"This feeling... it's wonderful!"
Cross slowly raised his head, sensing his new state. A black aura surrounded him, and a terrifying murderous intent leaked from his body. His normal height was 295cm, a little shorter than Aokiji at 298cm, and significantly shorter than Doflamingo at 305cm. But now, not only had his appearance drastically changed into a demon-like form, but his height was also a head taller than Doflamingo's.
"What the hell..." Doflamingo's face was grim, and his eye twitched uncontrollably. His sharp sixth sense made him feel a strong sense of impending doom.
"Hehehe~" The demon-like Cross suddenly let out a low laugh. His crimson eyes looked at Doflamingo as a terrifying, oppressive Conqueror's Haki burst out.
Whoom—
The air buzzed as a terrifying aura, like a landslide and a tsunami, swept forth. It conjured a fierce, howling wind out of thin air, turning the sky and the ground into a strange gray space.
"You think you can overwhelm me?!" Doflamingo roared in a low, furious voice. His aura erupted like a volcanic eruption, equally as oppressive and overbearing, causing the air around him to hum and tremble.
RUMBLE!!!
In an instant, the two Conqueror's Haki clashed, creating dozens of red and black lightning bolts. Accompanied by a deafening roar, a powerful storm of personal will spread in all directions, creating a massive blizzard on the island. At that moment, the sky shook, and the earth trembled.
"What's happening?"
"Is someone fighting on the island?"
"This commotion is way too exaggerated!"
"A clash of Conqueror's Haki?!"
"..."
The enormous commotion alerted everyone on the island. Both the pirates inland and the Marines on the coast were filled with shock.
"Hello? Can you hear me?" A voice from Commodore Lunta's Den Den Mushi came through urgently. "What's happening? What's going on on the island?"
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, it seems there's a clash of Conqueror's Haki on the island... The specific situation is unknown!" Commodore Lunta quickly replied.
"A clash of Conqueror's Haki... I see. It must be Cross and Doflamingo clashing. They both have Conqueror's Haki!" Vice Admiral Tsuru's voice from the other end of the Den Den Mushi was deep. "Block off the coast and find the Donquixote Pirates' ship. I'm on my way!"
"Yes!" Commodore Lunta responded seriously, and then the Den Den Mushi was hung up with a click.
At this moment, the clash of Conqueror's Haki ended, and the fierce wind that had been created out of thin air suddenly stopped. Doflamingo's body swayed slightly, and his expression immediately turned incredibly ugly.
"You...!"
It was clear that Doflamingo had come out on the losing end of that clash. The completely black, demon-like Cross grinned menacingly. His tone was incredibly serious as he said, "This is the first time I've used this move on an enemy. Let's see how powerful it is!"
Whoosh—
As soon as he finished speaking, the huge bat wings on his back flapped, creating a fierce gust of wind that sent him shooting forward like an arrow.
"So fast!" Doflamingo only saw a flash before a black figure was in front of him, and he instinctively dodged to the side.
Cross held Shusui and slashed down with a swish. His blade grazed Doflamingo's clothes, cutting off a few pink feathers.
Rumble!
The next second, the white ground was torn apart by the fierce sword wind, creating a deep crack that extended for over a hundred meters.
"Your reaction is quick!"
"Bastard! Bullet String!!!" Doflamingo was both shocked and enraged. He extended his hands towards Cross, creating thin strings from his fingertips and firing them like bullets.
Bang, bang, bang...
Several strings flashed through the air as tiny white blurs and hit Cross's body. However, something that shocked Doflamingo happened. The strings, which were powerful enough to pierce human bones, passed through Cross's body as if it were a phantom shadow.
"Oh, be careful. I've fused with Scáthach, so my body has become a shadow now!" Cross's tone was relaxed as he quickly closed the distance to Doflamingo.
Clang—
Doflamingo crossed his arms over his chest, using Armament Haki to defend, and managed to block the sharp edge of Shusui. But in the next moment, Cross suddenly threw a punch. The punch, as fast as lightning, passed through Doflamingo's arms and slammed into his face.
Bang!!
A muffled sound was heard, and a gust of wind spread out. Doflamingo was sent flying backward, blood gushing from his nose and mouth. His consciousness was a blank slate, as if his face had been hit by a heavy hammer.
He crashed through an abandoned house dozens of meters away, which had turned into a black silhouette, and continued to slide through the snow, creating a deep ditch until he stopped in front of a stone wall on the side of the mountain, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"You're taller and more muscular than Doflamingo, yet you're more agile, and your strength hasn't diminished at all. You're unexpectedly strong!" Cross stood in place, looking down at his hands and muttering to himself.
Cross's move was based on Moria's Shadow Revolution. Moria once said that since the shadow is connected to the body, if the body changes, the shadow will also change. Conversely, if the shadow changes, the body should also change in theory.
This theory was ridiculous and completely baseless. However, Devil Fruits were inherently unscientific and couldn't be reasoned with using common sense. The fact that Moria had developed this ability from the Shadow-Shadow Fruit meant that he wasn't lying.
In the original story, Moria stuffed Luffy's shadow into Oars' body and then snuck his own shadow into Oars' shadow. He then controlled Oars' shadow, changing its shape to allow Oars to change the length and extension of his body, just like a rubber man.
Therefore, Cross experimented on himself, connecting Scáthach to his body and changing its shape. It did indeed develop an ability similar to the Gum-Gum Fruit, but it caused significant damage to his body, leading to injuries from overstretching.
So, Cross changed his approach. He tried making Scáthach adhere to his body, forming a kind of shape-shifting shadow armor. Based on the idea that a tangible shadow could turn into a bat and fly, he could fly flexibly without relying on Marduk. This would make him more agile in aerial combat.
Cross didn't expect that the development of his new move would go so smoothly, and it even came with a surprise. Not only could he have Scáthach adhere to his body and sprout wings to fly, but he could also perform a deep fusion with Scáthach. This allowed his body to transform into a shadow, giving him the power of "elementalization," similar to a Logia-type Devil Fruit, making him immune to ordinary physical attacks.
In the "Mahakala" state, Cross's body became a tangible shadow that still possessed its original strength. However, since it was a weightless shadow, his speed and agility were greatly enhanced. He could even have Surtur adhere to his body without being harmed by the flames, which would increase his destructive power.
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