The Donquixote Pirates were now in a perilous situation. Anyone could see that the tide had turned against them. Their captain was surrounded by three peerless powerhouses, unable to support his crew. In fact, it seemed Doflamingo himself would soon be captured under the relentless group assault.
The rest of the crew were wounded and broken. Those who were pinned down could only wait for Doflamingo to fall, knowing they would soon meet the same fate.
No matter how you looked at it, the Donquixote Pirates were doomed to fail.
It's over. The pessimistic had already accepted their deaths, fighting with all their remaining strength just to take one more enemy down with them.
On the other side, Sengoku watched the scene unfold through the Den Den Mushi, a wide grin spreading across his face.
The current situation was overwhelmingly advantageous for the Marines. Whether it was Doflamingo's front or the battles of his officers, a single defeat in any one area would cause their morale to plummet.
"Kill them! For the Marines! For justice! We cannot let a single one of these pirates leave here alive!"
Waving the banner of justice, they raised their swords and guns, aimed them at the pirates, and reaped every last living soul.
Every Marine was ecstatic. In stark contrast to the pirates who were mired in despair, they were now filled with fighting spirit.
The sounds of fierce fighting and clear gunfire echoed around Doflamingo. He could no longer spare a thought for the members of his Donquixote family.
He had to get serious now. Otherwise, he would really die.
"Fuffuffuffu... I must be quite the celebrity, for the three of you to gang up on me!" Doflamingo pushed himself up from his kneeling position and stood tall. He looked at the three men surrounding him and burst into laughter, as if he hadn't a single fear in the world.
An unstoppable, world-conquering aura surged from Doflamingo's body. Black and red lightning, the tell-tale sign of Conqueror's Haki, crackled around him.
"Conqueror's Haki... Ooooh, how scary, Doflamingo," Kizaru remarked, feeling the pressure of Doflamingo's aura.
Aokiji, on the other hand, watched Doflamingo with a serious expression, waiting for his final counterattack.
At that moment, Mihawk's words broke the tense stalemate.
"I have no intention of joining forces with others," he said, his sharp eyes fixed on the sword Gryphon at Doflamingo's waist, showing no regard for the two Marine admirals. "Doflamingo, I simply want to witness your skill, to see if you are worthy of the blade you carry."
As a proud swordsman, how could he possibly team up with others? But while that was what Mihawk thought, the others didn't necessarily agree. Aokiji, at least, currently intended to use the strength of all three to capture Doflamingo.
Clang.
Doflamingo drew Gryphon from its sheath and pointed its tip at Mihawk.
"Mihawk, have you come to avenge Shanks? Then bring it on!" Doflamingo couldn't be bothered with his opponent's excuses. Witness my skill? It's just revenge. Since that was the case, then let them fight.
Fighting one, fighting two, or fighting three—what was there to be afraid of?
Hearing Doflamingo's words, Mihawk felt a flicker of annoyance, but his face remained as cold and impassive as ever.
He swung his Black Blade, Yoru, mercilessly, sending a slash toward Doflamingo.
Doflamingo swung his own sword in response. Though he wasn't a sword hero and couldn't perform flying slashes, he was more than capable of executing basic swordsmanship with Gryphon.
A massive, green slash flew toward Doflamingo. Gryphon, crackling with black and red lightning, met the attack just as it was about to hit, and the slash dissipated into nothing.
Mihawk appeared instantly before Doflamingo and struck again.
CLANG!
Doflamingo parried with his sword. An immense force traveled up the blade, aggravating his existing injuries.
The two clashed, their swords locked, like two peerless masters competing in a battle of pure power. Seizing the opportunity, Kizaru's laser arrived right on cue.
Mihawk himself had said he wouldn't team up. But they had never said they wouldn't attack.
Seeing this, the members of the Donquixote Pirates all instinctively cursed, "Shameless!"
Kizaru couldn't care less what these pirates said. A pirate was a pirate. It didn't matter what methods were used, as long as they were captured and brought to justice.
Besides, with a free powerhouse doing most of the work, how could Kizaru, the master of slacking off, pass up such an opportunity? He would just provide some support from the sidelines. The main effort could be left to Mihawk and Aokiji.
Kizaru's calculations were perfect, and neither Mihawk nor Aokiji seemed to notice.
Doflamingo pushed hard, using the recoil to send himself flying backward, narrowly dodging Kizaru's laser.
He twisted his body and slashed behind him.
"Ara, ara... You sensed that, did you, Doflamingo?" Aokiji was somewhat shocked that Doflamingo had detected his flanking attack.
