Chapter 392: The Swordsman Who Sliced an Island
Doflamingo's Birdcage was a circular dome that enveloped the ground, and the sword slash Ian unleashed was also a circular one.
The final stage of Senbonzakura's Final Release, the White Emperor Sword, was not just for show. In fact, this technique had an effect that combined offense and defense. The wings formed from countless petals were actually a defensive system, and the circular slash Ian unleashed was also a strike that condensed all his power.
When the sword slash swept past the threads of Doflamingo's Birdcage, it actually broke through the blockade of the threads. If someone had been watching from afar at that moment, they would have seen the sword slash erupt from the island like a mushroom ring, spreading far outward.
After the sword slash passed, the entire Dressrosa Island fell silent. Even the people controlled by the Parasite threads temporarily stopped their movements, staring up at the Birdcage in the sky.
"Is this... a sword slash from Captain Ian!?" Fujitora looked up, stunned at the sky. Although he couldn't see, he could feel the eruption of this energy.
Jinbe, also looking up at the sky, couldn't help but mutter, "The slashes of the world's greatest swordsman, Hawk-Eye Mihawk, probably have this kind of power, right?"
"Will it succeed?" Aokiji, with his hands in his pockets, looked up at the Birdcage above and asked Nico Robin beside him.
Nico Robin, who had originally been heading back to find a way to contact the ship but had stopped halfway when she encountered Aokiji on the island, also looked up at the sky and said, "I don't know."
Aokiji scratched his head, looking a bit troubled, and said, "If you follow him, even the Marines probably won't be able to touch you..."
Nico Robin didn't speak. She was still somewhat afraid of Aokiji, but deep down, she completely agreed with what he said.
Following a captain like this might truly end her life of wandering. At the very least, if the World Government and Marines wanted to capture her, they would have to consider Ian's reaction...
Under everyone's expectant gaze, Doflamingo's Birdcage, which enveloped the entire island, suddenly split cleanly at the point where Ian's sword slash had passed. The upper half of the dome fell directly from the air, and during its descent, it gradually disappeared.
The lower half did the same. From the break, the threads, which were as hard as steel, began to disintegrate and slowly dissipate.
The Birdcage's blockade had truly been broken! Ian had actually used his sword slash to cut through these threads formed from condensed energy! This showed that the power of Ian's strike just now had far surpassed the awakened power of Doflamingo's Devil Fruit!
"How is this possible!?" Doflamingo watched the disintegrating Birdcage, shock flooding through him like a river. The Birdcage was his proudest creation among his techniques. Once activated, even Doflamingo himself couldn't control it. He had tried before—even using his own Haki power, he couldn't break it. And now, Ian had destroyed it with a single strike!?
Moreover, Ian hadn't taken a different approach; he had directly confronted and slashed through his Birdcage. This made even Doflamingo feel a hint of panic.
With the Birdcage broken, Doflamingo's plans were completely ruined. Once the Den Den Mushi's radio waves could reach the outside world again, the World Government officials and intelligence agency agents would quickly notify the Marines to send warships.
By then, even with the protection of the Celestial Dragons, he wouldn't be able to save himself.
Smuggling weapons, selling slaves, illegally seizing a country, imprisoning and enslaving World Government officials and Marines by turning them into toys, plus his connection with one of the Four Emperors, Kaido—once the Five Elders found out, they would never let him off. What awaited him would be the strictest imprisonment in the underwater great prison Impel Down!
Leave! I have to leave now! Doflamingo made his decision instantly. He looked at Jack the Drought, who was wrapped in his Shield White Thread. Jack wasn't dead yet. If he could rescue him as well, he might seek refuge with Kaido.
Unless the Marines wanted to start a war with the Beast Pirates, they wouldn't be able to pursue him.
But thinking that he would have to return to the identity of a wanted pirate again, Doflamingo felt furious. And all of this was because of the Ian in front of him.
"You've ruined my plans, so don't think you'll get off easy!" Doflamingo gritted his teeth, pulled out a small Den Den Mushi from his pocket, and said to Gladius on the other end, "Gladius, blow up this island!"
"Understood, Doffy!" Gladius replied on the other end and then hung up.
Boa Hancock, who was closer to Doflamingo, heard his words and immediately shouted, "Not good! Lord Ian, stop him!"
"Fufufufufu!!" Doflamingo spread his arms and laughed uproariously, "Too late! Ian, I want you to know that in this battle, you haven't won at all!"
Boom! A loud explosion rang out as Gladius detonated the first bomb cache. On the western side of Dressrosa Island, a massive fireball shot into the sky.
