Chapter 259: Clash
World Government, Mary Geoise.
The Five Elders gathered in their private chamber, observing the Battle of Dressrosa through a specialized surveillance Den Den Mushi.
Clearly, even for the Five Elders, a decisive confrontation involving multiple supreme-tier combatants like Rhodes warranted their direct attention.
"Jinbe? Has he abandoned Fish-Man Island entirely? With him participating, variables increase substantially."
"Deploy Naval support. Dressrosa isn't far from the G-5 Branch—merely a two-hour voyage at combat speed."
"Momousagi cannot go. Neither Akainu nor Aokiji are available. Order Kizaru to lead three large warships!"
"The official justification will be intervention against an unprovoked assault on Dressrosa."
Dressrosa, in the world's perception, represented passion and joy—a rapidly developing and seemingly well-governed nation, practically a showcase for the Seven Warlords system's success.
Rhodes' invasion of such a "peaceful" nation provided sufficient justification for Naval intervention.
Of course, the most critical reason was that this represented a direct order from the Five Elders themselves.
The Marines possessed no authority to refuse.
When Kizaru received the deployment order, his typically relaxed expression immediately contorted with obvious displeasure. He released a long, weary sigh, but ultimately could only gather his forces for departure.
He genuinely had no desire to face Rhodes again.
Compared to Rhodes, Kizaru would honestly prefer wandering through a Yonko's territory instead. Rhodes—someone who specifically countered his abilities—was simply too troublesome to engage.
Meanwhile, in Dressrosa.
"Our respective military strengths seem rather... disparate. Fufufufu."
Standing before his assembled forces, Doflamingo smiled wickedly and spread his hands in mock sympathy.
The Donquixote Family commanded numerous powerful combatants. Although these individuals couldn't directly interfere in Rhodes' main battle, they could definitely pose serious threats to Robin and the others.
If the decisive confrontation extended long enough and everyone's mental and physical conditions declined substantially, they might become the final straw breaking the camel's back.
"Moreover, you—the Thunder God Swordsman—have taken the initiative to invade this land of love, passion, and toys. The Marines won't stand idly by, you know."
Doflamingo chuckled darkly, cold calculation flashing through his eyes.
He'd coordinated thoroughly with Kalos and the Five Elders. If anything unexpected developed on the battlefield, the Marines would definitely dispatch reinforcements—at minimum, one Admiral!
"You have precisely two hours. After that, the Marines will arrive, and your opponent won't be merely me anymore."
Doflamingo's tone carried obvious mockery.
Two hours—even without Kalos' assistance, he felt confident he could hold out that long.
The capability to stalemate a peak-tier opponent wasn't mere bravado!
"Two hours is more than sufficient."
Rhodes replied calmly, utterly unhurried.
Before arriving here, his team had thoroughly investigated every relevant detail.
Although Rhodes' personal intelligence network hadn't yet fully penetrated the New World, through the Revolutionary Army's information channels, Rhodes and his crew had comprehensively assessed major power movements throughout the New World and identified any entities that might assist Doflamingo.
Marine deployments were naturally included in those calculations.
"Two hours to defeat me? Quite arrogant, I must say..."
Hearing Rhodes' confident declaration, the smile on Doflamingo's face finally transformed into pure, chilling killing intent.
He slashed his fingers across empty air, suddenly targeting Rhodes directly.
"Goshikito—Five Color Strings!"
CLANG!
Shodai Kitetsu was drawn in a flash, its blade gleaming like silver lightning as it cleaved through the void.
The razor-sharp threads Doflamingo had unleashed were instantly severed, dissolving into nothingness.
Witnessing this, Doflamingo's expression darkened noticeably, his eyes growing considerably more grave.
His threads weren't ordinary strings by any measure. Although this had been merely a probing attack with minimal Armament Haki reinforcement, they still possessed sufficient cutting power to slice through solid steel effortlessly!
"So he does possess genuine skill..."
Doflamingo took a deep, steadying breath. His five fingers clenched tightly as countless threads converged into a terrifying whip formation, sweeping toward Rhodes with devastating force.
"Overheat!"
Rhodes simply slashed downward with his blade.
WHOOOOSH!
