Luffy wanted to help Zoro and Law, but Luffy discovered that the railings around the arena were made of Seastone. He was at a loss and knew that he had to find another way out, so he and Bartolomeo temporarily parted ways with Zoro.
" Straw Hat Luffy! Long time no see!"
"You? Who are you?"
While searching for a way out, Luffy was blocked by a strange guy wearing a top hat with goggles on it. Although Luffy felt that the person in front of him looked familiar and had a familiar aura, he just couldn't remember who this person was!
Bartolomeo, who was standing nearby, didn't recognize the newcomer at all. Thinking he had encountered another troublemaker, he stepped forward to attack the stranger, but was pushed away by Bartolomeo.
The man blocking the way was none other than Luffy's sworn brother, Sabo. His top hat and goggles seemed to reflect his inner character!
Sabo also infiltrated the arena around this time. Although he didn't participate in the tournament, he still had designs on the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Luffy had always thought Sabo was dead, so he never considered that the person who came was Sabo, until Sabo mentioned his name.
Who exactly are you?
"Don't you recognize me yet!"
"I don't know you! Make your move, and I'll send you flying!"
" Straw Hat Luffy! Fire Fist Ace! You should have another brother!"
The words of the person in front of him instantly reminded Luffy of Sabo being bombarded by the Celestial Dragons, stirring up the pain in his heart. He became somewhat incoherent in his speech, unable to say that Sabo was dead!
"He has already..., he has already..."
Just as Luffy was repeating what he had already said, the man opposite him took off his hat, revealing blond hair and burn scars on his face. This face instantly overlapped seven or eight parts with the Sabo that Luffy had just recalled, which made him somewhat incredulous!
"You..."
Seeing that face and hearing the conversation just now, Luffy already knew the answer. His eyes instantly blurred with tears, his mind went blank, and he felt dizzy!
"It's been a long time, Luffy!"
Luffy jumped onto Sabo and hugged him tightly, as if afraid that he would lose him again if he let go! Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. Luffy couldn't say anything at this moment, he just kept sobbing, his whole being filled with joy!
Knowing that Luffy's crew was in danger, the two briefly reminisced before Sabo took on the responsibility of retrieving the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. After all, he could impersonate the gladiator Lucy. With the help of the Revolutionary Army, Luffy then left the Colosseum, while the battle inside continued!
" Vic! Straw Hat Boy has already left. Should we follow him?"
"No rush, the final battle is coming up soon. I want to see if the prize really is Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit! Go if you want!"
Both of them detected Luffy's Observation Haki as Luffy away, knowing that he had left the Corrida Colosseum. Aokiji wasn't there to watch the match, and he wasn't interested in the Tremor-Tremor Fruit either. He was only interested in the Straw Hat Boy. He wanted to observe the Straw Hat Boy ' every word and action to decide whether or not to join the Straw Hat Pirates!
Vic knew there was no need to rush. Once Doflamingo's Birdcage appeared, Dressrosa would be filled with massive broadcasts and videos, accompanied by bounties for those who rebelled against the Donquixote Family. The darkness of this country would then surface, and all he needed to do was watch the final battle!
Aokiji is quite intelligent; he can analyze the cause and effect based on these things. However, Vic won't stop Aokiji from observing up close; it's up to him to choose!
"Alright then! I'll go after I've watched it."
Doflamingo captured Law but didn't kill him, possibly because he still wanted Caesar's heart, or perhaps he wanted to obtain the Op-Op Fruit from Law's body through some means. After all, Doflamingo must know the common knowledge that when a Devil Fruit user dies, the Devil Fruit's power is highly likely to attach to the nearest fruit.
Devil Fruit 5 billion is quite rare, and it could also be used to improve relations with the World Government. Of course, another possibility is that it's the Perennial Youth Operation from the Op-Op Fruit!
Immortality is the ultimate pursuit of those in power, and Doflamingo is no exception. He probably wants to wait until things are resolved before trying to get Law to perform the surgery on him. Of course, only Doflamingo himself knows what his true intentions are.
Meanwhile, a rebellion by the Tontatta was taking place in Dressrosa's underground engineering corps. Luffy, Zoro, and Kin'emon, led by Tontatta scouts, headed to the Royal Palace Highlands to rescue Law, while Sanji, along with Nami, Chopper, and Brook, went to Zou. The Straw Hat Pirates split up for the first time!
Because there were more people and more matches participating in this Corrida Colosseum, Doflamingo used the Birdcage technique even before the final battle began.
There was no other way but to use it. Usopp had already scared Sugar into fainting once, all the toys had turned back into humans, and everyone who had lost their memories of their loved ones had regained them. The secret of Dressrosa was thus exposed!
Many people already know about the darkness in Dressrosa. Doflamingo knows that he absolutely cannot let anyone spread what happened in Dressrosa, so there is only one way: to trap everyone here and render the Den Den Den Mushi ) that connects to the outside world useless!
"Huh? What's that in the sky?"
" Smoke Flower? Why is there no sound? The competition isn't over yet, and they're already setting off Smoke Flower?"
"It looks like a giant internet cafe!"
"It's definitely not Smoke Flower! How could they have lasted this long and still be burning? They've even reached our side!"
"It looks familiar... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before! Is it North Blue?"
"..."
Doflamingo doesn't use the Birdcage often. After all, it's a technique used for wide-area containment and silencing, so there aren't many opportunities for him to use it, and after using it, there won't be any survivors!
However, the Donquixote Family did use Birdcage a few times when they were developing in the North Blue, so some pirates who came to the Grand Line from the North Blue felt that they were somewhat familiar with them, but they just couldn't remember them for the time being.
Many people didn't recognize it, and some even mistook the initial burst of the Birdcage for Smoke Flower. As time went on, the area covered by the Birdcage grew larger, and the outline of an inverted net could be seen.
"Look at the sky, that's Doflamingo's signature Birdcage! The island's secret must have been exposed, and he's trying to silence us!"
"Oh my! Is a fight about to break out outside? That Blackbeard you're concerned about is now in double prison. Congratulations, this feud is about to end."
"Shut up!"
The Corrida Colosseum is open-air, and Doflamingo's Birdcage will pass over the Colosseum. In some places, you can see the starting point of the Birdcage directly, after all, it is a powerful move that covers the entire Dressrosa!
However, Vic and Aokiji were not worried at all. It was just a creation of a Devil Fruit ability, and there was still a level between it and them. Doflamingo's hope of keeping the secret with this move was wishful thinking.
Even though Admiral Fujitora was trapped in the Birdcage in the original story, it doesn't prove anything. If even Marine Admiral couldn't break Birdcage Birdcage, wouldn't Doflamingo be invincible if he used it outside the island? Because no one could escape the Birdcage to knock Doflamingo unconscious or contact the outside world, making it impossible to disarm Birdcage. Wouldn't those inside become lambs to the slaughter?
Unless Doflamingo can only use the Birdcage technique in the very center of the Birdcage, trapping himself inside as well, which is obviously illogical—it's just releasing some strings, there's no need to stand in the exact center, right? Can't he release them diagonally upwards? Doflamingo is Devil Fruit Awakening!
Vic was more inclined to believe that Fujitora had done this intentionally. It wasn't that he couldn't break the Birdcage, but rather that he didn't want to. He wanted to use this opportunity to escalate the situation and then abolish the Shichibukai. The bigger the incident, the more concerned the other Affiliated Nation would become. Which king wouldn't worry about his country being stolen by such pirates?
Judging from the outcome of the subsequent Reverie, Fujitora did indeed succeed, so the probability that he was just putting on an act is extremely high!