Very quickly, Nami gained complete control of the battle against her two opponents.
What had initially appeared to be nothing more than a summoned army proved to be far more dangerous than Senior Pink and Dellinger had anticipated.
The Card Soldiers fought with flawless military discipline.
Each suit fulfilled its role without the slightest hesitation.
The Diamonds absorbed incoming attacks behind their massive shields.
The Hearts drove back every attempt to break through their lines with disciplined thrusts of their tridents.
The Spades seized every opening to deliver devastating axe strikes.
Meanwhile, the Clubs supported the entire formation with perfectly timed spells.
"Damn it... these things are seriously annoying!" Dellinger cursed after driving his Haki-coated leg straight through a Five of Hearts, sending the soldier crashing heavily into the snow.
But before he could even enjoy his victory, the soldier slowly rose back to its feet.
Its body reconstructed itself before his eyes as though the wounds had never existed.
Around him, several other soldiers were doing exactly the same thing.
Those who had lost an arm watched it gradually regenerate.
Those who had been blasted across the battlefield immediately returned to their positions in formation.
Dellinger's grin slowly faded.
"Seriously..."
Meanwhile, Senior Pink had just obliterated a Six of Spades with a powerful punch after it attempted to block his path.
The massive soldier collapsed with a gaping hole through its chest.
A few seconds later...
The wound began repairing itself.
First the flesh.
Then the black armor flawlessly reformed over it.
Under the pirate's incredulous gaze, the soldier completely rebuilt itself.
Then it calmly resumed its position as though nothing had happened.
Senior Pink frowned.
"They just refuse to stay down..."
And that wasn't even the worst part.
As the battle dragged on...
The soldiers seemed to be learning.
Their coordination became increasingly precise.
The Diamonds constantly adjusted their positions to better protect their comrades.
The Hearts began anticipating Dellinger's attacks with ever-improving synchronization.
Even the Spades started changing their attack angles to limit Senior Pink's opportunities to evade.
As for the Clubs...
They cast their spells with nearly perfect timing, repeatedly forcing both pirates to interrupt their offensives.
"They're getting better..." Senior Pink muttered as he barely blocked another coordinated assault.
"I know! That woman doesn't even need to use her lightning beasts to interfere with my attacks anymore!" Dellinger snapped.
He bit into the arm of a King of Clubs while attempting to reach Nami, only to immediately leap backward to avoid being decapitated by the King of Spades.
At the center of this disciplined army, Nami remained perfectly calm.
Her Clima-Tact glowed with crackling electricity as she observed the battlefield like a true general.
Beside her, Lami remained completely protected, watching Nami with open admiration.
"You're amazing, big sister!"
"Delta Formation."
At her simple command, the Diamonds instantly tightened their shield wall while the Hearts smoothly exchanged positions to seal an opening that had appeared only moments earlier.
Dellinger gritted his teeth.
"It's like fighting a real army..."
"It is one," Nami replied simply.
But it wasn't only because of the Card Soldiers that no one could get close.
Before the battle had even begun, Nami had quietly transformed the battlefield.
A thin, nearly invisible layer of ice now covered the entire area surrounding the formation.
This wasn't ordinary ice.
Every step taken upon it gradually froze the legs of anyone who ventured onto it while releasing corrosive magic capable of damaging weapons, clothing, and even the terrain itself.
Senior Pink had learned that the hard way.
Accustomed to using his Devil Fruit to swim through the ground and emerge directly beneath his opponents, he had instinctively tried diving beneath the snow.
But only a few seconds later...
He burst back out with a grimace.
The ice extended beneath the surface as well.
Every movement through the frozen ground slowed his progress while the corrosive cold attacked his body directly.
Several hundred meters away, another fierce battle was raging deep within the snowy forest.
Unlike the more technical fights taking place around Doflamingo, the clash between Charles and Lao G looked more like a collision between two wild beasts.
The two men exchanged blows of incredible violence without attempting to dodge or even defend themselves.
Each impact shook the ground, sending snow and chunks of ice flying in every direction.
Nearby trees shattered beneath the shockwaves as fists, legs, and weapons collided with deafening force.
Despite his rapidly growing physical strength, Charles remained at a slight disadvantage.
Lao G possessed decades of combat experience, and it showed in every movement he made.
