Chapter 40: Landfall! A Welcome Party from the Joker!
On the ice fields, the Den Den Mushi belonging to Doflamingo let out one final, piercing "Fufufufu" before going completely silent.
The ear-piercing laughter still echoed in everyone's ears, announcing a game that had long been set in motion.
"Bastard!"
Sabo punched the ice wall beside him, sending ice chips flying.
"He is declaring war on the entire world!"
Trafalgar Law's expression was so gloomy it looked like water was about to drip from his face.
He knew that man's madness better than anyone.
"Then we definitely can't go in through the front door!"
Nami grabbed the corner of Sabo's coat, her voice trembling.
"He has definitely laid out a dragnet!"
Garp, however, simply dug his finger into his ear impatiently.
"Let's move."
Ignoring everyone's protests, he walked straight toward the Thousand Sunny.
"Grandpa's decision is my decision!"
Luffy was the first to follow, his face full of excitement.
Sabo and Law exchanged a glance, both seeing deep helplessness in the other's eyes.
They had no choice.
Under Garp's orders, the Thousand Sunny made no attempt at camouflage. It turned its bow around.
Like an arrow leaving the string, it sped full force toward the island recorded by the Log Pose—the place known as the "Land of Love and Passion."
Inside the cabin, the sounds of Nami and Usopp wailing like banshees could be heard.
"It's over! We're dead!"
"Oh, my eight thousand subordinates! Your captain is about to be buried in the bellies of fish!"
The two of them hugged each other.
They took out pen and paper and began to write furiously.
Last Will and Testament.
Chopper was on the side, frantically rummaging through his medical kit.
"Fast-acting heart relief pills! Right! And adrenaline shots!"
"Everyone, line up! You might all need one soon!"
Dressrosa, Main Port.
The pirates on the watchtower spotted the ship—shining as bright as the sun—immediately.
"Enemy attack!"
"It's Straw Hat! It's the Thousand Sunny!"
Piercing alarm sirens instantly resounded throughout the entire port.
Rumble!
Along the coastline, hundreds of heavy cannons camouflaged behind buildings and rocks extended their barrels in unison.
The pitch-black muzzles, carrying the scent of death, locked onto the pirate ship breaking through the waves with pinpoint accuracy.
All of the port's security forces, along with the pirates subordinate to the Donquixote Family, stood in full battle array.
The atmosphere was explosive.
Just as the gunners were about to light the fuses—
A sharp, arrogant voice rang through the clouds via the loudspeaker Den Den Mushis distributed across the island.
"Fufufufu..."
"Let them in."
Doflamingo's order was unquestionable.
The gunners froze.
The captains of the security forces froze.
But they still executed the order.
Those hundreds of heavy cannons, powerful enough to raze a small island to the ground, slowly lowered their barrels.
The Thousand Sunny, under the gaze of countless complex stares, slowly docked.
The gangplank was lowered.
The Straw Hat crew, along with Sabo and Law, disembarked.
The entire port was empty.
On the streets, inside the shops—there wasn't a single living soul to be seen.
Only the sea breeze blew past, curling up a few scraps of paper and making a shashasha sound.
The atmosphere was weird to the extreme.
"What's going on?"
Usopp poked his head out, hiding behind Franky.
"Where did all the people go?"
Just then.
On both sides of the street, the residents who had been standing still as statues... moved.
Slowly, uniformly, they all turned their heads at the exact same time.
On every single face hung the exact same stiff, eerie smile.
Their mouths opened at the same frequency.
Hundreds, thousands of voices merged into a single voice, echoing through the empty port.
"Welcome... to Dressrosa."
"Aaaaaaah!"
Nami and Chopper's screams almost lifted the roof off.
"Are they... are they puppets?!"
"So scary!"
Zoro and Sanji instantly assumed combat stances, shielding the group.
"It's strings!"
Trafalgar Law's face instantly turned iron-blue.
His fists clenched tightly.
"That bastard! He's using strings to manipulate the residents of the entire port!"
"He intends to use the lives of civilians to threaten Garp-ya, who has always carried the burden of Justice!"
Garp, however, acted as if he didn't see a thing.
With both hands in his pockets, he stepped forward.
He walked straight through the eerie wall of people formed by the "welcoming" crowd.
He walked very slowly, very leisurely.
Like he was taking a stroll in his own backyard.
With every step he took forward—
The surrounding residents controlled by the silk strings retreated uncontrollably.
The eerie smiles on their faces vanished.
Replacing them was pure fear, stemming from the depths of their souls.
It was as if an invisible hand were strangling their throats.
Snap.
Snap, snap.
In the air, the sound of silk strings snapping—sounds almost too faint to hear—rang out.
Under the deterrence of Garp's invisible Haki, Doflamingo's proud "Parasite" strings broke inch by inch.
The liberated residents looked as if they had just woken from a dream.
They looked at their own hands in terror, then looked around, before screaming and scattering in all directions.
Dressrosa, King's Plateau, Inside the Palace.
In front of the massive surveillance Den Den Mushi screen, the smile on Doflamingo's face froze for the first time.
He watched the old man strolling idly on the screen.
He watched the "puppets" breaking free from his bindings so easily.
The wine glass in his hand was suddenly covered in cracks without him noticing.
"What is happening?"
"Lord Joker, the strings at the port..."
"Broken! They're all broken!"
"That old man is just walking! He didn't do anything!"
"That's impossible! What kind of Haki is that?! It can directly snap the Parasite strings just by vibrating?"
Trebol, the Supreme Officer standing behind him, shouted in disbelief.
Back at the Port.
At the end of the street.
A man wearing a purple kimono walked slowly toward them.
His eyes were closed tight, and a hideous cross-shaped scar marred his face.
In his hand, he held a shikomizue—a cane sword.
He walked very slowly, every step incredibly steady.
The stone pavement beneath his feet formed a shallow depression the instant he stepped down.
Finally, he stopped in front of Garp, blocking the path.
An aura as heavy as a mountain radiated from his body.
"I am Fujitora. I am here under orders."
The blind man bowed slightly.
"I wonder... what kind of 'Justice' does Mr. Garp bring on this journey?"
Garp stopped walking.
He didn't look at the man in front of him.
He simply raised his head.
His gaze bypassed the countless buildings, looking toward the Royal Palace sitting high above.
He grinned, revealing a mouthful of forest-white teeth.
"This old man is here to clean up a piece of garbage for the World Government... a piece of garbage that forgot its own status."
One sentence.
It made Fujitora's face—which had been as calm as an ancient well—change for the first time.
And inside the Royal Palace—
It made Doflamingo, who had just regained his composure, undergo a drastic change in expression.
(To be Continued)