"You damned woman! Just because you're a Warlord of the Sea, you think you can act so arrogantly in front of the Donquixote Family?! Die!!"
Gladius, wearing glasses to block his line of sight, shouted with rare defiance.
He knew that looking directly at Hancock would get him turned to stone by her Love-Love Fruit ability. So he kept his eyes averted, relying only on Observation Haki to attack her.
At once, the steel helmet on Gladius's head began to rapidly expand.
"Helmet Explosion!"
As a Poppop Fruit user, Gladius infused his explosive powers into the helmet.
In the blink of an eye, it swelled to a terrifying size,
And then exploded.
Countless steel fragments shot out in all directions like bullets, aiming straight for Hancock.
Seeing such a pathetic trick, Hancock's face twisted in mocking contempt.
"Slave Arrow!"
Her Love-Love Fruit transformed into countless magical arrows,
In a flash, all the steel shards turned to stone and fell to the ground.
Even Gladius, unable to dodge in time, had his right foot turned to stone.
He crashed to the ground in a thoroughly humiliating fashion.
"Did you, a useless man, just call me a damned woman?!"
Hancock looked down at Gladius, her eyes full of disgust.
It was the kind of look one gives to absolute garbage,
a gaze that pierced Gladius's heart like a silent arrow.
Furious, Gladius activated his fruit again and exploded.
"Full-Body Detonation!!!"
It wasn't suicide; it was one of Gladius's techniques.
A massive explosion tore through the surroundings.
Whether it was Hancock nearby or the other Doflamingo Family members around him, everyone got blown away.
Half of the Royal Plateau's castle was blown apart in the blast.
"What the?!"
Tsunade, thinking she'd be safe hiding in a far corner, was speechless. She grabbed Klara and leaped toward the fields behind the castle.
But the fields were even more chaotic.
Zoro and Doflamingo were locked in deadly combat down there.
Frightened, Tsunade jumped off the cliff of the Royal Plateau,
only to find herself suddenly airborne.
She was caught by a giant, flame-feathered bird that soared hundreds of meters into the sky.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
"Why does that bird's voice sound so familiar?!"
"It's Little Sparrow, AHHH!"
Having seen Little Sparrow in her Vermilion Bird form, Klara quickly explained.
But because the Vermilion Bird ascended way too fast, she screamed in terror.
At that moment, she truly felt what it was like to be launched into the heavens.
Even her thoughts of Sabo temporarily disappeared.
Thus, the Slacker Trio reassembled in the sky hundreds of meters above.
Now, there was nothing left on the ground to disrupt their slacking.
Down below, the fighting resumed in full force.
Gladius, who had just exploded himself,
Miraculously, not only remained unharmed, but his clothes were perfectly intact.
"Stone Bomb!"
Still holding a grudge, Gladius locked onto Hancock's position.
He rotated a gear device embedded in his left arm, launching several rock-like projectiles at her.
Mid-air, these rock balls expanded rapidly.
"Useless, arrogant, filthy man!"
Hancock had been watching him the whole time.
When she saw the incoming "attacks," she couldn't even be bothered to sneer anymore.
She instantly dodged past the useless flying rubble,
And appeared right in front of the actual trash: Gladius.
"Perfume Femur!"
In Gladius's stunned eyes, Hancock delivered a powerful, precise kick to his head.
He was instantly launched like a meteor, crashing down into a town hundreds of meters away in Dressrosa.
And she didn't even use her Super Perfume Femur.
"Why do men besides Zoro even exist in this world? Not a single one has any strength!"
Hancock turned away in disdain and looked toward Zoro, who was still battling Doflamingo.
Watching him swing his katana and push Doflamingo back step by step, her eyes turned into pink hearts of adoration.
But suddenly, a strong sense of danger washed over her.
"Mega Rock Bomb Showcase!!!"
Before Hancock could react, the scream of Gladius, whom she thought she'd defeated, reached her ears.