A pure silver-white sword slash erupted forth, tearing through everything in its path. Its overwhelming sharpness rippled through the very atmosphere, directly severing the massive thread-whip!
After such an extended period of intensive training and combat against multiple Great Swordsmen, Rhodes' swordsmanship had nearly reached the absolute pinnacle of master-level technique—standing only half a step away from achieving Great Swordsman status himself!
"Let's end this farce."
"My legend begins here."
Rhodes' gaze locked onto Doflamingo with absolute focus, and before his declaration even concluded, he flashed forward explosively—charging directly toward the Heavenly Yaksha.
Kalos attempted to coordinate with Doflamingo immediately, but was intercepted by Jinbe, who'd been specifically positioned for this role.
"Your opponent is me!"
Jinbe assumed a proper Fishman Karate stance and declared calmly.
Kalos snorted dismissively, completely unsurprised. This development fell well within his tactical expectations.
"You two—go assist Doflamingo."
The other two CP0 operatives, without uttering a single word, burst forward explosively and rushed toward the main battlefield.
These two specialized in pure physical combat techniques, possessing formidable strength only marginally inferior to former CP9 Chief Lucci—sufficient to meaningfully participate in the battle between Rhodes and Doflamingo.
Jinbe attempted to intercept them but sensed a whooshing sound approaching rapidly.
His expression shifted slightly, forcing him to abandon the interception attempt and dodge the incoming attack.
"Steel needles?"
Observing the ground now riddled with countless puncture holes, Jinbe's pupils contracted with realization. He hadn't expected his opponent to possess remote telekinetic control over metal projectiles!
BANG-BANG-BANG!
The two combatants exchanged dozens of blows within mere seconds.
Jinbe gradually relaxed his guard somewhat.
Kalos' attack intensity proved manageable. The steel needles could barely pierce through Jinbe's Armament Haki before being blocked by his exceptionally resilient fish-man physiology, then repelled entirely by Jinbe's shockwave techniques.
"Tch... troublesome..."
Kalos' eyes deepened to near-black—a physiological consequence of excessive ability usage.
Kalos' power was fundamentally versatile, similar to telekinesis, but with relatively average direct attack potency.
Of course, this "average" assessment was relative to other Admiral-tier combatants.
Typical pirates with weak Armament Haki would be riddled with fatal holes by these high-velocity steel projectiles.
But Jinbe was fundamentally different.
He was Fish-Man Island's strongest warrior, a pure martial arts master whose Armament Haki was second only to the Marine Admirals themselves. Combined with fish-man racial superiority in physical durability, he could withstand even Akainu's attacks—let alone Kalos, who ranked below Akainu's tier.
Meanwhile, Robin, Law, and the fish-man officers also launched their assault.
Robin crossed her arms gracefully, instantly manifesting countless limbs that efficiently eliminated nearly one hundred Donquixote Family foot soldiers in moments.
Then Law activated his ROOM ability, instantly switching positions while specifically targeting enemies lacking Armament Haki or possessing weak defensive capabilities.
The Ope Ope no Mi's power was simply too overwhelming!
Without sufficient Haki protection, contact meant virtually instant death.
Within moments, severed limbs scattered everywhere as blood pooled across the cobblestones—the Surgeon of Death truly lived up to his terrifying epithet.
Law gasped for breath, having completely lost count of how many he'd killed. His eyes were bloodshot with accumulated fury as he charged back into combat.
Today, he would slaughter them all without mercy!
The fish-man officers, however, maintained relatively composed discipline, forming proper battle formations as they systematically eliminated enemies.
Blood splattered across Lover's Avenue.
"Arrogant fools!"
Witnessing this massacre, Lao G, Pica, and other top executives joined the counterattack. The remaining officers surged toward Robin's group, seemingly prepared to overwhelm them through sheer numerical superiority.
But in that precise instant—
A massive pillar of lightning—thick as an ancient tree trunk—crashed down from the heavens, piercing through everything in its descent path.
KRAKABOOOOOOOM!
The explosive detonation was absolutely deafening.
Where the lightning struck, everyone was blasted away violently. The devastating electrical discharge dissipated outward, resulting in countless casualties instantaneously.
(End of Chapter)