This was the New World. In the patch of sea where the Donquixote Pirates fought, snowflakes danced tirelessly, settling upon the frozen ocean. A score of pirate ships were trapped in the solid ice, their sails, railings, and decks already covered in a thick layer of white.
It should have been a beautiful world of ice, with the swirling snow creating a mesmerizing scene. But no one paid any mind to the delicate flakes; their eyes were fixed only on their opponents.
The two pirate forces clashed with relentless, inexhaustible fury, each vying to be the victor.
On the icy battlefield, Okessy's behavior was a stark contrast to his companions. While the others fought with all their might, desperate to contribute, he held back. He had a clear view of the situation and knew the Donquixote Pirates were not to be trifled with. He was merely going through the motions, fishing in troubled waters while looking for a chance to escape.
Okessy thought no one had noticed his charade, but he was wrong. Doflamingo had seen it from the very beginning. As one of the key players in this allied fleet, Okessy had naturally drawn Doflamingo's attention. From the moment he made his first move, Doflamingo had been watching him.
But Okessy remained oblivious, gracefully and leisurely toying with the Donquixote family members.
"How clever," Doflamingo murmured.
"Who?" Shyarly asked, curious.
Doflamingo didn't answer, his focus locked on the shifting dynamics of the battle below. Shyarly, getting no response, felt a little snubbed. But this was a battlefield; she swallowed her complaints, along with the nausea and fear churning in her stomach, and continued to watch the fight alongside him.
High in the sky, the blizzard had no effect on Enel. His movements grew faster and faster as he closed in on Gray, determined to make him pay.
Gray was no fool. Seeing Enel approaching, he had no intention of giving him the chance. He flapped his wings and rapidly retreated. From their brief exchange, Gray had realized he was no match for Enel in terms of raw power, and he wasn't stupid enough to engage in a contest of strength.
"You bastard, you're a fast runner!"
Though Enel could fly, he couldn't match the speed of a natural bird-man like Gray. Seeing his opponent's clever retreat, he couldn't help but curse.
"I ate the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Owl. I'm an owl-man," Gray taunted from a safe distance. "You think you can catch me at that snail's pace? You're naive."
"You little brat. Just wait until I get my hands on you," Enel seethed.
"Haha, I know I'm not as strong as you," Gray said confidently. "But as long as I don't want to lose, there's nothing you can do to me."
"You naive fool," Enel spat with disdain. "Have you ever seen how vast the sea truly is?"
"You're the naive one," Gray shot back, the smile vanishing from his face, replaced by a mask of fury at Enel's taunt.
"Die, you frog in a well! Cloud Needle!"
With a great roar, Enel conjured a barrage of long needles made of condensed cloud in front of him. Getting hit by one would be painful, and they shot forward with incredible speed, compensating for Enel's own lack of velocity.
"Go!"
"Eagle Wave!"
Seeing Enel's attack, Gray didn't flinch. He beat his massive wings, sending several waves of air, sharp as sword slashes, to meet the cloud needles.
BOOM!
The two attacks collided high in the air, exploding with a deafening crack.
Enel knew that attack wouldn't be enough to injure his opponent. He used the explosion as cover to rapidly close the distance.
"Heh, you think you can escape my sight?" Gray's body remained still, but his head swiveled a full 180 degrees to look at Enel, who had circled around behind him.
Enel wasn't surprised by Gray's inhuman maneuver. There were countless Devil Fruit users with all sorts of bizarre abilities; it was nothing to get worked up about.
"Flame Cloud Strike!"
A series of fiery red clouds shot toward Gray's body.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
Realizing the danger of Enel's attack, Gray let out the piercing shriek of an owl. The shrill sound made everyone on the battlefield below flinch and cover their ears.
Just before the flame clouds reached him, Gray completed his transformation. A majestic, divine-looking owl now faced the attack.
"Armament Haki: Hardening!"
With a low cry, Gray's gray wings were instantly coated in black Armament Haki. Under its influence, each feather became as hard and indestructible as steel.
BOOM!
Gray shielded his body with his wings, taking the full force of Enel's attack head-on.
"Not bad. The guys in the New World really are a tough bunch," Enel said, a grin spreading across his face as he watched Gray emerge from the fiery clouds.
"Slashing Wave!"
A gray-black figure shot toward Enel. It was Gray, using his wings as blades, relentlessly pressuring his opponent.
"Yahahahaha! This is fun! This is fun!"
Enel laughed boisterously, effortlessly dodging Gray's furious storm of attacks.
After a series of fruitless attacks, Gray grew frustrated. Nothing he did seemed to have any effect on Enel. It wasn't that he lacked power, but Enel's Observation Haki was far superior to his own. He was being toyed with.
"Is dodging all you can do?" Gray growled, glaring at Enel.
"Fine, I won't dodge," Enel said arrogantly. "I'll show you what true power is. You... are still a long way off."
"Big words are easy to say. Let's see you catch me first," Gray sneered.
"Yahahahaha! You are indeed strong. Unfortunately for you, I am stronger. So, if you would be so kind as to die!" Enel finished speaking and launched his attack. He moved so fast that Gray couldn't even track his movements.
"Piercing Cloud Strike!" Enel's ghostly figure appeared directly on Gray's back, a single palm striking him squarely.
"How is this possible!" Gray coughed up a mouthful of blood, struggling to halt his descent.
To surpass Gray's speed, Enel had used a combination of Soru and the explosive force of cloud dust, granting him phantom-like speed and allowing him to catch his opponent completely off guard.
"Cloud Stream Entanglement!"
Enel wouldn't give his enemy a moment to recover. He immediately followed up with another attack.
I can't let him tie me down, Gray thought frantically. He tried to break free and put some distance between them. As long as he was far away, he would have a chance.
But Enel wouldn't give him that chance.
"Armament Haki: Hardening!"
Enel's phantom-like form closed in on Gray again, his Haki-coated fists raining down mercilessly. At the same time, the clouds under his control wrapped tightly around Gray, neutralizing his aerial advantage.
"AAAAAHHH!"
Gray's agonizing screams echoed across the battlefield, affecting the morale of everyone below.
From the deck of the allied fleet, Whitey Bay saw Gray's miserable state, and her calm expression finally cracked with anger.
"Useless," she muttered under her breath.
She drew the rapier she wore at her side and unleashed a slash of cold, blue energy toward Enel.
"Half-Moon Funeral!"
Diamante, who had been watching the battle from the side, had anticipated her move. He acted instantly, intercepting her sneak attack.
"Heh, so this is the Whitebeard Pirates? Attacking from the shadows. How shameless," Diamante taunted.
"You bastard!"
Seeing her attack blocked and hearing her family's name insulted, Whitey Bay's anger boiled over.
"Die! You have no right to slander the Whitebeard Pirates!"
With her words, several more slashes of blue energy shot toward Diamante.
"Moonfall Frost Flower: Lunar Wheel Slash!"
Diamante was unfazed by her flashy attack, calmly parrying each one.
"The Donquixote Pirates... Very well," Whitey Bay said, her expression growing grim as her multi-pronged attack proved useless. She watched Diamante descend from the sky and charged forward to meet him.
"Then let's dance!" Diamante landed on the ice, ready to face the charging Whitey Bay.
The snow seemed to fall faster now, its icy flakes stinging the faces of the combatants, as if to remind them that this was all too real.
The brutal battlefield showed no signs of stopping, unaffected by the ice and snow. The battle of the Donquixote Pirates had to continue.