"How interesting, but what a waste of time. Fufufu," Doflamingo said, in response to Lin's sacrifice.
Marco glared at him, filled with rage, remembering that the madman was there.
"I wouldn't believe that..." Marco added firmly as he began to transform.
"Believe what you want, Commander. I'm no longer interested in you. It's better if they deal with you," Doflamingo's smile was illuminated by the flames.
Marco was ready to attack the Shichibukai when something struck him to the ground. They were the same things he couldn't sense before: shadow beasts.
The creature grabbed Marco's arm, "Arghhh!" and began squeezing it with such force that it made him scream in pain. "You'll pay for this!" he exclaimed as he used his other hand to punch the creature in the face with haki, causing it to release his arm.
"Curious, aren't they? They can absorb the power of devil fruits, just like your flames," added Doflamingo as Marco struck another one of those things, just as a bullet whizzed past him.
"Rarara, don't forget about us, Master Doffy!" A robotic flying bird landed on Doflamingo's shoulder, speaking in a mechanical voice.
"Sorry, Commander, but I can't waste time playing. Why don't you play with them?" Doflamingo started to walk away as more and more of those creatures appeared to fight Marco.
Meanwhile, the others were already preparing to make their move.
Lilin called Liling to meet her at the temple. Once there, they were surprised to see Liling dressed as a soldier, quite the opposite of her usual elegant attire.
"You're late... but that doesn't matter anymore." Liling looked directly into her sister's eyes.
"You need to know that I stopped my plan to move the ring and take Ace. Not only that, it turns out..." Liling was cut off by the arrival of Haruta, who was carrying large bags filled to the brim. "We're already aware of the situation, we had plenty of time to prepare. We can't waste any more time. Did you send reinforcements?" Lilin responded to her sister.
Liling led them to where the others were gathered.
"Hey, quick question, where's Ace?" Haruta asked and quickly saw Liling giving him a look that said: don't mention that idiot again.
"I told him to wait for us, but he didn't listen and went straight into the lion's den!" Liling said irritably.
Lilin froze at her sister's statement. She exchanged glances with Haruta, who was also petrified. "What's with the faces? Lilin, please, don't start making silly faces, that's Lin's thing." Liling asked with a smile, but the only response she got was Lilin opening the bags.
"Is this what I think it is?" Liling asked, impressed upon seeing seastone bullets.
"I had a vision. Jonathan is alive, or at least someone with his same power," Lilin declared seriously.
"That can't be, he couldn't have lived that long. And if he did, he should be old!" Liling shouted.
"In my vision, Donquixote brought the shadow beasts along with those damned darkness bullets."
By that point, Liling was no longer listening to her sister. All she could think about was June first. It was her birthday, and as with every birthday, Lin was so excited that he almost made everyone's ears bleed.
"Eh, I already said I'm sorry!" Lin was being scolded by his sister Liling. "It's... fine, but..." Liling didn't know what to say at that moment, so she ended up laughing. "I suppose it's a bit funny."
That day was quite sunny, the atmosphere filled with smiles.
"Look, I have a beard!" said Lin while his entire face was covered in cake frosting. His family laughed as Lin continued to act like a fool.
Suddenly, the shadow beasts appeared, bringing chaos to their joyful day.
Their limbs twisted and contorted in impossible ways. With sharp claws and bared teeth, they growled in unison, a chorus of aggression that made the triplets' parents tremble.
The parents tried to defend themselves, but it seemed like nothing was enough as they soon found themselves slammed to the ground. Lin ran towards his mother, who was the closest, which was soon noticed by one of the beasts. In a sheer act of will, his mother managed to get up. She stood between the beast and her son as it was about to devour him.
"Mom?" Lin stood frozen as the beast devoured his mother.
Liling took Lin in her arms as they followed Linlin, who signaled for them to follow her.
They flew as fast as they could while everything around them burned to the ground. Liling still remembered the smell of burning, the feeling of being watched.
"Children, come over here," Fenghuang Fa instructed them and several other children.
Liling took Lin's hand, who was still in shock. Lilin, on the other hand, nodded with a resigned look.
"Jaw-Long, what are you waiting for?" Fa turned to ask her nephew, who seemed frozen.
"You said children, not everyone," replied Jaw-Long.
