"A sword duel?!"
Celo sneered at Sasaki, who was swinging his blade at him.
He never lost in a duel.
Even if he were to cross swords with the world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, Celo didn't think he'd lose.
So, since Sasaki wanted a pure sword fight, Celo didn't even bother using Water Breathing.
He swung his katana with brute force, meeting Sasaki's blow mid-air.
The powerful clash stirred up a massive shockwave.
When Sasaki saw that Celo, who was half his size, could match him in strength, his eyes widened in disbelief.
Unwilling to accept it, Sasaki kept ramping up the force of his attacks.
Celo didn't back down either, mirroring Sasaki's escalation with blow after blow.
And just like that, the two sword-wielders continued a raw and relentless blade clash on the balcony.
It was, honestly, boring to watch, lacking the flashy moves and spectacle of the other fights.
Meanwhile, high in the air:
"Fire Fist!!"
Sabo unleashed a massive fire-charged punch at Who's Who in his human-beast hybrid form.
Who's Who smirked dismissively and used Soru (Shave) to vanish from sight.
The flaming punch slammed into nothing.
"Damn it! That guy's way too fast!"
Sabo landed, frustrated. He'd already lost count of how many times his attacks had been dodged.
Who's Who, a master of martial arts, was already agile, but in his saber-toothed tiger hybrid form, he moved at blinding speed.
If this kept up, Sabo would be exhausted before landing a hit.
He wouldn't even be able to save Koala, who was just above on the balcony,
let alone Ace, awaiting execution at Marineford.
And worse, he might die here on Onigashima.
"No… I need to calm down and find a way to restrict his movement!"
"Zoning out in a battle against me?! Die!"
Unbeknownst to Sabo, Who's Who had already reappeared behind him.
He launched a Shigan (Finger Pistol), coated in Armament Haki, straight at the back of Sabo's head,
a lethal blow with no intent to spare him.
"Flame Clone!"
A surge of danger triggered Sabo's newly developed Mera Mera no Mi technique.
His entire body turned into fire, and several identical flame clones appeared around him.
Who's deadly finger strike struck one of the clones. Obliterating it, but Sabo remained untouched.
And now, Who's Who was trapped.
Sabo's fire clones had surrounded him with walls of flame, leaving him boxed into a space no wider than ten meters.
"Let's see you dodge now!"
One of the clones revealed itself as the real Sabo, laughing triumphantly.
But surprisingly, Who's Who didn't panic at all.
He even turned and grinned.
"You making your crematorium, brat? Hahaha!!"
The comment made steam practically shoot from Sabo's ears.
In rage, he launched another massive Fire Fist at him.
"Rankyaku (Tempest Kick)!"
Who ' Who countered with a lightning-fast air blade, slicing Sabo's fire fist clean in two,
So fast that it almost hit Sabo directly.
"Flying Shigan!"
Taking advantage of the moment, Who's Who fired a pressurized air bullet.
Swoosh! It pierced through Sabo's lower right leg before he could fully turn into fire.
Sabo hit the ground, struggling to keep his balance.
Before he could recover,
Who's Who appeared behind him again.
"Goodbye, clueless brat! Shigan Barrage – Leopard Spots!!!"
With a cruel grin, he unleashed a flurry of Haki-coated finger strikes aimed at turning Sabo into a human pincushion.
But
"Never say goodbye!"
The Sabo in front of him vanished, just another flame clone.
The real Sabo emerged behind him, hidden all along within the ring of flame.
"Lend me your strength, Ace! Fire Fist!!"
All the surrounding fire surged toward Sabo's fist.
With explosive power, he slammed the full-force fire punch directly into Who's Who at point range.
BOOM!!!
The hybrid-form Who's Who was blasted into the floor, forming a crater several meters deep and over ten meters wide.
"Is it over?"
Standing at the edge of the crater, Sabo watched warily.
Seeing that Who's Who was still in hybrid form, Sabo took a few cautious steps back.
Sure enough, after a few seconds, Who's Who leapt out of the pit.
He was charred black but otherwise seemed barely affected.
"Almost got me, brat! Lucky for me, I've got thick skin! Hahaha!!"
If he hadn't eaten the Ancient Zoan Saber-Toothed Tiger Fruit, that punch might've killed him.
But there's no such thing as "what if" in this world.
"ROAR!!!"
With a furious roar, Who 's-Who transformed completely into a massive saber-toothed tiger.
He now loomed before Sabo, so large that Sabo could've fit between his teeth.
"Be a good little brat and let me eat you. No more pointless resistance."
He sneered.
But Sabo's spirit burned brighter.
"I still have so much left to do! My brother's waiting for me at Marineford! I WILL NOT DIE HERE!!"
Unwilling to fall, Sabo pushed his Mera Mera powers to their limit.
Blazing flames surged around him,
And soon took the shape of a ten-meter-tall Flame Giant.
The searing heat made even the saber-toothed tiger version of Who's Who backpedal several steps.
Any slower and he might've been roasted on the spot.
"Where are you running, pirate scum?! Take THIS!"
The Flame Giant, under Sabo's control, launched a colossal punch at the tiger.
Who stumbled away in a panic, his fur singed and charred in the process.
"Fang Gun!!"
Frustrated and humiliated, Who's Who retaliated,
He launched a tooth-shaped projectile, a powered-up Flying Shigan, at the giant's flaming head.
But the Flame Giant casually swatted it away like a puff of air.
"Stop your useless resistance, you bastard!"
The Flame Giant echoed Who's earlier taunt back at him, calm and mocking.
Enraged, Who s-Who leaped at the Flame Giant's head, teeth bared to bite,
But midair, he was caught.
A fiery hand gripped him tightly, completely immobilizing the tiger no matter how he thrashed.
"Sorry, but I'm in a hurry! FIRE FIST!!!"
The Flame Giant's devastating punch struck Who's Who dead on,
Blasting him hundreds of meters away, shattering walls, and sending him who knows where.
After Celo instantly defeated the Flying Six siblings, Ulti and Page One,
Sabo now took down another: Who's Who.
Only Sasaki, still dueling Celo, and the uninvolved Black Maria remained.
And X Drake was likely still back on Sabaody.
"Koala! I'm coming to save you!!"
Without wasting time, Sabo turned to leap to the balcony where Koala was held.
But as he passed the level where Doflamingo stood, disaster struck.
His Flame Giant form was suddenly sliced apart, scattered into pieces of fire.
He fell, weak and drained, back to the hall floor.
Looking up from the ground, he finally noticed,
The sky above was filled with countless razor-sharp, nearly invisible strings.
Doflamingo's doing.
"Fufufufu… As a long-time ally of the Beasts Pirates, I can't just stand by and watch you disrupt their order, now can I?"
A smug, irrefutable excuse.
Sabo was so mad he nearly exploded.
He had just cleared the last of the Beasts Pirates blocking Koala,
Only for their business partner to step in.
"Hey, hey! Sabo, leave Doflamingo to ME! Don't act rashly!"
Still clashing swords with Sasaki, Celo shouted from the balcony, insisting that Doflamingo was his fight.