Green Bit — Southeast Beach.
Whistle—!
The clear blue sky was suddenly split by fire. Accompanied by a shrill, screeching howl of atmospheric friction, a colossal meteorite wrapped in raging flames appeared in the heavens, hurtling toward the coast of Green Bit with terrifying velocity.
BOOM!!!
In an instant, the meteor struck. A deafening roar followed as a blinding light consumed the beach.
The resulting shockwave swept across a radius of several hundred meters, the earth groaning and trembling violently. Great plumes of dust shot into the sky, and under the horrific vibration, the sea surged, kicking up waves over ten meters high.
As the dust eventually settled, a massive crater was revealed on the beach, wisps of blue smoke curling from its depths. The air remained thick with a lingering, parched heat.
In the center of the crater, four slender stone pillars dozens of meters high remained standing. Law, Zoro, Doflamingo, and Fujitora (Issho) each occupied the top of a different pillar.
"Just how the hell did your Fleet Admiral raise you?! You're like a mad dog that bites everyone it sees!"
Veins pulsed on Doflamingo's forehead as he roared in fury at Fujitora.
"Even among those with perfect sight, how many could possess such terrifying power?" Law remarked, his face grim.
"An Admiral's strength is still absurdly frightening," Zoro added in a low voice, gripping his twin blades.
"Old man was just testing the waters. My apologies," Fujitora replied calmly, his expression unchanged. He gripped the hilt of his cane-sword once more, his voice sinking. "Now then, I shall proceed with your arrest. No objections, I trust... Law-san, and Roronoa-san?"
The faces of Law and Zoro darkened.
"You don't actually think you can escape my grasp, do you? Stop dreaming!" Doflamingo tilted his head, a wicked smirk crossing his face.
With a sudden movement, Doflamingo leaped into the air. He swung both hands, and nearly invisible filaments of string, glistening like diamonds in the sunlight, formed a web that sliced toward Law and Zoro.
Goshikito!!!
Sensing the attack through their Observation Haki, Law and Zoro didn't hesitate. They turned and leaped from their respective stone pillars, sprinting toward the open beach.
Ssh—!
In a flash of crystalline light, the two stone pillars, each dozens of meters tall, were cleanly shredded by the invisible strings.
"Brats, don't even think about running!"
Doflamingo halted abruptly in mid-air, his gaze cold as he tracked the pair on the beach.
Below, Fujitora also leaped from the crater, landing softly on the sand.
"One each. Buy us some time!" Zoro called out. He drew Sandai Kitetsu and the black blade Shusui, charging straight at Fujitora.
CLANG—!
The blades collided, sending a shower of sparks into the air and releasing a violent shockwave.
"What immense power!" Fujitora's frame shuddered slightly. He opened his sightless eyes, looking toward Zoro. "So, you are the 'Pirate Hunter' of the Straw Hat Pirates... Roronoa Zoro?"
"I never would've guessed that the gambling-addict old man from the restaurant was actually a Marine Admiral. Guess appearances really are deceiving," Zoro smirked.
"Just a small vice of mine," Fujitora shook his head dismissively. Suddenly, the air around them grew heavy.
Zoro felt as if the weight of ten thousand tons had been dropped onto his shoulders. His body buckled under the pressure, the ground beneath his feet shattering instantly. Even the lenses of the sunglasses he was wearing cracked from the sheer force.
"What is this weight?!" Zoro's face contorted as he gasped in shock. "How does this guy have this kind of power?"
As the gravity intensified, the destruction of the ground expanded, cracks snaking outward in every direction.
CRASH—!
The earth finally gave way, forming a deep pit over two meters wide. Under the crushing pressure, Zoro plummeted straight into the hole.
"Zoro-ya!"
"Zoro!"
Law and Usopp, who was hiding in a nearby thicket, cried out in alarm.
"Fuffuffuffu!" Doflamingo chuckled darkly from the sky. "Law, do you really have time to worry about others?"
"Bullet String!"
As he spoke, Doflamingo raised his right hand, pointing his index finger at Law. He spun white threads from his fingertip, firing them off like high-velocity bullets.
Zip! Zip-zip-zip!
White blurs flashed through the air at speeds nearly invisible to the naked eye.
"Dammit!"
Law snapped his attention back, swinging his blade Kikoku to deflect the barrage.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He managed to parry three strikes, but the bullet-like strings carried such force that his palms went numb. Facing a fourth incoming shot, Law didn't have time to raise his blade again. He was forced into a desperate roll across the sand to evade.
The string struck the ground where he had just been, drilling a deep, dark hole into the earth.
"Goshikito!"
Doflamingo dived down, five glistening strings trailing from his fingertips as he lashed out at the target below.
"ROOM!!!"
Law shouted. A transparent, spherical membrane expanded instantly, covering thousands of meters. In the blink of an eye, Law vanished, and a moss-covered rock appeared in his place.
Shred—!
The rock was instantly diced into pieces, and five thin, deep gashes were carved into the ground.
"The power of the Op-Op Fruit?!" Doflamingo's eyes twitched. He frowned, muttering, "Just like that teleportation trick Aeridar uses!"
On the other side of the beach, Zoro, pinned at the bottom of the gravity well, let out a roar of defiance.
"Haaaah!"
He swung his blades upward with a violent surge of strength.
BOOM—!
A flash of blue-white light erupted as a flying slash tore out of the pit, slicing through the ground and hurtling toward Fujitora.
Fujitora remained unmoved, simply holding his cane-sword horizontally in front of him.
CLANG!
The fierce slash slammed into the Admiral's blade. The sheer power of the blow forced Fujitora back several meters, his boots carving tracks in the sand before the energy finally dissipated.
"Admiral!" the nearby Marines shouted in shock.
"A flying slash... quite a ferocious one," Fujitora noted, his expression growing slightly more serious.
Zoro leaped out of the pit, half-kneeling on the ground and breathing heavily.
"An Admiral... is still this strong!" Cold sweat stood out on Zoro's brow, and a thin trail of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
"You gentlemen treated me quite well yesterday. To return such kindness with drawn blades... what a sinful business this is," Fujitora said calmly, his words pointed.
Zoro knew exactly what he was referring to—the events at the restaurant the previous day.
"You're Marine, I'm a pirate. Crossing blades was always a certainty!" Zoro drew the Wado Ichimonji from his waist, gripping it in his teeth as he dropped into his Three-Sword Style stance.
"Forgive me!"
Fujitora's face turned solemn. He stepped forward, swinging his blade in a rapid backhand strike that wove a lethal net of steel toward Zoro.
"What a fast backhand!"
Zoro's eyes lit up with excitement at the challenge, but wary of the Admiral's gravity powers, he didn't dare block directly. Instead, he retreated rapidly, dodging the flurry.
After several seconds of intense swordplay, Fujitora realized he hadn't landed a single hit. He saw that Zoro was intentionally keeping his distance to avoid being caught in his gravitational field again.
Fujitora came to a halt, stopping his swing.
In that split second, Zoro lunged forward. All three of his blades swung in unison, appearing before Fujitora in a flash.
Three-Sword Style: Purgatory Onigiri!!!
BOOM—!
Fujitora's cane-sword intercepted the three blades with pinpoint accuracy. The impact unleashed a howling whirlwind, and the ground beneath them disintegrated under the sheer force of the collision, sending stone fragments flying into the air.