"An angel?" Michael's mouth twitched as he pointed at his own face. "That… would be me, right?"
"As for him claiming he's from many years ago… is that the ability of a Time-Time Fruit?"
Charlotte Linlin shook her head and continued:
"That I don't know. But the 'many years ago' he spoke of isn't the time of the 'God Valley' incident… it's more than eight hundred years ago!"
"In other words… before the Celestial Dragons created the World Government and formed the new ruling order."
Michael's pupils sharply contracted.
If Charlotte Linlin hadn't misquoted anything, that meant…
Rocks had first gone back more than eight hundred years through some method, and then returned to the present…
This… was completely unreasonable!
Or more accurately, it didn't fit the principles of the Time-Time Fruit!
If Rocks had come forward from decades ago, that might be explained by Kozuki Toki having once reached that era, and sending him forward…
But the Time-Time Fruit does not allow travel forward in time.
There were only two explanations…
Either the awakening of the Time-Time Fruit brings such an effect, or there is an upper-tier fruit above the Time-Time Fruit that can travel both backward and forward.
No matter which one…
It was enough to give anyone a headache.
"Where is Rocks now?"
"Totto Land." Charlotte Linlin answered without hesitation. "Rocks appeared directly on Totto Land's territory. After I found out, I immediately protected him…"
"Wait?" Michael quickly interrupted her. "You… protected Rocks?"
"You heard me. The super old monster from before the Great Pirate Era—I protected him. Trust me, when you see his current condition, you'll be shocked."
"…Wait, after talking this much, you still haven't told me what Rocks' treasure actually is."
"Rocks himself is alive. Whatever treasure you want, you can just ask him directly, right?" A sly grin spread across Charlotte Linlin's huge yet beautiful face. "I didn't fool you."
Michael rubbed his temples.
Charlotte Linlin's face—and that terrifying turbulent mass in front of her—were already a bit overwhelming… If he could get over the fact that she'd had forty-two husbands of completely different races… Michael might actually consider 'piloting a Gundam' into her life.
Her face really was exactly his type.
But that thought only flashed across his mind for a moment like lightning.
He then lifted his head and gave Charlotte Linlin a thumbs-up.
"Since you put it like that, I'm not afraid to tell you… I actually never planned to kill Kaido."
"After all, he's my Yamato's biological father… Even though I'm certain that even if I really offed Kaido, Yamato wouldn't resent me…" Michael shook his head. "But killing someone and then expecting their child to call you father… I'm not hypocritical enough for that."
Michael finished speaking and walked toward Kaido.
At this moment, Kaido's eyes were completely empty, staring at the clear sky washed clean after Lost Paradise clashed with Flame Bagua.
"This sky… really is blue."
"Michael… like you once said, if back then I had met you instead of Rocks…"
"Would I have… turned out differently?"
Michael casually kicked aside a broken stone at his feet.
Then turned to leave.
"I don't know. But regardless…"
"Kaido, it's already too late."
"There has never been such a thing as 'regret medicine' in this world…"
"And there has never been an 'if'."
...
"Click! You two really are persistent!" Doflamingo looked at the attacks rapidly approaching from afar and could only raise a hand to block. "Overheat!"
Countless nearly transparent strings gathered in his hand and formed a thick pillar of thread.
Not only possessing the original sharpness and toughness of his strings, it could be swung freely with great flexibility.
Especially with Armament Haki Infusion—it became utterly unstoppable.
Blocking these attacks was easy.
But… Doflamingo's patience had been completely exhausted.
His mind was now filled entirely with killing intent…
He was starting to get sick of this cat-and-mouse game.
So…
He stopped walking and turned back toward the jointly pursuing Hancock and Kozuki Toki.
"What's wrong? Finally too tired to run? Or did you realize this chase is meaningless?"
"Little girl… I think this Doflamingo fellow… is acting a bit differently," Kozuki Toki said calmly. Her experience and age allowed her to see more clearly than the still-young and fiery Hancock.
And as it turned out, Kozuki Toki was right.
"Among Devil Fruit users, some are strong, some are weak. Fruits differ wildly in their base abilities. But what determines whether someone becomes powerful has never been the fruit itself—it's the level of development."
"And the endpoint of fruit development… is called 'awakening.' You should've understood what awakening is after seeing the monster created by Bullet's Clank-Clank Fruit and Byrnndi World's More-More Fruit…"
"And I, Doflamingo, endured humiliation under Michael and SWORD's Secret Special Force, pushing my abilities desperately… and finally, some time ago, fully reached the level of awakening. That's why I no longer hid in the shadows and instead came here with Kaido to conquer Wano."
Hancock nodded with exaggerated understanding.
"The sky clears, the rain stops, and now you think you're all that again?"
"Whether I am or not… you can feel it yourselves with your own strength!"
The awakening of a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit allows the user's powers to affect things other than their own body.
Doflamingo straightened his posture and lightly tapped the ground with his foot…
Instantly, the entire ground turned white and began surging like massive waves.
Flat land became an ocean.
An ocean made of "threads."
The "tidal waves" moved under Doflamingo's command, rushing toward Kozuki Toki and Hancock.
"White Wave!"
This sudden transformation caught Hancock and Kozuki Toki off guard—they were immediately immobilized.
Doflamingo lifted his head. Behind his flamboyant sunglasses, his eyes were brimming with killing intent so thick it was nearly visible.
From the ocean of strings rose thousands of threads, each coated in purple-black Armament Haki.
They shaped into flamingo-like wings and fired toward Kozuki Toki and Hancock.
As the killing strike descended, Hancock gently exhaled.
Then, Conqueror's Haki Infusion erupted from her.
Her legs, bound tightly by the threads, burst free—leaving trails of torn, bloody marks.
But Hancock didn't even blink, eyes locked on Doflamingo's attack.
The next moment, she unleashed her ultimate technique.
"Perfume Femur!"
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Fanfic is finished. 583 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg