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"Huh?!"
"You're kidding me!"
"What… what the hell is happening now?!"
"Those white strings around Doflamingo…"
"It's not just the buildings— even the ground turned into white threads!"
"Is this his hidden trump card? How is that even possible?!"
Everyone across the countless worlds stared, stunned, at the scene in the light curtain: Doflamingo pushed to the brink by Luffy's Gear Fourth, suddenly erupting with power.
And the answer came quickly.
Awakening.
A Devil Fruit Awakening.
"So it's Awakening! As if Devil Fruits weren't absurd enough already, they can evolve even further? He can just… turn everything around him into strings?"
In the Naruto world, Fifth Hokage Tsunade frowned deeply.
"I'll be damned. Straw Hat turns rubber into art, but this guy actually developed that useless String-String Fruit to such a ridiculous level?"
Reborn from the Katekyo Hitman Reborn world clicked his tongue in admiration.
"I thought the fight was on rails and Straw Hat would just win in the end. But with this… things are getting messy again."
In the Hunter x Hunter world, Killua's eyebrows knitted.
"Looks like it's turning into a battle of attrition. Gear Fourth versus Awakening— which one gives out first?"
In the Yi Ren Zhi Xia world, Daoist Wang calculated with his fingers.
"I always thought only monsters like Katakuri could awaken their fruits. Never expected trash like Doflamingo to pull it off. If he can awaken, then my Biscuit-Biscuit Fruit has no reason not to awaken too!"
Back in the One Piece world, Big Mom's Sweet Commander Cracker frowned.
"If I awakened my Shadow-Shadow Fruit, I could steal shadows at will… I'd basically be unstoppable!"
Moria muttered to himself.
"Heh. If my fruit awakened, I'd split the whole world apart! Impel Down wouldn't be able to hold me for a second!"
In Impel Down, Buggy the Clown trembled with excitement.
"My awakened fruit would be the strongest of all…"
One by one, Devil Fruit users fell into their own delusions of grandeur.
On Sabaody Archipelago, inside Shakky's bar:
"Come to think of it, Little Monkey… have you ever wondered what your rubber fruit would look like if it awakened?"
Shakky asked casually.
"No idea," Luffy replied without hesitation. He'd never even thought about it.
"That's something to look forward to," Shakky laughed.
Back on the light curtain—
Awakened Doflamingo and Gear Fourth Luffy clashed fiercely.
"Fufufufu! Go on, burn through all your Haki! When it runs dry, that'll be the moment you fall!"
Doflamingo cackled wildly.
With a wave of his hand, the awakened strings spread across the entire battlefield, turning everything into an extension of his own body. Thread after thread lashed out, intercepting Luffy's attacks.
Having been thrashed in several direct clashes, Doflamingo had learned his lesson. He wasn't going to fight Luffy head-on again.
But—
Even awakened strings couldn't fully withstand Gear Fourth's brute-force assault.
No matter how hard he fought, Luffy just kept tearing through his defenses, closing in on him bit by bit.
"This is it, Doflamingo! Gum-Gum… Leo Bazooka!"
Luffy compressed both fists to the limit.
Boom!
The Leo Bazooka exploded with everything he had left.
Doflamingo spiraled back at a ridiculous angle, crashing into the cliffside of the royal plateau.
RUMBLE—!
Stone shattered, blasting open a crater nearly a hundred meters wide. Cracks spider-webbed in every direction.
At the center of the crater, Doflamingo lay pinned in a spread-eagle shape, completely motionless.
"Did… did he win?!"
"Did Straw Hat actually defeat Doflamingo?!"
"He's one of the Warlords. He has to be down for good this time!"
"Just fall already, Doflamingo! Stop holding on! You can't win!"
Across the worlds, everyone stared at the screen, eyes wide and unblinking.
"No… it's not over! The Birdcage hasn't disappeared!"
In the Titan world, Armin's pupils shrank. He'd noticed the critical detail.
"He only needs… just one more hit," said Bai Ye from the Ling Long world, voice tense.
"Go, Luffy!"
"Finish him off!"
"Don't give that bastard Doflamingo a chance to recover!"
The entire multiverse roared in desperation.
And as if answering their call—
Gear Fourth Luffy clenched his fists, stretching his legs, ready to launch himself for the final blow.
But—
The next second, Gear Fourth hit its limit.
Luffy's Haki ran dry. His form deflated instantly, leaving him in a weakened state.
"This is bad. Doflamingo's stitching his internal wounds back together with threads. He'll recover faster than Luffy!"
In the Akame ga Kill world, Bols' face darkened.
"Haha, relax! Luffy will win. I know it," Toriko said, smiling confidently. His faith in the Straw Hat boy never wavered.
"Aaaah! What do we do? Doflamingo actually stood up first!"
