Doflamingo stared fixedly at Cain's current appearance.
The trademark smile on his lips had long since frozen, and cold sweat slid down his temples, soaking his coat.
"Hey, hey, what's up with that appea—Blergh!!"
Before he could finish speaking, Cain's figure blurred into an afterimage and vanished.
The next second, a long staff coated in Armament Haki smashed into the back of his head with a piercing howl.
He did not know how many times this had happened already.
His words were cut off as his body bowed like he was struck by a heavy cannon.
He flew backwards, crashing through several buildings as rubble crumbled and kicked up a sky full of dust.
"Take Uta and leave!" Cain's voice was cold and decisive, without a single word of nonsense.
He knew very well how troublesome the Parasite String could be.
If Luffy and the others were controlled, it would become another difficult problem to solve.
As Cain finished speaking, the floor tiles beneath his feet shattered into a spiderweb pattern.
His body launched into the air like a cannonball, lunging toward the direction Doflamingo had fallen.
Rushing into the center of the ruins, Cain realized it was only a String Clone.
"Five Colors Strings!"
Doflamingo flashed behind Cain.
Five colored strings shot from his fingertips, tearing through the air like a beast's claw aiming for his vitals.
However, those strings capable of slicing through steel only emitted crisp clinking sounds upon landing on Cain, failing to leave even a white mark.
"This defense...!!" Doflamingo's pupils shrank in horror.
In that moment of distraction, Cain reached back and seized his jaw.
His fingers applied force, nearly crushing his jawbone, before slamming him downward!
"Boom!"
A muffled explosion rang out as the ground caved into a shallow crater.
Doflamingo's face smashed into the pile of rubble, and blood poured from his nose and mouth!
"You bastard! Don't underestimate me!" he roared, releasing his Conqueror's Haki without restraint.
That aura carrying brutality and arrogance could have intimidated the masses, yet it was as fragile as paper in front of Cain.
A red light flashed in Cain's eyes.
His unreserved Conqueror's Haki erupted, swallowing and crushing Doflamingo's presence like a tsunami!
The group that had just sailed away from the port looked toward the Haki sweeping across Mock Town, feeling a chill run down their spines.
Ace was jolted awake by this domineering aura that far exceeded anything from before, his expression turning solemn to the extreme.
"It's Cain's Conqueror's Haki... It's so much stronger than before!"
The residents of Mock Town scattered and fled.
Amidst the chaos, Ace finally saw his long-awaited target and roared from the railing of the Going Merry.
"Blackbeard! Stop right there!"
Without finishing his words, he ignored Luffy and the others trying to stop him.
He leapt off the ship and charged toward Blackbeard in the crowd.
On the other side, Cain held down the back of Doflamingo's head, dragging him across the rough stone-paved road.
Ear-piercing sounds accompanied Doflamingo's muffled groans.
The skin on the back of his head was already a bloody mess, and even covering his vitals with Armament Haki could not stop that tremendous force from making his skull feel like it was splitting.
He swung his strings to whip Cain, yet he failed to harm a single hair on the man.
He could only watch his own dignity be ground into the dirt.
"Weakling." Cain's voice was bone-chilling.
As his voice fell, he shoved Doflamingo's head into the ground!
His right arm exerted force, dragging him forward!
The hard stone slabs could not withstand a single blow and were plowed into a trench half a foot deep and dozens of meters long.
Rubble and dust splashed outward as blood flowed down the trench in a shocking display.
Doflamingo's entire body trembled. It was not because of severe pain, but from a fear originating deep within his bone marrow.
His proud String-String Fruit, Armament Haki, and Conqueror's Haki were meaningless in front of this man.
The despair of being at someone's mercy without the power to resist was like... it was like facing Kaido!
Cain stopped.
He seemed to have stepped on something beneath his foot.
His tone was as plain as if he were discussing the weather as he looked down at Doflamingo's bleeding arm.
A few snapped strings hung from the severed limb, which had been ripped off by Cain's foot.
"Your arm fell off..... how could you be so careless?"
"[Headlock]!"
Cain tossed Doflamingo high into the air.
He spun with his staff, smashing it toward his head in a full 360-degree arc with no blind spots.
Every strike made Doflamingo's head throb with splitting pain, his skull feeling like it would burst open at any moment.
"You like playing with strings?"
Cain grabbed the wound on Doflamingo's arm, pulling a long thread from the severed stump.
He wrapped it around his neck and pulled, slamming him onto the ground.
"You like using strings to extend your life?"
Thunderclouds gathered in the sky.
A bolt of lightning struck down, accurately hitting the long staff in Cain's hand.
Coating the weapon in Armament Haki and the power of lightning, he swung the staff into Doflamingo's body.
"[Lightning]!"
"Don't think you can just die like this, mongrel!!"
"Boom!!!!"
Doflamingo, who had already passed out, took the blow and spurted blood, his body forced back into consciousness.
His teeth chattered as dark red foam trickled from the corner of his mouth.
His vision locked onto Cain's readied staff, and he used his last ounce of strength to activate his Devil Fruit powers.
He assimilated the remaining houses, rubble, and even broken wood, transforming them into a sky full of fluttering white strings that enveloped Cain like a dense tide!
...
Blackbeard caught sight of the charging Ace with a single glance.
His pupils shrank before bursting with a wolf-like glint, greed and malice surging in his eyes.
He raised a hand to stop his restless crew members behind him.
A cruel and arrogant smile crept onto his lips.
"We're old acquaintances after all. Leave this to me."
Seeing this, his crew members tactfully scattered, clearing out an open battlefield for the two of them.
Blackbeard did not hesitate.
He activated that terrifying power he had just acquired without any reservations.
"[Dark Water]!"
A bottomless black vortex surfaced in his palm.
The violent suction devoured even the light as it swept toward Ace.
Ace's gaze sharpened. He did not dodge or evade, instead using the suction of the Dark Water to rush forward.
He swung the Seastone shackles on his wrists, smashing them into Blackbeard's arrogant face!
"BONK!"
"Ah, it hurts, hurts, hurts!!"
Blackbeard clutched his bleeding nose and retreated again and again.
Tears squeezed out from the pain.
Catching his breath, he looked at Ace who's charging at him again.
A ruthless look flashed in his eyes as he used his Devil Fruit powers once more.
The pitch-black power wrapped around Ace's shoulder.
He was just about to throw a punch at his face—but he froze.
Ace showed no weakness!
Before Blackbeard could react, Ace's palm was already coated in Armament Haki, blasting into his stomach!
"Urgh!"
Blackbeard looked like he was struck by a heavy hammer.
He hunched over and spat out stomach acid, stumbling back several steps.
He was completely shocked!
'How is this possible?! The Dark-Dark Fruit should be able to nullify a Devil Fruit user's powers, but...'
But Ace had been bound by Seastone for days, remaining in a powerless state the entire time.
The core ability of the Dark-Dark Fruit completely failed at this moment.
The Seastone on Ace's wrists was already the natural enemy of ability users, and combined with the Armament Haki he had spent the last few days refining, it was a natural counter to Blackbeard!
What was even more fatal was that the double pain inflicted by the Dark-Dark Fruit became the deadliest shackle at this moment.
Every impact made Blackbeard ache down to his bones!
-------
Idk how to call Ace.... is he smart or dumb in this situation?