Facing the overwhelming barrage of razor-sharp string attacks, Jerry's eyes became as keen and focused as an eagle's, seeming to penetrate through the countless white threads before him and lock directly onto Doflamingo's position.
He took a decisive step forward and swept his fishing rod in a wide, devastating arc.
A tremendous slash suddenly materialized in front of Jerry, moving as fast as lightning and rushing toward Doflamingo without any hesitation or mercy.
The cutting attack sliced through the string threads directly in Jerry's path with overwhelming force, though it couldn't block the simultaneous assaults coming from behind and both sides.
However, when those remaining threads shot downward without any obstacles to stop them, Jerry's figure had already vanished completely from his original position.
The momentum of his massive slash continued unabated, and although its power had been somewhat diminished after cutting through the initial string barriers, it still pressed forward with fierce determination toward its target.
Confronted by this relentless assault, Doflamingo twisted his body and leaped into the air with desperate agility, managing to escape the immediate danger.
After successfully dodging the incoming slash, he turned his gaze forward and was genuinely shocked to discover Jerry's large foot positioned perfectly to intercept his aerial retreat.
"Get down here, Doflamingo!"
Jerry's sudden and devastatingly powerful kick caught the Heavenly Yaksha completely off-guard, sending him plummeting toward the ground like a fired cannonball.
Amid the tremendous noise of his impact, Doflamingo's rage seemed to reach an absolute breaking point.
He quickly spread both arms wide, and like a wounded beast driven to desperation, he roared toward the sky while concealed by the rising clouds of smoke and debris.
"Sixteen Holy Bullets: God Thread!"
As soon as these words finished echoing across the battlefield, sixteen white string constructs wrapped in extremely high-density Armament Haki burst forth in a blinding flash. They pierced toward Jerry with velocity that exceeded normal human reaction capabilities.
Realizing that his opponent was preparing to stake everything on this final gambit, Jerry's eyes flashed with fierce determination. He gripped his fishing rod with both hands and stomped his feet powerfully against the air itself.
Amid the explosive sound of compressed atmosphere, crackling Haki-infused lightning began coiling around the black fishing rod like living serpents. Jerry's figure descended rapidly toward the ground like a falling meteor.
Just as Doflamingo's vicious white string attacks were about to reach their target, Jerry twisted his waist with fluid precision and then thrust downward with force as devastating as divine thunder.
Simultaneously, an earth-shaking surge of Conqueror's Haki descended like an avalanche, locking Doflamingo's form in place with absolute certainty.
The violent wind pressure and shockwaves from Jerry's technique caused the sixteen white strings—which had been attacking so fiercely moments before—to bloom outward like flower petals, instantly creating a clear space between the two combatants.
"What?!" Doflamingo shouted in complete shock, his eyes becoming bloodshot with desperate panic.
His arms remained frozen in their extended attacking position, leaving him completely vulnerable and exposed. Trapped within Jerry's overwhelming Haki presence, he found himself barely able to move a single muscle.
At this critical moment, Doflamingo felt as though his entire life was flashing before his eyes in rapid succession, like scenes from a spinning picture wheel.
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted, sending Doflamingo's body flying through the air with tremendous force.
Witnessing this unexpected development, Jerry was momentarily stunned by the interruption.
It turned out that an attack blast from a distant source had arrived at precisely the right moment to save Doflamingo from certain defeat.
Just as the Heavenly Yaksha's body was blown away by the explosion's shockwave, Jerry's finishing technique struck the ground with full force.
Although Doflamingo inevitably sustained serious damage—resulting in multiple deep wounds across his body and limbs that revealed bone beneath—he had been fortunate enough to avoid the central impact zone of Jerry's devastating assault.
The already heavily damaged terrain was struck with Jerry's complete strength, immediately shaking and exploding around the fishing rod's impact point, forming an enormous circular crater in the earth.
"Cough cough... Is it finally here?" Doflamingo coughed weakly several times while enduring the intense pain radiating throughout his body. He looked upward, and a hint of genuine relief appeared on his bloodied features.
Jerry turned his head and squinted at the appallingly casual appearance of the newcomer, shaking his head with obvious resignation. "Why is it always you showing up at times like this?!"
The person who had arrived was none other than the user of the Glint-Glint Fruit—Admiral Kizaru of Marine Headquarters, whose powers over light made him the perfect candidate for rapid deployment.
He spread his hands in a helpless gesture that seemed entirely genuine. "Listen, brother, I'd much rather be on vacation right now. I really didn't want to come here, but the higher-ups issued emergency orders that I couldn't ignore..."
