A massive black pteranodon, dark as the depths of night itself, swooped down from the sky at a speed nearly impossible to track with the naked eye. As it descended, the creature prepared to launch a devastating attack with its razor-sharp beak.
The pteranodon stretched out its wing-arm and, like someone drawing back a massive slingshot, pulled its head back with tremendous force. Its originally majestic and intimidating face became distorted and abstract as it stretched to the absolute limit.
After reaching maximum tension, the creature released its stored energy, and the sound of its beak snapping forward could be heard clearly even from a distance.
"Tempura Udon!"
In an instant, an enormously powerful shock wave burst forth like a concentrated laser beam, shooting directly toward Jerry's position with devastating force.
The speed of this attack far exceeded the speed of sound itself. Anyone who waited until they could hear the attack before reacting would find themselves far too late to avoid it.
Jerry instinctively leaped away the moment the attack was launched, his enhanced reflexes and Observation Haki allowing him to sense the incoming danger.
A thunderous explosion mixed with concussive waves suddenly erupted where he had been standing. Surrounding rubble and soil were hurled high into the air, creating complete chaos across the palace grounds.
When Jerry landed steadily dozens of meters away, he saw that the sudden black shadow had extended its sharp talons, grabbed Doflamingo in a powerful grip, and was already rushing skyward with impressive speed.
"Old man Kizaru," Jerry called out, turning his head to look at the Admiral who was still standing there watching the spectacle with an expression of mild surprise, "this bird-brain is acting pretty arrogant. Aren't you going to do something about it?"
Kizaru looked up at the rapidly retreating black shadow and replied in his characteristic slow drawl, "Oh my, please excuse me... but that's from the Beast Pirates, isn't it? How terrifying."
The unexpected rescuer was none other than the Beast Pirates' All-Star, "King the Wildfire," and both Jerry and Kizaru had recognized his identity immediately.
Jerry rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Terrifying my ass! Who would believe you when you look like that..."
Then he raised the corner of his mouth in a predatory smile and gazed up at the sky with leisurely confidence.
As a member of the ancient Lunaria race, King maintained flames constantly burning on his back. These eternally dancing flames provided him with significant offensive capabilities and maintained extremely strong defensive properties. However, if the flames were extinguished, his speed would increase dramatically at the cost of severely weakened defense.
King, having transformed into his full pteranodon form, had chosen to extinguish the flames behind him after grabbing Doflamingo, prioritizing extreme speed over defense. His already impressive flying velocity soared to new heights in this configuration.
King's objective was crystal clear—he simply wanted to rescue Doflamingo and evacuate immediately. He wasn't certain whether Admiral Kizaru would take action, and with Jerry eyeing him menacingly from below, he had no desire to linger any longer than absolutely necessary.
In the blink of an eye, he and Doflamingo had rushed high into the sky. Just as they were about to clear Dressrosa's airspace entirely, King turned his head to glance down at Kizaru and Jerry, who appeared to show no reaction whatsoever. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
He was confident in his own speed, but he hadn't expected the two powerful fighters on the ground to be completely unable to react or even launch a blocking attack.
At that moment, he suddenly felt his heart clench with inexplicable dread, and simultaneously heard Doflamingo's anxious warning: "Watch out!"
"Water Blade: Sky Piercer!"
An ultra-high-pressure column of water materialized from thin air at an astonishing speed, falling from the sky like a razor-sharp sword forged from liquid itself, aimed directly at King's talons that held Doflamingo.
In a split second, King instinctively attempted to adjust his position and swing his claws defensively, but quickly realized it was far too late to avoid the incoming attack.
Piercing pain shot through him, forcing him to release his grip on the Heavenly Yaksha.
Seeing that he was about to plummet toward the earth below, Doflamingo desperately stretched out his arms and shot several string threads skyward, attempting to wrap them around passing clouds to stabilize his rapidly falling body.
Unexpectedly, Jerry's voice boomed like thunder across the sky in the next moment.
"Get down here, Doflamingo!"
"Water God: Dragon Ascendant!"
A colossal water dragon suddenly materialized in the air, rushing toward both Doflamingo and King with pinpoint precision and overwhelming force.
