Crack!
Amid the violent pressure of the slashing attack, a crisp sound of shattering glass rang out with startling clarity.
The blood-red lenses that looked as if they were embedded into Donquixote Doflamingo's face suddenly exploded, revealing a pair of eyes filled with both terror and rage.
"…How is this possible…"
A faint murmur slipped from Doflamingo's lips.
His ambition had yet to be fulfilled.His hatred had yet to be settled…
A lifetime of suffering, and the darkness and malice that had erupted from it, seemed unbearably fragile at this very moment.
Boom!!!
The slash infused with the power of the universe gave him no time to reflect on his life. It carried his body downward and smashed it straight into the island below.
Amid violent tremors and deafening roars, the edge of the uninhabited island—large enough to rival several towns—was suddenly carved open, forming a perfectly circular crater.
Seawater surged in wildly, quickly flooding the exposed land and turning it into a chaotic shoreline.
And the pink figure that had fallen together with the slash had already vanished without a trace.
"That's bad~"
"Looks like I used a bit too much force."
Hovering in midair after everything was over, Issho gazed down at the sea and couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
It couldn't be helped.
He still hadn't fully mastered these techniques. Failing to rein in his strength at the critical moment…
That was only natural.
Fortunately, as a rare Psychic-type wielder, he had already left a mark on Doflamingo the moment the battle began.
Otherwise, trying to locate a single person in the vast depths of the sea would have been anything but easy.
Splash…
With a thought, Issho's Psychic Power—unaffected by seawater—pierced through the deep ocean and the pile of shattered island debris below.
The next instant, within a heap of rubble deep beneath the island, Doflamingo's body was enveloped by a purple-pink spherical barrier and rapidly lifted to the surface, landing directly in Issho's hand.
With Pokémon energy reaching Level 86, comparable to that of a Legendary Pokémon, such a trick was effortless for Issho, who was already accustomed to Pokémon power.
In truth…
If he hadn't ambushed Doflamingo with Teleport, combined with the amplification provided by various Pokémon moves, it wouldn't have been nearly this easy to defeat someone whose strength rivaled that of a top-tier Yonko commander.
One could only say…
The stronger the individual, the more terrifying the boost they gained after acquiring Pokémon power!
Issho, whose foundation was already solid to begin with, had now familiarized himself with Pokémon abilities and received powerful moves personally selected by Red. In a real fight, he might not be much weaker than veteran Admiral-level powerhouses like Akainu or Aokiji.
Whoosh—
Issho used his Psychic Power to lift Doflamingo's body without hesitation.
Seeing that Doflamingo was merely unconscious from severe injuries, Issho instantly flashed his blade sideways.
In an instant, blood sprayed and stained the sea.
Doflamingo's body fell once more toward the depths below.
Only a battered head remained, clenched in Issho's hand.
Eliminate evil completely. Leave no survivors.
Those were the eight words Red had personally instructed him with before Issho left Whole Cake Island.
Issho was too benevolent by nature.
Even when he knew his defeated foes were irredeemably evil, he rarely found it in himself to deliver the killing blow.
Mercy toward the wicked was cruelty toward the innocent.
To prevent such hesitation, Red had reminded him again and again.
As a result, even in death, Doflamingo never understood why he had been killed.
…
…
Not long after—
Deep beneath the sea, a submarine bearing the mark of pirates sped forward.
Upon learning that Issho—who possessed Admiral-level strength—was heading to deal with Doflamingo, Trafalgar Law immediately set out without rest, leading his subordinates from the island he governed toward the Kingdom of Dressrosa.
Recently, he had been traveling daily to Whole Cake Island to train and level up by battling wild Pokémon.
Coupled with his outstanding talent, his strength had been increasing at a breathtaking pace.
Although he was still far behind trusted Straw Hat members like Zoro and Sanji, among the Supernovas, Law's current strength was leagues ahead—standing on an entirely different tier.
Even so, Law still didn't believe he had any real chance of defeating Doflamingo in a direct confrontation.
Yet before he could reach the level of confidence he sought, the news that awaited him was Doflamingo's death.
"Please don't die yet, Doflamingo…"
Inside the faintly glowing submarine, Law silently prayed.
Wasn't this moment exactly what he had trained so desperately for!?
But just then—
A member of the Heart Pirates, who was on lookout duty, suddenly shouted:
"There's something ahead!"
As he spoke, he quickly pressed several buttons on the control panel.
From the side of the submarine, a mechanical arm extended into the dim depths, grabbed hold of something, and pulled it back inside.
Having inherited the shipping tycoon's industrial assets, Franky had naturally obtained the submarine construction technology and specialized equipment as well.
With proximity came priority.
The Heart Pirates, who already owned a submarine, were the first to enjoy this benefit, performing extensive modifications on their vessel.
But when the mysterious object from the deep sea was delivered into the cargo hold, the entire submarine fell eerily silent.
Only the low hum of the engine remained, proving that this was not the effect of any Silence Fruit.
After a long while, Law—one hand resting on the cursed blade Kikoku—let out a quiet sigh.
"…Looks like we're too late."
He turned slightly.
Behind him lay a headless corpse clad in a pink feathered coat and floral-patterned slim trousers.
