Chapter 46

The birdcage had vanished, leaving behind a kingdom of ribbons and rubble. The screams of terror had turned into weeping sobs of relief.

But in the shadows of the royal plateau, a different kind of silence reigned.

Donquixote Doflamingo, the Heavenly Demon, lay unconscious in a crater, his glasses shattered, his feather coat stained with blood and dust. He was broken, defeated by the combined might of "Gear Fourth" and the "Chronos Domain."

From the dust, three figures in pristine white suits emerged. They wore strange tribal masks.

CP0 (Cipher Pol Aigis Zero).

"The Birdcage is down," the lead agent (Guernica) spoke, his voice muffled by the mask. "Joker has fallen. The deal is void."

"Mission update," the second agent (Maha) said, drawing a long, slender sword. "Objective: Secure the National Treasure secret. Sub-objective: Eliminate Doflamingo before he speaks to the Marines. He knows too much about Mary Geoise."

They walked toward the unconscious Warlord. They ignored the cheering citizens. They were the Shield of the Celestial Dragons, and they were here to clean up the mess.

"A pity," Guernica raised a finger gun (Shigan). "He was a useful broker."

CLANG.

A purple gravity blade intercepted the finger pistol.

The CP0 agents froze. Standing between them and Doflamingo was Admiral Fujitora.

"Gentlemen," Fujitora said, his blind eyes open, staring at nothing yet seeing everything. "I cannot allow you to silence this witness."

"Step aside, Issho," Guernica warned, his Haki flaring. "This is a matter of the Holy Land. Even an Admiral does not have jurisdiction over the 'Gods'."

"Perhaps," Fujitora sheathed his sword, but the gravity around them increased tenfold, cracking the ground beneath the agents' feet. "But I am a stubborn old man. I intend to broadcast Doflamingo's crimes to the world. If he dies here… the world will never know the truth."

He turned his head slightly.

"And I believe you have other pests to worry about. The Revolutionary Army is here."

Fire Fist Sabo stood on a nearby rooftop, his pipe resting on his shoulder, flames dancing around his boots.

"CP0," Sabo tipped his hat. "If you want to kill Doflamingo, you'll have to go through the Revolution first. We want his weapons list."

The agents looked between the Admiral and the Revolutionary.

"Unacceptable variables," Guernica lowered his hand. "Retreat. We will report this to the Elders."

They vanished into the shadows, leaving Doflamingo to the Marines.

The Medical Crisis

"Don't die! Don't you dare die!"

Luffy was screaming as they laid Kurumi down on a table in Kyros's house. The small cottage was packed with the weary victors—Law, Zoro, Usopp, Robin, Kyros, and the Tontatta dwarves.

Kurumi looked horrific.

The "SAD-Serum" had forced her body to burn lifespan instead of calories. Now that the adrenaline was gone, the backlash was hitting. Her skin was turning translucent. Her hair was turning white at the tips.

"Her pulse is erratic," Law shouted, his hands glowing with Ope Ope energy as he scanned her. "Her heart isn't just stopping; it's desynchronizing. Her internal clock is moving faster than the world around her. She's aging a year every minute!"

"A year every minute?!" Nami gasped. "She'll be an old woman in an hour!"

"Worse," Law gritted his teeth. "Her organs will fail before that. Her liver is already eighty years old."

"Doctor!" Chopper jumped onto the table, sobbing. "I can use a sedative to slow her metabolism! But we need to reverse the cellular decay!"

"We need life force," Law looked around desperately. "My Operation can fix physical damage, but I can't restore lost time!"

"Leo!" Usopp shouted at the Tontatta leader. "Where is the Princess?! Where is Mansherry?!"

"Princess Mansherry is coming!" Leo squeaked, riding a beetle through the window. "She was healing the citizens!"

A tiny dwarf princess with fluffy blonde hair jumped off the beetle. Mansherry. User of the Chiyu Chiyu no Mi (Heal-Heal Fruit).

"Please!" Chopper begged. "Save her!"

Mansherry looked at Kurumi. She saw the gray aura of death clinging to the girl.

"This is… very heavy damage," Mansherry said softly. "I cannot restore her time. But… I can restore her cells to their prime state using my ultimate ability."

She clasped her hands. She began to cry.

Chiyu Chiyu no Mi: Dandelion of Life.