The elderly master of Jio-Ken exploited every opening, constantly varied his angles of attack, and turned every strike into a potential trap.
Several times, Charles took blows he never should have been hit by simply because Lao G had anticipated his reactions several seconds in advance, despite Charles's basic Observation Haki.
However, Charles compensated for his lack of experience with absolutely monstrous physical growth.
Since joining the crew, his relentless weapons training had dramatically strengthened his body.
His muscles had grown denser.
His reflexes had become faster.
His strength now far surpassed what it had been only a few weeks earlier.
And on top of that...
He now possessed an entirely new advantage.
The power inherited from Machvise's Heartless.
The weapon he wielded was no longer an ordinary morning star.
At will, its chain could extend, its links multiply, and the heavy steel ball could transform into a true military flail, gaining several extra meters of reach without sacrificing even the slightest bit of its destructive power.
Lao G watched the strange weapon warily.
"G... for... Gadget of strange design..."
Charles didn't answer.
As always.
He simply waited for the right moment.
The old pirate eventually smiled before taking a deep breath.
His body suddenly tensed.
"G... for Great Speed!"
In an explosion of snow, Lao G practically vanished from Charles's field of vision.
Despite his advanced age, he rushed forward with incredible speed, his feet almost gliding across the snowy surface.
Charles inhaled calmly.
He didn't retreat.
He didn't even attempt to block.
At the very last instant...
He simply raised his weapon above his head.
Lao G immediately frowned.
Something was wrong.
His veteran instincts screamed a warning.
Without hesitating, he completely aborted his charge.
His feet tore through the snow as he violently launched himself sideways, rolling for more than ten meters before regaining his balance.
A fraction of a second later...
He understood why.
Charles brought his weapon crashing down with all his strength.
During the downswing, the chain suddenly extended.
The morning star instantly transformed into a gigantic military flail, its steel ball growing far larger before slamming violently into the ground.
BOOOOOOM!!
The impact was titanic.
The ground literally exploded beneath the force of the blow.
A massive column of snow shot into the sky as a crater nearly five meters wide instantly formed in front of Charles's feet.
The old man remained motionless for several seconds, his eyes fixed on the smoking crater.
A bead of sweat slowly ran down his temple.
"I would've been obliterated..."
His gaze slowly rose toward Charles.
Without a word, Charles calmly pulled his weapon out of the crater.
As he lifted the handle, the elongated chain links naturally retracted, and the massive flail gradually returned to the form of an ordinary morning star, as though the monstrous transformation had never existed.
Lao G clenched his teeth slightly.
He was no longer looking at a mere young fighter.
He was looking at an opponent capable of crushing him with a single blow if he made even the slightest mistake.
"G... for... Grimly dangerous brat..."
The battle between Law and Diamante was completely different from the other fights raging across the island.
Where Charles was locked in a contest of raw power against Lao G, and Nami was commanding a true tactical battle with her Card Army, Law was engaged in a duel where every second revolved around the clash of two exceptionally complex Devil Fruits.
From the very beginning of the exchange, a vast blue sphere enveloped part of the forest.
"Room."
Within his territory, Law became the absolute master of space.
Trees, boulders, snow, and even fallen branches became weapons or means of transportation that he could manipulate at will.
Opposite him, Diamante wielded the Flag-Flag Fruit with equal mastery.
His sword became as flexible as a ribbon before instantly hardening back into steel the moment it struck.
Even the ground itself seemed to ripple as he transformed sections of the terrain into floating, cloth-like surfaces to disrupt his opponent's movements.
"How long are you planning to keep running, brat?" Diamante sneered as he twirled his blade like a gigantic whip.
Law didn't answer.
His eyes remained completely focused on every single movement his enemy made.
"Shambles."
In an instant, he swapped places with a tree trunk just before Diamante's flexible blade sliced through the spot where he had been standing a heartbeat earlier.
The trunk was immediately cut into several pieces.
Law reappeared behind his opponent.
"Injection Shot!"
His sword sliced through the air.
But Diamante pivoted at the last possible moment, his blade already rigid again as it blocked the attack in a shower of sparks.
"You're fast..."
The Donquixote executive wore a contemptuous smile.
"But you're missing one thing."
He violently kicked Law away.
"Haki!"
