"Hey, hey, hey~"
"Are they really fighting?"
"Fuffuffuffu..."
"These two monstrous guys."
"Looks like we've got a good show to watch~"
Doflamingo, who had originally planned to fish in troubled waters and find a chance to leave, instead hid to the side to watch the show after Aramaki and Kuzan started fighting, looking completely relaxed and at ease.
Until a gentle female voice sounded from behind him: "Excuse me, are you Mr. Doflamingo? I heard you were looking for me?"
"Hm?"
Doflamingo's expression changed slightly. His Observation Haki hadn't sensed anyone approaching, yet a voice had reached his ears...
This made Doflamingo's brow furrow slightly. He turned around, and what met his eyes was a stunningly beautiful woman with long, snow-white hair and skin so perfect it seemed it would break at a touch.
"And you are?"
Doflamingo thought to himself, Is it because she's too weak that my Observation Haki didn't work?
"Is that so?"
"If you are Mr. Doflamingo, then that's great."
"In that case, I haven't got the wrong person."
As the beautiful girl spoke, a giant purple magic circle lit up around her body. By the time Doflamingo could react, the girl had transformed from her previous delicate appearance into a female demon with demon wings, a heroic and valiant expression, and sharp, piercing eyes.
Pow!
Before Doflamingo could think, the woman's fist had already landed on his face, sending him flying with a single punch.
BOOM!!
With a thunderous crash, Doflamingo landed in a pile of rubble. He looked around, completely bewildered.
"It's Doflamingo?!"
"How did he fall from the sky?"
"What on earth happened?"
In an instant, countless pirates who couldn't escape and didn't know what else to do but watch the commotion gathered around. They stared at the Doflamingo who had fallen from the sky and asked in confusion.
"I'd like to ask the same thing! What the hell just happened?!"
Doflamingo, his face covered in blood, emerged from the ruins. His eyes were wide with confusion as he looked up at the female demon in the sky.
"It's the Queen of Mock Town! 'The She-Demon' Mirajane!"
The pirates followed Doflamingo's gaze towards the sky, and upon seeing Mirajane in her demon form, they all exclaimed.
"What?"
"That white-haired woman is the Queen of Mock Town?"
"With that kind of power, why is she languishing in Paradise, being the queen of this tiny Mock Town?"
"Is the New World not vast enough, or does 'ONE PIECE' not hold enough attraction for her?"
Doflamingo was a bit stunned. In his mind, with the combat power Mirajane had just displayed, she could easily serve as an officer in any of the Four Emperors' crews in the New World.
Boom!
Just as Doflamingo was about to make a move, he suddenly found his feet frozen by ice. The pupils behind his sunglasses trembled violently as he thought, This is ice? Kuzan?!
"No! That's not right..."
However, Doflamingo quickly calmed down. Kuzan's ice was much, much colder than this.
Thump!
Just as Doflamingo broke free from the ice at his feet, the person walking towards him was... a completely naked pervert.
"..."
Doflamingo's signature smile froze on his face. He thought to himself, My eyes are going blind. What the hell is this?
"Gray-sama, wait for me!"
Just as Doflamingo was staring at the censored figure in a daze, a beautiful young woman with long blue hair and proper features came running towards the pervert.
"What do you even see in him...?"
Doflamingo could tell at a glance that the girl was deeply in love...
To be precise, it was unrequited love.
After all, the girl's demeanor was exactly the same as Baby 5's.
At this moment, Doflamingo was utterly confused. While this girl's appearance wasn't devastatingly beautiful and was indeed a bit lacking compared to the Queen of Mock Town...
She was definitely a top-tier beauty. What on earth could she possibly see in the naked pervert before her?!
"This world must be sick," Doflamingo concluded after long consideration.
BOOM!
Meanwhile, ignoring the elemental clash between Aramaki and Kuzan, now that Kuzan was no longer focused on Teach and Ace, the two were locked in a fierce battle.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Ace's fists, coated in Armament Haki, relentlessly hammered Teach's body as if they were free...
Due to the side effect of the Dark-Dark Fruit, Teach was taking double the damage and was rolling around on the ground in agony.
"You bastard!"
Teach cursed furiously and roared, "Dark Water!"
"Hm?!"
Dark smoke billowed from Teach's palm as he forcefully grabbed Ace's arm. He laughed maniacally, "Zehahaha! I don't know why you're not using your Flare-Flare Fruit, Commander Ace..."
"But now that I've caught you, you can't use your fruit powers anymore."
"Are you feeling weak?"
"Don't worry, that's normal. Take a deep breath..."
Teach, not yet realizing the gravity of the situation, grinned widely and laughed.
POW!
Ace, with a look of confusion, swung his Haki-wrapped fist and smashed it into Teach's face.
"Huh?!"
Teach was momentarily stunned. He looked at Ace and asked in disbelief, "Why aren't you shocked that your powers have temporarily disappeared?"
