t had to be said — the original Doflamingo was something of a waste. He possessed all three types of Haki and the talent for Devil Fruit Awakening. His potential should have carried him far beyond this.
But none of his individual abilities were outstanding, and the fruit he had awakened — the String-String Fruit — was among the weaker ones. If he could push his Haki to an entirely new level in this battle, perhaps he might yet reach greater heights.
Though Doflamingo's attack had done nothing, the same could not be said for the consecutive strikes from Shanks and Enel. Both men placed enormous emphasis on Haki training.
Shanks swung his blade from a distance, sending a flying slash that flashed like white lightning — it pierced the darkness and tore straight through Big Mom's body. No blood was drawn, but the strike functioned like a syringe, penetrating deep inside her to hammer her organs.
"GAH!"
Big Mom tasted pain for the first time in ages. She threw her head back and spat a stream of blood.
Enel's attack followed immediately after. Lacking Conqueror's Haki, Enel had focused his training entirely on Observation and Armament Haki. This time, he did not even bother with a ranged strike — he charged directly up to Big Mom and hammered both pitch-black fists into her body.
BANG. BANG.
Every punch from Enel landed like the deep, heavy thud of a colossal heartbeat. He had eaten the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, and every fist he threw carried power greater than a cannon shot, wreathed in explosive force.
But this time, the sound was muffled — because his power, channeled through the flow of Haki, had been transmitted directly into Big Mom's interior. Each muffled impact was equivalent to a bomb detonating inside her chest cavity.
"These two…" Doflamingo saw that only his own attacks had been ineffective, and felt a sting of shame. But there was no time to dwell on it. He could feel Big Mom's strength surging against his threads, growing more powerful by the second. He wanted to warn Enel, but before he could open his mouth, a piercing scream tore through the air:
"AAAH — !"
The enraged Big Mom snapped her arms outward, shattering threads that were several times tougher than reinforced steel. Then she reached out and seized Enel in a crushing grip. Those massive palms closed around his entire midsection.
Her strength was staggering — even giants could not compare. In that moment, Enel felt as though two warships were pressing against him from both sides, threatening to crush his body into powder.
"AARGH!" Enel howled in agony, feeling his bones deforming under the pressure of her hands.
Twisted bones crushed against his organs, flooding him with unbearable pain. By comparison, a warship bearing down on him would have been nothing — at least you could stop a ship with a little effort. Right, Charlotte Oven?
"Long-ears!" Buggy's body re-formed in midair and he lunged at Big Mom, short swords drawn. "Trump Card Flying Blade!"
"Get lost! Tenka-bi!" Big Mom did not even look at him — she casually hurled a massive wave of searing flame in his direction, the blazing fire surging toward him as though ready to consume him whole.
Then a cold voice rang down from above.
"Rengoku Onigiri."
Mihawk descended with both hands on his blade, the great two-handed sword cleaving into the wall of fire. An invisible arc of sword energy split the flame cleanly in two.
Swordsmen always seemed to have an answer for fire — even a man like Kin'emon could, to some degree, cut through Kaido's Blast Breath.
"Mihawk!" Shanks cried out joyfully as his old friend shielded Buggy from danger. Buggy's Trump Card Flying Blade shot toward Big Mom and carved several shallow cuts across her arm — but not deep enough to force her to release Enel.
"Another brat, is it?" Big Mom's expression soured. Not because Buggy had gained reinforcements, but because if Mihawk had time to support them, it meant her children were on the verge of collapse.
"What is going on — even Katakuri could not stop you?"
"Katakuri? I would very much like to fight him. But have you noticed that he has not appeared at this Tea Party at all?"
Mihawk replied with the same calm tone one might use for a common pirate. But this was simply his personality — in truth, he was on high alert. From the moment he had leapt off the ground, his eyes had never left Big Mom.
"That gaze of yours — I find it very annoying." Big Mom did not like Mihawk's stare either. Despite being the stronger one, under those piercing eyes she somehow felt like the prey. And when Big Mom did not like something, she destroyed it.
She hurled Enel aside and vanished with Napoleon in hand. An instant later, the sword — crackling with lightning and fire — materialized before Mihawk. The razor-sharp pressure of the air hit him before he could react, and his pupils contracted violently.
I cannot dodge!
In that split second, Mihawk's mind was still processing, but his body could not keep up. Death was coming. In that single instant, he saw it standing before him — the withered, blood-soaked scent of oblivion.
"Bara Bara — Scapegoat!"
"Griffon — Rekkudachi!"
In the brief heartbeat that Mihawk froze, Buggy and Red Hair moved simultaneously. Buggy split his body into two halves — one positioning itself between Mihawk and Big Mom, the other reaching out to grab Mihawk and hurl him backward.
Buggy took the full force of the slash and went flying, slamming hard into the ground. Though the blade did relatively little damage to his divided body, the lightning and flames burned him terribly.
"Thank you." Mihawk spoke to Buggy's severed half after landing, still shaken by his brush with death.
But Buggy's head was on the other half. When the two pieces rejoined, one side was perfectly unscathed while the other was charred black and yellow, like he had been mining coal — giving him the appearance of a yin-yang figure.
"Don't worry about it — we are even now!" Buggy was in tremendous pain, but he refused to lose face.
This was his chance to show off in front of Stone Face, and no matter how badly it hurt, he had to keep up appearances. "Hey, Poker Face — next time, do not space out in the middle of a fight. If you freeze up again, no one is going to save you!"
[
Dear Readers,
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