Corrida Coliseum, VIP Room.
The Final Match was about to begin.
Doflamingo, master of the room, had just returned. His gaze landed on the pitiful figure of a man chained and bound at the back of the room, and a mocking smirk spread across his face.
The bound man, Riku Doldo, former king of Dressrosa, kept his expression unchanged, but the eyes he turned toward Doflamingo were sharp, their depths harboring a light filled with rage and hatred.
Doflamingo knew all of this, reasons included, yet paid not the slightest heed to King Riku's feelings as he settled into the chair that might as well have been a throne, prepared and waiting for him.
"Welcome back, Young Master. What about Law and Caesar?"
"I retrieved Caesar, but Law got away. No matter, though. I've contacted our collaborators and cast a wide net. Every port is locked down. He can't leave this country."
"He managed to give you the slip, Young Master? What a cheeky bastard!"
Baby 5 and Buffalo, Doflamingo's subordinates waiting in the room, reacted with surprise and irritation upon hearing that Law had escaped.
Doflamingo watched their reactions with amusement while gazing down at the arena below, where preparations for the Final Match were steadily progressing.
"This should be quite the show, King Riku. Your granddaughter is about to fight down there. Her record up to today has been truly impressive, but with Diamante as her opponent, her luck has finally run out."
"Doflamingo, you bastard...!"
"Don't hold it against me. Every last one of them ends up like this because they dream above their station without knowing their place. A fool, just like her mother. Winners and losers, and kings too... it's all decided the moment you're born into this world. Ah, there are just far too many idiots who don't understand that. Fuffuffuffu."
Doflamingo's suggestive laughter echoed through the room. Just then, the arena preparations were complete.
An announcement rang out across the Coliseum, and the fighters began their entrance.
'Blackbeard's Grand Executive, the Pirate Executioner, the Former King's Daughter, and a 400-million Rookie... aside from the little girl, none of them should be easy opponents even for Diamante. But no matter. The match is nothing more than a show card. Now then, how will it end, and who will be the last one standing...?'
Even while acknowledging the strength of his enemies, Doflamingo harbored not an ounce of doubt in his own victory.
Down below where his gaze fell, Diamante, Burgess, Shuraiya, and Rebecca made their entrances, and...
Last of all, a warrior whose face was hidden behind a fake beard and helmet... "Lucy" entered the arena.
...Together with a single iron pipe strapped across that warrior's back.
☆☆☆
Meanwhile, around the same time... the Royal Castle of Dressrosa, whose master was currently away.
Looking down from an upper floor at Luffy's group, who had just spectacularly smashed through the gates and infiltrated the castle, one figure trembled violently.
"H-H-Heeeey!? Nobody told me about this! What the hell's going on!? Why is he... why is Straw Hat coming here!? You just said a minute ago he was in disguise competing at the Coliseum!?"
"Shut up, Caesar! Keep quiet! We're confirming the situation with Young Master right now!"
Caesar, who had only been rescued by Doflamingo mere tens of minutes ago, was being kept in the Royal Castle. Partly for medical treatment of his injuries, minor as they were, and partly for protection against Law's group, who might come after him.
But upon seeing the face of a man he'd desperately hoped never to see again, the tears were already flowing.
Pica, one of the Donquixote Family's Supreme Executives, barked at Caesar in a soprano voice that utterly mismatched his face and body, while simultaneously issuing orders to his subordinates.
According to reports from those subordinates, it seemed Doflamingo himself didn't fully grasp the current situation either. He had been under the impression that Straw Hat was competing in the Final Match being held at the Coliseum.
Though an uneasy feeling crept in that something beyond their expectations was happening, Pica switched gears and resolved to deal with the problem right in front of him.
"Stay here, Caesar. I'm going out for a bit."
"W-w-w-wait, hold on, Pica! You're supposed to be here as my guard, aren't you!? Don't you dare leave me behind and go off somewhere! What happens if those guys make it up here!?"