Her tears turned into glowing dandelion seeds. They floated down, covering Kurumi’s body.

"These seeds take life force from the user," Mansherry whispered, stumbling as her own energy drained. "It is a fair trade."

The seeds sank into Kurumi’s skin.

The white faded from her hair. Her skin regained its color. The rapid aging stopped.

"Her heart," Law monitored the beat. "It's stabilizing. The SAD toxins are being neutralized."

He slumped against the wall, exhausted.

"She's alive. But she's in a coma. Her Devil Fruit has gone dormant to protect her."

Carmen walked in, carrying a massive pot of soup. She looked at her captain.

"She sleeps," Carmen said quietly. "We carry her. To the ship. We leave tonight."

The Dog and the Tiger

While the pirates tended to their wounded, a furious conversation was happening on the other side of the world.

"ISSHO!"

Fleet Admiral Sakazuki's voice roared through the Den Den Mushi so loud that the Marines holding it had to cover their ears.

"What is the meaning of this?! I heard you arrested Doflamingo! Good! But why haven't you arrested Straw Hat and Law?!"

Fujitora sat on the rubble of the King's Plateau, holding the snail.

"I rolled the dice, Sakazuki-san," Fujitora said calmly. "The die came up… 'rest'."

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP!" Akainu screamed, magma dripping onto his desk in New Marineford. "You are an Admiral! Your duty is to capture them! If you let them go, the World Government’s face will be dragged through the mud!"

"The Government's face?" Fujitora scoffed.

He stood up. He faced the cameras of the World Economy News Paper, which were broadcasting live.

He dropped to his knees. He bowed his head to the ground.

"I, Admiral Fujitora, on behalf of the Marines… apologize to the people of Dressrosa! We allowed a pirate to rule you for ten years! The World Government is responsible for this tragedy!"

Click. Flash. Whir.

The image of a Marine Admiral bowing to civilians was beamed across the world.

"YOU FOOL!" Akainu’s voice cracked. "Do you know what you've done?!"

"I have told the truth," Fujitora said, standing up. "If we hide our mistakes, we are no better than the pirates."

He hung up the snail.

"Now," Fujitora sensed the aura of the pirates moving toward the eastern port. "My debt is paid. The die has been cast."

He drew his sword.

"Straw Hat Luffy. Time Witch Kurumi. I have exposed the Government's lie. Now… as a Marine… I must come for your heads."

"Men!" Fujitora ordered the thousands of Marines behind him. "Chase them! Do not let them leave the island!"

The Grand Escape

"They're coming!" Usopp screamed, looking through his binoculars. "It's a Buster Call worth of Marines! And Fujitora is leading them!"

The Straw Hats, Law, and Kurumi's crew (carrying her stretcher) ran toward the Eastern Port.

But the path was blocked. Rubble from the Pica fight made the road impassable.

"We're stuck!" Franky yelled.

"No," a voice shouted from the cliffs. "You have friends!"

Bartolomeo the Cannibal. Cavendish of the White Horse. Sai of the Happo Navy. Hajrudin the Giant.

The gladiators of the Coliseum stood ready.

"We will clear the path!" Hajrudin roared, lifting the rubble. "Straw Hat is our Savior! And the Clock Girl saved us from the toys!"

"B-Bartolomeo!" Luffy grinned. "Thanks, Rooster-head!"

"HE CALLED ME ROOSTER-HEAD!" Bartolomeo fainted from happiness.

"Go!" Cavendish shouted, his sword Durandal flashing. "We will hold off the Admiral! Get to your ships!"

As the group sprinted past the holding line, Law looked back at the gathered warriors.

"Luffy-ya," Law muttered. "I don't think you realize what you've just created."

"What?" Luffy asked, jumping onto the Thousand Sunny.

"An army," Law said. "A Grand Fleet."

Kurumi was loaded onto the Clockwork Rose, which was docked next to the Sunny. Laki and Carmen immediately engaged the Jet Dials.

"Wake up soon, Captain," Laki whispered, looking at Kurumi’s sleeping face. "Because the world just declared war on us."

As the ships sailed away, forcing Fujitora to lift all the rubble in Dressrosa into the sky as a final threat, the narrator’s voice (in history) would mark this day.

The day the Doflamingo Family fell.

The day the Straw Hat Grand Fleet was formed.

And the day the Time Witch proved that even an Admiral's gravity cannot hold back the clock.