Buffalo and Baby 5 had seen firsthand many times just how powerful the old man Lao G was. As members of the Donquixote Family, they knew exactly what he was capable of.
His body was incredibly tough, and his hand-to-hand combat skills were among the very best in the entire Family. Otherwise, why would he have been chosen as their martial arts instructor?
Blocking Marine artillery with his bare hands was practically routine for him. He had even taken down entire islands by himself while carrying out missions assigned by the Young Lord...
So when they saw Lao G unleash a level of power they had never witnessed before and charge straight at Giorno Giovanna, Buffalo and Baby 5 were completely confident. They were already preparing to jump out and cheer for his victory.
But who could have expected that Lao G's ferocious charge would end with Giorno swinging his staff and smashing him so hard that black-and-red lightning exploded from the impact, looking as though he had been blown apart on the spot?
The heavy crack of the blow echoed clearly even to their hiding place, making both of them shudder in fear.
Lao G went flying into the distance, blood spraying from his body. He crashed onto the ground and didn't move again. For all they knew, Giorno's single strike had killed him...
Buffalo and Baby 5 were completely paralyzed with shock. They stood there with identical expressions of utter horror, their mouths hanging open and tears and snot running down their faces.
Slowly, they pulled back the feet they had already started stepping forward with...
"Is this a hallucination?" Buffalo muttered. "How can there be a monster this strong...? That was Lao G at full power!"
He turned his head and was horrified to see Baby 5 transforming her upper body into a gigantic cannon, aiming right at Giorno Giovanna. His face went pale, and he rushed in front of the cannon's muzzle, keeping his voice down as he stopped her.
"What are you doing?!"
A visual question mark almost seemed to float above the cannon that was Baby 5.
"Have you gone crazy? Your cannon isn't going to kill him!" Buffalo said, sweating nervously.
"Didn't you see that even Mr. Gladius's explosion didn't do a thing to him? And in the end, he killed Mr. Gladius without breaking a sweat... What good would attacking him do? We'd just get ourselves killed!"
"..."
The cannon forming Baby 5's upper body slowly shifted back to normal. She rubbed her face and said gloomily, "Then what are we supposed to do?"
Buffalo whispered urgently, "Obviously, we get out of here while we still can!"
"Huh?" Baby 5 asked shyly. "Are you taking me with you to run away together?"
"This isn't the time to fool around!" Buffalo was practically beside himself. "The Den Den Mushi isn't working anymore. We need to sneak off while we have the chance and report everything that happened here to the Young Lord! Now, get on my back!"
He spread his arms and urged her on. Baby 5 quickly climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck.
'Whup-whup-whup-whup-whup-whup...'
Buffalo's head began spinning like a propeller. As it spun faster and faster, he took a few running steps, leaped into the air, and carried Baby 5 up into the snow-filled wind...
---
Robin glanced back at the flying figure receding into the distance. Judging by their direction, they were heading toward the cluster of buildings on the high ground in the center of the Birdcage.
'So that's where Doflamingo is...'
She turned her attention back to Liam, who had just sent the muscular old man flying with a single blow.
"He's pretty tough!"
Liam walked toward Lao G, Golden Iron Rod in hand, intending to finish him off. But he suddenly stopped and looked toward Jora, the female artist slumped on the ground nearby.
"Fool! A true artist isn't that easy to defeat!"
Jora was bleeding from a head wound and looking completely unhinged. Her entire body was shrouded in a swirling mass of dazzling, rainbow-colored energy. With a crazed roar, the colorful clouds surrounding her gathered into her hands as she thrust them straight toward Liam.
"Destructive Art!!!"
A wave of rainbow clouds erupted from her palms like a brilliant aurora, shooting straight at Liam.
"Submit to my art!"
Her frenzied scream carried a strangely high-pitched, almost operatic ring. Combined with the dazzling light pouring from her hands, the attack felt almost hypnotic.
The aurora-like stream swallowed Liam whole, yet it kept charging forward without losing momentum, curving slightly to sweep Robin up into it as well...
Robin was startled, but strangely enough, she didn't feel any pain from the attack.
The only problem was that the blinding rainbow glow made it impossible to see.
As the light gradually faded, the first thing Robin saw was Liam standing in front of her.
She froze in complete shock.
He looked unbelievable...
---
Buffalo, carrying Baby 5, flew straight toward the buildings on the high ground. From above, he spotted Pica, Diamante, and Machvise chatting near the open courtyard, where they had piled up all the stolen treasure chests.
"Hmm?" Diamante, the tall man, looked up and caught sight of the two figures flying toward them. "They're back? Did they find Corazon and Law?"
Pica and Machvise looked up too, only to see Buffalo flying through the sky with tears streaming down his face, screaming at the top of his lungs:
"Something terrible happened!!"
