Chopper's antlers, Pica's fist, one aimed to strike Sugar, the other to seize Chopper. Whichever connected first would dictate the entire trajectory of this war.
"ROOM: Shambles!"
Law vanished from before Trebol and reappeared above Pica's gargantuan stone arm. A flash of sword light erupted from the great blade Kikoku, severing the stone limb.
Though he failed to wound Pica's true body, it was enough to halt his advance on Chopper. The severed stone hand did not fall to the ground; instead, it floated in mid-air, suspended by the power of the Op-Op Fruit.
I just have to make sure I don't touch her hands, right? Chopper thought to himself. Seeing Sugar's panicked expression, he felt a momentary pang of guilt, but Law's constant reminders echoed in his mind: "If this mission fails, both the Heart and Straw Hat Pirates are finished."
Hardening his heart, Chopper lunged. His antlers slammed into Sugar with immense force, sending her flying. She crashed hard against the stone wall before sliding limp to the floor.
"Perfect!"
Law nodded in approval. Had the situation been less dire, he would have pumped his fist in celebration.
"Damn you! You brats!!"
Trebol's composure shattered. He understood all too well what Sugar losing consciousness implied.
"Hey! Law, what do we do now?" Chopper stood on all fours, shouting toward Law on the floating stone block.
"Revert to your normal form and retreat!"
At Law's command, Chopper shrunk back to his original state. Law immediately used his powers to teleport both of them toward the corner elevator.
Seeing the elevator ascend rapidly, both Trebol and Pica roared in fury, "DAMN IT!!"
Under normal circumstances, they would have destroyed the elevator without hesitation. However, this was the only direct path upward; without Tanaka's fruit ability, destroying it would cause significant logistical trouble.
…
Meanwhile, inside the opulent entertainment city, Law's gamble bore fruit: countless toys across the ship began reverting to human form.
Among them were pirates who couldn't pay their gambling debts, brawlers who had caused trouble, and bitter enemies of Doflamingo or Mad Treasure. Over the past decade, the sheer number of people transformed into toys was staggering. Their collective hatred for the Donquixote Alliance was even more beyond imagination.
"I'm... I'm back! My body is back! Thank God!!"
"I was a toy for ten years... ten years of a living hell... I'm human again! I'm finally human!"
"Curse you, Doflamingo! Curse you, Tesoro! To hell with this city!"
"RAZE IT ALL!"
"Men, tear this place apart! Grab all the gold and let's get back to the sea!"
In an instant, the joy of the reverted pirates turned to incandescent rage, which quickly morphed into greed. Seeing the buildings made of solid gold, their avarice took over. They snatched up anything that could serve as a weapon and began looting everything in sight.
Gran Tesoro plunged into absolute chaos.
…
"I originally thought you'd come for me personally and send the Straw Hats after Sugar. It seems I miscalculated, Law!"
Doflamingo crouched atop a golden clock tower, talking to himself with a smirk. "But don't underestimate me. I've long been prepared for a riot of this scale."
Leaping from the tower, Doflamingo soared through the sky above Gran Tesoro, wearing a wicked smile. "There is only one way out from Sugar's chamber. Just you wait, boy!"
…
Back at the arena, hearing the commotion outside, Tesoro was about to ask what happened when Baccarat rushed to his side. "Tesoro-sama, something happened to Sugar. The secret of the toys is out, and the reverted pirates are rioting!"
"Hah?"
Tesoro's face twisted into an exaggerated, mocking grin. He cracked his knuckles and ordered, "Deal with the rioters quickly. They're just small fry; have they forgotten this is the City of Gold?"
Tesoro didn't take the riot seriously. He was an Awakened user; every ounce of gold on this ship was like a pet under his absolute control. He prepared to handle the disturbance personally.
BOOM!!!
Just as Tesoro was about to move, the massive ship shuddered violently. The audience in the stands and the four combatants in the ring all stumbled.
Queen took to the air, looking out toward the perimeter. "Why is it so chaotic out there?"
"Zehahaha! Has it started? Pizarro..."
Teach chuckled wickedly. Before arriving at Gran Tesoro, he had planned for his subordinate, "Corrupt King" Avalo Pizarro, to seize the control room. It appeared the plan was a success.
Ace, watching Teach's arrogant laughter from the other side of the arena, knew the bastard was up to his old tricks again.
BANG!
Suddenly, a sniper round whistled through the air. Sensing danger, Tesoro raised his hand to block. The bullet struck his palm, tearing flesh and causing blood to seep out.
Tesoro's eye twitched. Blood. His own blood. How many years had it been since he, the Emperor of Gran Tesoro, had bled?
Tracing the bullet's trajectory, he saw a man in the stands with a cold, expressionless "poker face."
"A miss," the man said flatly. "As expected of one of the three heads of the Donquixote Alliance. Not so easily killed."
The surrounding spectators scrambled away in terror. Baccarat, standing beside Tesoro, recognized the two figures sitting calmly in the stands. "Van Augur of the Blackbeard Pirates... and Audru. How did they...?"
Sitting next to Augur was Audru, a new recruit of the Blackbeard Pirates and user of the Radar-Radar Fruit. With his immense tracking capabilities, he and Augur formed a deadly scouting and sniping duo.
"So you were the one playing tricks, Teach," Ace growled, his teeth clenched. "A dog really can't stop eating filth."
"Zehahaha! You should keep your eyes on the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Ace!"
As Queen lunged back into the fray, everyone tensed. In the next heartbeat, they realized Queen's target was indeed Teach.