Chapter 45

High above the chaos of the New World, in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, the air was still. It was a silence bought with blood and history.

In the Room of Authority, the Five Elders (Gorosei) sat. They were not panicked by the news from Dressrosa. They were irritated.

"The Birdcage…" Saturn, the Warrior God of Science and Defense, tapped his cane. "Doflamingo is acting like a child throwing a tantrum. He threatens to expose the National Treasure if we do not comply."

"He has outlived his usefulness," Mars, the Warrior God of Environment, stated flatly. "But he holds the strings of the Underworld. If he falls, the balance of power shifts to Kaido. And Kaido is… unpredictable."

"The greater concern," Warcury, the Warrior God of Justice, interjected, looking at a report, "is the resurrection of the Toki Toki no Mi."

He placed a picture on the table. It was a blurry photo of Kurumi Tokisaki fighting Vergo on Punk Hazard.

"We thought that fruit was lost with Kozuki Toki twenty years ago," Ju Peter, the Warrior God of Agriculture, noted. "But this girl… she does not jump forward. She manipulates the now. She accelerates. She rewinds. She freezes."

"A different model," Nusjuro, the Warrior God of Finance, polished his glasses. "Or an Awakening we have not seen since the Void Century. If she awakens fully… she could rewrite the eraser of history."

"And she is allied with the 'D'," Saturn scowled. "Monkey D. Luffy. Trafalgar D. Water Law. Marshall D. Teach. The clan of the enemy is moving."

"Issue the order," Warcury decided. "To Fujitora. To Ryokugyu. To CP0. Doflamingo must eliminate Luffy and Law. If he succeeds, we grant him the 'Treasure' he seeks—access to the secret of the Holy Land. If he fails… erase the island. We cannot allow the 'D' to gather momentum."

The Flower Field

The sun beat down on the sunflowers of the Royal Palace. The wind carried the scent of blood and ambition.

Donquixote Doflamingo stood, his pink feather coat fluttering. Opposite him stood Luffy (bouncing in place, ready for Gear 4) and Law (leaning on his sword, barely standing).

And slightly to the side, Kurumi stood, her pistols drawn. Her SAD-Serum was running low. Her veins were no longer glowing green; they were turning black.

"Fufufufu!" Doflamingo laughed. "So, the Elders want you dead? How convenient. I was planning to kill you anyway."

He raised his hand.

"Parasite."

Thousands of invisible strings shot down from the clouds. They weren't aimed at the fighters; they were aimed at the citizens below.

"Make them kill each other!" Doflamingo ordered.

"STOP IT!" Luffy roared.

Gomu Gomu no… Kong Gun!

Luffy launched a massive Haki-coated punch. Doflamingo crossed his arms, coating them in Haki.

Spider's Web.

He wove a shield of strings. The impact shook the plateau, but Doflamingo held his ground.

"Weak!" Doflamingo sneered. "Is that all the King of Beasts fears?"

The Admiral's Interference

Suddenly, the gravity in the flower field multiplied by ten.

"GUH!"

Luffy, Law, and Kurumi were slammed into the dirt. Doflamingo, however, remained standing, his strings holding him up like a puppet master.

Walking out from the palace shadows was Admiral Fujitora.

"I apologize," Fujitora said, drawing his blade. "But orders are orders. The World Government has decreed that the Straw Hat Alliance must be purged."

"Fujitora!" Kurumi gasped, struggling to lift her head against the gravity. "You said you would bet on us!"

"I am betting," Fujitora said sadly. "I am betting that if you cannot survive this… you cannot change the world."

He raised his sword.

"Gravity Blade: Raging Tiger."

He swung horizontally. A massive wave of gravity crushed the sunflowers, tearing up the earth and flinging it sideways.

The Awakening of the Demon

Doflamingo grinned. "Perfect timing, Admiral! Let's finish this trash!"

He touched the ground.

The stone tiles of the palace turned white. Then, they turned into strings.

Awakening.

The entire building unraveled. The ground became an ocean of razor-sharp threads.

"Ever White!"