"Has Buffalo been hanging around Baby 5 too much?" Machvise grinned as he looked up. "Now he's making a big fuss over everything, too?"
Something terrible? What could have possibly happened?
At worst, the Marines had found them. How was that a big deal?
Pica remained composed, but when he turned and saw Doffy and Trebol stepping outside, his voice took on a sharp edge. "Doffy, I have a bad feeling about this."
Doflamingo showed no emotion as he walked toward the descending Buffalo. Calmly, he asked, "What happened?"
Buffalo was hyperventilating, though it was hard to tell whether he was exhausted or still terrified by what he'd witnessed. Baby 5 stood on his neck, looking at Doflamingo with tear-filled eyes.
"Mr. Gladius, Mr. Lao G, Mr. Señor, Miss Jora... They... they've all been killed!! Waaaah..."
"What did you say?!"
The moment Baby 5 said it, Pica, Diamante, and Machvise all turned pale with shock.
None of them expected Buffalo and Baby 5 to return with news like this.
Trebol, who had walked out beside Doflamingo, cried out, "How is that possible?! Who has the nerve to kill members of our Donquixote Family?! And who has the power to kill our officers?!"
Everyone turned toward Doflamingo, the anchor of the Family.
"Doffy..."
A terrifying, invisible pressure began to radiate from him. His face remained completely expressionless.
"Lead the way, Buffalo. Baby 5.
"Don't let anyone think they can touch a member of our family and walk away in one piece..."
Snow whipped through the air, seeming to freeze for a split second. Even the howling winter wind carried a chilling, murderous edge.
---
"You think just because you're New World pirates, you can look down on the Donquixote Family?
"Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho~ How naive! You two fools!!"
Jora was covered in blood and wounds. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Gladius's corpse, along with Señor and Lao G, whose conditions were unknown. Her eye twitched viciously, but she still raised her pinky delicately and burst into a loud, shrill laugh.
These two fools had actually dared to cross the Donquixote Family. She was going to humiliate them beyond measure.
Before her, the rainbow artistic aura finally cleared. Liam stood in front with Robin right behind him, both of their bodies transformed into something resembling abstract oil paintings.
Their lines were warped, their shapes utterly bizarre...
Liam looked down at his oddly shaped fists and gave them a shake. They were ridiculously soft and floppy, leaving him speechless.
Robin looked over her new appearance, surprisingly fascinated by it. Then she looked at Liam, whose body had been distorted in the exact same abstract style, and her cheeks flushed slightly.
『Your taste is a little too unique, isn't it?』
The Stand armor beside them couldn't help but mutter, standing there with its arms folded.
After all, it was a Stand. Naturally, Jora's Destructive Art had zero effect on it.
Liam looked puzzled. "I have a question."
"Ho-ho-ho! Ready to say your last words?" Jora sneered.
Liam shook his floppy hands and asked, "Is your art only this kind of abstract? Since it's the Art-Art Fruit, shouldn't there be more than just one style?"
"That makes sense..." Robin nodded from behind him, looking almost disappointed, though with her current abstract face, that expression looked bizarre beyond belief.
"How does that make any sense?!" Jora yelled, finally snapping.
She composed herself and let out two icy laughs. "Give it up! You've already been assimilated into my art, Giorno. No matter what kind of monster you are, it's over. You can't even muster a shred of strength right now, can you?"
Liam looked down at himself and nodded. "You're right. It feels like my body doesn't even belong to me anymore. I can't exert any strength... Have I really become part of the artwork?"
"Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho... That's the beauty of art! How could art ever be defiled by violence?!"
She screamed and charged forward. "Giorno! Jolyne Cujoh! You've already lost! Now... pay the price!"
She threw a leg kick straight toward the abstract Liam.
No emotion could be read on Liam's warped face. He simply muttered to himself, "Kami-e: Martial Body..."
'Bang!!'
Jora's kick slammed into the side of Liam's arm, but she was the one who shrieked in agony.
"Aaagh! Aaaagh! Aaagh!"
"...Tekkai."
The moment Liam finished speaking, his abstract body twisted violently. The lines forming his frame forced themselves straight, turning sharp and angular. The oil-painted texture of his body suddenly shifted into what looked like a brightly colored metal sculpture.
"H-How is this possible..." Jora's leg was already swollen and red as she stared at the transformed Giorno in complete disbelief. "My art... My art is invincible... Why...?"
"'How could art be defiled by violence?'"
Liam clenched his metallic, multicolored sculpted fist and slammed it down with a heavy crash.
Jora's head was smashed straight into the ground, creating a cracked crater as blood splattered in every direction.
"Who says... the aesthetics of violence aren't art?"
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/marvel6395