"That's exactly why I'm going to eliminate the intruders before they can. Now shut up and wait quietly. Your screeching is grating on my ears."
After silencing Caesar with a piercing glare, Pica used his Stone-Stone Fruit powers to sink into the castle's stone wall and vanish.
Left behind were only Caesar and a handful of low-ranking members assigned to watch over and attend to him.
"Damn it all, this isn't fair... Why does this have to happen to me... why..."
Caesar drifted weakly over to the bed, his gaseous body floating and gliding along, then flopped face-first onto it. He pulled the blanket completely over his head and curled up, half sulking, half hiding in fear.
"Joookerrr! Hurry, hurry up and give me some peace of mind...!"
Watching this display, the low-ranking members were exasperated but continued dutifully carrying out their assigned duties.
Whether it could be called fortunate was debatable, but unless Caesar actually asked them for something, there was nothing to do besides stand around. They didn't even need to talk to or deal with this strange man.
They laughed it off, confident that the Supreme Executive Pica would undoubtedly repel the intruders, telling themselves they had it easy.
...But then,
"Oh, hey, that's right, you guys!"
Just when they thought he'd settled down, Caesar suddenly burst out from under the blanket and started shouting rapid-fire at the low-ranking members.
"Y-Yes!? What is it, M-Master Caesar?"
"Pica's gone, but the other Executives... Diamante's at the Coliseum right now, so, uh, where's Trebol? If he protects me..."
"N-No, Trebol-sama isn't available. He's currently at the Executive Tower working with Sugar-sama."
"I know he's working, you idiots! I'm saying I'll go over there and have him protect me too! I'll go on my own, so tell me where it is! Nobody told me the exact location!"
"W-We can't allow that, M! Young Master and Pica-sama ordered us not to let you leave the castle under any circumstances! They said we shouldn't underestimate Straw Hat or Law, and that we need to maintain a perfect defense..."
"Straw Hat is HERE, you moron! I know Pica's strong! But that guy, you seriously never know what he's gonna do, and he shows up everywhere, and he's insane! I know because I suffered through it at Punk Hazard! What if he slips past Pica and shows up here!? The Executive Tower is underground beneath the Coliseum, right!? That's not close enough for Diamante and the rest to get here quickly! You think I can relax!?"
"Please just stay put! If you start running around everywhere, it makes our job as your guards impossible!"
"Also, the Executive Tower isn't under the Coliseum, it's directly below us! If anything happens, Trebol-sama can get here right awa... WHOOAAA!?"
Mid-sentence, the castle began to shake violently.
Everyone understood at once: Pica had engaged Straw Hat's group in battle.
"...Damn it... No good, if I go out now I'll be spotted... or worse, caught in the crossfire..."
Weeping pathetically, Caesar finally gave up and burrowed back under the blanket. From within the covers, a stream of muttering continued, somewhere between petty complaints and bitter curses, punctuated by occasional sniffling sobs.
The low-ranking members watched, relieved that he'd accepted the situation, yet exasperated all the same.
☆☆☆
Meanwhile, at Corrida Coliseum.
In the Final Match arena... the fierce warriors who had fought their way through each block were locked in a brutal battle.
"Dragon Claw Fist... 'Dragon's Talon'!!"
"Fish-Man Karate... '3,000 Tile True Punch'!!"
At the center of the arena, Lucy's claws clashed against Shuraiya's fist, and the resulting shockwave sent massive cracks spiderwebbing through the surrounding stone tiles.
The audience roared in excitement at this collision of overwhelming power against power.
...And so, they didn't notice.
That the two combatants themselves, locked in what resembled a contest of fist against fist, were speaking to each other in low voices, barely moving their lips.
"Hold on, Shuraiya, are you actually trying to hit me for real? I'm sensing some genuinely serious killing intent here!?"