At a glance, Law recognized it immediately—this was Doflamingo's body.
No… a corpse now.
It was impossible not to feel regret at failing to personally avenge years of hatred.
Yet once he confirmed Doflamingo's death, an indescribable sense of relief welled up in his heart.
"You saw it, didn't you, Rosinante…"
"This era really is different now."
Taking a deep breath, Law's expression hardened once more, as though nothing had happened.
He addressed his crew:
"Alright. We can now confirm the death of Doflamingo—King of Dressrosa and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"Report this to headquarters. We still have work to do."
…
…
Meanwhile, in the Pokémon world—
"Sorry about this, little cutie!"
"Six Powers · Finger Pistol!"
Boom!
With Bonney's rapid Finger Pistol strikes reinforced by Armament Haki, the mere Level 24 Eldegoss let out a miserable cry.
Under overwhelming strength, Bonney easily cleared the first Gym challenge of the Sword & Shield world, also helping Red obtain a long-awaited Gym Badge.
Cheers erupted from the crowd all around them.
Even though they were merely NPCs simulated by the machine, their fervor still infected Bonney, causing her to clench her fist and raise it high toward the cheering audience.
"She really does have the exact same personality as Luffy…"
"Come to think of it, does that mean Luffy's brain is only developed to the level of a ten-year-old too?"
Feeling the familiar sensation of mysterious power enhancing his body once again—though this boost was extremely faint and barely meaningful to his current self—
Red still grinned, silently teasing his absent captain.
With a thought, Red summoned the machine's virtual interface before his eyes.
After the system upgrade, he could freely control the machine's main interface even within the game world.
The minimal physical enhancement from the first Gym reward was exactly as expected.
After all, the difficulty spoke for itself.
Just like in Let's Go Pikachu / Eevee, the further he progressed, the greater the base stat rewards would become.
Right now, Red was far more interested in what Pokémon move this Grass Badge would grant him.
Soon, a familiar yet foreign lottery wheel appeared before him.
It was densely packed with Grass-type moves.
"Come on! Long time no see, gacha!"
With a thought, the virtual wheel spun rapidly.
Several minutes later, under Red's gaze, the pointer finally stopped on a move he didn't recognize—
Forest's Curse.
"Huh!? What kind of weird ability is this!?"
The massive wheel vanished, and in the next instant, profound information surged into Red's mind, allowing him to instantly grasp the effects of this move.
And once again, the machine proved worthy of being called "Boss Machine."
This newly drawn Pokémon move was—unsurprisingly—another bizarre outlier even among Grass-type moves.
Move: Forest's CurseType: GrassCategory: SpecialPower: —Description: Uses Grass-type energy to form a curse and bestow it upon the target, granting the target the Grass type.
That's right!
A move with no damage and no negative effects whatsoever!
Although the description called it a "curse," Red simply couldn't associate this move with the word.
Granting any target the Grass type out of thin air—allowing them to wield Grass-type energy, potentially learn Grass-type moves, and freely diversify move combinations…
What kind of curse was that!?
Thinking this, Red waved his hand.
In an instant, a withered branch emitting a strange aura condensed before him.
Not far away, Bonney—now back to her carefree, childlike self—was still hopping around excitedly. With a flick of Red's hand, the desiccated branch shot forward and sank straight into Bonney's arm.
"Huh!?"
Bonney froze mid-celebration.
The withered wood embedded in her arm suddenly seemed to absorb massive nutrients, bursting into fresh green shoots that wrapped around her limb.
And once enveloped by the tender vines, Bonney's arm was infused with a heavy yet vibrant life energy.
"What is this!?"
She raised her arm and asked Red curiously.
Red walked over, smiling slightly.
"Just a small test."
"How do you feel? Any discomfort?"
"Well…" Bonney frowned. "It's definitely uncomfortable—something suddenly appeared on my arm."
She gestured to the vines and continued:
"And it feels like this thing drained a lot of my Pokémon energy all at once. I can tell the energy didn't disappear, but I have no idea how to use it yet."
"Oh!?"
Red's eyes lit up.
He muttered softly:
"So this move isn't as useless as I thought…"
"And it's actually super effective!!!"
Hearing Bonney's explanation, realization dawned on him.
That's right!
Normally, a creature could only have one or two types.
Without increasing total energy, suddenly adding the Grass type meant that energy belonging to other types would be diverted to compensate.
And someone unfamiliar with Pokémon power would never be able to immediately wield Grass-type energy effectively.
Didn't that effectively seal at least one-third of an enemy's combat capability!?
"Good grief…"
"I almost mistook a god-tier skill for trash!"
"Now I'm really curious… how Forest's Curse would work on someone without a Pokémon template loaded by the machine."
"I'll test it later."
Thoughts raced through Red's mind, his lips curling upward.
And beyond combat, he suspected this move had even more applications.
For instance…
If Usopp's insects could be converted into Grass-type, taught Grass-type moves, and mass-bred…
Wouldn't that allow for targeted cultivation of powerful Grass-type insect swarms!?
Of course, for now, these were just hypotheses.
He would need time to experiment.
But at least one thing was certain—
Boss System was still Boss System.
And his gacha luck remained as strong as ever!
(End of Chapter)