The fact that Doflamingo had not resigned from the Shichibukai.
The fact that the news splashed across the morning papers had been dismissed as a "false report."
The fact that Marine Admiral Fujitora had arrived here leading soldiers, Vice Admirals among them.
One truth after another came to light in rapid succession, and Law and his allies realized their original plan had failed.
At Green Bit, Law had been forced into combat not only with Doflamingo but also with Admiral Fujitora. He barely managed to escape the scene, but Caesar's person remained in Doflamingo's hands.
Doflamingo, however, hadn't managed to reclaim Caesar "completely" either.
"Jo... Doflamingo, wait! Those bastards still have my heart! Having the rest of my body free doesn't do me any good if they've still got that!"
"What...? Heh... thorough of you, Law. Seems I can't let you escape just yet. Well, I wasn't planning to let you leave this island alive either way..."
Glaring toward Dressrosa, where Law had presumably fled, Doflamingo spotted him running across the bridge, favoring the wounds he'd sustained in battle.
"Whether you've got it on you or stashed it aboard the Straw Hats' ship doesn't matter. I'm going to kill you myself from here on out, and Jora should have already seized the ship by now. I'll take my sweet time searching."
"Busy man, ain't ya... You're gonna give chase, then?"
"Can't sleep easy when someone's got their hands on the life of one of my precious 'subordinates.' I'd suggest you head to Dressrosa first. The Straw Hat Pirates, and... well, I don't intend to let him escape, but Law should be heading there too. I'll have my people escort Caesar, so you can leave that to me."
"Then that's what we'll do... Good grief, what a mess this has turned into. Well... chasing down pirates is a Marine's duty, after all."
The moment he finished speaking, Fujitora headed for the warship he'd arrived on, while Doflamingo cast his "strings" onto the clouds, launched himself skyward, and began his pursuit of Law.
The pursued Law was regulating his breathing as he moved, using his Op-Op Fruit powers repeatedly while racing toward Dressrosa at full speed. In his hand he held a Small Den Den Mushi. The call was already connected.
"So the deal fell through!? And what do you mean Doflamingo hasn't quit the Shichibukai..."
"Long story... we'll deal with that later. Right now every second counts. Has anyone come after you on your end?"
"No, nobody in particular... It's been eerily peaceful, actually."
'...? From the way Joker was talking, I figured he'd sent someone after the ship too... Was I worrying over nothing? Well, if nothing's happened, that works in my favor... I can move freely right now.'
"Get away from your current position immediately. Head out to open sea, circle the island, whatever. Just hurry! Worst case, you could end up being pursued by both the Family and the Marines! If it comes to the absolute worst, do as I said earlier and head for Zou on your own!"
"You've gotta be kidding me!? Nobody told me about plot twists this sudden!"
"I'll handle Doflamingo and his subordinates somehow... just focus on not getting caught by anyone! As long as Caesar's heart, which I left on your ship, stays safe, we can still recover from this!"
"If they find out about that, they'll definitely come for it!"
"Nooo! There's a dangerous item on our ship!"
"Crying won't improve the situation! Anyway..."
Before he could finish, Law felt a ferocious killing intent bearing down from behind. Reflexively, he swung his Haki-clad sword backward. In that instant, a whip of bundled strings came hurtling toward him with terrifying speed. Law barely managed to intercept it.
The impact knocked the Small Den Den Mushi from his hand, and the call cut out.
The Shockwave from the attack alone was powerful enough to crumble part of the bridge. There was no need to check who had launched it, but the culprit descended slowly, making a show of it, landing right before Law's eyes.
"Was that one of the Straw Hat Pirates you were talking to? I sent Jora to seize the ship, but... seems like they overcame her."
"...?"
Law's brow furrowed at those unexpected words. In the call just now, Nami had told him things on the Sunny's end had been perfectly peaceful and uneventful. If that was true, then what had happened to Jora, whom Doflamingo claimed to have sent to attack the ship?
It nagged at him, but there was no need to hand his opponent extra information. He kept his mouth shut. Instead, he put on a provocative smile.
"You look awfully pleased with yourself, 'Joker'... Glad to have your precious 'subordinate' back, even if he's just an empty shell?"
