The moment he heard the Young Master's cry for help, Pica's expression immediately turned anxious.
The Donquixote Family was a massive organization that Doflamingo had spent countless years and effort to build. The lower-ranking members were numerous and of a complex composition, not worth mentioning. But every single one of the Family's top executives was a time-tested, loyal subordinate. When Doflamingo promoted his top executives, the primary criterion was never ability, but loyalty. As long as they were fiercely loyal, he would invest heavily in them, even if their abilities were lacking.
Pica was one such individual.
The Stone-Stone Fruit was something Doflamingo had seized from the black market and personally handed to Pica. The Gold-Gold Fruit, the Op-Op Fruit, the Hobby-Hobby Fruit... all of them were meticulously prepared by Doflamingo for his subordinates, with the goal of creating a vast empire completely loyal to him alone. He never considered it a great waste to place these fruits in the hands of mediocre individuals. Because true powerhouses would not easily kneel before others. Doflamingo lacked the charisma to win the heartfelt allegiance of the truly strong, so he could only use this method to create a lineup of pseudo-powerhouses.
Pica's loyalty had been tested over many years and was beyond question.
Upon hearing Doflamingo's cry, he immediately abandoned his fight with Drake, sinking into the ground and rushing toward the central battlefield.
"Not good!"
The moment the stone giant disappeared, Drake knew something was wrong.
I can't let him interfere with the Captain's fight.
The central battle had clearly reached a critical moment. If Pica joined in now, he would undoubtedly cause immense trouble for Bellamy. If Doflamingo managed to turn the tables because of this, his own failure would be unforgivable.
At this thought, Drake quickly transformed from his hybrid form into his full Ancient Zoan form and charged in pursuit.
"Law, forget that trash! Get over here and help me!"
At that moment, Law was entangled with Diamante, the user of the Ripple-Ripple Fruit. Hearing Drake's shout, he instantly teleported out of the fight.
"Alright, I'm on my way."
Diamante's Ripple-Ripple Fruit was the inferior version of the Float-Float Fruit. Compared to its superior counterpart, the Ripple-Ripple Fruit's performance was far more pathetic. Perhaps it was because the user himself was too useless, but the abilities Diamante displayed were very ordinary. Whether it was steel or any other hard substance, a single touch from him could instantly change its physical properties, making it flutter in the wind. Diamante could also turn his own body into a ribbon-like shape and float around in the air.
This kind of development and application of an ability was frankly embarrassing. In fact, Diamante's primary method of attack was simply to bend steel into wavy shapes and swing it around. An opponent like this posed no real threat to Law. If not for his Armament Haki, Law would have already ripped out his heart and crushed it.
"Damn it, what nonsense are you spouting, you little brat?"
With the Young Master in trouble, how could Diamante not be anxious? Although he couldn't get over there, he could at least tie down one of their fighters.
Death Spangles!
Diamante pulled out several confetti cannons, which shot a sky full of paper slips. In the air, the fluttering paper instantly transformed into sharp, spiked iron balls, which then rained down like an impenetrable storm of steel.
"As long as I'm here, you're not going anywhere."
The battlefield here had bizarrely transformed into a situation where Diamante was desperately trying to hold back Law, while Drake was frantically chasing Pica. Doflamingo's single cry for help had caused a massive shift in the situation on the battlefield.
Near the city walls of the outer district, a large number of the Donquixote Family's lower-ranking executives were still gathered. Among them were many with powerful Devil Fruit abilities, such as Baby 5, the user of the Arms-Arms Fruit. But ability did not equate to strength. The remaining members of the Bellamy Pirates, along with the entire Heart Pirates crew, had them pinned down at the city gate.
Meanwhile, in the outer district, the rescued Tontatta dwarves and the forces loyal to the freed King Riku were launching a furious counterattack. The city had descended into complete chaos.
And at the very center of it all, in the most decisive battle of this war, the fight had reached a life-or-death turning point.
Bellamy's fist, coated in Armament Haki, pierced through Doflamingo's Shield White String and shot toward his head. Countless strings desperately wrapped around his arm, pulling and tearing, leaving innumerable bloody gashes. But an injury of this level could not make Bellamy waver in the slightest.
"I'll crush you with one punch!"
"ROAR!"
Bellamy couldn't help but let out a furious roar, his entire body, along with his iron fist, charging straight into the Ocean White Wave. In that instant, countless razor-sharp cutting threads tore at his body, mangling his flesh. But the explosive force of his charge also completely shattered the awakened strings Doflamingo was struggling to maintain. The heaving, surging Ocean White Wave on the ground shattered into a mess of scattered threads.
With his awakened strings broken, Doflamingo was immediately hit with the backlash of his own ability. For a brief moment, his body froze.
In a life-or-death situation like this, even a millisecond was crucial.
Bellamy's fist was about to smash into his head. If that punch landed, his head would explode like a watermelon. Doflamingo desperately willed his body to move, trying to turn his head just an inch.
"Urghhhhh, MOVE!!!" Doflamingo screamed frantically in his mind. But no matter how much he struggled, it seemed it was too late.
Just then, Drake's urgent shout came from a distance.
"Captain, watch out!"
"Hm?" Bellamy was startled, a sense of foreboding washing over him.
Drake didn't hold his opponent back. Someone's coming!
Even as the thought crossed his mind, his fist shot forward even faster.
"I won't let you succeed! Piercing Spikes!"
Suddenly, eight tentacle-like stone spikes shot out from the ground, lancing toward Bellamy's body. At the same time, a suit of grayish-black rock armor materialized around Doflamingo, protecting him completely.
"Fuffuffuffuffo!"
"Well done, Pica!" Having escaped death, Doflamingo let out a wild, unhinged laugh.
"You piece of trash!"
"You dare interfere with my fight!"
Bellamy threw a backhand punch, shattering the eight tentacles into dust. Such a perfect opportunity, ruined by this piece of garbage.
"Pica, don't get yourself killed! Run!"
The moment Pica arrived, Doflamingo immediately stopped him from his suicidal actions. With Pica's strength, if he dared to fight Bellamy, he'd be beaten into a bloody pulp in three punches.
Pica himself could feel the immense gap between him and Bellamy. His all-out attack had been shattered by a casual punch. This was not a monster he could contend with. Fortunately, the ability of the Stone-Stone Fruit allowed him to easily escape underground. As long as he escaped into the earth, Bellamy would surely be helpless against them.
"Underground!"
Under Doflamingo's command, Pica grabbed his Young Master and was about to sink into the ground.
Bellamy's brow twitched. He immediately realized the danger. If Doflamingo escaped just like that, his future troubles would be immense.
I didn't expect so many variables in this fight.
The full strength of the Donquixote Family was far more than what he was seeing now. If Doflamingo escaped today, finding him and killing him again would not be so easy. In the worst-case scenario, Doflamingo, terrified of him, would flee to Kaido. For the time being, Bellamy would truly have no way to get to him.
"So be it. Today, even if I have to punch through the earth's core, I will kill you!"