The shattered streets of Dressrosa trembled beneath the aftermath of battle.
Buildings leaned at impossible angles, smoke curling into the crimson evening sky while chunks of stone littered the ruined plaza. The air itself felt sharp.
Law stood in the center of the destruction, chest heaving hard.
Blood ran down the side of his face, dripping from beneath the brim of his spotted hat. His coat hung torn from his shoulders, dark stains spreading across the white fabric. Kikoku rested loosely in his grip, though his fingers twitched from exhaustion.
Across from him, perched lazily atop a pile of rubble like some twisted king on a throne, sat Donquixote Doflamingo.
Smiling.
Always smiling.
“Fuffuffuffu…” Doflamingo’s laugh echoed through the broken streets. “You really thought you could kill me with hatred alone?”
Law’s eyes narrowed beneath the shadow of his hat.
“I’m going to carve your heart out.”
“Oh?” Doflamingo tilted his head mockingly. “Still so angry over Corazon?”
The name hit like a blade to the ribs.
For a split second, Law saw flashes of warm hands, a forced smile, the sound of a gunshot.
Rosinante.
Cora-san.
Law’s grip tightened violently around Kikoku.
Doflamingo noticed.
Of course he noticed.
That grin stretched wider.
“I would be careful, Trafalgar Law…” His voice dropped into something poisonous. “I still have something that belongs to you.”
Law froze.
The faintest shift in the air whispered across the battlefield.
Strings.
Nearly invisible threads glimmered under the dying sunlight as they descended from nearby rooftops like spider silk.
Law’s eyes widened.
“No…”
A figure slowly lowered from above.
Your body hung limply in the center of the street.
Wrists bound tightly behind your back with razor-thin strings. More strings coiled around your ankles and throat like a leash. Blood stained your clothes in dark patches while bruises painted your skin purple and black.
Unmoving.
Unconscious.
Law stopped breathing.
For days, you had been missing.
You’d gone ahead to scout Dressrosa after uncovering information about the SMILE factory and Doflamingo’s underground trade routes. You were supposed to report back within hours.
But nothing came.
And now—
Now Doflamingo dangled you in front of him like a trophy.
“YOU—”
Law’s voice cracked into something feral.
The ground beneath him burst apart as his Devil Fruit powers flared instinctively.
“ROOM!”
A blue sphere exploded outward across the battlefield.
Doflamingo laughed.
Strings tightened around your throat instantly.
Law froze mid-step.
The warlord’s grin sharpened.
“Careful,” Doflamingo purred. “One wrong move and your little ‘Chaos Empress’ loses that pretty head.”
Your body jerked weakly as the strings constricted.
Still unconscious.
Still bleeding.
Law stared at you in horror.
Bruises covered your arms.
Cuts sliced across your ribs.
Dried blood stained the corner of your mouth.
Rage flooded through him so hard his vision blurred.
“You touched them…” Law whispered.
Doflamingo leaned forward, amused. “Touched? Trafalgar Law, this one was troublesome.”
The strings lifted your head slightly by the throat.
“Did you know your little Crimson Witch tried to hex my officers? Nearly drove one of them insane.” He chuckled darkly. “The mind-reading was especially irritating.”
Law’s pulse thundered.
You hated using your powers too recklessly. Reality warping and emotional manipulation drained you brutally if pushed too far.
Which meant—
You fought.
Until you couldn’t anymore.
Something inside Law snapped.
A terrifying silence fell over the plaza.
Even Doflamingo’s grin faltered slightly.
Law slowly lowered Kikoku to his side.
When he looked up again, his expression was empty.
Cold.
Murderous.
“I’m going to kill you,” Law said quietly.
Black veins of haki crawled along Kikoku’s blade.
The air warped violently around him.
Doflamingo’s smile finally twitched.
Because for the first time since the battle started—
Doflamingo realized Law was no longer fighting for for revenge.
Now he was fighting for you.