Law slid several meters across the snow before regaining his balance.
He gritted his teeth.
Unfortunately...
Diamante was right.
Despite all the ingenuity of his Devil Fruit, Law had yet to awaken Armament Haki.
Every direct clash put him at a disadvantage.
Diamante possessed greater physical strength, superior endurance, and above all, Haki powerful enough to reinforce his defenses.
If Law accepted a head-on duel...
He would inevitably lose.
So he immediately changed his strategy.
He had never been a fighter who relied on brute force.
He was a surgeon.
A tactician.
"Room."
The blue sphere expanded once more.
"Shambles."
He instantly swapped places with a massive boulder, reappearing at Diamante's flank.
His blade struck.
Diamante blocked.
Before the counterattack could even begin...
Law had already disappeared.
"Behind you."
The executive spun around instantly.
Too late.
A fresh cut had already opened across his shoulder.
"Damn..."
"Shambles."
Law had already switched positions.
Every time an opening appeared, he struck only once.
Never twice.
Then he vanished again immediately.
Little by little, Diamante began to lose his patience.
"Stop running around like a rat!"
The pirate brought his sword down, transforming it into a massive metallic wave that swept across the entire area.
Law instantly swapped places with a branch hanging several meters above the ground.
The attack passed beneath him.
The moment he landed, he launched another assault.
This time, Diamante suffered a deep slash along his arm.
The executive immediately retreated.
His breathing had grown heavier.
His clothes were now covered with several cuts.
None of them were fatal.
But every single one had been inflicted by an opponent he simply couldn't hit.
Law, on the other hand, was breathing heavily as well.
Repeatedly using his Devil Fruit consumed an enormous amount of stamina.
As for me, while trading blow after blow with Doflamingo, I kept part of my attention on the other battles through my Observation Haki.
Satisfied with how things were unfolding, I decided it was time to go on the offensive.
In my gigantic crocodile form, I fully exploited my overwhelming physical superiority.
Every slash of my claws, every swing of my tail, and every bite was coated in Armament Haki powerful enough to force Doflamingo onto the defensive instead of allowing him to attack.
Several times, his razor-sharp strings attempted to slice through my scales.
They left nothing more than shallow scratches before sliding harmlessly across my Haki-hardened hide.
The Warlord gradually frowned.
He was beginning to realize that his fighting style—normally devastating against human opponents—lost much of its effectiveness against a monster dozens of meters long whose scales already possessed extraordinary natural durability, further enhanced by Armament Haki.
Taking advantage of an opening, I lashed out with a savage sweep of my tail.
Doflamingo was forced to weave an enormous web of strings to absorb the impact before being hurled backward several dozen meters.
Instead of immediately counterattacking, he rose into the air by attaching his strings to the clouds, quickly reclaiming the high ground.
I stopped moving at once.
Something had changed.
My instincts were screaming.
Doflamingo's smile slowly returned.
"Fufufufu... Did you really think I'd come here alone?"
I didn't answer.
Every one of my senses was now focused elsewhere.
"Especially..." he continued, his grin growing even crueler, "...when there's someone who's become very interested in you."
My eyes instinctively shifted toward the forest.
Then I felt it.
An enormous aura.
Brutal.
Overwhelming.
It was charging straight toward us at incredible speed.
A few seconds later, a massive cloud of snow exploded between the trees.
Trunks were ripped out one after another as the ground shook beneath the footsteps of a colossal creature.
A gigantic silhouette finally burst out of the forest.
A mammoth.
No...
Jack the Drought.
The Beasts Pirates' All-Star arrived in a monstrous charge that tore through the landscape before skidding to a halt only a few meters away from me.
His enormous mammoth form gradually shrank, returning to his human appearance.
Even in that form, he towered over every man on the battlefield.
He rested his enormous polearm—so massive it looked more like a giant scythe—on his shoulder before looking me up and down.
"Stop this fight."
His deep voice echoed throughout the clearing.
"Kaido-sama wants you to join the Beasts Pirates."
A heavy silence settled over the battlefield.
Even Doflamingo watched the scene with obvious interest.
Jack continued without the slightest hint of emotion.
"The weak die. The strong join Kaido."
"You've more than proven your worth."
He drove the shaft of his weapon into the ground.
"Come with me."