Having delivered this explanation, Kizaru closed his mouth, though Jerry could easily guess the underlying political reasons for his presence.
Unlike the G-5 branch forces led by Vergo who had come as standard support, Doflamingo's backup plan was obviously far more sophisticated and comprehensive.
Jerry suspected that the Heavenly Yaksha must be leveraging certain secrets related to his former Celestial Dragon status to either blackmail or negotiate directly with the Five Elders, ultimately convincing the World Government authorities to dispatch a Marine Admiral for assistance.
Considering that both Akainu and Aokiji remained on medical leave due to injuries sustained during recent conflicts, this critical assignment had naturally fallen to Kizaru, whose light-based abilities made him the most efficient choice for long-distance travel.
"Fufufufu, Admiral Kizaru, I've been waiting for your arrival for quite some time," Doflamingo declared with obvious satisfaction upon seeing the Admiral materialize beside his position. He glanced toward Jerry with renewed confidence while secretly attempting to use his String-String Fruit powers to perform emergency repairs on his damaged body.
Kizaru sighed quietly to himself, looked up at Jerry with genuine reluctance, and explained his position. "After all, he is officially one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, which makes him part of our government's organizational structure. I can't simply allow you to eliminate him without putting up some resistance."
Hearing this bureaucratic explanation, Jerry considered the situation thoughtfully before responding, "Well... in that case, what if I fight you for a while, and then you let me finish him off? That way it wouldn't be considered an 'easy success,' right? What do you think about that arrangement?"
"Eh?! Is that actually possible?" Kizaru's eyes immediately widened with obvious curiosity and perhaps even hopeful interest.
Hearing this casual conversation between the two powerful fighters, Doflamingo quickly interrupted with obvious panic. "Hey, hey, hey! Stop joking around like that, Admiral Kizaru! You were sent here directly by the highest authorities, so you'd better take this assignment seriously!"
Although Doflamingo understood Kizaru's characteristically lazy personality quite well and realized the Admiral wouldn't openly disobey direct orders from the Five Elders, he absolutely couldn't afford to take any risks at such a critical juncture in his survival.
"You see? The person most directly involved doesn't agree with that plan..." Kizaru observed with a casual shrug, as if he'd genuinely been considering Jerry's proposal.
Jerry glanced at Doflamingo—who was glaring at him with murderous hatred—and a mischievous smile curved across his lips. "As long as you're willing to cooperate, he won't be the one making decisions here. He'll just be the victim who can only keep his mouth shut permanently."
"Hehe! I appreciate the offer, but I still need this job to work peacefully until my retirement," Kizaru replied while scratching his head. His words expressed the thoughts of countless government employees everywhere, revealing a sense of resigned helplessness mixed with honest pragmatism about workplace politics.
On another section of the battlefield, Cavendish had experienced his earlier flash of tactical inspiration and had been waiting patiently ever since, searching for the perfect opportunity to implement his carefully developed plan.
At this moment, the massive rock giant created by Pica's transformation continued moving stubbornly despite having already lost one arm and leg to Cavendish's previous lightning attacks.
Seeing this persistent but increasingly vulnerable target, Cavendish's eyes lit up with predatory satisfaction. His left arm immediately transformed into crackling electrical energy as he swung it fiercely toward the stone giant's only remaining right arm.
Then his entire body converted into pure lightning, matching pace with the thunder dragon streaking across the sky as he appeared directly in front of the enormous construct within a single moment.
With a tremendous rumbling sound that shook the surrounding area, the electrical dragon struck the rock giant's right arm with perfect accuracy, immediately blasting the limb into countless fragments of stone and debris.
The earth-shaking noise spread outward in all directions, attracting the immediate attention of both opposing forces in their standoff on the second level of the high ground. Every pair of eyes focused simultaneously on this spectacular display of destructive power.
At this crucial moment, a massive sword technique swept outward along with the blade in Cavendish's hand, creating a brilliant arc of cutting energy.
"Beautiful Sword: Thunder Slash!"
An extremely sharp, crescent-shaped sword wave flashed through the air with devastating precision. The rock giant transformed by Pica was reduced to only a torso and head, creating an absolutely miserable sight.
The now-unbalanced stone construct could be seen losing stability and beginning to fall toward the ground under the influence of gravity.
A cold gleam flashed in Cavendish's eyes as he realized his long-awaited opportunity had finally arrived. "At last! This is the chance I've been waiting for all this time!"
As he spoke these triumphant words, he transformed into brilliant lightning and began flying in rapid circles beneath the massive rock giant during its inevitable descent toward the earth.
"I'll cut! And cut! And cut, cut, cut!"