CRACK — !
Four trembling figures pushed aside the massive boulders crushing them and rose once more from the bottom of the enormous crater at the center of Whole Cake Island.
Their injuries were actually far lighter than one might have expected.
"Thanks, Buggy!" Shanks gasped as he spoke to the blue-haired youth nearby.
For all the times Buggy had given him grief, Shanks treated him like a first love. Buggy put on a scowl for everyone, especially Shanks and Enel.
But unlike Enel, who refused to coddle him, the more mature Shanks had grown quite indulgent toward Buggy.
That said, Shanks was not thanking Buggy because of their "special" relationship. He was thanking him because they were still standing here at all — and that was entirely because Buggy had acted at the critical moment.
The crater had not been caused solely by Big Mom's attack.
Before her devastating strike landed, Buggy had used his Chop-Chop ability to split the ground beneath their feet, giving them a buffer during their fall to absorb the force of the blow.
Doflamingo had also improvised, creating a web of string to cushion the impact.
Still, they had experienced Big Mom's power firsthand.
This feeling was hard to compare with anything — not when Buggy and Enel had faced Ren, nor when Shanks had faced Roger.
It was not that Big Mom was stronger than either of them, but that Big Mom had genuinely intended to kill them.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma — you can still stand? How impressive. I want you in my crew more and more." Big Mom stepped on the thundercloud Zeus, her long pink hair blazing like divine fire as she descended from above like a goddess.
"How about this — I will marry my daughters to you. As long as you help me become Pirate King, I can pretend all of this never happened." She grinned wide.
Her calculation was not half bad.
Among these opponents, Big Mom valued Doflamingo and Shanks the most. Enel and Buggy were strong enough, but less essential.
Combat power could always be replaced, but Doflamingo knew vital information about the "Kingdom," and Shanks had sailed with Roger all the way to the final island, Laugh Tale.
These two held enormous secrets — one could help her counter the World Government, and the other could help her claim the mantle of Pirate King.
"That little bit of power and you think you can beat us? You old hag are completely delusional," Buggy sneered.
"An old woman past her prime should stop thinking about handsome guys like us. For your information, this great man's heart already belongs to someone else!" Enel added.
He had been embarrassed during the Conqueror's Haki clash, but when it came to actual combat, he was not the least bit cowardly.
Shanks and Doflamingo said nothing, but neither was giving an inch.
Big Mom's expression darkened.
Pirates like her had little patience. Even if she admired their talent, they had crossed the line.
"So you are all determined to die here?"
"Die here? Stop joking around!" Buggy shot back.
"The one dying here will be you — Ryuo!" Buggy clenched his fist, and Armament Haki flowed through his body like running water. Having grown up in Wano, he still preferred calling it Ryuo.
"Bara Bara — Ryuo Dance!"
He charged at Big Mom. She was surprised he could use Armament Haki at this level and threw a punch to meet him.
But before her fist touched him, Buggy's body detonated in midair.
Tiny squares scattered through the air like cherry blossom petals, leaving Big Mom momentarily stunned.
What was this — was he some kind of con artist?
She had not even touched him and he was already exploding. What was that supposed to scare?
That was Big Mom's state of mind at that moment. But for Buggy, every separated piece was an attack.
Haki-coated fragments struck Big Mom's body like bullets, one after another.
Even her body — called an "iron balloon" — could feel pain from forces that penetrated past her defenses and struck her from within.
"Annoying pest!"
She roared in frustration, her enormous palms swatting through the air at the tiny squares.
"We go too!" Shanks shouted.
But before he could even finish, Doflamingo had already moved. The man never announced his intentions — he was a man of action. Black lines emerged from nowhere, coiling around Big Mom like spider silk, binding her tighter with each rotation.
Her arms were pinned to her sides, restrained by the relentless threads.
"Nice!" Enel cheered.
But what Enel could not see was the tremendous strain Doflamingo was under.
Charlotte Linlin's monstrous strength was tearing his threads apart from the inside. Though she looked like a bound rice dumpling, the interior threads had already snapped under her tension. Adding more could only delay her, not hold her.
"Stop standing around and attack!" Doflamingo shouted through gritted teeth. Several threads emerged from behind him like fox tails, their tips coated in black Armament Haki.
The white tails' tips were coated in black Armament Haki.
He was perfectly capable of coating his entire body in Armament Haki, but doing so would be foolish — scattering power across his whole frame would reduce its impact.
Concentrating it at the tips was the only way to deal maximum damage to Big Mom.
"White Shot!"
He flung both hands forward. The white tails lanced toward Big Mom like the lances of medieval knights, aimed to pierce clean through her body.
You call yourself an iron balloon?
Let us see if I cannot puncture you!
Doflamingo poured everything into the strike. But what he could not accept was that his technique — capable of piercing half a meter of steel plate — could not so much as scratch Big Mom's skin.
White Shot could not breach her defenses at all.
This, too, was Doflamingo's own failing. His Haki training was inadequate — his Observation Haki was not exceptional, and his Armament Haki could not perform internal destruction. He had a solid foundation in every area, yet when he put it all together, nothing truly excelled.
[
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