Although Leo and Kabu weren't entirely sure what had just happened, seeing their enemies collapse inexplicably while only two figures remained standing and clearly struggling, they exchanged a determined glance. They had been beaten and transformed into toys by Sugar's ability, but now—
"This is our chance, Leo!" Kabu shouted.
Leo knew that opportunities like this couldn't be wasted. Without hesitation, he rushed forward, brandishing the long needle in his hand while activating his Devil Fruit ability.
"Nui Nui Needle: Tatami Stitch!"
Leo's small form moved with dazzling speed, and in the blink of an eye, he had sewn together all the remaining enemies with precise stitches. His needle work was flawless—a testament to the Tontatta tribe's incredible craftsmanship and his own skill with the Stitch-Stitch Fruit.
Working in perfect coordination, he and Kabu quickly subdued Trebol, who was too dazed to resist effectively, and Diamante, who was already seriously wounded from Jerry's earlier assault.
"Excellent! Princess, you're safe now!" Leo turned around excitedly, his attention immediately shifting to the corner where Princess Mansherry cowered alongside Violet, who had definitively turned against the Donquixote Family.
It was thanks to Violet's timely intervention that Princess Mansherry had been saved. The little princess had been on the verge of tears, threatened by Trebol to use her healing powers on Diamante against her will.
Princess Mansherry possessed the Heal-Heal Fruit, granting her extraordinarily powerful abilities. Not only could she rapidly heal wounded individuals, but when she pushed her powers to their absolute limit, she could restore virtually anything to its original state—even inorganic objects. Her tears alone held remarkable restorative properties.
Because of this incredible ability, the Donquixote Family valued Mansherry almost as highly as they did Sugar. She was essential to their operations, a living insurance policy against injury and damage.
When they had detected powerful enemies approaching the palace, they had specifically assigned their top executive Trebol to establish multiple defensive checkpoints around both Sugar and Mansherry. Violet had been stationed there initially just for surveillance, using her Glare-Glare Fruit abilities to monitor enemy movements at all times.
In Doflamingo's strategic thinking, as long as he could protect Sugar and Mansherry without incident, his family and criminal empire would remain as solid as bedrock. The plan should have been foolproof—after all, the outside world remained ignorant of Sugar's true identity and abilities.
Similarly, Mansherry's existence was unknown to outsiders except for the Tontatta people. Under normal circumstances, placing both Sugar and Mansherry in his heavily fortified palace under Trebol's protection should have guaranteed their safety.
Even if the dwarfs had somehow managed to mount a rescue attempt for their princess, it should have been futile against such overwhelming defenses.
The facts had initially proven that Doflamingo's assessment wasn't unreasonable. Even with Leo and Kabu successfully infiltrating the palace, without Jerry's massive Conqueror's Haki sweep, they likely would have been transformed into toys and forgotten by everyone, just like all the others before them.
"Waaaah! Leo! When you turned into a toy, I actually forgot about you completely! I'm so sorry!" Princess Mansherry flew onto Leo's shoulder and burst into tears, her emotional distress causing her healing powers to activate automatically.
Leo watched in amazement as his various injuries began healing rapidly, the princess's tear-induced powers working their magic even while she cried.
Meanwhile, Jerry deflected Doflamingo's fierce attack with his fishing rod despite his own injuries, the Supreme-Grade weapon proving its worth against the Warlord's string techniques. He raised his head with a contemptuous smile.
"Fufufu, what's wrong, Doflamingo? Talking in your sleep? I'm afraid you're having a nightmare."
"You—!" Visible veins bulged on Doflamingo's forehead as he prepared to snarl a response through gritted teeth.
But suddenly, Admiral Kizaru turned around and fixed him with a steady stare, his usually lazy eyes slightly narrowed with uncharacteristic focus.
"Doflamingo," Kizaru said slowly, his bizarre drawling speech pattern unchanged but carrying an unmistakable note of gravity, "I think you need to explain the current situation to me... otherwise, I'm afraid it will be quite difficult for me to report back to headquarters."
Though he maintained his trademark slow, strange speaking style, there was an undeniable seriousness in Kizaru's gaze that hadn't been there before.