"You're a teenager, that still counts as a child to me," Fa took Jaw-Long's hand firmly.
"My sister must be heading to the port with my mom. The knight won't let us escape, I have to find him and distract him so you can all get away." Jaw-Long clenched his fists as he looked determinedly at the horizon.
"If this is what you truly want to do, I have no other choice but to accept it," said Fa with a lump in her throat, her voice broken with pain. "I don't like it, but I know that no matter how hard I try, one cannot go against the heart. I know how much you adore the little one, and my son is the same, I'm sure he will blame himself for not being able to protect his sister, or at least trying." Fa paused, taking a deep breath before continuing.
"I want to think that your decision is the right one. I want to believe that what you are about to do is better than living with the weight of guilt for the rest of your life," she concluded, her voice trembling but firm.
With a resigned sigh, Fa turned and, without looking back, walked away, taking the children with her.
Liling saw Jaw-Long gripping his spear tightly. For a moment, he became an immovable wall.
She had heard stories of the sorrowful Jaw-Long, always doubting himself until his little sister was born. It's said that with each year since the little one's arrival, Jaw-Long became more confident. It was as if he had gained a reason to fight, someone to impress, someone to protect.
Seeing him standing there, looking forward without fear, Liling couldn't help but think that this is what a warrior, an older brother, should aspire to be.
"Everything will be fine, we will never leave you," Liling said to Lin as they moved forward.
"Do you promise?" Lin asked, looking at her. "I promise. I will be your wall, immovable, always by your side," Liling responded with determination.
"Linling!" Lilin snapped Liling out of her trance.
"Listen, we still have a chance. Thanks to you not leaving before our arrival. In the old days, when I used to travel the world, I went to Wano and got plenty of these bullets," said Lilin, showing her a bag full of bullets.
"Those beasts can't be detected using observation haki. Armament haki, on the other hand, is quite effective. But not as much as these bullets that Haruta helped me bring. The beasts are the product of a devil fruit, their natural enemy is the sea. And what better than a good seastone bullet to eliminate them in one shot?" Liling smiled confidently.
"I'll give the order to use them immediately. We'll split into groups so we can cover as much territory as possible," said Liling, it was only a matter of time before they arrived to aid the first ring.
Meanwhile, Ace had found Doflamingo.
The sun was starting to set over the first ring, which was completely covered in a brilliant blue fire. In that place, two powerful pirates were preparing to face off in a battle for the ages to come.
Donquixote Doflamingo, the Shichibukai known for his ruthless tactics and power, stood at one end of the battlefield. At the other end was Portgas D. Ace, the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates Second Division, whose fire could incinerate an entire island.
With a malicious smile, Doflamingo raised his hand and summoned a barrage of razor-sharp strings, sending them toward Ace with deadly precision. Ace reacted quickly, dodging and returning the attack with ease, his body flickering in and out of existence as he transformed into flames.
"Is that all? You'll have to do better than that because I won't hold back," Ace taunted with a smile on his face.
Doflamingo's eyes narrowed as he unleashed another barrage of strings, this time imbued with Haki. The strings sliced through the air like deadly serpents, forcing Ace to concentrate all his energy on evading them.
As the battle progressed, the two pirates seemed evenly matched, each unleashing powerful attacks and dodging deadly counterattacks. Doflamingo's strings continued to cut through the air like a deadly dance, while Ace's flames roared and crackled with lethal force.
Suddenly, Doflamingo pulled out a strange object from his pocket. It looked like a dagger but emitted a creepy black aura.
Ace didn't know what it was, but he felt a chill run down his spine.
Doflamingo lunged forward, his movements quick and deadly. Ace tried to dodge, but the sudden change in tactic caught him by surprise. The knife plunged into his side, making him scream in pain.
Instantly, he felt his powers begin to fade. The flames around him flickered and went out.
He staggered, his body suddenly heavy and numb. "It's time for your nap, Gol D. Ace, fufufu," Doflamingo said with a toothy grin as he injected something into Ace's now immobile body.
Ace felt as if his entire body was being slowly sucked dry, his organs twisting in agony. He could barely stay conscious, just enough to see the man laughing with satisfaction.
The duel on Return Island in the Grand Line. The battle between these two pirates will be remembered as the trigger for an extremely important incident that would follow.