakening?"

"That is quite impressive."

River spoke calmly, looking at Doflamingo standing before him.

In the next second, the white waves swallowed his figure, concealing and enveloping him.

"Fuffuffuffuffuffuffu!"

Doflamingo laughed softly, his eyes flickering.

"Buzzzzz!"

The waves formed from countless white strings suddenly closed in, seeking to crush River at their center.

Yet Doflamingo's smile froze on his face once more.

Those powerful white strings began snapping apart at a rapid pace.

River stepped out from among them.

Completely unscathed!

The powerful Ever White had done him no harm at all.

"But this level of development..."

"I mastered it twenty years ago!"

With a soft sigh, River extended his right hand, tapped the air, and uttered a word.

"Restore!"

In an instant, the wave-like white strings visibly receded, returning in the next second to the weeds on the ground and the surrounding trees.

Everything had been restored to how it was before Doflamingo used his ability.

It was as though time had flowed backward.