The person who appeared was none other than one of the Five Elders: Jaygarcia Saturn.
Roy had been lingering in Dressrosa for days. Both the World Government and the Marines were aware of his presence. It was impossible for them not to take action.
Right now, the Whitebeard Pirates were considered at the same level of threat as the Revolutionary Army. The moment they were spotted, the World Government would mobilize forces to eliminate them.
And so, upon detecting Roy, Saturn himself descended.
"Thirty-eight years… Seeing you again makes me want to kill you more than ever." Roy exhaled sharply.
Thirty-eight years ago, at God Valley, this man had seared himself into Roy's memory. Back then, Roy had opened his eyes to see Saturn leading a group of Celestial Dragons on a slaughtering spree. The source of this content ɪs 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝕟𝕖𝕥
The rewards offered back then, the Phoenix Fruit, the Fish-Fish Fruit, and the Paw-Paw Fruit, had all been treasures that were all part of their collection.
People used to say that Mythical Zoans were rarer than Logia-type Devil Fruits, but in truth, that wasn't the case. It just seemed that way because the World Nobles hoarded them all.
The World Nobles had an extraordinary obsession with Mythical Zoans.
Roy suspected this obsession was linked to the Nika Fruit. From it, the World Government likely saw the hidden potential of Mythical Zoan awakening and has been collecting them ever since.
"A slave rising above his station… Truly, slaves should remain slaves forever. I should have branded you back then." Saturn sneered.
"Brand me? Hah! You weren't worthy." Roy shot back.
A rumble echoed from below, battle had already erupted beneath their feet.
Doflamingo looked at Saturn warily. As a former Celestial Dragon, he had seen the Five Elders when he was young. Back then, his dream was to become a Holy Knight and one day join their ranks,
That dream was long dead. He now hated the Celestial Dragons with a passion.
A bladed leg lashed toward Roy, only for him to dodge effortlessly.
"You should have died long ago." said Saturn coldly.
"Maybe. But fate has a sense of humor, keeping the 'dead man' alive to stand before you. Now, it's your turn to die." Roy replied.
"You don't actually think you can escape, do you?" Saturn's body began to warp, his form shifting.
Roy glanced around, without a word, he smashed through a window and fled.
His sudden retreat stunned everyone. Saturn gave chase.
Outside, chaos had erupted. With Sugar unconscious, the people who had been turned into toys returned to their human forms. Their hatred for Doflamingo exploded.
Kyros stormed the palace, decapitating Doflamingo in one swing.
Saturn didn't react to the scene. Instead, he and Admiral Fujitora chased after Roy.
"Forget the other pirates, dealing with the Yonko is the top priority," Saturn ordered, and Fujitora obeyed.
After fleeing the palace, Roy quickly found Atmos.
"Big bro! The fruit was eaten by a guy named 'Lucy'!" Atmos reported apologetically.
"It's fine. If someone's already eaten it, we'll just have Ace pay for it," Roy said with a laugh.
"Why Ace?" Atmos asked, confused.
"Because the guy who ate it is Ace's friend. They're pretty close."
"Really? That's fine, then. As long as it didn't end up with some random guy," Atmos replied. "What do we do now?"
"One of the Five Elders is here. I want you to hold off Admiral Fujitora while I deal with him," Roy grinned.
"The Five Elders?! Damn…" Atmos gasped. "Those monsters are alive and walking, and now one of them's here in person?"
"Just stall him. Don't go all out, we'll need to run later. Head to Green Bit," Roy instructed.
"Got it." Atmos turned into a massive dragon, and Roy leapt onto his back. Meanwhile, Fujitora used his gravity powers to float a massive stone slab and brought Saturn with him in pursuit.
Down below, chaos reigned. People who had no grudge against each other were now filled with rage over being turned into toys by Doflamingo. All they wanted was revenge.
In the underground arena, "Lucy" finally revealed his identity, it was Sabo.
"Ace sent me. And thanks to that, I've managed to piss off both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beasts Pirates," Sabo said with a smile.
"I just got word: one of the Five Elders has appeared," Koala said nervously.
"We don't need to bother with him. He's not our target; he's after Roy, the Vice Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates. Our job is to secure these weapons," said Sabo.
Robin had spotted them and ran over to join their group. Luffy also arrived at the palace to rescue Roy.
"Our alliance is over," Law told Luffy.
"Don't move, these are Seastone cuffs. I've got no strength," Luffy said.
The cuffs and even the key were made from Seastone. Luffy still hadn't built up any immunity to them.
This was where Kaido's training showed its value. He had thrown Luffy into the Udon Prison to toughen him up, where he met Hyogoro, who taught him advanced Armament Haki (Ryuo). That laid the foundation for Luffy to coat his attacks with Conqueror's Haki.
As for Rayleigh? Who's that?
Roy was very pleased that his son trained under Kaido. In just over a year, he had reached near-Emperor level, a testament to Kaido's methods.
"I'm a subordinate of the Whitebeard Pirates. Because of that, Doflamingo won't dare do anything to me," Law said.
"You joined the Whitebeard Pirates? When did that happen?!" Luffy exclaimed.
"A year ago," Law replied, recalling the incident on Hachinosu. He had been there with the Blackbeard Pirates and Coby to deal with Wang Zhi, but ended up running into Roy, who was there 'shopping'.
Blackbeard's crew was wiped out, and Law had no choice but to join the Whitebeard Pirates. If he had refused, he would've been dead or forced to perform the Perpetual Youth Surgery for Roy.
Roy would've used Bepo and the others to threaten him, making Law use his Devil Fruit to its fullest, then discard him.
"You need to escape fast. The World Government and a Marine Admiral are here. The faster you leave, the better. Also, Doflamingo's fine. That guy you just saw? Just a clone," Law warned.
"Fufufufu... You found me out," said the beheaded Doflamingo, suddenly opening his mouth to speak.
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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