In the Demon Slayer world, Tanjiro shouted in panic.
"Don't worry, Tanjiro. Luffy has never fought alone," said Kagaya Ubuyashiki with a gentle smile.
"Look— the other fighters from the colosseum! They've joined him! They're holding Doflamingo back!"
Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui exclaimed.
"Those who follow righteousness gain many allies. Those who forsake it stand alone. Doflamingo's fall is already decided."
In the Qin Shi Mingyue world, Sword Saint Gai Nie spoke calmly.
Bang!
BOOM!
A massive explosion echoed from the screen.
A hulking man with muscles like coiled dragons burst in from the side, blade raised, charging straight for the weakened Luffy.
It was Jesus Burgess— Captain of the First Ship of the future Four Emperor Blackbeard.
Just as Burgess was about to strike—
A figure shot out of nowhere, delivering a flying kick that sent him tumbling face-first into the ground.
"That's Luffy's second brother, Sabo!"
"The man who ate the Flame-Flame Fruit… no, the Fire Dragon King!"
"Wait—if he's here, does that mean we don't have to wait for Straw Hat to recover?"
"With the Flame Dragon King stepping in, Doflamingo would be toast in seconds!"
Across the countless worlds watching, eyes lit up in excitement.
But the story didn't unfold the way they expected.
Sabo, making his return, locked onto only one target—Buggy, who was sneaking around looking for a cheap shot.
"Hold on… aren't we forgetting someone? There should still be a real heavyweight on Dressrosa right now."
Someone in the One Piece world muttered suspiciously.
"The new admiral, Fujitora, right? If it's about slacking off, I, Kizaru, humbly crown you the king."
Admiral Kizaru nodded with exaggerated admiration.
On the highlight screen—
While Fujitora and the other powerhouses held back the Birdcage together, Luffy's recovery timer finally ticked down to the promised ten-minute mark.
Life or death.
The countdown began.
"Ten seconds until Lucy rises again! Everyone, shout the superstar's name!"
Gatz, the arena announcer, screamed with everything he had, voice cracking and body trembling.
His cry ignited not just the people of Dressrosa fighting for their lives.Even the spectators across all realms were swept up in it, roaring the name "Lucy" without even realizing it.
1098…32
861064746975632410
10
The countdown ended.
The world fell silent for an instant.
"Go, Straw Hat boss!"
Trafalgar Law, using the last shreds of strength he had left, swapped Luffy with Violet right in front of Doflamingo.
"He's here—our star is back!!"
Gatz shouted triumphantly, ignoring the hole stabbed clean through his body.
Woooooooh—!
All of Dressrosa erupted.
"Fufufu… what an over-the-top revival. All you've done is scrape together a bit of Haki. Just standing upright is taking everything you've got."
Doflamingo sneered.
"You're not in great shape either."
Luffy drew in a deep breath.
"And even like this… I can still beat you!"
Doflamingo flicked his hand.
The String-String Fruit—awakened.
The world around them began to twist into threads.
"Thousand Arrows—Flapping Thread!"
Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!
Spears of hardened Haki-coated threads rained down like a storm.
Even Luffy's Armament-hardened body struggled against the relentless barrage.
"Fufufu, what's wrong, Lucy? Weren't you 'fully revived'? Weren't you making your glorious return?"
Doflamingo grinned wider and wider.
"So what should I do next… skewer you like a kebab? Or make you slaughter your own friends? Humans are trash. Only when controlled by someone with the power of a god—me—do they have any purpose."
"Cut it out already!!!"
Luffy roared, lifting his Armament-coated right hand with resolve.
Gear… Four!
Bounce-Man returned.
"Once you turn into Bounce-Man, forget your crew—you could wipe out the entire country without breaking a sweat."
Doflamingo's smirk grew even more twisted.
But—
With a single flex of his massive body, Luffy snapped every parasitic thread holding him down.
"The next hit ends this."
His voice was calm and full of certainty.
"Fufufu. One hit? Big talk. I'd love to see you try."
Doflamingo shot into the air, sixteen Haki-coated strings forming lances behind him.
Everyone knew.
This was the final clash.
"Doffyyy!!!"
Luffy's shout shook the sky.
"You try to grab everything. You try to control everyone. I can barely breathe because of you!"
"Blame your bloodline. Trash like you was born to be controlled. You're not even worthy of being compared to me."
"Shut up!"
Luffy drew his right fist back, compressing it slowly.
"I'm gonna send you flying… and then I'm getting everyone out of here!"
"If you think you can, then come try, brat!"
Doflamingo raised his hand, weaving a massive web of threads.
"Gum-Gum…"
Luffy bit into his Gear Four arm.
He forced air deep into the muscles and bones.
His already enormous arm swelled even larger, ballooning with sheer power.
"Kong… Gun… King!!!"
"..."
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