"Is this... my limit?"
After blasting Ace away with another punch, Azure Ozz felt his power growing weaker and weaker.
He clenched his fist and felt somewhat unsatisfied.
They had not even forced him into his dragon-man form. New World Ace and Sabo were a little too weak.
The version of him from this world was stingy too. Was he afraid Azure Ozz would accidentally play them to death?
Azure Ozz sighed helplessly.
Of course, part of it was because Ace and Sabo were just too durable. Even if they did not have one tenth of his toughness, they still managed to keep forcing themselves back up until his energy was exhausted.
"Well... forget it. I suppose that counts as your skill too."
Azure Ozz sighed. As he caught Sabo's final punch, the last trace of his power finally ran dry.
"You still understand far too little about the power of dragons, kid."
Azure Ozz smiled, turning one hand into a dragon claw as he reached for Sabo's head.
Sabo's face, already beaten beyond recognition, first tightened in alarm. Then he froze.
The dragon claw stopped right in front of him, slowly dissolving into fragments in midair.
"Oh, right. There's also the thing the old man gave me. This originally belonged to that guy, Black Spear, didn't it? I'll return it to its rightful owner now."
"Remember to make copies quickly."
A Devil Fruit fell from the fading light and landed in Sabo's hand.
Along with it were several photographs.
They were photos Old Gick had once left for him, saying they had been given by the grown-up Ozz. Azure Ozz knew that did not refer to his true self.
So now, he was returning them to their rightful owner.
He told Sabo to make copies quickly because he had used the last bit of his energy to keep these photos intact. If too much time passed, they would also disappear.
Of course, Azure Ozz had seen the photo album that Black Spear had left for the old man in his own world.
Among them was even a photo of the badly wounded Black Spear sitting beside Rocks's corpse, silently smoking.
One of the photos in the album.
"He... disappeared?"
Sabo stared blankly at the Devil Fruit in his hand, the fruit whose appearance was identical to the rumors.
The Paramecia-type Float-Float Fruit.
There was also a stack of unknown photographs.
He fell into silence.
Azure Ozz's words from just now also left him silent.
Ace, meanwhile, had just tried to struggle back up, but his arm went weak and he collapsed again.
He had reached his limit.
Seeing Azure Ozz vanish filled him with both relief and complicated emotions.
Still...
"We're finally free..."
He and Sabo were already at their limits. Sabo could barely remain standing. One more punch would have knocked him unconscious on the spot.
The two of them lay sprawled on the ground.
Ace struggled to press the Float-Float Fruit into Sabo's mouth, making him swallow it whole.
"Wait!"
"That wasn't actually supposed to be eaten!"
Outside the colosseum, Diamante, who knew he could not participate in such a high-level battle, cried out in shock when he saw the Float-Float Fruit being eaten.
The other battles in the colosseum also gradually reached their conclusions.
Lucci rolled his eyes back and lost consciousness after being struck by a battered Luffy's Fourth Gear Kong Gun.
As for Zoro and Kuina's battle, Kuina was slightly inferior because of Haki and demonic aura.
That strange power known as demonic aura only existed within the blade of Nether Crow. It did not exist in Wado Ichimonji.
Both were Ozz's sword racks, but there were still differences between them. Wado Ichimonji had been dyed by Ozz's power less than Nether Crow.
On top of that, although Kuina had recently received focused Haki training from Ozz, Haki was something tied to physique and spirit.
Kuina's original body was too weak, which meant her Haki had also been average.
Before she had fully adapted to the physical boost brought by the Pink Dragon Fruit, it was hard for her Armament Haki to rise to the level that matched her new body.
There was also the slight gap in swordsmanship.
The dual inheritance of Ozz and Mihawk was always going to be somewhat overpowered.
Even so, Zoro only won by a narrow margin, and it was not easy.
"I lost this time, Zoro..."
There was no frustration in Kuina's eyes.
After all, the toughness of her swordsmanship heart was no weaker than Zoro's.
Back when Zoro went out to sea and was defeated by Mihawk, his spirit had not shattered. Kuina had only lost by a slight margin, so it was even less of a problem.
"The next time we meet, I won't lose to you again!"
"Same here..."
The two had not fought to the death, nor had they used any life-risking ultimate moves.
Once they understood the difference between them, they stopped at the right point.
They were rivals, but they were also childhood friends.
And so,
the battle for the Float-Float Fruit
officially came to an end.
Winner: Sabo!
...
"What kind of joke is this?!"
Bang!
Doflamingo crushed the wine glass in his hand in an instant. Crimson wine trickled down between his fingers like blood.
Veins bulged one after another across his forehead.
He had not expected those guys to survive the colosseum, much less eat the Float-Float Fruit that he valued so much.
Fortunately, those people were already heavily injured...
Doflamingo tried his best to comfort himself.
But as the saying went, misfortune never came alone.
"Beru beru beru..."
The Transponder Snail soon rang urgently.
Trebol's panicked voice came through.
"What happened?"
"This is bad, Doffy!"
"Sugar got scared unconscious!"
"What?!"
Almost at the same time, on the screen in front of him, the toy spectators in the colosseum began transforming one after another.
Countless people's memories surged back.
The riot in Dressrosa began!
It was not just the people of Dressrosa.
There were even World Government officials, great pirates with sizable bounties, underworld giants, Marine officers...
Under the shelter of Ozz's name, Doflamingo had displayed even greater ambition than in the original timeline. The number of people turned into toys by the Hobby-Hobby Fruit was far more exaggerated than before.
Now, everything was in complete chaos!
Veins bulged across Doflamingo's forehead. Cold sweat appeared on his face.
Because of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit, even he himself did not know how many people had been turned into toys and casually used over the years.
And according to Trebol, all of this was because of one man.
The man Mr. Ozz had specifically mentioned.
Sniper King.
God Usopp!
Thinking of that troublesome man, Doflamingo was enraged to the extreme.
"You think this means you can win?"
"Don't be naive, brats..."
He draped his pink feather coat over his shoulders. There was no smile left on his face.
"With Fire Fist Ace, Revolutionary Army Sabo, and Straw Hat Luffy all heavily wounded, how are you going to face the Donquixote Family and Green Bull?"
The strings of the Birdcage began to activate, closing in over Dressrosa.
"Let's play a game."
"This game will only end when I die or when the wanted criminals die. The first bounty is..."
God Usopp.
Bounty: Ten Stars.
One star equals one hundred million Berries.