"Damn it!"
Doflamingo gritted his teeth and spread his fingers wide.
From his hands, dozens of hair-thin strings shot out into the sky.
"Birdcage!"
The threads crossed midair, flashing like falling stars as they spread in every direction—
until, in moments, they formed a massive cage that covered nearly the entire island!
Each string was infused with Haki—razor-sharp, unbreakable.
Nothing could escape in or out.
This was one of Doflamingo's strongest techniques, his signature move.
Malverick looked around at the glowing wires cutting across the horizon and gave a mocking smile.
But beside him, Corazon wasn't smiling at all—he'd seen this move before.
He had witnessed Doflamingo slice an entire island to pieces with this very same ability.
"Fufufufufu… you're all going to die here!"
Doflamingo clenched his hand into a fist, and the Birdcage began to contract,
the threads slicing deep grooves into the ground as they moved.
Malverick, however, didn't even flinch.
He took two calm steps forward.
"It's a fine technique, I'll admit," he said lightly, "but tell me—why trap yourself inside your own cage?"
"You've basically locked yourself in here… with me."
It was true—the Birdcage was dangerous, even for top-tier fighters.
Even Fujitora had to struggle to push against it.
But the moment Doflamingo was defeated, the Birdcage would vanish on its own.
And right now, Doflamingo was standing right in front of him.
Malverick raised his hand toward him.
"Dark Vortex!"
BOOM!
A violent gravitational pull erupted from his palm, the air itself warping as everything nearby was drawn toward him.
Even Doflamingo's officers—Trebol, Pica, Diamante—were dragged forward, helpless against the pull.
The Yami Yami no Mi's dark power was the natural enemy of all other Devil Fruits.
Only those with strong Haki could resist its pull.
Doflamingo was one of the few who could.
He planted his feet, using Armament Haki to anchor himself.
But his subordinates weren't so lucky—
one after another, they were yanked toward Malverick's waiting hand.
"Damn it—what the hell is that ability?!" Doflamingo hissed.
He spread his fingers again.
"Five-Color Strings!"
Five lines, each shimmering with a different hue, lashed through the air like blades—
but the moment they touched the black aura surrounding Malverick's hand, they were swallowed whole, disintegrating instantly.
"What?!"
Doflamingo's expression twisted.
With a roar, he unleashed a storm of strings—an entire web that encircled Malverick on all sides, tightening rapidly in an attempt to shred him to pieces.
"Pathetic."
Malverick didn't even try to dodge.
He simply surged forward, tearing through the web effortlessly.
The threads, sharp enough to slice steel, couldn't even scratch his skin—they snapped instead, one by one.
"Don't waste your effort."
In a blink, Malverick was gone—
and then he reappeared right in front of Doflamingo.
With one hand, he slammed Doflamingo's head to the ground.
The instant their bodies touched, Doflamingo's Devil Fruit powers vanished,
and the Birdcage in the sky began to dissolve.
Within seconds, the threads evaporated into nothingness.
"What—how?!"
Doflamingo's pupils contracted.
His power was gone.
He tried to struggle, but Malverick's strength was monstrous—
augmented by the Dragon Essence, his physical might had long surpassed ordinary limits.
Few alive could match him now, save perhaps those old monsters like Garp… or Kaido.
"Not bad," Malverick said casually. "Your ability will make a fine addition."
Black energy began to swirl in his hand, seeping into Doflamingo's body.
Just like on the Red Line before, he was trying to extract the Devil Fruit's essence from its user.
The String-String Fruit wasn't the strongest power, but it was versatile—and useful.
"You bastard! You'll never—"
BOOM!
Before Malverick could finish the absorption, Doflamingo erupted with a violent surge of energy, breaking free of his grip.
"God Thread Execution!"
His eyes were bloodshot, his body trembling from rage and desperation.
The ground beneath him turned white.
"Ah… the fruit's awakening," Malverick murmured.
Indeed, Doflamingo had long since awakened his powers—
and now, everything around him was transforming into razor threads.
Dozens of sharp, spear-like strings shot out from the ground.
Malverick frowned slightly.
"Troublesome…"
He hadn't expected Doflamingo to force an awakening this quickly.
But still, he wasn't worried.
Crossing his arms, Malverick gathered a massive orb of black energy in front of him.
The dark sphere grew larger and denser until it pulsed like a miniature star.
Then, slowly, he began compressing it—
smaller, smaller—until it was only the size of a ping-pong ball, glowing with an ominous black light.
At that exact moment, Doflamingo's sharpened threads lunged at him.
Malverick didn't move to dodge.
He simply threw the compressed sphere forward—
Then turned, grabbed Corazon by the collar, and blasted into the sky.
Because he knew—
the next thing that would happen wasn't something anyone should stand near.
This was the first time he'd unleashed this technique.
Behind him, Doflamingo's attack struck the tiny black sphere—
and punctured it.
That was all it took.
It was like opening Pandora's Box.
The compressed darkness exploded, devouring everything around it—
the ground, the trees, the air itself.
Out at sea, Vice Admiral Tsuru's fleet had just arrived.
She had sensed the twin bursts of Conqueror's Haki earlier,
and she knew one belonged to Doflamingo.
But the other…
Another Conqueror in the North Blue?
Before she could issue a landing order, a sailor shouted, "Vice Admiral! Look!"
Tsuru lifted her gaze—and froze.
A massive black sphere floated above Rubeck Island, swallowing everything it touched.
The land was collapsing inward, stone, trees, and even buildings spiraling into oblivion.
BOOM!
Moments later, the sphere detonated—
a wave of black energy spreading outward, blotting out the very sky.
"What… what kind of power is that?"
Tsuru stared in shock.
The might of that darkness… was beyond anything she had ever seen.
~~--------------------------
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