The explosion site was an underground weapons warehouse. The warehouse was naturally underground, but above it was a bustling commercial street. When it was detonated, the immense force directly broke through the ground's restraint, blasting the entire street into the air.
Fortunately, at that time, Sabo and Konenai had been dispersing and evacuating many civilians. This street happened to be one of them, so when the explosion occurred, even though the entire street was blown up, casualties were minimal.
That was lucky, but the problem was that there were many more bomb caches.
After the first explosion, Gladius quickly detonated the remaining bomb caches one after another.
Thunderous sounds echoed throughout Dressrosa City. The power of gunpowder and bombs was not much less than that of Devil Fruit users.
"Damn it! Doflamingo! You madman!" Ace couldn't help but launch a Fire Fist at Doflamingo.
Doflamingo waved his hand, and two shields of Shield White Thread immediately appeared, crossing in front of him. Ace's Fire Fist struck the Shield White Thread, sending flames flying everywhere, but it didn't harm Doflamingo.
"Sea Surface: White Wave!"
Doflamingo stomped his feet on the ground, and waves of surging threads appeared on the surface, heading toward Ian and the other two, trying to trap them in place. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the flames and chaos in the city, Doflamingo flew into the air with Jack the Drought, intending to escape.
But at that moment, a voice suddenly came from afar.
"Ice Age!!"
Boundless cold surged in. The cold wind made Doflamingo, who was about to leave, shiver. Then, he saw a crystalline white rapidly spreading across his field of vision.
Aokiji, who was still on the island, had finally made his move. He had learned from Nico Robin that Doflamingo had ordered bombs to be planted all over the island, but he couldn't handle them all by himself. Now, seeing the bombs actually detonating, he threw caution to the wind and directly used Ice Age to freeze the entire Dressrosa Island!
Doflamingo never dreamed that Aokiji would intervene, and in such a way to stop the bombs on the island from exploding. He dodged the spread of Ice Age with Jack the Drought, but he found that the ground of the entire island was now covered in a thick layer of ice.
Although Gladius continued to detonate the bombs, because the ground was now covered with an extremely hard layer of ice, the bombs' power could no longer break through. At all the bomb cache locations, the explosions only produced a muffled sound.
As for the bombs on the surface, it was the same. Covered by the ice layer, the explosions couldn't harm passersby.
However, Aokiji's Ice Age wasn't without its drawbacks. He had instantly frozen all the civilians on the island as well. Although these frozen people weren't dead, the subsequent cleanup work would give Aokiji a massive headache.
Aokiji stood on the ground, his body now covered in ice. Nico Robin used the power of the Flower-Flower Fruit to lift herself off the ground, avoiding being affected by Aokiji's freezing. Aokiji looked up at Doflamingo, who was hovering not far away in the air, and shouted, "Heavenly Yaksha, where do you think you're going!?"
"That's right! Where do you think you're going!?" Echoing Aokiji's voice, Ian on the ground raised his Senbonzakura again.
The White Thread that Doflamingo had swept in earlier had delayed Ian for a moment. After cutting through the entangled threads, Ian's Final Release didn't have much time left. So, seizing the opportunity, he slashed down at Doflamingo's position in the air once more!
Ian's blade swept from top to bottom, and the next second, an equally powerful sword slash appeared again!
A sword slash dozens of meters high flew close to the ground toward Doflamingo's position. The lower end tore through the ground of Dressrosa Island along the way, while the upper edge of the slash reached Doflamingo's position in the air.
In his Final Release state, Ian's strength had surpassed the level of a Marine Admiral. This slash flew so fast that it swept past Doflamingo's position in an instant, then continued without losing momentum, cutting through the ground and streets of Dressrosa Island before flying out over the sea!
The entire Dressrosa Island, from where Ian stood, was split in two by this single sword slash!
A single slash cut through an island, the sword energy piercing through most of the country. The power Ian displayed at this moment made even Aokiji turn his head in awe.
However, when everyone looked back at the sky, they found that Doflamingo had dodged Ian's sword slash.
He hadn't moved on his own. Just as the slash was about to hit him, someone pulled him away from the side!
It was a sticky strip of candy syrup that directly stuck to Doflamingo and Jack the Drought, yanking them aside, allowing both of them to survive Ian's slash.
Ian turned his head in surprise toward his right front. A group of people had appeared there. Among them were not only members of the Vinsmoke Family but also a strange man with a long tongue holding a patterned cane at the lead.
"Ian, it's them!" Ace came to Ian's side and said in a low voice, "That guy is the one from the Big Mom Pirates I told you about."
Perospero? Ian was truly surprised. He had originally thought that the Big Mom Pirates appearing on the island was just to rescue Gaji and the others. But why had they also saved Doflamingo and Jack the Drought?