It was only then that the group realized Marie and Ricky had vanished. They had disappeared so silently that no one had noticed, a thought that was as impressive as it was unsettling. However, the crew quickly pushed the worry aside; given the strength of those two, they were likely more than a match for Doflamingo and simply had their own objectives to attend to.
In reality, Marie and Ricky were already positioned near the palace. They were calmly sipping tea and eating biscuits while observing the battle involving Mr. 3 and Jango. Though Marie maintained a cool exterior, she was internally concerned for Mr. 3. Their bond had grown strong since their time together in Baroque Works, making them as close as siblings. She had rushed to the palace the moment Sugar was defeated to ensure his safety.
To her relief, Mr. 3 was unharmed, and Jango was as energetic as ever. The two men weren't even fighting with full intensity; instead, they seemed to be playing with the enemy officers. Marie noticed they were deliberately leaving openings to lure Gladius and Machvise into a sense of false security. By doing so, they drew in nearly all the palace guards, keeping the fodder soldiers occupied so their other crewmates could fight without being swarmed.
"Brother 3! Jango!" Marie called out, her voice cutting through the noise of battle. "Sugar has been defeated, and the other fights are going well. There's no need to hold back anymore!".
Mr. 3 and Jango shared a quick, knowing smile. Marie had seen right through their plan, but it didn't matter—the real fight was about to begin.
The expressions of Gladius and Machvise darkened as they spotted Marie and Ricky. They realized that if these two were here, the officers at the factory must have met a grim fate. Their Young Master's empire was crumbling.
"Even if it's just one of us left, we will do our best to defeat the Straw Hats for the Young Master!" Gladius screamed.
His body began to swell rapidly as he prepared his Rupture-Rupture powers. Seeing the unstable officer, the surrounding soldiers scattered in terror. Mr. 3 sighed at the sight of the self-destructive maniac and began generating massive amounts of wax. He constructed twelve thick layers of wax walls, completely encasing Gladius in a reinforced dome.
A massive explosion rocked the area, shattering all twelve layers and leaving a crater covering 200 square meters. Gladius stood in the center of the pit, frantically searching for Mr. 3's remains, convinced the blast had sent him to his grave.
Instead, he looked up to see a towering, twenty-meter-tall wax figure. Its feet were cracked from the blast, but atop the giant sat Mr. 3, calmly finishing his tea.
"I admire your effort in breaking my walls," Mr. 3 said with a triumphant grin. "But you've lost.". The wax giant's massive fist slammed into the crater, followed by Gladius's muffled screams.
On the other side of the plaza, Machvise launched his ultimate attack, the Hell's 10,000 Ton Vise. He floated high into the sky, aiming his massive weight directly at Jango. Jango didn't run; instead, he began to dance, performing a flawless moonwalk.
Machvise plummeted, feeling the satisfaction of crushing Jango into the earth. However, when he floated up from the impact site, he was horrified to see Jango still dancing nearby. He had been caught in a Hypnosis spell without even realizing it.
"Wake up! Wake up!" Machvise yelled, slapping himself hard. His head spun, and he suddenly realized he was lying on the ground in agony, his bones shattered. Jango sat beside him, coolly adjusting his heart-shaped glasses.
"How did I lose?" Machvise wheezed.
"You were under my spell the whole time," Jango explained. "I increased the intensity until you lost consciousness. You thought you were attacking me, but you were actually throwing yourself into the ground with your own weight. You broke your own bones.".
"The Hypnosis Master of the Five Emperors... I am convinced," Machvise muttered before fainting from the pain.
With the officers defeated, the remaining soldiers fled. Mr. 3 and Jango met up with Marie, puzzled by the lack of other top officers.
"Where is Diamante?" Jango wondered. "Is he with Luffy?".
"Don't worry about him," a voice called out from the palace shadows. Sabo stepped forward, resting his iron pipe on his shoulder. "I already knocked Diamante out.".
"Sabo! You really came to Dressrosa!" Mr. 3 and Jango exclaimed in surprise. They knew that with Sabo's strength, taking down a Warlord's top officer was a simple task.
"Where is Luffy?" Sabo asked.
Marie pointed toward the sky where the battle raged. "Luffy is busy fighting Doflamingo right now!".
------------------------
For Advance chapters visit : patreon.com/Mythic_Muse