In My Way

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At the palace, Trebol unexpectedly goes up in flames. Huge flames rise from the palace, visible from below through the shrinking Birdcage. The people on the lower level and in the city react with alarm, calling out, "Luffy! Doflamingo!" and "Luffy-Land!" Others wonder if there is anything they can do and hope he is okay. The page opens with the aftermath of Trebol's self-destruction attempt, showing the explosion as a danger not only to Law and Luffy but also to everyone watching from below.

The allies debate whether they should stick their heads into the fight. Even one who holds the same title of "Ouka Shichibukai" as Doflamingo admits they would probably just be a hindrance. Everyone then sees Luffy emerging from the smoke while carrying Trafalgar Law, now badly wounded and missing his arm. Someone says, "Trafalgar Law... has been reduced to that!" and others cry, "Law-Land!" The page confirms that Luffy has rescued Law from Trebol's blast, but Law is in a horrific condition.

Robin calls up, "Luffy! Bring Traffy-kun down here!" Luffy answers, "Thanks! This'll be a big help! Traffy's already done..." He tosses Law downward toward the others. Robin sees Law's missing arm and says, "Oh my! His arm!" Cavendish notes there are quite a number on Doflamingo. Luffy prepares to hand Law off while Doflamingo spreads a defensive web and calls out "Spider Net!" The scene shifts the fight toward Luffy facing Doflamingo alone while the allies try to recover Law.

Doflamingo addresses Robin directly: "Nico Robin! Don't presume you can step in on our battle! That fool still draws breath!" He points out that Law is not out of the ring yet, then fires "Bullet String!" with rapid "Bang bang bang" SFX. Luffy launches "Hawk Whip!" and meets Doflamingo's attack in midair. The page makes clear that Doflamingo refuses to let anyone interfere while Law still lives, and that Luffy has to keep him occupied to buy the others a chance.

The handoff continues while Luffy and Doflamingo clash above. Robin stretches out with her arms to catch Law, and Cavendish steps in with "Precious Metal Ax!" to help move him. He shouts to "Cabbage-kun" to take everyone and get down from up there. Cavendish complains that he still has not finished things up yet and says, "I fell asleep!" The page mixes the urgent evacuation of Law with the frantic energy of allies trying to get away from the palace before Doflamingo can target them.

Cavendish tells Bartolomeo not to be silly because he has just locked eyes with Doflamingo and asks him to assist. Bartolomeo interprets the request through his fan logic: "Entrust -> faith -> charisma -> popularity -> Straw Hat's my fan!?" and says the request of a fan cannot be turned down. Luffy yells, "I'm entrusting the others to you!" Below, they decide Bartolomeo should use his barrier ability to get everyone down quickly. Leo says the wound edges are extremely ragged, but if he can properly stitch the two back together, Mansherry should be able to heal Law's arm with her watering can.

Cavendish orders Bartolomeo to make a staircase with his barrier. Bartolomeo, flustered, says "Jo... Jo... Joro-zen...bai!!" with a note clarifying he means Zoro-senpai. Zoro asks whether Bartolomeo is even listening, while the Birdcage continues closing around the city. At the palace, Doflamingo tells Luffy, "Just let it go already, Straw Hat." He says Law has not died yet and is only suffering down there, so the humane thing to do is put him to rest. Luffy answers that if Doflamingo wants to put Law in the ground that badly, he will have to go through Luffy's dead body.

Doflamingo says it seems he is already halfway there and mocks Luffy: "You're getting pretty weak yourself! You took Traffy's monster of an attack head on! There's no way it hasn't had an effect on you!" He fires more shots and attacks while Luffy tries to keep moving. Luffy pants and stays on his feet, but Doflamingo laughs that Luffy is fast and he will give him that, then says, "But your punches... it's like you're trying to tickle me!!!" The page shows Doflamingo trying to crush Luffy's confidence while continuing to pressure him physically.

