"They… sure are fast at snatching people." Hina, holding two black long spears, sighed. "Just one second slower… and we can only fight these weaklings."
"Weaklings? These are all Devil Fruit users, okay?" Smoker, standing back-to-back with Hina, exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
"At least these are enemies we can deal with… Think about it, outside there's still a super monster slowly approaching Wano!"
"Yes yes yes, then let's speed up the trash-cleaning…" Hina's nose twitched, then she suddenly whipped her head around and shouted, "How many times have I said it! Don't blow your secondhand smoke in my face!"
"You're a chain-smoker yourself, why do you hate other people's secondhand smoke so much!?"
"No, I only hate yours!"
Hina gave a cold snort, hurled her two long spears, and in midair they suddenly exploded, turning into black iron shackles that bound the user of an artificial Hippo Fruit to the ground. She clapped her hands and smiled.
"One down."
Smoker lit two more cigars, stuffed both in his mouth, took a deep breath, and instantly burned them to ash.
But he didn't exhale—he turned into a massive cloud of smoke.
In an instant, the super-heated, carbon-monoxide-laden smoke storm swept toward the gifters around them.
Even Zoans struggled against the double pressure of the heat and the CO.
"Hahaha! Hina! You lost!"
"You still have time to compete!? Increase efficiency, will you!"
...
"These creatures… are really tall." Enel stood on the deck, looking at the beings called "Numbers."
"But after thinking about that Bullet just now… the feeling of 'looking up' completely disappeared."
"The Beasts Pirates' Numbers are basically products of ancient giant experiments… So their height is several times greater than ordinary giants." Stella smiled lightly. "But indeed, after fighting a monster like Bullet, no matter how big someone is, nothing feels surprising anymore."
"You two sure seem happy chatting while doing nothing! Can't you help out!? There's barely any sand in the air at sea already…"
Crocodile turned her head and raised two middle fingers at Stella and Enel.
The next moment, Alabastan royal-grade profanity rained down like machine-gun fire.
The two's smiles froze, and they had no choice but to cover their ears and beg for mercy.
"Sorry! Sorry! Stop! My head's gonna explode!"
"Crocodile… I didn't expect you to have such a surprising side."
Crocodile's cold gaze slid to Robin, who was trying very hard to reduce her presence…
Robin shuddered. As one of the very few top-level authorities in the SWORD Secret Special Force, she actually revealed a flattering smile for the first time.
"Hehe, Crocodile, after you finish yelling at them, you don't need to yell at me, okay?"
Crocodile swung a Desert Spada, slicing the giant katana in half.
"These things aren't complete idiots; we should still be careful."
"Yeah, I noticed." Robin pointed at the Numbers' suddenly drooping faces. "They all understood you! They understood that you thought they were mindless destroyers earlier!"
"Well… then I'm so sorry for that!"
Crocodile slammed both palms onto the deck.
Instantly, the deck beneath the Numbers' feet had its moisture sucked dry.
A moment later, unable to withstand their weight, it collapsed, dropping them into the lower ship compartment.
"Alright, now we can start playing whack-a-mole…"
Crocodile revealed the sly grin of a sand crocodile—but on her noble, elegant Vivi-like face, it looked disturbingly yandere.
"W-wait!"
Yamato, having recovered somewhat, rushed over.
"You… what do you want?" Crocodile raised an eyebrow. Her tone softened slightly. "You want to make the finishing blow yourself?"
"No! I want to ask you all to spare them… They carry ancient giant genes. Ever since they were created, they have only patrolled Raijin Island… This is even their first time being taken out of Raijin Island!" Yamato said firmly. "So… please spare them! And Father is very interested in ancient giants!"
"Michael… is interested in these things?"
Stella and Crocodile exchanged a look.
In that case…
It wasn't impossible.
After all… it was Michael's request.
"Hey, you two, killing them or not?" Enel asked lazily from nearby. "If you don't decide, I'll start blasting."
"Don't kill them!"
"Oh."
The moment the words fell, countless bolts of lightning crashed down, engulfing the Numbers.
Enel hovered in the air and gave them a thumbs-up.
"Relax, not dead."
...
"Out on the sea, Bullet and the other two are closing in."
"In Wano's inland sea, the SWORD Secret Special Force has engaged the Beasts Pirates."
"And Onigashima is even crazier… Those battles are pure ferocious slaughter between monsters!"
"No matter how you look at it, pretty scary~"
Doflamingo stood at the outskirts of the Flower Capital, watching the battles through image Den Den Mushi controlled by his strings.
Though he called it "scary," his eyes were filled with confident calculation.
"Is the placement of the Dyna Stones inside the Flower Capital completed?"
"Pica has merged with the land of the Flower Capital using his ability and is slowly transporting the Dyna Stones inside." Trebol reported.
"Good. Next, have the officers lead their men and deliver the remaining Dyna Stones to every corner of Wano."
Doflamingo grinned wickedly and issued his final order.
When the Dyna Stones were fully deployed across Wano…
That would be the moment he stole the fruit of victory from between Michael and Kaido.
But then—
The bushes behind him suddenly rustled.
Hancock, wearing a Marine uniform, burst out headfirst.
"Even though Kozuki Oden pointed the way to Onigashima for me…"
"w(?Д?)w Where did you bring me this time!?"
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Fanfic is finished. 583 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg