The dense smoke finally cleared. Kaido stood unharmed—there wasn't a single visible wound on him, even after taking Sanji's Heat Breath head-on.
With his eyes slightly narrowed, the dragon stared directly at Sanji.
"It doesn't even have one-fifth of my power. In the end, it's nothing but a forgery… a shameless imitation. This world has no need for two dragons."
Kaido opened his massive jaws, and a surge of blazing heat—far greater than Sanji's—began to build inside.
"This is a true Dragon's Breath!"
Seeing this, Sanji's expression hardened.
He immediately prepared his own dragon breath.
Two dragons, using the same attack.
Two colossal pillars of flame shot upward over Dressrosa.
BOOM!!!
The explosion echoed across nearly the entire island. The flames spread outward, blotting out the morning sun, as a deep crimson glow washed across the sky.
In the end, Kaido's breath overpowered Sanji's.
The flames engulfed Sanji's entire body.
All across the island, countless people looked up to see two dragons confronting each other in the sky.
"Two… dragons?!"
Shouts of terror erupted everywhere.
As the fire consumed the pink dragon, burning fragments scattered downward toward the city.
For dragons, they were nothing but embers—but for ordinary people, they were blazing fireballs falling from the sky.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The superheated fireballs crashed into the city, igniting it instantly. Buildings turned to ash in moments beneath the intense heat.
"Hurry! Run!!"
Panic spread as people fled in desperation.
The two dragons gave them no attention whatsoever.
Kaido ignored them; Sanji simply didn't care.
"Sanji!"
Aboard the Merry, Franky grabbed Caesar by the collar, shouting in worry.
"I'm fine! Go find Luffy!"
Through smoke and dust, Sanji shook his head, formed a cloud of flames beneath his feet, and launched himself toward Kaido.
Even though Kaido's heat output was five times greater, his dragon scales naturally granted immense defense, meaning he took little damage from direct elemental attacks—especially fire-based ones.
In an instant, Sanji surged upward toward Kaido's head and struck with his dragon tail, executing a blazing, kick-like blow.
The tail, wreathed in fire, slammed into Kaido's skull with a thunderous impact.
Kaido had no intention of dodging such an attack.
However, to his surprise, the force exceeded his expectations.
BOOOM!!
The blow made Kaido's eyes widen, and at the moment of impact, the flames covering Sanji's tail exploded outward.
A blinding flash erupted in the air.
The next moment, Kaido's head was knocked out of the sky, crashing downward as waves hundreds of meters tall surged outward from the force.
"Even if it's the same fruit, the fighting style changes completely depending on how you develop it, you idiot!"
Sanji mocked him.
—Palace, Banquet Hall—
"What is the Celestial Dragons' national treasure?"
The moment Doflamingo heard the question, his expression shifted drastically.
But he quickly regained his composure.
"Fufurfur… And how exactly did you learn about the National Treasure?"
Luffy didn't bother answering. He simply stared back in silence.
"National treasure?" Sabo muttered in shock, immediately thinking of the nation-destroying weapon.
Luffy had entrusted that information to Ivankov, who had then passed it on to Dragon. That was one of the reasons Sabo came to Dressrosa—to learn more about this weapon.
A weapon capable of annihilating an entire island with a single strike… they needed every detail.
Hearing Luffy's question, Sabo finally understood.
Even Luffy didn't know much—just that it existed.
Koala also grew tense, waiting silently for the answer.
Meanwhile, the small singer Uta, still in hamster form, kept stuffing her cheeks with food. Her big eyes were fixed on Doflamingo, unaware of the gravity of the moment.
Seeing that Luffy wasn't going to elaborate, Doflamingo didn't bother pressing the issue.
After a moment of silence, he slowly began to speak:
"All I know is that it truly exists. I learned of it entirely by chance. If its existence is ever revealed… this world will erupt into chaos."
As he spoke, he raised both hands.
Threads sprouted from his palms, moving like the strokes of a master artist, weaving the outline of a weapon in the air.
Luffy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, mildly impressed by his control.
His eyes focused on the object shaped by the countless threads.
It was a prism-like device.
On the top was something resembling a solar panel.
In the center, more than a dozen barrel-shaped structures circled around it, seemingly energy storage units that also served as firing mechanisms.
"Is that supposed to be the national treasure…?"
Luffy stared intently.
"Fufurfur… Did you know, Luffy? Once this weapon is activated, over a dozen beams of concentrated light descend from the sky. They say it has the power to obliterate an entire island."
Doflamingo grinned.
"It's as powerful as an Ancient Weapon. That's why the Celestial Dragons stand at the top of the world."
If only more people knew… Most of the Celestial Dragons are nothing but insects.
Doflamingo's heart seethed with contempt.
Luffy continued reading his mind, ensuring Doflamingo wasn't lying.
It truly was the national treasure he knew of.
A weapon whose attack method involved multiple beams falling from the sky…
"Does it absorb solar energy, store it, and convert it into attack power?" Luffy muttered.
"Maybe. But the weapon is damaged. From what I know, the Five Elders had Vegapunk attempt repairs and were searching for a replacement power source."
Doflamingo snorted, "Even if he finds one, so what? Its power will be drastically weaker."
Hearing that, Luffy fell into deep thought.
The original power source was likely solar energy—but now the device was broken. Vegapunk would have to find a substitute.
(End of chapter)