Doflamingo uses "Overheat!" and sends a powerful heated string attack slashing across the battlefield, knocking Luffy back with a cry of "Wah!" As Luffy is thrown into the palace ruins, Doflamingo reminisces about Luffy's reputation: "Ah, the memories..." He recalls Crocodile being defeated and asks if it was by a Marine HQ captain, while another voice says they are lying because there has got to be something more. The page links Luffy's current fight to the history of impossible events that built his name.

Doflamingo keeps recalling Luffy's rise: someone sees his wanted poster and says, "Look! It's this guy... his bounty just shot up!" He orders, "Investigate this crew... I've never heard their name before... Monkey D.!?" Doflamingo says Luffy fell from the sky, the War of the Greatest began, and he truly is impressed that Luffy lived through all of that and made his way here. While saying this, he continues to batter Luffy through the ruins, turning the praise into another form of intimidation.

The fight smashes through the palace debris, with Luffy grabbed and thrown among huge chunks of stone. Doflamingo keeps pressing, and Luffy is sent crashing down near the flower field below. The page is mostly action and impact SFX such as "Fwip" and "Grasp," but it also physically reunites the combat area with Law, Robin, and Cavendish below. Doflamingo's attacks are driving Luffy toward the place where the allies are trying to evacuate Law, raising the pressure on everyone.

Law wakes and demands, "Leave me here and go...!" Cavendish asks if he has awoken, and Robin objects, "What!? What nonsense are you talking!?" Law explains that for thirteen years he has lived only for the day he would take down Doflamingo. He says he has done everything he could and now has to leave the rest to Straw Hat-ya. If Luffy wins, Law wants to witness it with his own eyes; and if Luffy falls, Law says he too ought to die there with him.

Robin counters Law's fatalism by saying that the positions of the captains in a pirate alliance ought to be equal. Luffy is here because he wants to be, and he does not engage in fights he has no personal reason to fight. Law still begs, "Leave me... go... please." Cavendish says it looks like Law has already made up his mind, then refuses to let him die before him. He says suicide is not going to fly with him and he will stay too; if Law wants to die, it will only be after Cavendish. He tells Nico Robin to go on ahead with Cabbage-kun.

Bartolomeo has made a staircase, and Robin tells everyone, "Now... take this and go!" The evacuation proceeds while Luffy starts another attack from the palace: "Gomu Gomu no..." He launches "Grizzly Magnum!" with a huge Haki-coated fist and sends it toward Doflamingo. The page marks the split of duties clearly: Robin and the others take the injured Law down the barrier staircase, while Luffy stays behind to keep Doflamingo occupied and force the final confrontation.

Doflamingo blocks and counters while explaining the Birdcage deadline. He says the one-hour limit he gave is the amount of time it will take for the cage to completely close. Looking down at Dressrosa, he lists the victims: those with bad legs, old bed-ridden people, and babies still suckling on their mothers' teats. He wonders which will be the first casualty. In about thirty minutes they will find out when the first wave of people begins dying; in forty minutes they will hear screams; in fifty the country will be stained crimson; and in one hour all voices will cease. Luffy yells that Doflamingo said he would not let Law's attack go to waste, while Doflamingo calls him wide open.

Doflamingo tells Luffy that the citizens who die today will surely curse him with their last breaths. He claims the country would have remained peaceful if the imbeciles had never stepped foot in Dressrosa. Luffy rejects that completely: "You liar! It was all a facade!" He says the toys were once humans and that the country has extreme shades of light and dark. Doflamingo answers that the unfortunate are everywhere and there is no saving them all: "Far too many for a mere pirate passing through. Why the hero-complex? All you've managed to be is a thorn in my side!!!"

Luffy answers by listing what Doflamingo has done: "You've made my friends cry, enraged my nakama, and yet you refuse to fall, so I'll shoulder all the responsibility! I won't let a single person die!" Doflamingo says Luffy and his Birdcage are the damn thorn in his side. Luffy, panting, prepares his next transformation: "Gear... Fourth!" The closing caption says that with all his heart and soul, he breaks through his limits, ending the chapter on the first announcement of Gear Fourth.

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