Chapter 473 - 312

Chapter 313: Law vs. Aramaki!"...Leave it to me!!"The moment the words fell, Law moved.He kicked off the ground, his body soaring into the sky like an arrow from a string! kikoku spun in his hand, its blade tracing a perfect arc—"Scalpel: Pulse Cut!"Dark red slashes erupted from the blade, hundreds of hair-thin strikes accurately slicing into the nodes of the vine tentacles.Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch—!!!The sound of dense, rain-like clashes exploded in the sky!Dozens of vine tentacles were dismembered in the slashes, falling from the sky like lifeless giant snakes and splashing mud everywhere as they hit the ground.But more vines surged to fill the gaps, and the giant web of death continued to tighten!"Law—!" Chopper still wanted to rush forward."Chopper! Go!"Usopp grabbed Chopper's arm, his voice hoarse with fear, but his eyes were unusually determined."Trust Law! He's the 'Surgeon of Death'! Staying here will only distract him!"He pulled Chopper forcefully, rushing toward a relatively sparse area of the giant vine web.His slingshot "kuro kabuto" was already drawn; Usopp gritted his teeth and pulled three special ammunition rounds from the pouch at his waist."Smoke Star: Trio!"Bang bang bang!The three rounds exploded in the air, instantly enveloping a fifty-meter radius in dense white smoke.The smoke was mixed with chili powder and tear gas; even the lifeless vine tentacles momentarily stalled upon contact... The chili powder interfered with Aramaki's plant-based senses used to perceive the environment through the vines.Seizing this opportunity, Usopp and Chopper broke through the vine encirclement and plunged deep into the jungle.The battle in the sky had only just begun... Law hovered in mid-air.A pale blue ROOM domain, centered on him, maintained a sphere with a fifty-meter radius.The space within the domain was transformed by the power of the Ope-Ope no Mi; gravity was chaotic, light was distorted, and even the air density was constantly shifting.The vine tentacles attempting to invade the domain would lose their sense of direction the moment they entered, their speed dropping sharply, and even began entangling and attacking each other."Oh? Interesting."Aramaki's lazy yet oppressive voice drifted from deep within the forest.The voice came from all directions, as if the entire forest were speaking for him."Spatial abilities are the most troublesome."The moment the words fell, the ground began to vibrate.Countless thick tree roots erupted from the ground, each as wide as a bucket, their surfaces coated in dark green Armament Haki.They intertwined and fused, weaving into a giant palm over a hundred meters in diameter directly beneath Law!Forest Hand!!The five fingers slowly closed, reaching up to grasp Law in mid-air!Before the palm could close, the wind pressure caused Law's ROOM domain to tremble violently!Spatial ripples like cracks began to appear at the edge of the domain, and the stamina consumption to maintain it skyrocketed instantly!He couldn't take it head-on.Law's golden pupils narrowed as he forced his body to twist in the air, kikoku carving out several slashes in front of him!"Radio Knife!"The slashes flew toward the space surrounding him!Rip—!Space was sliced open.The space where Law was located was briefly isolated from the surrounding space.The fingers of the Forest Hand closed, but they grasped nothing!"Spatial slicing?"For the first time, a hint of surprise touched Aramaki's voice."Hey, hey, that's not something a normal Ope-Ope no Mi can do."Law didn't answer.He maintained the spatial isolation, fine beads of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.This level of spatial manipulation consumed a terrifying amount of stamina and Haki. A tearing pain radiated from the wound on his left shoulder, and every breath tasted of blood.But he couldn't stop.Aramaki's true body had yet to appear.He had to force him out.Law took a deep breath, the fire deep within his golden pupils burning to the limit. He let go with his left hand, allowing blood to well up and drip from the reopened wound.The blood did not fall to the ground.Instead, it hovered in mid-air, forming dozens of blood droplets.Dark red Armament Haki began to flow over the surface of each droplet."K-ROOM..."Law chanted softly, his voice echoing through the distorted space.That was the true form of the Ope-Ope no Mi after awakening.It condensed the rules of the ROOM domain into an object, creating a medium capable of carrying conceptual cuts."