"Don't worry... I'll have the contents back soon enough. But that attitude, that fighting style... you clearly don't have the heart on you. So the storage spot is either the Straw Hat Pirates' ship or a subordinate operating separately... What a hassle."
Doflamingo showed no sign of rising to Law's provocation. He was throwing barbs of his own, sure, but he didn't seem particularly troubled. If anything, he didn't even seem irritated.
He looked like he was enjoying this.
"I'll say this once, Law. Stop this pointless struggle. Cease your resistance and return Caesar's heart quietly. If you do... forgiveness is out of the question, but at least I'll kill you without making you suffer."
"You really think I'd agree to that?"
"Oh, I know. I know damn well you won't. That's what makes it so infuriating... but more than that, it's so pitiful, so ridiculous, I just can't stop laughing... Hehehe... Heh heh heh heh!"
He couldn't hold it in. It escaped despite his best efforts. More than mockery of someone's ignorance, the laughter carried something else entirely.
"Right about now, you're probably thinking something like this: Things haven't gone as planned, but we still hold our trump card. We can still recover. That's what's so unbearably funny to me... Your hopes were already crushed long ago. No... to be precise, your plan was doomed from the very start."
"...?"
"Oh, come on, you still don't get it!? How slow can you be? That's not like you at all... You just got burned by this exact thing a moment ago."
Listen, Doflamingo prefaced, then kept talking. His manner was that of someone who couldn't wait to share a devastating revelation, savoring the anticipation, practically relishing the buildup...
"You felt it when you learned I hadn't resigned from the Shichibukai, didn't you? That despair of having the very premise ripped out from under you... Hey, Law... if you're so curious about what I find so damn funny, I'll tell you. The thing is, Law, you..."
"...have been assuming the Donquixote Family and the Golden Lion Pirates are enemies."
"...Wha...?"
Seeing Law freeze with his mouth hanging open, Doflamingo could no longer contain himself, his grin spreading wider and wider. He didn't quite burst out laughing, but the shift in his expression was unmistakable. You could practically hear the voice inside him screaming with amusement.
From the outside, it would have looked like Law was showing a fatal opening. And yet there wasn't even a hint that Doflamingo intended to exploit it.
"In your estimation, the two sides are rivals in the same underground market, fighting over territory and devouring each other's interests. If one falls, the other prospers even more... and so they watch each other like hawks, waiting for the chance to destroy one another. That's how it looked to you, right? Well, I can't blame you. We went to extreme lengths to keep the transactions hidden, both on the surface and in the Underworld, so that nobody would catch on."
"That can't be... Even Miss never said a word about...!"
"That starry-eyed Lady doesn't know a thing about it, obviously. She might get called a pirate or whatever else, but at heart she's a good little girl playing figurehead. There's no need to explain it to her, and even if we did, she'd just make a sour face, so what's the point? That's why we only used the Big Boss and his trusted inner circle, conducting it all in secret. And you, the Lady's little errand boy, never knew either."
Doflamingo raised one hand, strings extending from his fingers, displaying it almost theatrically. The sight jolted Law back to his senses, and he readied his stance.
But there was no sign the battle was about to resume. Doflamingo looked like someone who'd been holding back something he was dying to say and was finally relishing the chance to let it out.
"The friction between the Golden Lion and the Pirate Literary Master is a well-known story, even if the degree varies... In that kind of situation, you can't possibly expect to be told everything honestly. Your assumptions were naive, Law. If things had stayed quiet, maybe it wouldn't have mattered. But this time it backfired spectacularly."
"It's true that at their core, we're business rivals with plenty of reasons to fight. But more than that, we can complement each other's weaknesses and generate greater profits together, and that's exactly what we chose to do. Business partners, plain and simple."
"Since both of us enjoy the protection that comes with being Shichibukai, cooperation is actually easier between us than with your average pirates or underground operators. There are more cards on the table where joining forces is tastier than competing. That goes for us and the Golden Lion both. Counterfeits, contraband, Weapons, slaves, drugs... and the biggest moneymaker of all is something you know very well: SMILE."
"As you know, I'm the only one who can produce SMILE, since I have Caesar. But the Golden Lion has a certain something that synergizes with it, something that exponentially multiplies the profits. And that something accelerates transactions with the big players of the New World, moving far more money, far more Evil, far more Greed than you could possibly imagine!"