When Jerry had withdrawn his Conqueror's Haki, Kizaru had immediately sensed the chaotic atmosphere spreading across the entire island through his own Observation Haki. Moments later, he'd received an urgent call from Fleet Admiral Sengoku via Den Den Mushi. Although the conversation had been brief, Kizaru quickly realized that Doflamingo had made a catastrophic error.
Sengoku had directly ordered Kizaru to cancel his original mission parameters and instead decide whether to apprehend Doflamingo on the spot, depending on how the situation developed. This represented a complete reversal from the protective mission he'd originally been assigned.
Kizaru would never doubt Sengoku's judgment or mental faculties. He understood that the root cause of this dramatic shift had to be something Doflamingo had done.
"Fufufu, well now, Doflamingo," Jerry crossed his arms over his chest and regarded the Warlord with calm amusement, "let's see if you dare to show off in front of me now!"
Hearing Kizaru's pointed question, Doflamingo simply laughed dismissively and chose to ignore the Admiral entirely—a decision that spoke volumes about either his desperation or his arrogance.
Seeing this blatant disrespect, Kizaru casually placed his hands in his pockets, adopting a stance that clearly indicated he was staying out of whatever was about to unfold.
"Oh ho?" Jerry blinked with interest.
The situation developing before him allowed Jerry to piece together what was happening behind the scenes. Even though Sugar had been knocked unconscious by his Conqueror's Haki and her ability had been permanently lifted, causing all the toys across the island to return to their original human forms and allowing the residents to recover their lost memories, the full explosion of outrage had only just begun.
Since the scandal had just been exposed and hadn't yet fully erupted and spread beyond Dressrosa, the World Government and the Five Elders hadn't yet issued direct orders for Doflamingo's arrest. As a Marine Admiral, Kizaru was probably waiting to see how events unfolded, unwilling to act rashly without clear authorization.
After all, as a former Celestial Dragon who potentially held dangerous secrets about the World Government or the World Nobles themselves, Doflamingo's identity still carried considerable political weight.
Jerry understood perfectly well that even if Kizaru decided to apprehend Doflamingo on the spot, no one would criticize him afterward—the Heavenly Yaksha's crimes were becoming undeniable.
However, considering Kizaru's famously lazy and risk-averse personality, expecting him to take initiative and potentially create political complications was like expecting a dog to solve mathematical equations.
With this understanding, Jerry spun his fishing rod lightly and flashed Doflamingo a predatory grin, his white teeth gleaming.
"Well, well, Doflamingo. It seems like your Marine friend doesn't like you anymore. You were planning to go somewhere, weren't you? How about I give you a ride?"
Before he'd even finished speaking, Jerry was already raising his fishing rod for another attack. Seeing that Kizaru maintained his studiously neutral expression, Doflamingo gritted his teeth and desperately activated his fruit's awakening ability once again.
"Ever White!"
Doflamingo's awakened powers transformed the surrounding environment into controllable strings, creating a defensive barrier, but Jerry's assault came like a devastating storm. In moments, the already seriously injured Warlord found himself completely suppressed, with no power to fight back effectively. He could barely maintain his awakened ability while being pushed to utter exhaustion.
Originally, Doflamingo had been planning to retreat to the palace and use Mansherry's healing abilities to recover from his injuries. But just as he'd begun moving, everything had been disrupted by Jerry's sudden Conqueror's Haki burst that had knocked out Sugar and unraveled his entire operation.
Even facing such a desperate situation, Doflamingo showed no signs of despair. His face, which had been contorted with rage, gradually returned to its characteristic calm arrogance as he focused all his energy on dodging Jerry's relentless attacks.
A moment later, with a sickening sound of impact, Doflamingo's blood sprayed through the air as Jerry's kick sent him flying backward across the palace grounds.
Jerry pressed his advantage immediately, terrifying aura radiating from his Supreme-Grade fishing rod as he rushed forward with devastating speed, preparing to deliver a finishing blow that would end the Heavenly Yaksha's reign once and for all.
But at that critical moment, a man's powerful shout suddenly rang out from the sky above.
"Beautiful Sword: Starlight Cutter!"