!" Staring at the murderer of her mother standing before her, Rebecca leapt to her feet, seething with rage.
If Doflamingo was the demon that had to be driven out of Dressrosa, then this man, Diamante, was the personal enemy who had killed her mother.
"Water Breathing! Second Form: Water Wheel!"
Rebecca once again used her not-so-refined Water Breathing technique.
Compared to the Water Breathing performed by Zoro, Rebecca's version was so unpolished that it shattered the impression Hancock and Yamato had of the technique.
They almost blurted out, "So Water Breathing can be… this trash?"
And so, Rebecca got knocked down again by Diamante.
As a Flutter-Flutter Fruit user, Diamante's power and experience in battle were far beyond what Rebecca, a mere fledgling, could handle.
"Trash like you? You dare charge in here? Are you here just to die?!"
Diamante didn't even recognize Rebecca.
She looked vaguely familiar, probably one of the no-name swordfighters from the Dressrosa Colosseum, he thought.
People like her? The faster he could kill them, the better.
Without another word, Diamante activated his ability.
"Sword! Long sword!"
The blade of his rapier stretched longer and longer thanks to his Flutter-Flutter Fruit ability.
He then sliced downward with a forty-meter-long blade, aiming directly at the distant Rebecca.
Terrified, Rebecca rolled out of the way.
But Diamante's sword seemed like it had tracking,
Its sharp edge bent mid-air and came flying after her again.
"Water Breathing! Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
As she dodged the wild blade, Rebecca also searched for a chance to strike back.
When she slipped behind Diamante, she seized the opportunity,
She unleashed the last sword technique she'd learned so far.
Streams of water surged from her sword and her feet.
In a flash, she was less than a meter behind Diamante in mid-air.
With water swirling around her blade, she slashed fiercely toward the back of his head.
A smile of victory had just started forming on her face.
But the next second, her smile froze.
Diamante spun around suddenly and smashed a massive iron hammer into her mid-air figure.
"Die, trash!"
BAM!
The huge hammer slammed directly into Rebecca's helmeted head, sending her flying dozens of meters away.
In just a few seconds, her whole body was soaked in her blood.
"REBECCA!!!"
Seeing this, Violet finally broke down.
She sprinted over in grief, cradling the bleeding Rebecca in her arms.
"Auntie…"
Barely conscious, Rebecca weakly called out.
Her helmet, now cracked from the blow, shattered and fell to the ground.
Even so, it was clear that Rebecca was still trying to stand, determined to keep fighting.
"Give it up, Rebecca! We can't possibly defeat Doflamingo and his Donquixote Family!"
Seeing Rebecca continue to struggle, Violet snapped.
She screamed in despair,
This was exactly the ending she had feared.
They hadn't managed to harm Doflamingo in the slightest, and now Rebecca was on the brink of death.
Furious, Violet turned to Zoro, who still sat motionless on the throne.
"Aren't you her master?! Why are you just sitting there and doing nothing?!"
"What strong person hasn't crawled up from blood and sweat? If Rebecca can't make it through even this trial, then even if we drive out Doflamingo now, another one will just rise and retake Dressrosa."
Zoro's calm reply left Violet completely stunned.
Then, Zoro stood up slowly from the throne, his katana pointing straight at Doflamingo and his Donquixote crew.
"For every injury my disciple suffers, I'll return it tenfold on you."
"And that idiot who injured her? He's off-limits. My disciple will kill him herself."
A fierce sword aura erupted from Zoro's body,
It swept across the entire Royal Plateau like a storm.
In a flash, he appeared directly in front of Doflamingo.
"Water Breathing! First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
Water surged over his katana as Zoro struck with tremendous speed at the close-range Doflamingo.
It seemed Doflamingo had anticipated this and was already prepared.
"Overheat Whip!"
Dozens of fine threads coated in Armament Haki burst from Doflamingo's hands.
Just before they collided with the katana, the threads merged into a massive cord,
The watery blade and the hardened thread pillar clashed violently in mid-air.
The shockwave blasted the surrounding Donquixote Family members dozens of meters away.
Even the thick castle walls cracked and shattered under the force.
"Water Breathing! Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
Zoro, still in mid-air, locked eyes with the also-floating Doflamingo.
He followed up immediately with another powerful downward slash, aiming at Doflamingo's hand.
Caught off guard, Doflamingo was smashed straight into the fields behind the castle.
And Zoro gave chase without hesitation.
"D-luffy got smacked away like that by this guy?!"
Violet stared blankly, stunned by the unbelievable sight.
In contrast, Rebecca, who had somehow risen to her feet, showed a calm, almost certain expression.
"Master said he would defeat Doflamingo. So he will defeat Doflamingo."
Somehow, Rebecca believed in Zoro even more than Zoro did himself.
Seeing her teacher unleash such overwhelming power, Rebecca regained her confidence.
She raised her sword again and aimed it at Diamante.
"CHARGE, REBECCA!!!"
Yamato, who had become both mentor and friend to her, cheered loudly when she saw Rebecca's determination.
She also casually landed another Thunder Bagua on the barely-conscious Pica.
This time, he wasn't launched to Dressrosa's coastline,
Only a few hundred meters into a nearby town.
"Kaido's daughter is a monster just like him…"
said Peek, standing barely a meter away from Pica.
He'd witnessed the whole brutal hit and couldn't even react.
To be honest, even if he could react, he wouldn't dare to intervene.
Still replaying the traumatic scene in his mind, Peek had no idea that his casual comment had just enraged Yamato.
"I'm Kozuki Oden! How could I possibly be like that black-faced gorilla Kaido?!"
Angrier the more she thought about it, Yamato swung another Thunder Bagua at Peek.
But Peek barely escaped by diving underground.
He jumped down like a diver, splashing water everywhere.
A performance worthy of a diving competition.
"A Devil Fruit ability?! What kind of power is that?!"
Watching Peek swim away underground, Yamato chased after him, swinging her club, her mind filled with confusion.
Thus, the simple-minded Yamato was lured away by the scheming Peek.
Back on the Royal Plateau, only Hancock and Sabo remained, surrounding the remaining 7–8 Donquixote members.
"Sabo, be careful!"
Koala, pulled aside earlier by Tsunade the Slacker™, called out in concern.
Not a single ounce of sympathy for the surrounded Donquixote members,
It kind of felt like her gentle warning was taunting them.
"Be careful not to kill them all?" they wondered, shivering.
"Baby 5! Now's your time to repay the Donquixote Family for raising you!"
Gladius, shamelessly, tried to send Baby 5 in as cannon fodder.
Feeling useful for once, Baby 5 didn't hesitate—
She charged at Hancock and Sabo with all her might.
"Weapon Transformation! Missile Girl!"
Using her Weapon-Weapon Fruit, Baby 5 turned her entire body into a missile, soaring straight toward Hancock and Sabo.
Seeing such a bizarre ability, both Hancock and Sabo were momentarily surprised.
Then, Sabo responded with Fire Fist, channeling the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit.
"Fire Fist!"
A giant fireball gathered from his blazing body,
It blasted toward the panicking, missile-formed Baby 5 with unstoppable force.
Just from the sight of it, she knew she couldn't survive.
But knowing and dodging were two different things,
In the blink of an eye, she was scorched into a dud and slammed into a wall, knocked out cold.
Even so, in her final moment of consciousness, Baby 5 still felt happy.
She had been needed.
Watching it all unfold, Hancock turned and glared fiercely at Gladius, who had just sent Baby 5 to her doom.
"As I thought… aside from Zoro, there isn't a single good man in this world