Thousands of thread blades rose from the ground, aiming to skewer the pinned pirates.

"Luffy! Law!" Kurumi shouted. "Move!"

But the gravity held them down.

The Desperate Hour

Kurumi looked at her friends. Luffy was struggling to inflate for King Kong Gun. Law was out of stamina.

If I don't act, we die here. The timeline ends.

She reached into her pocket. She pulled out the last vial of Caesar's experimental serum. The one marked "LETHAL DOSE."

She didn't hesitate. She smashed it against her chest, the glass cutting her skin, the liquid entering her bloodstream directly.

Agony.

It felt like molten lead was pumped into her heart. Her vision went red. Her clock eye spun so fast it hummed.

"Zafkiel…" Kurumi whispered, blood pouring from her nose. "Forbidden Bullet…"

She stood up. The gravity crushed her bones, but she forced her legs to straighten.

"Time… Devour."

CRACK.

The air around her shattered like glass. A golden dome expanded, pushing back the gravity. Pushing back the strings.

Awakening: Chronos Domain.

For the first time, Kurumi didn't just manipulate her own time. She imposed her time on the environment.

The strings Doflamingo sent at her didn't just stop; they rusted. They aged a thousand years in a second and crumbled to dust.

The gravity wave Fujitora sent didn't crush her; it reversed. The debris flew back toward the Admiral.

"What?!" Fujitora gasped, blocking the debris. "She's… bending the flow of cause and effect?!"

Doflamingo’s glasses cracked. "Impossible! That fruit… it’s Awakened?!"

The King's Haki

Kurumi screamed. The pain was unbearable. She was burning her very soul to maintain the domain.

"Luffy!" she shouted, her voice echoing from everywhere at once. "The path is clear! HIT HIM!"

Luffy saw the opening. The gravity was gone. The strings were dust.

He inflated his arm to the size of the palace.

"GEAR FOURTH… KING KONG GUN!"

He flew at Doflamingo.

Doflamingo panicked. He tried to summon more strings.

"Sixteen Holy Bullets: God Thread!"

He fired sixteen massive pillars of Haki-infused string.

But as they entered Kurumi’s golden domain… they slowed down.

To Doflamingo, they were moving at Mach speed. To Luffy, they were crawling.

Luffy smashed through the God Thread effortlessly.

His massive fist slammed into Doflamingo.

"DOFLAMINGOOOOOO!"

CRASH.

Doflamingo was launched into the ground. The impact split the entire city of Dressrosa in half. The Birdcage flickered and vanished.

The Cost

The golden dome shattered.

Kurumi fell.

She hit the ground hard. She didn't move. Her skin was gray. Her clock eye was still.

"Kurumi!" Luffy landed, deflating back to his small form. He ran to her.

"Hey! Clock-girl! Wake up!"

Law limped over. He checked her pulse.

"Faint," Law whispered, his face pale. "Barely there. She pushed past the limit. Her heart is… stopping."

Suddenly, the air around Kurumi trembled.

A blast of black lightning erupted from her unconscious body.

ZZRRRRT.

The Marines rushing to arrest them foamed at the mouth and collapsed.

Fujitora, standing nearby, sheathed his sword. He felt the wave of willpower.

"Conqueror's Haki…" Fujitora murmured, tilting his head. "To awaken the King's disposition at the door of death… truly, a terrifying generation."

He turned his back on the fallen pirates.

"Men," Fujitora ordered his subordinates. "Report to HQ. 'Doflamingo has fallen. The Birdcage is down. The criminals… escaped in the confusion.'"

"B-But Admiral!" a captain stammered. "They're right there!"

"I am blind," Fujitora said, opening his white eyes. "I see nothing but the ruins of a corrupt kingdom."

He walked away.

Luffy picked up Kurumi’s body.

"Let's go, Law!" Luffy shouted, tears in his eyes. "We gotta save her! Chopper! Where's Chopper?!"

As they ran toward the port, carrying the woman who had bent time to save them, the gears of the world began to turn faster than ever before. The Throne War had begun. And one of its key players was hanging by a thread.