Then, the Royal Plateau beneath her began to tremble violently.
Gladius, like a lunatic, had infused his Poppop Fruit ability into the entire plateau, planning to blow it up completely,
He didn't care about his fellow Doflamingo Family members still there,
not even Doflamingo himself.
Horrified, Hancock rushed to save Zoro from the imminent explosion,
When suddenly, a roaring shout came from above:
"Heaven-Crushing Kick!!!"
Before she could look up, Tsunade crashed down from the sky like a meteor,
And obliterated one-third of the Royal Plateau with a single stomp.
Gladius, who had been clinging to the cliffside, was buried under the rubble.
He likely died with a bewildered look on his face.
After all, who would expect a woman to fall from the sky and destroy a third of a mountain?
"Wait… Zoro's cousin is this strong? Must be because of his great teaching!"
Hancock, shocked by Tsunade's power, still found a way to compliment Zoro.
If Tsunade heard that, she'd roll her eyes so hard they'd launch into orbit.
Her eyes were already halfway there.
Any Hyuga Clan member watching might have thought Tsunade was one of them.
"Can't you all just let me slack off in peace?!"
Seeing Gladius try to ambush Hancock earlier, Tsunade remembered the millions of berries she had scammed off her cousin Zoro,
So she jumped from the sky without hesitation to save her honorary sister-in-law, Hancock.
Now she just hoped Zoro earned more money soon, so she could scam him for even more.
"Huh?!"
Just as she dreamed of turning Zoro into an ATM, a bad feeling struck Tsunade.
Years of battle experience told her that something was coming for her.
She scanned her surroundings, face suddenly serious,
And sure enough, above her, a giant shadow appeared.
It was a massive fat man.
"Ten-Thousand-Ton Hell Press!!!"
Machvise, who had tried to sneak-attack Tsunade, realized he'd been spotted,
So he gave up stealth and launched his strongest move head-on.
Using his Ton-Ton Fruit, his body weighed ten thousand tons.
He hurtled down like a meteor toward Tsunade.
"Ten... thousand tons?!"
Tsunade froze at the words.
At first, she thought he was exaggerating.
But as he came closer, she could feel the pressure even from afar.
Now she realized he wasn't lying.
But it was too late to dodge.
Panicked, she clenched her teeth and used her monstrous strength, hoping her under-thousand-ton force could somehow match his attack,
"Thunder Bagua!!!"
Suddenly, a black streak of light flashed from the sky.
Yamato, in hybrid beast form, had wrapped her club in Conqueror's Haki and smashed into Machvise from the side.
In a blink, the ten-thousand-ton Machvise was launched like a meteor, slamming into a distant Dressrosa town.
Tsunade was left terrified.
She had borrowed millions of berries from Yamato the other day and intended not to repay her.
But now, she felt she needed to hustle Sero for some money ASAP, before Yamato smashed her into the afterlife with another Thunder Bagua.
"Tsunade! Are you okay?!"
Yamato landed beside her, retrieved her club, and asked with concern,
Snapping Tsunade out of her sinister schemes.
"I-I'm fine! Fine! Hahaha!!!"
"Good! I'm off to keep fighting!"
Yamato didn't care about the money Tsunade owed.
The money had come from Zoro, given to Yamato in case of emergencies.
Where else would a broke girl like her get millions?
Satisfied, Tsunade was okay, and Yamato happily ran off to bully more Doflamingo Family members.
More precisely, she went to abuse the weaklings.
In just half an hour, Yamato had already defeated three Donflamingo officers,
And she wasn't even trying hard.
"Rebecca! Need a hand?!"
Passing by, Yamato saw Rebecca get knocked back ten meters again by Diamante.
Eager, she asked if she should jump in.
Rebecca, who had lost count of how many times she'd been flung away,
trembled as she leaned on her sword and stood back up.
She firmly shook her head, refusing Yamato's help.
"If I can't kill Diamante with my own hands today,
my life… will have no meaning."