That's right. Teach had been trying to find a flaw in Ace's defense. He thought that once he grabbed Ace with his Dark-Dark Fruit ability, Ace would be utterly shocked and make a fatal mistake. But Ace was calm, incredibly calm.
"Devil Fruit?"
"I stopped using that thing a long time ago," Ace said, covering for himself, before continuing to swing his fists at Teach.
"What?"
Teach was utterly shocked upon hearing Ace's words.
Indeed, not only had he failed to find a weakness in Ace, but Ace had found one in him. This punch left his face covered in blood once again.
At the same time, the pirates on the island were running around in a panic.
"This is no good!"
"Over there is Her Majesty the Queen and that 'Heavenly Yaksha' guy!"
"This way is even more dangerous! It's Admiral Kuzan and some unknown Logia user!"
"And over here is the Whitebeard Pirates' 2nd Division Commander Ace and Blackbeard!"
"Is this whole island going to sink?"
"When are we going to find a safe place?"
The people of Mock Town had started to go numb. They looked at the small island where powerful people were fighting everywhere, completely panicked.
Just when the pirates of Mock Town thought that no matter what, the battle had reached its peak and wouldn't get any more chaotic...
Little Black had already brought Eden and the others to a spot not far from Mock Town.
BOOM!!
Before Eden's group even set foot on the island, they could feel the overwhelming Haki, the clash of elements, and waves of powerful magic.
"What's happening?"
Nami trembled, suddenly not wanting to go ashore.
"There are powerful people fighting on the island," Laxus said with his eyes closed. He was using the Mantra (Observation Haki) he learned in Skypiea, enhanced by his Rumble-Rumble Fruit, to instantly grasp the situation across Mock Town.
After a moment, Laxus continued, "Gray and Juvia are on the island too. Also, Gray isn't wearing any clothes."
"No, no, no..." Eden interjected. "We don't need to mention that Gray isn't wearing clothes."
"Anyway, Nami, Robin, and Happy, you stay here. The rest of us are going ashore."
"I think I have a pretty good idea who's fighting on the island right now," Eden said, cracking his knuckles, eager for a fight.
After all, the signature world of ice and snow and the giant tree-man were too obvious.
What Eden didn't know was how these people had managed to drag Aramaki, the Taya Kingdom's strongest fighter, all the way here, when he had only sent Mirajane and Juvia to the South Blue's Taya Kingdom to save Gray.
The World Government must be crying its eyes out.
When the current Admiral 'Akainu' Sakazuki becomes Fleet Admiral and finds out one of his Admirals is missing, leaving him with only Koby as a teammate, wouldn't his world come crashing down?!
"Eden, wait a moment."
"Do you people really know who that man fighting on the island ahead is?"
"This level of ice... there's no mistaking it! It's that man... the World Government's ultimate weapon, Marine HQ Admiral 'Aokiji' Kuzan."
At this moment, Robin's bare legs were trembling from the chill in the air, her eyes flashing with a fear of the ice.
It seemed the cold weather had stirred up some bad memories in her mind.
"Robin, who do you think I am? Steer the ship closer..." Eden said, looking at the trembling Robin, suddenly saying something absurd to lighten the mood.
"Huh?"
Sure enough, the moment Eden's words fell, Robin froze on the spot, but her constantly trembling body stopped shaking.
"Robin, Nami, listen up!"
"Since we dared to accept you as our nakama, we definitely have the power to protect you from any enemy."
"Laxus, my man! Our guildmate has been scared by the enemy, so what should we do now?! The answer is..." Eden said, his gaze fixed on the island ahead.
"...Pay them back a hundredfold," Natsu cut in before Eden could finish or Laxus could speak.
"I'm all fired up," Natsu, Laxus, and Eden then said, almost in unison.
Vwoom!
The next second, the figures of Natsu, Laxus, and Eden vanished from Little Black's head.
"Now then, when it comes to fighting, let's just leave it to the experts," Happy said, pulling out a small handkerchief and waving it silently. He turned to comfort Robin and Nami. "As for us? We just have to wait here quietly."
"Aye~" Little Black rumbled in agreement, which, translated from Sea King language, meant: "Happy is right."
BOOM!!
Meanwhile, at the very center of the Mock Town battlefield, where Aramaki and Kuzan were fighting.
Perhaps because Aramaki was younger and had significantly less experience fighting opponents of the same caliber as Kuzan, he had been at a disadvantage and constantly suppressed since their brief exchange began.
"Ara-ra..."
"This won't do," Kuzan said, looking at the retreating Aramaki whom he had pinned down. "If you keep retreating like this, you won't be able to protect the people you want to protect."
"Easy for you to say, old man Kuzan, but you're hitting harder and harder," Aramaki roared as he defended himself clumsily.
In a flash, half of Aramaki's massive body was already frozen by Kuzan's ice, which was not a good sign...
BOOM!!
