Doflamingo thought to himself, I have to wait for reinforcements. Yes, I just have to hold on until reinforcements arrive.
Doflamingo knew that as soon as Fujitora learned he was in danger, the Admiral would have no choice but to come and assist him. After all, Doflamingo was still a Warlord affiliated with the World Government. No matter what Fujitora personally thought of him, he would still be obligated to act.
At least, that was what Doflamingo believed.
Various thoughts and calculations rapidly passed through his mind as he searched for a way out of this situation. Outwardly, however, he showed none of it.
Doflamingo gave his typical laugh.
"Hehehehe."
Then he looked at Gojo and said, "So be it. If you are not going to leave on your own and insist on interfering in my affairs, then so be it."
As he spoke, he released his Conqueror's Haki in full. An oppressive pressure spread outward from his body, asserting his dominance over the surroundings.
Gojo simply stood there casually. He did not react. He did not even seem impressed. Instead, he looked almost disdainful, as if Doflamingo's displays and threats meant absolutely nothing to him.
Doflamingo's eyes narrowed. Immediately, he pointed a finger toward Gojo.
"Bullet Strings."
The next moment, countless strings condensed into bullet-like projectiles and shot forward at incredible speed. Every single one of them was coated in Armament Haki. The quality of Doflamingo's Haki was naturally far superior to Trebol's.
The string bullets tore through the air and rapidly approached Gojo. However, the moment they entered the range of the Limitless, their speed began to decrease. The closer they moved toward Gojo, the slower they became. Sky-blue energy surrounded the bullets as they continuously forced their way through the invisible barrier, resembling meteors wrapped in flames while entering the atmosphere.
Even so, the attack continued pushing forward. Had Gojo done nothing, the bullets would have eventually reached him.
Unfortunately for Doflamingo, that assumption itself was meaningless. Gojo could easily react to this attack; from his perspective, the bullets were nowhere near fast enough to pose a threat.
And Gojo responded exactly as one would expect. Without moving from his spot, he immediately increased the intensity of his Limitless.
The effect was instantaneous.
The string bullets that had been struggling forward suddenly lost all momentum and were violently swept away. Not only that, but Gojo manipulated the direction of their movement. The diverted bullets curved through the air and were redirected straight back toward Doflamingo himself. The very attack Doflamingo had launched now rushed toward him at incredible speed.
Doflamingo's expression changed slightly. Without hesitation, he moved aside and dodged his own Armament Haki-coated string bullets as they shot past him and crashed into the surroundings behind him.
Doflamingo had already moved very close to Gojo in a single swift motion. The moment he entered striking range, he used his Five Color String move, immediately coating the razor-sharp strings with Armament Haki. After all, that was a necessity when fighting Gojo. Without sufficient Haki, one could neither harm him nor properly defend against him. Otherwise, they would not even be able to breach a single centimeter of Gojo's Limitless.
Doflamingo's Five Color String slashed forward. At the same time, Gojo swung his sword.
Boom!
The two attacks collided head-on. A shockwave burst outward, and the floor beneath them cracked under the force of the impact. Fractures rapidly spread through the ground as dust and debris were thrown into the air.
Yet despite the tremendous collision, Gojo remained exactly where he stood. He did not slide back. He did not even take a single step. Doflamingo had put his full strength behind that attack, yet he could not force Gojo to retreat even a few inches.
This was Gojo's strength.
The next moment, Gojo increased the force behind his sword. The balance of power instantly shifted.
Doflamingo's eyes narrowed. His Five Color String was overwhelmed, and he was forced backward, taking several steps as he struggled to absorb the force being pushed onto him.
The moment Doflamingo retreated, Gojo vanished from his sight. Doflamingo's pupils contracted.
In the next instant, Gojo had already appeared directly in front of him, his sword already descending.
Doflamingo reacted immediately.
"Spider's Web."
Countless strings spread out in front of him, forming a defensive barrier. Doflamingo expected it to stop Gojo's sword strike long enough for him to recover.
But that did not happen.
Gojo's supreme grade sword, coated in powerful Armament Haki, struck the web. For a brief moment, resistance appeared. Then the strings began to snap—one after another. Gojo's superior swordsmanship, physical strength, and Armament Haki mastery overwhelmed the defense completely.
Slash!
The Spider's Web was cut apart. And Gojo's sword did not stop there. The blade continued forward and carved a clean wound across Doflamingo's body.
Blood splattered into the air.
Doflamingo immediately jumped backward, widening the distance between them. Landing several meters away, he looked down at the injury. The cut was deep enough to draw a considerable amount of blood.
For a moment, he raised his hand and lightly pressed against the wound. When he pulled his fingers away, fresh blood stained them. Doflamingo stared at the blood in silence.
How long has it been since I was injured like this?
A faint frown appeared on his face.
It has been a very, very long time.
However, Doflamingo knew this was not the time to dwell on such thoughts. Gojo was still standing in front of him. Any lapse in concentration could easily cost him his life.
His focus immediately returned. Without wasting another second, Doflamingo activated Repair Operation.
Thin strings emerged from his fingers and rapidly moved beneath his skin, stitching together the wound created by Gojo. The torn flesh began to close as Doflamingo used his Devil Fruit ability to perform emergency repairs on his injured body. Even while healing himself, his eyes never left Gojo for a single moment.
After this exchange, Doflamingo became even more cautious. He was being completely dominated. His strings, which had almost never been destroyed before in battle, had already been severed multiple times. And judging from the overwhelming strength Gojo was displaying, it was absolutely clear that he would continue doing it again and again.
Gojo's strength was simply on a different level.
I have to give it my all. Doflamingo's expression hardened. I can't keep fighting like this. Even if my goal is only to hold on until Fujitora arrives, I still have to give everything I have.
Without hesitation, Doflamingo moved.
Using one of his strongest techniques, Athlete, he accelerated at an incredible speed. Strings propelled his body forward while his legs were coated in powerful Armament Haki. In an instant, he crossed the distance between them, the ground beneath him cracking as he burst forward like a missile.
Gojo calmly watched the incoming attack. Then, he responded in kind. His own leg rose, covered in Armament Haki.
Boom!
The two attacks collided.
This time, however, things were different. Doflamingo had poured far more Haki into the attack than before and had committed his full physical strength to it. Combined with the acceleration provided by his strings, he was able to breach the distance created by the Limitless far faster than any of his previous attacks.
For the first time since the battle had begun, Doflamingo's attack successfully reached Gojo. Their legs collided directly.
A powerful shockwave erupted outward from the point of impact, kicking up dust and sending cracks racing across the ground beneath them.
Doflamingo's eyes narrowed. He had finally made contact.
Whether the strike was enough to truly hurt Gojo was an entirely different matter, but that was not the important part right now. The important part was that he had finally managed to land a direct hit on Gojo's body. After everything that had happened during this battle, that alone was already an achievement.
The air around them trembled as both fighters remained locked in the clash for a brief moment, their Armament Haki grinding against one another before the resulting force exploded outward.
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