Do you understand? he asked, looking thoroughly delighted, then continued without waiting for an answer.
"You thought you could dangle our market interests as bait to provoke the Golden Lion into becoming your fighting force. And if that failed, you figured you could at least dodge the reprimand for acting on your own by claiming the Golden Lion picked the fight. If no real damage was done, you'd get off with a mild scolding at worst... right? Too bad. You never had any allies to begin with. And not knowing that, you still had the nerve to come threatening me... Can you really blame me for laughing!"
He rattled it all off in a single breath, then launched himself into the air.
Haki and something like raw, palpable elation radiated from Doflamingo, his voice ringing out as if scattering that joy in every direction. He soared and descended upon Law once more.
***
Meanwhile, the situation at Corrida Coliseum was shifting dramatically, moment by moment.
Luffy, who had entered the tournament, and Franky, who was wandering around the spectator areas gathering information, had interacted with a tin Toy soldier called the "One-Legged Soldier" and the reviled female gladiator Rebecca. Through these encounters, they gradually came to learn about the darkness hidden within this Coliseum, and within the country itself.
The Coliseum tournament was structured as a four-block battle royale, with preliminary rounds held in each block. The four winners would then advance to the Final Match, where they would face the Executives of the Donquixote Family in a decisive battle.
Because this tournament's prize was a powerful Logia Devil Fruit, renowned competitors had flooded in from across the world. Naturally, among them were no shortage of fighters whose strength far exceeded the common rabble.
These exceptional warriors clashed, competed, and eliminated one another, whittling down the field to determine who would advance to the finals.
A portion of these events, however, had unfolded somewhat differently from how they would have in a certain other timeline, all because of a trivial misalignment.
Block A was won by Jesus Burgess, a veteran Executive and Captain of the first ship of the Blackbeard Pirates, now counted among the Four Emperors.
Block C was won by the mysterious, nameless gladiator Lucy... that is, Luffy.
Block D was won by Rebecca, an undefeated gladiator who had never shed a single drop of blood in the Coliseum, yet was despised as the daughter of Dressrosa's previous king, King Riku.
The problem was Block B. The man who should have won this block in the original history no longer had any particular reason to seek the prize, since it was the Zuma-Zuma Fruit rather than the Flame-Flame Fruit. And so he never entered the tournament.
So then, who won Block B?
***
Block B had been progressing in a manner quite unlike a typical battle royale, centered around the Warrior King Elizabello II and his tactician Dagama. The rank-and-file competitors were being steadily whittled down, partly by the army-like coordinated fighting of this allied group, and partly by the other standout fighters in the block.
Blue Gilly, the martial artist of the Longleg Tribe. Hundred-Dan Hack, master of Fish-Man Karate. Bellamy the Hyena, a man who sought a seat among the Donquixote Family's Executives.
There were other formidable fighters too: the Bounty Hunter duo Abdullah and Jeet, the unknown but powerful gladiator Ricky, and Tank Lepanto, captain of the Dressrosa Self-Defense Force. Unfortunately, all of them had been defeated and fallen.
And amid all this, one Irregular competitor who didn't exist in the original history had been tearing through the arena, toppling one fierce warrior after another. Not as a replacement for the man who hadn't entered, but nonetheless.
"Guheeaagh!?"
A hulking, muscle-bound giant of a man had been swinging an iron club as tall as himself, trying to crush the small opponent before him, only to be sent sprawling across the stage in a reversal. The one who'd done it was a man of average height and a rather slender build.
He nimbly dodged the downward swing of the iron club, leaped into the air, and as he passed the big man vertically, brought the shovel in his hand down in a single flash against the back of his skull.
A sharp yet dull clang rang out. The big man, having taken a blow to the crown of his head powerful enough to shatter the helmet he wore, collapsed bleeding and didn't move again.
The slender man landed lightly right beside his fallen opponent's head and dusted himself off.
The crowd erupted at his effortless display, and the commentator raised his voice.
"Another one falls before this man! With agility that matches his lean frame and strength you'd never expect from those wiry arms, warrior after warrior has been taken down! Is this the true power of the Pirate Executioner!? His name is Shuraiya Bascud! Another Legend is about to be carved into the Coliseum!!"