"Relax, I got permission from Koala. Now shut up and let me hit you, you walking bundle of demands. Changing the plan on a whim without even consulting me, your own collaborator, do you have any idea how much trouble it was to adjust everything? I'll tell Tesoro to pull his sponsorship, you hear me?"
"Okay, okay, my bad! But I figured this was the best option once Luffy was in the picture, and I had to act fast! The guy can't sit still, and there's no way in hell he could handle quiet work like 'infiltration' or 'reconnaissance'..."
"I can't comment on that since I don't know this Straw Hat guy personally, but still, you could've at least...!?"
"? What's wro...!"
Almost simultaneously, both of them noticed. They were being targeted.
On the far side of the stage, Burgess had taken his stance, locking onto the two of them. Spectators in his line of fire scrambled to evacuate. They knew from painful experience that this was an attack that would engulf the audience seats without the slightest hesitation.
"'Wave Elbow'!!"
The shockwave bore down on the two fighters standing right at its center.
Lucy leaped nimbly backward to dodge, but Shuraiya took the massive shockwave full-force across his entire body... and was sent soaring through the air.
Cheers and screams erupted from the audience seats.
The shockwave continued onward, mercilessly destroying the spectator seats in its path just as before, leaving numerous people injured.
But before the eyes of the spectators, already shocked and horrified anew at its destructive power... something even more unbelievable happened.
Shuraiya, who had been the very first to take the hit and should have been blown away.
His body, still sailing through the air, executed a single mid-air spin. He righted himself and landed on the stage with a soft tap. As if nothing had happened.
Showing no sign of damage whatsoever, Shuraiya casually patted the dust off his clothes with an air of composure. The audience erupted in a confused mixture of bewilderment and excitement.
"There it iiiis! This is the man, the Pirate Executioner Shuraiya and his terrifying, mysterious power! In the earlier B Block battle, he took the 'King Punch' from Elizabello II, the Warrior King, right along with every other competitor, and he alone walked away unscathed! Nobody can figure it out! What kind of magic trick is this!?"
"Magic trick? How rude... It's a perfectly legitimate technique."
"Shaoli, was it? Still as unfair as ever... Nullifying strikes is nothing short of a nightmare for anyone who relies on physical combat."
When struck by a fist powerful enough to shatter boulders... if the target is something hard, like a wooden board, roof tiles, or rock, it would be destroyed the instant the blow connects.
But if the thing being struck is something supple and soft, like cloth or willow leaves... it won't shatter like stone. The impact would simply pass through, deflected harmlessly.
Shaoli was the technique born from applying that principle.
Where one would normally tense the body and brace against an enemy's attack, this technique did the exact opposite: completely releasing all tension, letting the impact dissipate like a feather floating in the air, taking no damage at all.
Just as Lucy said, for the majority of striking fighters, it was a nightmarish skill.
"It's not like I can nullify absolutely everything, though. Well... it's a handy technique. Especially for someone who can't just brute-force invincibility through raw physical toughness like a certain Lion girl. Want me to teach you sometime?"
"If the chance comes up. I've been busy lately, so who knows when that'll be."
Readjusting his hat, Shuraiya traded banter with Lucy as though they were old acquaintances, then set his sights on his next target: Burgess, who had just picked a fight with him.
Burgess, for his part, showed no concern that his technique had failed to land, squaring up his fists as if eager to accept the challenge...
But the moment of their collision... never came.
Before it could, events began to shift dramatically.
"Doffyyy! I'm sorry, Sugar... Sugar passed out!!"
"...!? What kind of joke is this, Trebol!?"
"Doffy! It's me, there's something I need to report immediately..."
"Wait, Pica, not now! There's an emergency on Trebol's end..."
"This is an emergency too! If we don't act fast... if we leave this alone, Joker... the Family itself could be finished!"
"...! What the hell!? What happened over there!?"
"Caesar... that bastard betrayed us!!"
"...What... did you say...!?"
To be continued...