The exploding force tore through the immediate surroundings, but neither man backed down.
Boom!
The ground beneath them cracked instantly, fractures spreading in all directions from the point of impact. At the same moment, both of them released their Conqueror's Haki. Black lightning crackled around their bodies as their wills clashed head-on.
For a brief instant, the two forces struggled against each other. Then, the difference became apparent.
Doflamingo's Conqueror's Haki was simply inferior to Gojo's.
The black lightning surrounding Gojo surged forward, completely overwhelming Doflamingo's pressure. Doflamingo gritted his teeth as he was forced backward, his feet digging deep into the earth.
Step. Step. Step.
He continued retreating until he finally skidded to a halt, carving two long gullies into the ground behind him. As soon as he stabilized himself, Doflamingo felt a sharp pain shoot through his leg. His expression changed.
There are fractures.
The clash had damaged his bone despite him using Armament Haki to defend. The realization shocked him, but he did not have time to dwell on it. Gojo was already continuing his assault.
Gojo's left hand, coated in Armament Haki, shot forward. Doflamingo reacted immediately and raised both arms, crossing them in front of his body in defense.
But the difference in skill and strength was too great. Gojo's strike slipped past the defense and reached Doflamingo's chest directly.
Boom!
The moment Gojo's fist connected, a violent shockwave exploded outward. Doflamingo's eyes widened before his body was blasted backward. He crashed through a wall, sending chunks of stone and debris flying everywhere before finally coming to a stop amid the rubble.
On the other side, Doflamingo coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Cough!"
His body trembled as he forced himself back onto his feet. For a few moments, his mind had gone nearly blank from the sheer force of the attack; he had not expected such a violent strike to land. Only after regaining his senses did he properly analyze what had happened.
The more he examined his condition, the grimmer his expression became. His internal organs had suffered severe damage.
Looking toward Gojo, Doflamingo asked, "You have mastered Internal Destruction Armament Haki? How? Who taught you?"
His voice contained genuine disbelief. Learning the advanced applications of Haki was no easy feat. Normally, such techniques required guidance from an exceptional expert. Was Gojo truly such a monstrous genius that he had figured everything out on his own?
Gojo casually replied, "You can say that I learned it after watching and listening to the workings of Internal Destruction Armament Haki."
Doflamingo was completely stunned.
Just watching and listening?
That answer was absurd. Yet looking at Gojo, Doflamingo could not tell whether he was joking or being serious.
At the same time, Doflamingo activated Repair Operation once again. Thin strings moved through his body as he desperately worked to keep his damaged internal organs intact and prevent his injuries from worsening. He had no choice. While he was still trying to repair himself, Gojo was already preparing to launch another attack. Doflamingo knew the next strike would be no less dangerous than the last.
But Doflamingo was not someone who would hold back. If Gojo was fighting seriously, then Doflamingo would do the same.
Looking directly into Gojo's eyes, Doflamingo said, "I am going to give my all."
The moment he spoke those words, the ground around his feet began to change. The shattered earth flickered strangely as patches of white threads appeared throughout the battlefield. The effect resembled light flashing across the ground as more and more of the surrounding area started transforming.
Soon, the phenomenon spread outward. The earth, the rubble, the broken stone fragments—everything around Doflamingo gradually turned into masses of white strings. The entire battlefield began to resemble a sea of thread.
Gojo immediately recognized what was happening. After all, he could perform a similar feat himself. This was Doflamingo's Devil Fruit Awakening. The environment itself was being converted into strings under Doflamingo's control.
Doflamingo raised his hand and manipulated the countless threads surrounding him.
"Break White."
Instantly, the entire domain of strings came alive. The countless threads surged toward Gojo from every direction like a massive tidal wave. They twisted and coiled around each other, attempting to completely surround him before strangling him within an inescapable prison of strings.
The attack came from all sides. However, Gojo was not about to be outdone. His sword immediately became covered in a crimson glow, and then he swung.
"Red Slash."
Boom!
A vast amount of repulsive force erupted from the Flying Sword Slash released by Gojo. The crimson slash tore through the battlefield with overwhelming momentum. Every string attempting to bind and strangle him was instantly destroyed; the sea of threads parted violently before the attack.