"The Gran Tesoro has an arena too, so I figured I was used to this sort of thing... but it's different when you're the one in the spotlight. All this attention isn't really my thing."
Shuraiya sighed, adjusting his hat. But his eyes sharpened in the very next instant, and he spun around, raising his shovel to block.
Another oddly resonant clang. He caught a fist hurtling down at him. The blow, amplified by spring power, pushed him back slightly, but he held firm. Immediately he twisted his body, launching a spinning kick at the head of the fist's owner: Bellamy.
The kick was blocked by Bellamy's other arm, but the follow-up shovel strike collided with another spring-loaded punch, sending a thunderous boom through the arena.
"Bounty of 150 million... Bellamy the Hyena, huh."
"Never thought I'd be known to the Pirate Executioner... Outside this arena, I'd have been your prey?"
Having already taken down Abdullah and Jeet, Bellamy had set his sights on Shuraiya as his next target. The two launched into a furious exchange of fist and shovel.
Bellamy transformed his limbs into springs, unleashing a relentless assault from every angle. Shuraiya looked like he was barely managing, using his shovel and occasionally his bare hands and feet to deflect and block. But the one breaking into a cold sweat during this exchange was Bellamy.
He should have been attacking one-sidedly without giving his opponent a single opening, and yet not a single strike was connecting.
Shuraiya, on the other hand, wasn't even breaking a sweat as he dealt with every last one of Bellamy's attacks: punches, kicks, even a blade drawn in a surprise move. He blocked, deflected, or dodged them all with his shovel and limbs. Reading everything perfectly, handling it all with ease, waiting for an opening...
"Guh...!?"
The moment a gap appeared, he didn't let it pass. An Overhead Chop with the shovel served as a feint, while from the side, an elbow strike clad in Armament Haki connected cleanly with Bellamy's jaw.
The impact rattled his brain viciously. Even without that, the sheer force of an Armament Haki-infused blow was enough to knock any formidable fighter unconscious. But through sheer tenacity, driven by his determination to redeem himself and claim a seat as an Executive in the Donquixote Family, Bellamy clung to consciousness and glared back at Shuraiya.
Shuraiya was impressed the man hadn't passed out from that hit, but he wasn't letting his guard down. He kept the Hyena's Fangs from reaching him. He swatted aside Bellamy's concussion-dulled punch with ease, then drove a follow-up shovel strike that slammed Bellamy headfirst into the floor.
Still conscious. Still glaring back. Shuraiya tightened his grip on the shovel's handle, ready to deliver the finishing blow, when the atmosphere shifted. He turned, looking toward the center of the stage.
"Ki~~~ng..."
Standing there was the Warrior King, grinning fearlessly despite being surrounded and glared at by numerous fighters including Blue Gilly. Those log-thick arms were drawn back like a bow, and the ultimate technique was about to be unleashed.
A trembling in the air. A crackling tension.
The spectators directly in front began evacuating their seats, remembering the Legends of Elizabello II.
Other fighters charged in sharply, some trying to stop him, others fearlessly attempting to take him down.
But it was too late. The king's blow, said to be capable of felling even a member of the Four Emperors if it landed, was unleashed.
"Pu~~~nch!!"
The fist tore through the air before it, and the Shockwave it released was devastating beyond any comparison to cannons or bombs, trampling everything in its path with tyrannical force. Everything in front of Elizabello II was pulverized and blown away.
"Wh-what terrifying power... Survival on the ring is simply impossible!"
The commentator's trembling words contained not a single exaggeration.
The deeply gouged stage, the surrounding water split apart like Moses's miracle, the spectator seats blown open with gaping holes. All of it testified to the attack's extraordinary power.
The fighters who had been standing before him seconds ago were uniformly blasted away, floating or sinking in the moat beyond the ring. Blue Gilly, Bellamy, Ricky... those who had been charging in, those who had already fallen, and everyone in between were equally denied any place on the stage.
"Bellamy! Hack! Blue Gilly! The tournament favorites have all been eliminated! This is it! The winner of the Block B battle royale, hailing from the Prodence Kingdom..."
Only one figure remained on the stage: the Warrior King of the Prodence Kingdom. The champion of Block B had been decided...
...Or so everyone thought.
Spin, spin, spin... tap.
"Huh...?"
"What...!?"
"N... No way..."