...Puncture Wille."He raised his hand and flicked his index finger.The blood droplets flew out, not particularly fast.But the moment they flew out, the surrounding space began to warp and fold. The trajectory of the blood droplets became a jagged line that flickered and jumped constantly. Each flicker crossed dozens of meters, making the path completely unpredictable.Aramaki's vine tentacles tried to intercept them.The blood droplets vanished from their spots just before touching the vines, reappearing on the other side.In just two seconds, the blood droplets had traveled thousands of meters, shooting toward a certain direction deep in the jungle.There, Aramaki's true body stood atop a towering ancient tree entwined with vines."Tch."Aramaki clicked his tongue, his eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses.He raised his right hand, palm facing forward.Countless vines surged from his palm, weaving into a giant shield three meters thick in front of him, its surface coated in dense, dark green Armament Haki.The blood droplets hit the giant shield.An imperceptible ripple spread from the point of impact.The next second—Pfft.A fist-sized hole appeared in the center of the giant vine shield.Aramaki's sunglasses slipped down his nose.He looked down at his palm... where a tiny bloody scratch was slowly oozing blood.The wound was instantly healed by the regenerative power of the Mori Mori no Mi, but that blow had indeed wounded him.It was only a flesh wound, but it was a wound!!"Heh."Aramaki laughed.It wasn't a cynical laugh, but something deeper and more dangerous.He pushed his sunglasses back into place, then slowly took them off, revealing eyes as sharp as a hawk's."Kid."Aramaki spoke, his voice no longer lazy but filled with scrutiny."How old are you this year? Twenty-five? Twenty-six?"Law hovered in mid-air and didn't answer.He just stared intently at Aramaki, the depths of his golden pupils showing not a hint of wavering."To develop the Ope-Ope no Mi to the point of awakening at this age, with swordsmanship reaching the threshold of a Great Swordsman, and both types of Haki at the top tier..."Aramaki counted on his fingers, his tone growing more solemn with each point."Those old geezers in the World Government... what the hell have they been doing?"He spat, discarding the cigar in his mouth."A bounty of 560 million for this level of strength? That's suppressing it way too much!"Law remained silent.But his grip on his sword tightened.He could feel it... the aura around Aramaki had changed.It had shifted from playful to serious."But whatever."Aramaki put his sunglasses back on and slowly raised both hands."Anyway, your bounty won't matter after today."He spread his ten fingers.The entire island of Green Bit began to rumble.The trunks of countless towering ancient trees began to twist and swell, their bark peeling away to reveal dark green wood underneath.Branches turned into vines, roots erupted from the ground, and the entire forest came alive under Aramaki's will!Tens of thousands of trees transformed into green giants, letting out silent roars toward Law's direction!"Mori Mori no Mi Awakening: Advent of the Tree World."Aramaki announced in a low voice.The next second.The forest came alive... Deep in the jungle, Usoppand Chopper were running for their lives."Quick! Chopper! Faster!"Usopp looked back as he ran, his face written with terror.He could hear the terrifying rumble coming from far behind.It was the sound of the entire forest rioting, the aftershocks of the battle between Law and the Admiral."I know!"Chopper, in his Walk Point, moved through the forest much faster than Usopp."Usopp! Over there! To the right!"The two dodged through the dense forest, trying to distance themselves from the center of the battlefield.But they found themselves surrounded.Countless near-transparent strings hung from the trees, filling the path ahead like a spiderweb.The strings were almost invisible in the dim light, but Usopp's Observation Haki was screaming in warning!"Stop!"Usopp skidded to a halt and grabbed Chopper.Just as they stopped, several falling leaves ten meters ahead were silently sliced into fragments.The cuts were as smooth as a mirror."This is..." Chopper's reindeer eyes widened."Doflamingo's strings."Usopp's face was pale and his voice trembled."He's caught up.""Fuffuffuffu~"A flippant laugh drifted from the trees.Doflamingo stepped slowly from the shadow of an ancient tree. He still wore that pink feather coat, but his face was even paler than yesterday.But his smile remained crazed, his eyes behind his sunglasses locked onto Usopp and Chopper."The sniper and doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates."Mingo tilted his head."If I can't kill Law, can't I at least kill you?"He raised his right hand and spread his fingers.Countless strings shot from his fingertips, weaving