-Broadcast-
Faced with these brutal truths from his childhood acquaintance, Trafalgar Law stood frozen in stunned silence. The problem he had spent years avoiding had been ruthlessly dragged into the light by Eren's words. The Shichibukai's mind reeled, unable to formulate any coherent refutation.
Pressing his advantage, Eren drove the blade deeper into Law's psychological wounds: "Corazon was Doflamingo's biological brother—the adopted son of a former Marine Admiral. You actually abandoned your hatred for Flevance's destruction, all for the sake of a former Celestial Dragon's kindness. How touching."
Law's parents had been renowned physicians in Flevance. His father had been powerless against Amber Lead Syndrome, forced to watch helplessly as his daughter Lami suffered through unspeakable agony.
The Ope Ope no Mi that Celestial Dragon Corazon had given Law at the cost of his own life had ultimately cured the boy's Amber Lead poisoning. From Eren's perspective, Trafalgar Law had forgotten old loyalties for new favors—abandoning any thought of seeking justice from the World Government simply because one Marine agent had shown him compassion.
Doflamingo had murdered his own brother Corazon with his own hands. Law had spent years growing stronger in the North Sea, and his first act upon emerging had been seeking revenge for his benefactor. He had even cooperated with the World Government, trading a pirate captain's heart for Shichibukai status 5 years later. Such dedication to the wrong cause.
"It's not like that," Law protested weakly, grasping for any argument that might justify his choices. "My parents would want me to move forward, not live trapped in the past. Corazon-san was a good man—how could he possibly be a Celestial Dragon?"
In this Sky Screen Broadcast, Doflamingo had never used newspapers to deceive Law into resigning his Shichibukai position, leaving him ignorant of the crucial fact that both his enemy and benefactor shared World Noble blood. His intelligence network had failed him completely.
"Cooperating with Admiral Smoker to destroy Punk Hazard," Eren continued mercilessly. "Law, you've worked so hard for the Marines, yet they never bothered informing you that Doflamingo is also a Celestial Dragon. You're nothing but a useful tool to them."
The Attack Titan rose to its full height once more, Eren's attention shifting from his broken childhood friend to the crowds still fleeing in panic. There were more pressing matters requiring his attention.
The festival-goers had witnessed giants devouring humans and indiscriminately slaughtering nobility. Only four Celestial Dragons and their CP0 escorts had managed to escape through aerial retreat. Having seen such horrors, the survivors wished they had been born with additional legs, fearing they couldn't run fast enough.
Masses of people scrambled to escape this hellscape. Though some unlucky souls had perished in the stampede, at least ninety-nine percent of the "fortunate" had successfully fled the venue. The composition of this crowd was remarkably diverse.
A small portion consisted of native Dressrosans who would eventually return to their homes. Others were middle-class tourists who had arrived on merchant ships arranged by Doflamingo's organization. The remainder were pirates who had come to Dressrosa purely for entertainment and leisure. There had originally been a fourth category—nobles and aristocrats—but Eren had provided them with one-way tickets to the afterlife.
"Where are the Shichibukai's subordinates?" someone demanded breathlessly. "Why hasn't a single officer tried to stop that giant's rampage? What is Doflamingo thinking?"
"Get to the harbor!" another voice urged. "We need ships to escape! Something catastrophic is happening in Dressrosa!"
"So many important people died tonight—I don't know how Doflamingo will explain this. Years of building Dressrosa's reputation, all destroyed in one evening."
These observers mocked Doflamingo as they fled, predicting his downfall, unaware that reaching the harbor would bring no salvation. The normally bustling port stood eerily deserted, every docked ship consumed by roaring flames.
A wall of fire several meters high had risen around the harbor's perimeter, growing stronger with each gust of wind. These were flames no mortal effort could extinguish—the survivors could only stand helplessly on the shore, watching their escape routes burn to ash, trapped between the devil behind them and the deep blue sea ahead.
"Look! There's a ship approaching!" The first person to spot movement beyond the flames leaped up, waving frantically. "Please save us!"
Through the smoke and haze, someone made out the flag flying from the ship's mast and cried out in excitement: "It's the Marines! The Marines are here! We're saved! There's hope!"
More than a dozen Marine warships emerged from the smoky horizon in formation, but the wall of fire still blocked their path to shore. How would these ships possibly reach the harbor to mount a rescue?
On the lead warship's deck stood two Admirals in pristine white uniforms, their Justice coats billowing in the wind. Behind them, a formation of Vice Admirals and other high-ranking officers awaited orders from the fleet's top commanders.
Smoker studied the blazing barrier with calculating eyes. He couldn't fathom Doflamingo's strategy in burning the ships—surely the Heavenly Yaksha understood that such obstacles wouldn't deter the Marines from their duty. They would save every hostage possible, and if they couldn't... the people would have to endure their suffering a while longer.
"Fortunate that you came along for this Dressrosa operation," Smoker observed. "If it were any other Admiral, only Kuzan could handle this fire so efficiently."
"Leave it to me," Gin replied with quiet confidence. "I'm quite skilled at extinguishing fires."
Accepting Smoker's assessment, Admiral Gin activated his Logia-type Devil Fruit ability—the Ame Ame no Mi (Rain-Rain Fruit). The logia power in his hands transformed into water vapor that rose skyward, artificially generating storm clouds above the sea of flames.
Without thunder or lightning, the deluge began. The rainfall was catastrophic in its intensity, cascading from the heavens like a massive waterfall. The raging inferno and torrential downpour clashed violently, producing enormous clouds of steam that filled the air with scalding mist.
Under the continuous assault of rain, the fires consuming the ships were rapidly brought under control. In less than two minutes, flames that no mortal force could have defeated were completely extinguished, not even producing wisps of smoke.
This localized storm drew cheers from the people gathered on the coast. Only Marine Admirals possessed the power to create such devastating natural phenomena, and everyone felt grateful that such might served the cause of justice.
Though the cascade had extinguished the fires, the survivors' search for seaworthy ships proved mostly futile. Less than ten percent of the ships remained capable of ocean travel. Most had been destroyed beyond repair, their crucial sails completely incinerated. Without wind power, these crippled ships couldn't leave the island.
Just as despair began settling over the crowd again, the Marine warships charged into the harbor en masse. The burning hulks blocking their path were simply rammed aside and smashed to pieces, clearing the way for the Marine flag to once again fly over Dressrosa's waters.
The Marines' arrival became a lifeline for everyone present. When rows of soldiers disembarked with weapons at the ready, the desperate crowd lost all rational thought and swarmed toward them, attempting to force their way aboard the warships.
Extinguishing the fires had merely been preparation for the landing operation. Capturing Doflamingo remained the primary military objective, with civilian protection as a secondary concern. The Marines fired warning shots to prevent the mob from approaching their ships.
These new-generation Marine warships represented strategic military assets. The soldiers carried advanced weaponry—no longer the primitive projectile firearms of the past, but newly developed, affordable semi-automatic rifles that marked a significant upgrade in the World Government's arsenal.