I remained perfectly still before a smile slowly spread across my face.
That smile made Jack frown slightly.
Because while he was talking...
I had just sensed several familiar presences entering the range of my Observation Haki.
They were coming.
All of them.
"Sorry..."
I slowly raised my gigantic head.
"But I've already chosen my crew."
At that exact moment...
A terrifying pressure suddenly crashed down across the entire battlefield.
Even the snow was blown away by the force of an overwhelming will.
Doflamingo's eyes widened ever so slightly.
An immense burst of Conqueror's Haki had exploded behind me.
"JORDAN IS MY NAKAMA!"
Luffy's voice echoed throughout the entire forest.
"YOU'LL HAVE TO KILL ME BEFORE YOU TAKE HIM!"
I slowly turned my head.
Luffy was walking toward us.
The brim of his straw hat cast a shadow over his face as his Conqueror's Haki swept across the battlefield like a tidal wave.
Behind him, Sanji strolled forward with a lollipop in his mouth and his hands in his pockets, as if this were nothing more than a casual walk.
Farther back, Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi came running as well, their weapons already drawn.
Jack watched Luffy for a few moments.
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Conqueror's Haki..."
Meanwhile, the reinforcements naturally spread out across the battlefield.
Without exchanging a single word, Sanji immediately leaped to Charles's side.
A violent burst of flames erupted from his leg as his first kick slammed into Lao G, forcing the old master to abandon his assault on Charles and retreat several meters.
"Sorry we're late."
Charles simply nodded.
"Thanks."
Elsewhere, Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi immediately joined Nami's defensive formation.
Protected behind the massive Diamond soldiers of the Card Army, they began bombarding Dellinger and Senior Pink with gunfire and projectiles, forcing Doflamingo's officers under even greater pressure while preventing them from reaching the center of the formation, where Lami remained safely protected.
On Law's side, two new figures rushed into the battlefield at incredible speed.
Kuina arrived first in her hybrid form, drawing Masamune before her feet even touched the ground.
Her first flaming slash forced Diamante to break off his exchange with Law.
A second later, Zoro appeared as well, launching a Demon Slash.
Diamante barely managed to dodge at the last instant, his face darkening as he instinctively realized how dangerous the situation had suddenly become.
Meanwhile, I glanced at the battlefield out of the corner of my eye before smiling inwardly.
The balance of power had completely shifted.
My enormous reptilian body gradually contracted.
My muscles shrank to a size better suited for fighting a fast opponent, while my appearance settled into my hybrid form.
Using Peter Pan's magic, I took to the skies.
Opposite me, Doflamingo remained suspended in the air by his strings.
His smile had completely vanished.
He carefully studied my every movement.
"I didn't expect this much resistance from such a young crew..."
A few dozen meters away, Luffy had already taken his position in front of Jack.
The mammoth calmly observed the young captain while his enormous polearm still rested across his shoulder.
"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed as he spun his companion around before planting it in the ground a few feet in front of him.
The shield immediately bounced upright on its edge, as if stretching after a long wait.
"Jordan!"
I turned my head slightly toward him.
His huge grin hadn't faded.
"Aspida and I are taking this guy down together!"
The moment he finished speaking, the shield suddenly came to life.
A faint electric current danced across its surface as it lifted itself off the ground.
"Of course we're taking him down!"
Aspida completely left Luffy's hand and began floating beside him, slowly orbiting its captain like a protective little satellite.
Thin arcs of lightning constantly crackled around its metallic frame, illuminating the engravings carved into its surface.
"You really think some oversized mammoth is gonna scare us?"
The shield suddenly rotated to face Jack.
"Luffy and I are gonna knock you flat!"
Luffy immediately burst into laughter.
"Shishishishi! That's exactly right!"
Jack watched the scene without showing any emotion, though a slight furrow in his brow betrayed his surprise at seeing an ordinary shield carrying on a conversation as if it were a living being.
His gaze slowly shifted from Luffy to Aspida.
"A... living object..."
He tightened his grip on the shaft of his enormous scythe.
"You really think you can stop me with that..."
A colossal bestial aura suddenly erupted around him as he transformed into his full mammoth form.
(Author's Note: My goodness... it looks like there's going to be a Part 3. ^^ Anyway, I hope you're enjoying this little battle sequence.)