Someone in the crowd gasped. On the stage, Elizabello II's eyes went wide.
Before him, a single man had just descended from above, spinning his body as he fell, and landed. He twisted skillfully in midair to right himself, touching down feet-first in a clean landing. Not so much as a stumble. He simply stood up on both legs.
"Whew, that was close. I'd heard the rumors, but... hell of a punch you've got there, King of Prodence."
"Im... Impossible!! One survivor remains on the ring! How did he withstand that devastating blow!?"
The man caught the hat that drifted down from above a few seconds later, placing it back on his head. Shuraiya, apparently not entirely unfazed by that display of power, wiped cold sweat from his brow with his sleeve. But aside from the sweat, he showed no visible injuries. Not so much as a single thread out of place on his clothes.
"How did you escape my fist...?"
"Who knows... Sorry, but I'm not feeling generous enough to explain."
The King Punch, thrown with everything Elizabello II had, had exhibited devastating power, but it had also taken a significant toll on his stamina. His ragged breathing and heaving shoulders made that plain.
Shuraiya smiled, then looked at the shovel in his hand. It had broken, apparently, so he tossed the remains aside.
'If his weapon is destroyed, that means the King Punch definitely hit him too. And yet... even if the man himself somehow endured it, how can he be that unscathed!? Even if he jumped extremely high, the Shockwave should have been enough to ring him out...'
"Weapon's busted, so I'll go with these. Pardon the disrespect, Your Majesty!"
Shuraiya clenched his fist, and Armament Haki coated it black. In the next instant, he vanished.
He closed the distance so fast it looked like teleportation, slipping inside Elizabello II's guard in a flash. Before the king could block or dodge, the jet-black fist was driven squarely into his face.
With a thunderous impact, duller than the shovel but far heavier, the blow sent the Warrior King's massive frame flying. His consciousness was already gone while he was still airborne, and his body, completely limp, splashed down into the "sea" beyond the ring.
"It's decided!! The Warrior King Elizabello II, out of the ring! Only one man remains! The Block B battle royale... the winner is the Pirate Executioner, Shuraiya!!"
Amid the thunderous cheers, Shuraiya adjusted his hat once more, then half-heartedly thrust his fist skyward in a victory pose. He walked off the ring with steady, unhurried steps, heading toward the backstage passage that had somehow survived intact.
"Good grief... I only stepped onto this flashy stage because there was a reason to. But yeah, working behind the scenes suits me better. Screaming fans aren't really my thing. ...Now then, with that out of the way."
Once he was hidden in the passageway, his expression shifted from easygoing to sharp-eyed, and he murmured quietly:
"The Final Match is still to come, so I can't make any big moves yet... but it's about time I get started on The Real Deal."
And so, the four finalists had been determined. But as each of their various schemes and intentions collided, the situation would only spiral further into chaos. So much so that even the plans of those like Law and Doflamingo, who believed they had been pulling the strings behind the scenes, would be thrown wildly off course.
***
"Whaaaaaat!? Th-th... Straw Hat Luffy-s-s-senpai! There's no mistake, it's really him...! I read the papers, I knew he'd come to this country... I-I actually g-got to see... no, no, what do I do, I-I'm too nervous to even talk to him...!"
***
"It's been a while... Luffy!"
"...? ...!? !? !?" 'That face.'
***
"...So, change of plans now?"
"Really sorry... That human bundle of demands took off the moment she found out her little brother was competing... Well, I suppose it makes sense. We simply gain one more person on our side."
"I get that going through you directly is more productive than me, since I can't make any suspicious moves while I'm publicly a 'competitor.' But get it together, partner."
"Really sorry. On the bright side, Hack managed to lose without taking almost any real damage, so we're not hurting for fighting strength. ...Though we can't afford to let our guard down."
"Got it. I'm counting on you to contact the other collaborators. ...The finals are coming up soon. I'm heading back."
"Roger. ...Be careful. Do your thing. ...Oh, right. That idiot? One hit... no, two or three punches would be fine, go ahead."
"...Yeah, okay."
***
'...Alright, everything's going according to plan. All that's left is to slip in, gather intel, and wait for the target to show up right in front of me. Things seem to be getting complicated all around, but nobody's going to get in my way. I won't let them. Brace yourself, you washed-up punk bird.'
To be continued...