*Bzz— Bzz—!!*
The white strings forming the Birdcage were sharp and incredibly tough. Swords and blades left no marks upon them, and cannon fire was completely useless.
"The barrier is about to shrink into the town!"
"It's no use! The soldiers can't stop it at all!"
"Mr. Issho!"
Wherever the white strings passed, the ground was sliced open as easily as butter, leaving behind neat, smooth cuts.
Seeing the Birdcage about to close in on the town, the Marine soldiers began to panic. If they were cut by those strings, let alone the civilians, even their own lives would be forfeit.
However, facing the panicked shouts of his subordinates, Fujitora turned a deaf ear. He continued to face the sky with a solemn expression and muttered, "The barrier isn't the only terrible thing right now. Another powerhouse has arrived."
"A powerhouse?"
Hearing this, several commissioned officers were taken aback. Confused, they looked up toward the direction Fujitora was facing.
In the pitch-black night sky illuminated by the fires below, a winding silhouette could faintly be seen swimming through the clouds, flying toward them at extreme speed.
"..."
"...?"
"Hey, could that be...!"
Recognizing the shape of that winding figure, the officers' faces drastically changed. Cold sweat seeped from their foreheads, and they all subconsciously took a step back in shock.
Within a few breaths, the figure of a giant dragon stepped on flame clouds and arrived above Dressrosa. A ferocious dragon head emerged from the clouds, diving down and gradually growing larger in their line of sight.
"A dragon! It's a dragon!!"
"A pink dragon! Could it be the Demon Lion Pirates?!"
"Hey! Everyone, look at the sky!!"
This time, it wasn't just the Marine officers. The moment the giant dragon appeared above the town, almost everyone felt a massive, oppressive aura descend upon them!
Civilians, Marines, the Donquixote Family, the Straw Hat Crew... everyone subconsciously looked up.
The moment they saw the thousand-meter-long giant dragon coiled above the city, they were all stunned in place by the sheer intimidation. Many were so terrified that their legs gave out, causing them to collapse onto their butts!
"It's the First Division Commander of the Demon Lion Pirates!"
"Bounty of 1.48 billion Berries! Black Leg Sanji!!!"
At the edge of the town, the Marine officers looked tense, with a hint of dread in their eyes.
Inside the town, in a street near the Corrida Colosseum, Franky's eyes grew solemn. "The Demon Lion Pirates... Are they here to back up Doflamingo?"
"What's going on?! Didn't Law's crew say they already stopped them?! We're doomed! We're completely doomed!" Usopp screamed in panic, holding his face with both hands. "I don't want to face an Emperor! That guy is super scary!"
Hearing this, a few question marks popped up over Brook's head. "Eh? Didn't you say earlier that he was your good buddy?"
Franky looked at Brook with a look of disgust. "Anyone could tell he was just bragging, you idiot."
"Nani?!" Brook's eye sockets widened in shock.
Usopp silently shed two streams of tears of regret.
Up in the sky.
Sanji, in his giant dragon form, looked down at the Birdcage enveloping the entire island. He reached out a dragon claw, grabbed onto it, and gradually tightened his grip, only to find that the thin strings wouldn't budge an inch.
"Hmm?" Sanji looked surprised. "This is Doffy's technique, right? It's actually this tough."
"Wait, even you can't break it? Then how are we supposed to get in?" Nami asked in astonishment.
"Let me handle it."
Allen stepped forward and leaped down toward the Birdcage.
Only Allen knew exactly how strong Sanji was in his giant dragon form. He could easily crush a block of solid steel. The fact that he couldn't even slightly deform the Birdcage proved that brute force alone couldn't break it.
But to him, this wasn't a big problem.
Allen landed on top of the Birdcage, crouched down, and pressed his palm against the thin strings. Wisps of thick black mist surged from his palm.
"Blackwater!!"
Following Allen's shout, a massive amount of black mist frantically poured out. The black mist spread along the thin strings, instantly weaving into a giant black curtain that draped over the Birdcage, enveloping the entire town.
Looking at the sky gradually being swallowed by profound darkness, the people inside felt an inexplicable, oppressive sense of dread.
*Rumble!!*
The earth trembled violently, and the Birdcage that had been slicing through the ground abruptly stopped shrinking.
The power of darkness could nullify a Devil Fruit user's abilities through physical contact, and the Birdcage was naturally no exception.
In the next second, the black curtain above the town gradually dissipated, revealing a crescent moon and the dark night sky.
The Birdcage that had originally enveloped the entire island had actually vanished along with that eerie, profound black mist!
"The Birdcage is gone!"
"Thank goodness! We're saved!"
The despairing civilians who had fled from the burning town to the edges, only to be met with the shrinking Birdcage, all wept tears of joy at this sight.
However, the Marines weren't nearly as relieved. Seeing the Birdcage disappear, they instantly became incredibly tense.
"Full alert!"
"The Demon Lion Crew is landing! Defend the perimeter with the Vice Admirals to the death!"
In an instant, a series of orders rang out through the Marine ranks. One soldier hurriedly rushed to Fujitora's side.
"Mr. Issho! Should we immediately request backup from Headquarters?!"
"I have no confidence in protecting everyone from the hands of an Emperor. It would be best if Admiral Kizaru could rush over," Fujitora said in a steady tone. At the same time, he gripped his cane sword and began walking toward where Allen and the others were landing. "Take the civilians here to the Marine battleships at the port to take shelter. I will go over there."
"Yes, sir!"
In a street near the Corrida Colosseum in the western district of the town.
*Bang!!*
Allen plummeted from the sky, his feet slamming heavily onto the ground. The stone pavement exploded into a deep crater, with dense spiderweb cracks spreading outward.
Upon landing, Allen immediately looked toward a burning house in the corner. Usopp, Franky, and Brook were hiding behind it, standing stiffly with their bodies pressed flat against the wall.
"Stop hiding, long nose. Where is your captain?"
Hearing the voice, Usopp shuddered, his face instantly turning a terrified shade of ashen pale.
"Don't go out. He must be trying to trick us. Absolutely do not go out," Usopp muttered, his eyes squeezed tightly shut as he trembled, trying to comfort himself.
However.
*Bang!!*
The wall was violently blasted open, instantly blowing the three of them out and sending them tumbling forward onto the street.
"The house is collapsing! Dodge!"
Seeing the entire burning house falling toward them, Franky hurriedly grabbed Usopp and Brook, blasted a massive cola fart from his butt, and propelled their bodies sideways out of the way.
*Boom!!*
Allen retracted the two fingers he had used to fire the Haki bullet, looking rather speechlessly at Franky, who had rolled twice on the ground.
What a flavorful technique...
Right at that moment.
"Allen, someone is fighting over at the Royal Palace. I see Doffy and the Straw Hat kid!" The giant dragon descended from the sky, coiling above the street as it looked toward the King's Plateau.
At the same time, Nami leaped down from the dragon's back.
"Nami!"
The moment he saw Nami, Usopp wept tears of joy, frantically reaching out his hands and shouting, "Save me, Nami! Hurry up and beg him not to kill me! I don't want to die yet, waaaah!"
"..."