[~1250 words]
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"Doflamingo, surrender! Every member of your Donquixote Family has already been defeated. You're all alone now."
"Fufufufufu~ You want me to surrender? Don't make me laugh! Let's settle this with our strength!"
Doflamingo spread his arms wide, revealing an incredibly dense mass of strings. He must have been secretly accumulating power ever since the fight began.
With a sharp flick, he hurled the mass toward the ground. Before it could even touch the earth, it exploded violently.
Countless strings erupted skyward like a volcanic burst. At their peak, they scattered in every direction like a meteor shower, raining down across Dressrosa.
"Birdcage!"
"30 Million Volts: Thunderstorm!"
James waved his hand casually. Thunder roared as a massive storm of lightning exploded against the dense string mass, incinerating most of it in an instant. Only a few sparse strands of the Birdcage remained—nowhere near enough to trap or threaten anyone inside.
"Do you really want to compare speed with me?" James asked mockingly.
"Fufufu~ String Bullet!"
Doflamingo fired a sharp projectile, but James simply tilted his head slightly, dodging it with ease.
"Compare speed? Even if you were faster, how would you break through all these layers of 'defense' around me?"
Doflamingo twirled his fingers, and civilians immediately swarmed around him, forming three dense protective layers on all sides—even above his head.
"Oh? Is this your so-called reliance?" James's voice dripped with disdain. "How utterly boring."
Did Doflamingo really think mere "innocent people" could obstruct James's path of conquest? If anyone was to blame for their deaths, it was Doflamingo himself—the one controlling them like puppets.
If he chose to hide behind a crowd of civilians… then there was simply nowhere left to hide.
And what did the String-String Fruit fear most?
Fire.
James transformed into his powerful dragon-human hybrid form. He took a deep breath, condensing scorching heat deep within his mouth.
"How is this possible…?! This form—!" Doflamingo's eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
Ignoring his opponent's panic, James finished charging and unleashed the attack.
"Divine Dragon: Small Blazing Flame!"
A thick, blazing yellow pillar of fire erupted from his mouth, surging forward like a roaring torrent straight toward Doflamingo.
Doflamingo's face twisted in alarm. "I thought you cared about civilians, just like that fool Jinbe!"
He tapped his toe sharply. Awakened String-String power spread rapidly around him, turning the ground into strings that shot upward to form a reinforced barrier coated in Armament Haki.
"Shield White String!"
The civilians acting as his shields were pierced by the erupting strings, their screams filling the air.
The yellow pillar of fire slammed into the Shield White String. It held for only a single breath before the flames burned straight through, completely leveling the defense.
That brief moment, however, was enough for Doflamingo to slip past the edge of the fire blast and dart to the side.
"You don't care about civilian lives at all…?! Then why are you working with Jinbe?!" Doflamingo shouted in confusion.
James offered no reply. His eyes flashed red as he swung his massive dragon tail, slamming it down with crushing force along Doflamingo's escape route.
Doflamingo's heart clenched. He desperately summoned Rough Wave White String from beneath his feet, spiraling upward to meet the tail.
But the difference in raw power was overwhelming.
The dark, Armament Haki-coated dragon tail—crackling with electricity—grew larger and larger in his vision. Along with his strings, Doflamingo was brutally smashed into the string-transformed ground below.
*Sizzle…*
The electricity surging from the tail poured endlessly into Doflamingo's body. In mere moments, there was no sign of life left beneath the crushing weight of the tail.
This overwhelming dominance was exactly what James had expected.
After all, he hadn't been slacking off lately.
Ever since capturing Nami, Robin, and Vivi—the three "heavyweight" Divine Concubines—James had spent nearly every moment by their side.
A sense of closeness, built on shared nights together and growing affection, established a nurturing atmosphere conducive to his flourishing.
His physical improvement had been nothing short of incredible, especially in stamina and Armament Haki.
As of now, his endurance was enough to fight the elite warriors of the Divine Palace for seven full days and nights without tiring.
His Armament Haki had also grown far beyond its previous limits—no longer something that would deplete after a short clash with someone like Beckman.
He estimated he had already reached the upper tier of the Seven Warlords, likely surpassing even Doflamingo's strength.
Of course, he still couldn't compare to Mihawk.
With his varied combat methods and few Logia opponents to worry about, Armament Haki's role was mostly defensive for now. Combined with the Float-Float Fruit, however, it produced excellent results.
In the highest levels of combat, battles revolved around advanced Devil Fruit abilities and Conqueror's Haki coating. For James, who had become the embodiment of lightning itself, his speed made it nearly impossible for enemies to land effective hits.
What he needed to focus on now was acquiring even stronger Devil Fruit powers and mastering the secret behind Conqueror's Haki coating.
[Still, let's be rational about this. Everyone's opinions are valid! In the end, whether it's the power system or a character's displayed combat strength, it all comes down to what Oda-san decides.]
Even Conqueror's Haki coating might not remain the ultimate technique forever. Who knows what new settings the author might introduce later?
For example, a Haoshoku Super Shockwave that concentrates all of one's Conqueror's Haki and affects the entire world…
The idea that Haki surpasses everything was just Kaido's opinion—a loser's perspective.
It would have been more fitting coming from Shanks or Roger. Blackbeard, after all, still firmly believed that Devil Fruit power was supreme.
After Kaido made that claim, he was ultimately defeated by Luffy, who had awakened the Nika fruit. Luffy's victory relied heavily on that Devil Fruit power.
When people think of Whitebeard, the "Strongest Man in the World," they remember the Tremor-Tremor Fruit—the power Sengoku said could destroy the world.
Kaido earned the title "Strongest Creature" largely because of his Dragon-Dragon Fruit.
Law once said strong enough Haki could nullify Devil Fruit effects, yet he himself used his own fruit abilities against Big Mom. Clearly, the balance is more nuanced.
[These are all statements made by characters in the story. They shouldn't be taken as absolute canon from Oda unless explicitly stated in the narration.]
In the end, what truly surpasses everything are the people who wield the power.
(Or rather, it's whatever story Oda wants to tell. Whatever he decides is awesome, becomes awesome. The power scaling was already broken the moment Shanks lost his arm to a small Sea King.)
Haki, Devil Fruits, martial arts, swordsmanship, and even advanced technology—they are all simply different means to the same end.
No matter which path one chooses, mastering it to the highest degree can place someone among the world's top powerhouses.
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