Faced with such a dire situation, King refused to give up. He extended his talons once again, preparing to recapture Doflamingo mid-air, but was shocked when his vision blurred and an enormous slipper slammed directly into his face with devastating impact.
King's figure was sent flying backward instantly, and the distinctive mask that had been covering his face inevitably shattered into countless pieces, revealing his true Lunarian features beneath.
Doflamingo was ruthlessly swept away by the massive water dragon and began falling rapidly in a vertical descent toward the island far below.
"How is this possible?!" King's eyes filled with shock as his true face was revealed to the world.
He raised his hand to wipe blood from his features and stared across the sky at Jerry, who was somehow also airborne at the same altitude, his heart filled with complete bewilderment.
King knew that after his talons had been severed by the water blade, he had immediately reignited the flames on his back to restore his extremely powerful defensive capabilities. It was precisely because of this confidence in his enhanced defenses that he had acted without hesitation to rescue Doflamingo from beneath the water dragon's assault.
Even in this desperate situation, King couldn't comprehend how his opponent's seemingly casual kick had managed to penetrate his legendary Lunarian defenses and cause him genuine harm.
The "Jerry" floating in the sky was none other than the water clone that had been summoned long ago and hidden strategically behind the cloud cover.
"Haha, anything's possible," the water clone chuckled with amusement, showing absolutely no desire to explain his techniques.
In truth, when Admiral Kizaru had first appeared on the scene, Jerry had quietly expanded his sensory range through advanced Observation Haki and, as expected, had detected a hint of unusual presence in the distant sky. However, since he hadn't yet confirmed the identity of whoever was approaching or whether they belonged to Doflamingo's faction, he had positioned his water clone in advance as an emergency contingency.
Just as the water clone and King faced each other in aerial confrontation, Doflamingo crashed to the ground with a sickening impact that made his already serious injuries exponentially worse.
Under the devastating force of the water dragon's assault, Doflamingo was completely soaked and lay powerlessly in the newly formed puddle like a thoroughly defeated, bedraggled bird.
"Fufufu... Kaido, you still didn't come..." Doflamingo's lips barely moved as he murmured faintly to himself, his voice filled with bitter disappointment.
Doflamingo's original contingency plan had been to contact Kaido directly for assistance, attempting to summon the Beast Pirates' captain to annihilate the Black Star Pirates in one decisive swoop. As far as the political ramifications of a Four Emperor appearing in Dressrosa and joining forces with him—a Seven Warlord—Doflamingo had viewed such concerns as minor obstacles that he possessed the means to resolve easily.
The Heavenly Yaksha was acutely aware of the accumulated grudges between Jerry's crew and the Beast Pirates. The loss of Caesar Clown and the destruction of Punk Hazard meant that the source of artificial Devil Fruits—SMILE fruits—had been completely severed. Doflamingo knew that Kaido's inner fury desperately needed an outlet, and this situation had presented the perfect opportunity for revenge.
However, despite repeated attempts to contact Kaido directly, Doflamingo had received no response. He had only managed to receive King's reply, learning that Kaido wasn't currently on Onigashima during this critical period. The Emperor's whereabouts were unknown as he indulged in his endless, suicidal games of self-destruction.
King had only managed brief contact with Kaido once—on the very day they had learned about losing their artificial Devil Fruit supply chain.
Faced with such an impossible dilemma, Doflamingo had been forced to communicate with the World Government directly, ultimately securing Admiral Kizaru's reluctant assistance.
Jerry looked down at Doflamingo, who was bleeding profusely and no longer capable of meaningful resistance. He swung the fishing rod in his hand with lethal intent, and the weighted line flew out immediately.
Just as he was about to deliver the finishing blow, he saw a flash of yellow light quickly pass by and knock his fishing line aside with precise interference.
"Oho? Your aim is pretty accurate for someone who doesn't want to get involved," Jerry remarked, shaking his wrist as he reeled the line back onto his rod. He turned to face Kizaru while maintaining his grip on the Supreme-Grade weapon.
"Ah, sorry about that," Kizaru spread his hands apologetically, though his tone remained characteristically lazy. He shifted his gaze toward the puddle where Doflamingo lay defeated. "But he can't die here just yet, I'm afraid."
The Admiral's expression grew slightly more serious as he made his official declaration: "So then, former Seven Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo, you are under arrest."
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