Just as the inexperienced Aramaki was being relentlessly beaten down by Kuzan, a golden bolt of lightning suddenly descended from the sky, forcing Kuzan's ice back.
"Hm?!"
Sensing the ferocious power of the lightning coming from above, Kuzan slowly raised his head and looked at the sky.
RUMBLE...
The sky was filled with dark clouds, and thunder echoed continuously.
Then, Laxus, clad in a greatcoat and wreathed in lightning, landed in front of Kuzan, bringing Eden with him.
"..."
For a moment, Kuzan stared at Laxus and Eden, who had just burst onto the battlefield. His brows furrowed tightly as he said in a low voice, "Things are getting troublesome! Even I can't handle another monster while facing an opponent on my level."
(Note: Once Laxus completely stabilizes the surging power within him and develops techniques to match it, he'll truly be on the level of the current veteran Admirals and Four Emperors. Of course, this doesn't count the power of friendship. Just shout a slogan, and even Imu would drop dead.)
BOOM!
Laxus's aura was immense, lightning crackling around him. He stared at Kuzan and said coldly, "You don't get to choose."
"By the way, Eden," Laxus said, turning to him.
"Is this a fight you can interfere in at your current level?"
"We're on different levels!"
"Everyone here is a monster in the 'inhuman' realm."
"What are you doing jumping into this mess?!" Laxus asked, looking at Eden beside him.
(Note: After reaching his breakthrough before Eden, Laxus's attitude had become particularly foul.)
"Why not?" Eden retorted to Laxus.
Then, right in front of Laxus, Eden ate a large area of the nearby ice, swallowing it all into his stomach. With a satisfied look, he said, "Isn't ice just solid water? If so, I can eat it just fine!"
"And so, the Ice Dragon King makes his entrance!" As Eden said this, waves of freezing energy erupted from his body. He looked at Kuzan in the distance, eager for a fight.
"Huh?"
"My ice... was eaten?"
Kuzan was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected his ice to be eaten by this guy.
In other words, this guy, Eden, might just be his natural enemy.
"However..."
After a brief moment of shock, Kuzan recovered. Waves of black Haki had, at some point, begun to swirl around him.
That's right. Those who become Marine Admirals, including Borsalino, are not useless bums who rely solely on their Devil Fruits.
If their fruit abilities were unusable, they still knew a thing or two about fisticuffs.
And how good were Kuzan's fisticuffs?
Well, not that strong...
He just regularly sparred with his master, Garp, that's all.
BOOM!
Just as Kuzan was about to use his hand-to-hand combat skills to avoid using his ice, which could be consumed and countered by Eden...
A bolt of lightning fell from the sky, piercing straight through his body and shattering it completely.
Then, several vines wrapped in Armament Haki smashed Kuzan's remaining fragments.
"Eh?"
Kuzan's pupils shrank slightly.
Fortunately, he had used his Observation Haki to predict these attacks and had already turned into his element to dodge them.
But the trouble now was, how could he possibly make a clean getaway when faced with a peer, a candidate, and a counter, all teaming up against him?
That's right, at this moment, Kuzan was no longer thinking about how to capture pirates. If he could just escape, it would be a victory.
"How about this, you come at me one by one?" Kuzan asked, scratching his hair as he looked at Eden and the others.
"Old man, are you sleep-talking?" Eden replied upon hearing this.
"Ahaha..."
"So that's a no?" Kuzan laughed awkwardly, speaking with resignation.
BOOM!!
On the other side, as Teach gradually figured out Ace's simple attack patterns, he could now easily block all of Ace's offensive moves and was effectively suppressing him.
Before long, Ace's face was covered in blood. It was clear he was struggling against Teach's powerful assault.
"Zehahaha..."
"Commander Ace, it looks like you're almost done for, huh?"
"Now can you tell me where your Flame-Flame Fruit went?" Teach asked, incredibly curious.
(Note: He couldn't accept that anyone in this world, aside from himself with his Dark-Dark Fruit, could extract a Devil Fruit from its host's body without harming the host.)
"Fire Fist!!"
Just as Teach was questioning Ace...
A giant fist of fire, serving as Ace's answer, suddenly descended from the sky, directly blasting away the interrogating Teach.
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts so much!"
Teach writhed on the ground, wailing in pain.
"Damn it! Where did that fire come from?"
Just as Teach was wondering...
Natsu suddenly dropped from the sky, landing beside Ace. He smiled and said, "Yo, Ace! Looks like you're in trouble. Need my help?"
"Natsu," Ace said with a deadpan expression. "You're using my power to help me, is that it?!"
"Dark Water!"
Just then, Teach launched a sneak attack on Natsu. He said excitedly, "I don't understand why Commander Ace's power has transferred to your body! But it all ends now, with my Dark Water..."
BOOM!
Before Teach could finish...
Natsu slammed his burning fist into him, sending him flying once again, and asked, "Are you ever going to stop, you bastard?"