The Donquixote Family and Caelan's group were now fully engaged in battle, each facing off against their own opponents.

The top officer of the Spade Army, Pica, clashed with Gion.

Diamante, commander of the Diamond Army, went up against Gecko Moria.

Trebol, chief of the Club Army, confronted Boa Hancock.

Tashigi, Kalifa, Vivi, Uta, and the others took on Baby 5, Lao G, Buffalo, and the rest of the Donquixote officers.

Meanwhile, Nami, Robin, and Nojiko were assigned to guard Monet, Sugar, and the other captured enemies.

The 2,000 surrendered Marine soldiers and Gecko Moria's zombie army fought against the remaining Donquixote troops.

From the pace and intensity of the battle, it was clearly a one-sided beatdown—a dimensionality reduction strike.

At the same time, everyone on both sides naturally left a large open area, allowing space for Caelan and Doflamingo to face off.

The two stood opposite each other, the air thick with tension.

"Well, go ahead."

Caelan looked at Doflamingo. His tone was calm and indifferent, with a faint trace of mockery.

He held Shusui in one hand, his posture relaxed and casual.

Originally, Doflamingo's level wasn't enough for Caelan to fight personally. He could have just sent Gion.

But to establish authority in front of the newly subdued Marines, Caelan decided to take him on himself.

"You really look down on me, don't you?!"

Doflamingo's expression darkened, fury bubbling from Caelan's contempt.

He was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—Doflamingo!

Even Kaido had made deals with him.

Why was Caelan looking at him like he was nothing?

Doflamingo wanted to strike immediately, but he hesitated.

Caelan just stood there, yet he felt as if he was facing an insurmountable fortress. Every angle looked like a trap, every flaw was a deadly abyss.

If he rushed in recklessly, the result would be catastrophic.

"What a terrifying monster!"

The longer he stared, the more overwhelmed he felt. Gritting his teeth, Doflamingo pushed down the fear and tried to rally his fighting spirit.

He had to act. If he didn't attack now, he'd lose the will to do so.

He unleashed his Conqueror's Haki to boost his courage.

A thick wave of deep purple-black aura erupted from him, clearing his fear and surging his will to fight.

"Caelan, you'll pay for everything!"

Doflamingo roared and immediately revealed his trump card.

The surrounding terrain transformed in an instant. The ground and buildings were overtaken by endless white strings.

String-String Fruit: Awakening!

With his Paramecia fruit awakened, Doflamingo could manipulate the environment itself, and the durability of his strings was enhanced to a whole new level.

"Break White!"

"Deep Sea Whitecaps"

Doflamingo shouted, unleashing his techniques.

In a flash.

Sharp white strings surged out from his body, shredding everything nearby.

The area around him warped. The ground lost its original form, morphing into a sea of white strings that surged like tidal waves, full of devastating force.

The earth beneath Caelan's feet was also transformed, the white strings continuously rising and trying to overwhelm and crush him.

Rocks and trees were reduced to dust in the sea of strings, shredded into wood powder.

Even several Donquixote soldiers who tried to retreat were caught in the wave and torn to pieces, leaving no trace.

"This is my true power!"

Doflamingo was energized. With his Devil Fruit awakened, he finally had some confidence in defeating Caelan.

This was his strongest form—everything in the area was under his control.

Since Caelan was full of hidden traps and openings, he would launch a full-range assault and see how he handled it.

Doflamingo watched Caelan with a cold smirk.

"How terrifying... He actually awakened the String-String Fruit."

Kizaru adjusted his yellow sunglasses and muttered in awe.

Awakening a Devil Fruit was no small feat. Achieving it meant the user had stepped into world-class combat ability.

In the Navy, that level of performance easily qualified someone to be an admiral candidate.

It far exceeded the strength of most Supernovas.

At this moment, Doflamingo could say to the Supernovas, "I'll take all ten of you on!"

But compared to Caelan, he was still far behind.

Kizaru remembered Caelan's monstrous performance at Sabaody and shook his head in sympathy.

"Even if the three of us fought together, we couldn't handle him. You're trying to do it solo? How bold."

Kizaru smirked and repositioned the video Den Den Mushi so that the Five Elders and Sengoku watching from Mariejois could get a better view.

"Doflamingo is highly talented. If he had stayed in the Holy Land, he might have joined the God's Knights."

Saint Nasujuro spoke calmly as he rested his hand on the First Generation Kitetsu.

Doflamingo's abilities were undeniable. He possessed Conqueror's Haki and had awakened his Devil Fruit.

But in the end, the String-String Fruit—even when mastered—was only second-rate. Its ceiling was limited and far from the elite top-tier fruits.

If he had remained in Mariejois, eaten a more powerful fruit, and received systematic training, it wouldn't have been unreasonable for him to become one of the Knights of God.

"There's no need to lament. The God's Knights no longer need him. Let's just use him to gauge Caelan's true power."

Saint Saturn had no regrets.

As descendants of the original Twenty Kings, the Celestial Dragons were inherently gifted.

Even if many had grown lazy, the few who remained diligent were a power the world could not imagine.

Rather than pity Doflamingo's wasted potential, they were more interested in seeing how many of Caelan's cards he could force to the table.

"Indeed. Let's see what Caelan will show us."

The other Five Elders nodded in agreement, their eyes fixed on the live feed from the Den Den Mushi.

In their minds, Doflamingo was already doomed to lose. His final value was in revealing Caelan's strength.

The Five Elders and Sengoku watched the battle intently, not willing to miss a single detail.

Caelan was completely surrounded by endless sharp white strings, leaving him with nowhere to escape—on land or in the sky.

"This is kind of interesting."

Caelan straightened slightly and finally began to move.

Purple-black lightning crackled around Shusui as his Conqueror's Haki erupted naturally.

Holding Shusui in one hand, he swung it like a graceful dance, as if scattering petals into the wind—each swing sharp and precise.

"You're trying to cut my strings with a sword? How naïve."

Doflamingo sneered.

To this day, no one had ever successfully cut his regular white strings, let alone the enhanced ones produced after awakening.

But the very next moment…

The overwhelming mass of white strings was sliced cleanly apart with a single slash, scattering into the air like drifting cotton.

"W-What?!"

Doflamingo's face froze in shock. His sneer still lingered, making the look of disbelief even more awkward.

The strings produced by the String-String Fruit were harder than steel, immune to ordinary blades.

With awakening, their toughness and sharpness had reached a whole new level.

Doflamingo had believed that even the best swordsmen couldn't cut his awakened strings by brute strength alone.

The materials were just on different levels.

The only possible explanation was that Caelan had used something else entirely.

Doflamingo stared at Shusui in Caelan's hand, where purple-black lightning danced.

His pupils contracted sharply.

"Haoshoku coating!?"

Doflamingo cried out in alarm.

He had seen Kaido in battle before. The purple-black lightning coiled around that massive kanabo was identical to what surrounded Caelan's blade.

If this was Haoshoku Haki coating combined with Caelan's swordsmanship, then it made sense that his strings were sliced apart.

Haoshoku coating was the most advanced form of Haki, an ability only the strongest in the world could wield.

It was a skill nearly exclusive to the Four Emperors.

Even the World Government had to be cautious when dealing with someone who had mastered this technique.

And yet, none of their intelligence had ever suggested that Caelan possessed such power.

As Doflamingo looked at Caelan, his heart grew heavier.

(To be continued.)

***

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