into a giant web covering a hundred-meter area! The web closed in on Usopp and Chopper from all directions to crush them!"Oh no!"Chopper wanted to transform into Heavy Point to take the hit."Move!"Usopp shoved Chopper aside and simultaneously raised his slingshot "kuro kabuto"!His eyes locked onto the shrinking web in the air, a golden glimmer flashing deep within his pupils."Triple Firebird Star—!"Usopp roared, pulling thirty special fire bombs from his ammo pouch at once!Draw, aim, fire!The movements were seamless!Bang bang bang bang bang—!!!Thirty rounds shot out, trailing thirty crimson plumes of fire! After flying ten meters, a golden, gate-like arc appeared out of thin air in front of each round!The ammunition passed through the arcs.Their speed doubled instantly!Their power doubled instantly!The thirty fire bombs transformed into thirty flapping firebirds, dragging long trails of flame as they slammed into the closing web!Where the firebirds passed, the air was distorted by high heat, fallen leaves ignited, and even the humus layer on the ground was scorched!Boom boom boom boom boom—!!!!The firebirds collided with the string web!The explosion's fire engulfed a fifty-meter area!The high temperature melted and snapped the strings, blowing a massive hole in the web!"Go!"Usopp stowed his slingshot and pulled Chopperthrough the gap!Doflamingo stood outside the blast radius, his eyes widening slightly behind his sunglasses."Oh?"His lips curled up."Interesting. That long-nose has developed his abilities quite well."But he didn't pursue them.Instead, he looked up toward the direction of the terrifying rumble deep in the jungle.There, he could faintly see—Countless green giants made of towering trees were besieging a pale blue sphere hovering in mid-air.Inside the sphere, a black figure was swinging a blade; every strike could cut down several trees, but more surged forward like a green tsunami.Further away, the sky was covered in dark green vines, with blood-red slashes occasionally exploding within to wipe out large swaths of vines, only for them to regenerate endlessly.That was the battle between Law and Aramaki.A battle of that caliber was beyond what Doflamingo's current state could interfere with."Fuffuffuffu..."Doflamingo chuckled low and looked back toward where Usopp and Chopper had fled."Whatever! Law is going to die soon anyway!"He turned to leave.Rustle, rustle.Faint sounds, like small animals moving through the grass, came from all directions.Doflamingo frowned.He looked down.And then he saw them.Among the leaves, in the grass, and under the roots, countless tiny figures only the size of a palm were staring at him with eyes full of hatred.These little people wore clothes woven from leaves and held tiny spears and bows like toothpicks; there were thousands of them.The Tontatta Tribe.The indigenous people of Green Bit."Annoying bugs."Doflamingo spat and raised his hand, intending to release strings to clear the area.The Tontatta were faster than him."For Princess Mansherry—!!""For our destroyed home—!!""Attack—!!!"Countless tiny arrows and spears shot toward Doflamingo like a rainstorm!Though each hit was insignificant, the sheer volume forced even Doflamingo to raise his arm to protect his eyes.Taking this chance, the Tontatta surged like a tide toward the direction Usopp and Chopper had fled.They called out in tiny voices:"This way! Humans! This way!""Follow us! There's a safe place!""Quick!"Usopp and Chopper were stunned.The string web behind them was reweaving, and Doflamingo's cold laughter was drawing closer.There was no time to hesitate."Let's trust them once!"Usopp gritted his teeth and followed the Tontatta's guidance into a hidden root tunnel.Chopper followed close behind.The tunnel was very low, requiring them to stoop to pass, and the interior was as complex as a maze.The Tontatta led the way with lightning agility; Usopp and Chopper had to exert themselves to keep up.Outside the tunnel, Doflamingo had finished clearing the Tontatta's harassment.He walked to the tunnel entrance, looking into the pitch-black hole with a cruel smile curling his lips."Run, then, run."He whispered, raising his right hand as countless strings poured into the hole to clog and crush everything inside."Anyway, this island will soon be your grave."He turned back to face the center of the battlefield.Toward the pale blue sphere struggling in the green ocean.Toward the figure that was already teetering on the edge."Law..."Doflamingo's sunglasses reflected the fire of the distant battle."You are finally going to die."He spread his arms as if to embrace the impending victory."Fuffuffuffuffu..."The laughter echoed through the jungle.