Not only that, but the red Flying Sword Slash continued moving forward toward Doflamingo.
Doflamingo's expression changed. Immediately, he controlled the countless strings surrounding him and gathered them together. Layer after layer of threads stacked on top of one another, forming an incredibly thick defensive shield in front of him.
The crimson slash crashed into it.
Boom!
The shield trembled violently. Layer after layer was annihilated. Thousands upon thousands of strings were erased as the repulsive force continued pushing forward. Only after almost the entire shield had been destroyed did the slash finally lose enough momentum to stop.
When everything settled, merely a few inches of the massive string shield remained.
Doflamingo looked at the nearly destroyed barrier and thought to himself, That was a close one.
The surviving strings immediately sank back into the ground. Without wasting any time, Doflamingo dropped to one knee and placed a hand on the battlefield. At once, the area affected by his Awakening expanded even further. More ground transformed into thread; more rubble transformed into thread. The sea of strings rapidly spread across the battlefield, increasing the territory completely under Doflamingo's control.
Then, Doflamingo activated another technique.
"Flap Thread."
Countless strings rose into the air and formed enormous wing-like structures behind him. The tips of those wings began moving and twisting independently, sharpening into deadly points one after another before being coated with Armament Haki until they turned jet black.
The target was obvious. Every single one of them was aimed directly at Gojo.
The next moment, the countless Haki-coated tips shot forward from the wing-like formations, piercing through the air as they rushed toward him from multiple angles.
Gojo was prepared for this as well. This time, however, he did not destroy the attack or repel it using Red. Instead, he used Blue.
The moment Blue appeared, a vast attractive force erupted from it. Gojo manipulated the sphere of Blue with precision, and immediately, the countless string tips coated in Armament Haki began to lose their original trajectories. Their paths curved, and then they were pulled toward Blue. The immense attractive force dragged the attacks away from their intended target, causing the countless strings to converge toward a single point.
As a result, a large opening appeared in Doflamingo's offense. Gojo did not let such an opportunity go to waste.
Instantly, he teleported directly in front of Doflamingo.
Doflamingo's eyes widened.
Gojo's sword was still sheathed. Then, in one fluid motion, he executed a sword-drawing technique. The moment the blade left its sheath, Armament Haki instantly covered it from end to end. Not only that, but an invisible layer of Armament Haki extended beyond the blade itself. Gojo was utilizing the advanced application of Haki—External Emission.
Slash!
The sword moved at an incredible speed. Doflamingo barely had time to react before the strike landed.
A massive cut instantly appeared across his chest, and blood erupted from the wound. Previously, Gojo had already inflicted a similar injury on Doflamingo—one that Doflamingo had temporarily repaired using Repair Operation by stitching it together with strings. Now, under the force of this strike, that repaired wound burst open once more.
The old injury and the new one combined into a long, devastating slash stretching across Doflamingo's chest. Blood continuously flowed from the wound, but the damage did not end there. The External Emission Armament Haki carried tremendous force behind the attack.
Boom!
Doflamingo was blasted backward. The remains of the mansion were completely destroyed as his body tore through wall after wall. Stone, wood, and debris exploded in every direction as he was launched away from Flower Hill. His body flew through the air like a meteor.
Then—
Boom!
He crashed directly into the ground below. A massive cloud of dust rose into the sky from the impact, obscuring the battlefield for several moments.
Finally, as the dust gradually settled, a figure became visible. Gojo was already there. He had teleported directly to the impact site and stood only a few steps away from Doflamingo.
The Joker lay on the ground. Blood stained his clothes. He was coughing heavily and struggling to move. His body was covered in injuries, and the damage he had accumulated throughout the battle had reached a frightening level.
Gojo silently looked down at him, sword still in hand. Then, he began walking forward.
Step. Step. Step.
The sound of his footsteps echoed through the quiet battlefield. Doflamingo remained on the ground, heavily injured and barely able to move, while Gojo steadily approached him with sword in hand.
At this moment, the outcome seemed inevitable. The death of the Heavenly Demon, Donquixote Doflamingo, appeared all but certain.
----
To read advanced chapters up to 24 chapters ahead, please consider supporting me on Patreon: [https://patreon.com/Hkj822]