Fortunately, Doflamingo had trained his Observation Haki to the point of seeing the future. Otherwise, he might not have noticed Aokiji behind him.
The two clashed briefly, and Mihawk closed in again.
Although he was annoyed that the two Marine admirals had ignored his wishes and prevented his one-on-one duel with Doflamingo, there was nothing he could do. He couldn't control the admirals' actions, so he had to settle for the next best thing.
Mihawk's entry created a three-on-one situation. But if one looked closely, they would see that Kizaru was constantly hovering at the edge of the fight, occasionally firing a laser at Doflamingo, keeping him on his toes and making him look utterly wretched.
This is tough. Three admiral-level opponents, Doflamingo thought to himself. His forehead was beaded with sweat from the pressure, and even his magnificent pink feather coat was tattered and torn, its former glory gone.
Doflamingo once again narrowly avoided Mihawk's slash, tanked Aokiji's ice attack, and dodged a laser from that troll, Kizaru.
Several new wounds appeared on his body. His left arm was covered in frost, his clothes in tatters.
With a rip, Doflamingo tore off the shredded remains of his coat and sheathed Gryphon.
Mihawk, Kizaru, and Aokiji stood ready, watching his movements, not immediately launching an attack.
A zzzt, zzzt sound echoed as lightning flared to life in Doflamingo's left hand. The ice covering it instantly melted, turning into water that dripped to the ground below.
"Here it comes," the three of them thought in unison.
With his sword put away, Doflamingo was at his strongest. He instantly teleported in front of Mihawk, his foot, wreathed in Armament Haki and lightning, aimed at his head.
Though Mihawk lacked Doflamingo's extreme speed, as a master swordsman, his ability to react to a crisis was second to none. He immediately brought his wide Black Blade up to defend himself.
BOOM!
Mihawk was sent flying by Doflamingo's kick. Aokiji was the next to arrive. Unflustered, Doflamingo teleported into the sky, clasped his hands together, and aimed a move at Aokiji.
"Super-Electromagnetic Cannon!"
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
Aokiji reacted just as quickly, countering Doflamingo's attack.
"One Hundred Million Volt Thunder Dragon!"
A lifelike dragon made of lightning shot toward Kizaru, who had appeared behind him.
"Slash!"
Mihawk, who had appeared out of nowhere, unleashed a world-shaking slash that bore down on Doflamingo.
The immense pressure was so great that it prevented Doflamingo from teleporting away.
He had to take this attack head-on. Mihawk had locked onto his presence; he couldn't escape.
"God's Judgment!"
A sky full of lightning collided with the peerless sword slash, resulting in a massive explosion.
RUMBLE!
The entire island trembled. The survivors, who had been desperately trying to flee, struggled to escape the island.
"What terrifying power!"
The idle Crocodile and Hancock watched the battle between the four, their faces filled with no small amount of shock.
"Dammit."
Crocodile clenched his fists, venting his frustration. As he watched the clash, he felt as if he were seeing a young Whitebeard in Doflamingo, which made him feel very uneasy.
Hancock wasn't thinking as much. She was simply stunned by the power of the four combatants, filled with awe for the strength of the World Government and the two pirates, and worried for her own country.
Without strength, you were nothing, no matter where you went. You had no rights.
Returning to Doflamingo's battle, his powerful clash with Mihawk had given the other two an opportunity, and they immediately attacked him.
But would Doflamingo be so easily captured? Of course not. His Observation Haki had already foreseen their attacks.
He smoothly dodged them and positioned himself high in the air, looking down on the entire battlefield.
Pica was still locked in a stalemate with Onigumo. Enel was also unable to break free. Monet... well, the less said, the better. Bepo was tending to the two seriously wounded members. The others were struggling to deal with the Marines' assault.
In short, the current situation for the Donquixote Pirates was dire. If no one could break this crisis, they would truly be wiped out.
They couldn't possibly pin all their hopes on Doflamingo, could they?
He was currently facing three admiral-level opponents. He simply couldn't spare the attention for anyone else.
After a quick scan of the battlefield, Doflamingo made his decision.
So be it. Their fate is in their own hands now. They'll have to fend for themselves.
"My apologies. I messed this one up," Doflamingo said, a hint of self-reproach in his voice. His victory over Shanks had made him overconfident. While his own power was impeccable, the strength of his subordinates was somewhat lacking. There weren't many who could truly hold their own.
"My crew! These are your captain's orders!"
Doflamingo's voice echoed across the battlefield. Both Marines and pirates curiously looked on, wondering what he was about to say.
"Retreat! I'll cover you."
Doflamingo forced out the two words with great difficulty.
"Doffy!"
"Young Master!"
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