"It's over! Captain Gray and Captain Okessy are dead!"
"That monster is looking at us now!"
"Run for it!"
They were a thrown-together force to begin with. With the deaths of Gray and Okessy, their crews' morale shattered. Without a moment's hesitation, they turned to flee.
"Damn it! You're trying to run now?!"
Squard shot a glance at his fleeing allies, gritting his teeth in fury.
"You're distracted!" The moment Pica's words fell, Squard was met with a heavy backhand.
He was sent flying, tumbling several times across the ice before staggering back to his feet. A bright red handprint throbbed painfully on his cheek.
"That's not what you should be worried about. Don't you dare underestimate me!" Pica said, a hint of anger in his voice.
"Damn it! Why are you so hard to deal with!" Squard cursed.
Pica wasn't about to let him off the hook. He raised his hand again, determined to give him a matching set.
Squard's situation grew more desperate. Under Pica's relentless assault, his strength was fading.
"Aaargh! Just die!"
Squard roared, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. The pressure Pica was putting on him was clearly immense.
"Trash! One punch is all it'll take to send you to the afterlife," Pica said with contempt.
He settled into a fighting stance, preparing to end it.
"Pica, leave him alive!"
Doflamingo, who was observing the entire battlefield, had seen that Squard was at the end of his rope. But now was not the right time to start an all-out war with the Whitebeard Pirates. Who knew how Whitebeard would react if he found out his sons were dead? If the old man decided to come after him, Doflamingo's plans for expansion would be ruined. While he wasn't afraid of Whitebeard, having an enemy like that constantly on his tail would mean he'd never have a moment's peace.
Besides, Squard was a very important piece on the board. How could he let him die here? The Summit War was still waiting for him to play his starring role.
Receiving Doflamingo's telepathic message, Pica slowly reined in his power, afraid that he might accidentally kill Squard.
BAM!
Squard collapsed onto the ice, coughing up great mouthfuls of blood that stained the pristine surface crimson.
"You lose," Pica stated, his face expressionless.
"Go on! Kill me! Pops will avenge me!" Squard glared, his eyes wide with defiance.
"Heh!" Pica chuckled, then knocked Squard out with a single punch.
"Squard!"
Makugai and the others, who were as close as brothers to him, saw Squard fall. They didn't care about the deaths of Gray and the others, but Squard was different. He was their brother, one of Whitebeard's beloved sons.
"You bastards! Prepare to face the wrath of Pops!" Makugai threatened.
Just as he finished his threat, trouble erupted on the other side of the battlefield.
"Big Sis!"
CLANG!
Whitey Bay and Diamante's figures flashed past each other, their backs now facing.
Whitey Bay's rapier slipped from her grasp, clattering onto the ice. Blood trickled down her arm, dripping onto the frozen surface with a soft tick, tick, tick.
"You win! But... Pops is the strongest!" With those final words, she collapsed.
"Stubborn to the end! Doffy is the strongest. What does Whitebeard amount to?" Diamante glanced at her and spat in disgust.
Seeing their Big Sis fall, her brothers were overcome with grief. They thought she was dead, and their eyes turned red with rage. Diamante, having received Doflamingo's message at the last second, had spared her life.
But her brothers didn't know that. They went berserk, consumed by a desire for revenge.
"Aaargh! Avenge Big Sis and Squard!" Makugai's eyes were filled with tears, his movements growing even more ferocious. Even if he died here, he would make the Donquixote Pirates pay.
"They've gone crazy!" Shyarly said from beside Doflamingo, covering her mouth, her voice trembling with fear.
"Of course they're crazy. Their beloved brother and sister are on the verge of death. Wouldn't you be?" Doflamingo said, his eyes fixed on Shyarly. "If someone I loved died, I would go crazy, too."
The speaker may have been careless, but the listener's heart was captured. Especially since Doflamingo's words were laced with intent. Shyarly was completely won over.
She moved to his side and hugged him tightly. "That won't happen, Doffy. You're the strongest. I won't become your weakness," she said with determination.
Doflamingo stroked her face, saying nothing. His silence spoke volumes.
After an intimate moment, Doflamingo's gaze sharpened once more. He reached a hand down toward the battlefield below. A pirate was caught in his power, pulled irresistibly toward the Ark.
"Aaaahhh! Help me!"
The unlucky pirate screamed in terror, but no one could save him.
THUD!
The pirate landed hard on the deck and looked up at Doflamingo with a face full of terror.
"Spare me! Lord Doflamingo, spare my life!" The pirate kowtowed desperately, begging to live.
"Go on, Shyarly," Doflamingo said, gently caressing her cheek as he slipped a small knife into her hand.
Shyarly took the knife, her face a mask of cold indifference, but anyone could see it was a facade.
"Please, beautiful lady, spare me! Spare me!"
Seeing the knife in her hand, the pirate cleverly began to beg her for mercy.
"I'm sorry!"
Shyarly closed her eyes and swung the knife, stabbing down hard.
"You fish-man bastard! Go to hell!" Seeing his fate sealed, the pirate's face twisted with malice, determined to take her down with him.
VWOOM!
A wave of pressure, like a tidal wave, washed over the pirate, freezing him in place.
"Con... Conqueror's Haki..."
The pirate broke out in a cold sweat, stammering in terror.
Shlick.
The white blade went in, and the red blade came out. Shyarly had completed her transformation.
"You did very well, Shyarly."
Doflamingo pulled the beautiful woman into his arms, encouraging her.
"I will become stronger. I won't be a burden to you," Shyarly said, her face pale but her spirit high.
"I believe in you."
Having dealt with Shyarly, Doflamingo turned his attention back to the battlefield. Enel, Pica, Diamante, and the others had all returned to the Ark, victorious.
"Doffy, these are Whitebeard's son and daughter," Diamante said, pointing to the unconscious forms of Whitey Bay and Squard on the deck.
"Well done," Doflamingo praised.
"The Whitebeard Pirates are nothing special," Enel said with a laugh.
"These are just the small fry. The really strong ones haven't shown up yet," Doflamingo said calmly.
"Doffy, we've made an enemy of the Whitebeard Pirates. Whitebeard will definitely come after us," Diamante said, a hint of worry in his voice.
"It's fine," Doflamingo said with a wave of his hand, his voice full of confidence. "I'd like to see for myself what the gap is between me and Whitebeard. I'll take on this fight. Besides, his son and daughter are still alive, aren't they? He won't go crazy and fight us to the death. After all, he has a huge family and so many other children to worry about."
"The World's Strongest Man... I'd love to have a go at him myself!" Enel's eyes shone with excitement, showing no trace of fear.
"Long-Ears, even Doffy isn't certain of victory. You should probably sit this one out," Pica teased.
"Sissy-voice, you should try to catch up to me first! You haven't even tasted what it's like to be at the top of the world, have you?" Enel shot back fiercely.
"You! I will catch up to you! Just you wait!" Pica fumed, his mood soured.
"Yahahahaha! I'll be waiting for you up ahead. Try not to fall too far behind!" Enel continued to taunt.
"Long-Ears, you just watch. I'll show you."
Doflamingo and Diamante exchanged a look and couldn't help but smile.
What a pair.
The rest was a foregone conclusion. The Whitebeard-allied fleet was routed, and the dawn of victory for the Donquixote Pirates had finally, brilliantly, arrived.