At the very top floor of the Nefertari Royal Palace, the center had been smashed open by the Terror Ghost's impact, leaving a gaping hole. Only the surrounding edges of the floor were still solid enough to stand on, and now two opposing groups faced each other there in the pouring rain, the space feeling cramped and tense.
Drophy, visibly impatient, suddenly dove headfirst into the stone floor, vanishing underground to start the fight.
She was the user of the Zoan-type Mole-Mole Fruit, and digging was naturally her specialty.
Once Drophy made the first move, neither Baroque Works nor Davy Jones' crew had any reason to hold back.
In an instant, chaos broke out — weapons clashed, Devil Fruit powers erupted, and the rooftop became a storm of abilities.
Meanwhile, Davy Jones casually strolled forward a couple of steps before vanishing from sight, reappearing in front of the same large door Crocodile had disappeared through, and giving chase.
Drophy had intended to tunnel over and grab Davy Jones' legs, but a small metal sphere dropped right in front of her. The next moment, her vision was consumed by a blinding fireball.
BOOM—!
The top floor had already been structurally unstable; the blast only worsened it. The whole level gave way, and everyone on it — without exception — plunged down to the floor below, and even the floor beneath that.
The Terror Ghost itself crashed straight through multiple levels before coming to rest in the ground-floor hall, now looking like one more exhibit among the Nefertari family's collection.
"Bastard!" Drophy snarled, her face smeared with blood and soot, her red hair scorched at the ends, as she struggled to get up.
If she hadn't been a Zoan-type user with its enhanced durability, that blast might have killed her outright. Zoans could take punishment — but even so, she was furious.
She looked up, and at the sight of the most smug grin in the room, she instantly knew who had done it.
"Clown Buggy!" Drophy roared, clawing the air in his direction — but unable to do anything about him.
Buggy floated above, laughing gleefully. He even twisted around midair to face away from her, wiggled his backside, and gave it a few mocking slaps.
But Drophy's inability to touch Buggy didn't mean no one else could try.
Her partner, Babe, silently drew a massive baseball bat nearly as tall as himself. Standing motionless with the bat planted on the ground, he adopted a batter's stance.
His dachshund, Lassoo, barked a few times at Buggy, then suddenly spat out a round sphere.
Lassoo, it turned out, had once been a bazooka — but had somehow eaten the Zoan-type Dog-Dog Fruit, Dachshund Model. As a result, it could switch between dachshund and bazooka forms, and its "shells" were timed explosives.
Whump!
Babe swung with all his might, striking the sphere perfectly. It rocketed toward Buggy's face with a whistle.
Buggy's eyes went wide; in a flash, he pulled out a huge golden round shield, raising it in front of him.
BOOM!
The sphere detonated against the shield, but the golden armor absorbed all of the blast. Buggy merely slid backward in the air from the shockwave, completely unharmed.
Peeking cautiously from behind the shield, Buggy grinned.
This shield was modeled after Captain Don Krieg's infamous one, but heavily modified. Already incredibly sturdy, it had been reinforced even further. Not even Lassoo's bombs could crack it.
"Hahaha! Now, witness the firepower of the great me!" Buggy declared.
From the shield's center, a ring of openings slid open, revealing gun barrels inside.
RATATATAT—!
Bullets poured down toward Babe and Lassoo.
Babe's huge size and slow reactions meant there was no time to dodge.
Lassoo, desperate to protect his master, leapt into the line of fire — and was riddled with bullets.
"Lassoo!" Babe cried, watching his companion collapse. Tears for his fallen partner mixed with the rain on his face.
Buggy showed no mercy. He raised the shield again, aiming straight for Babe's head.
But then — a strange scraping noise from behind. Buggy's instincts flared; he whirled around—
Drophy was there, having tunneled through one of the palace's stone pillars to emerge directly behind him, teeth bared like an enraged honey badger. She lunged.
Buggy's eyes widened — and his body split apart thanks to the Chop-Chop Fruit, avoiding her strike.
Drophy missed and plummeted toward the ground, confident she could roll and land safely.
But mid-fall, she noticed something circling her.
Buggy hadn't just split himself — he'd also taken apart his golden shield, separating it into two half-moon pieces. Each was held in one of his detached hands, spinning around her like satellites.
A cold dread seized her.
She screamed — and both shields opened fire simultaneously.
Bullets shredded her body. Even a Zoan's toughness couldn't withstand that concentrated barrage.
By the time she hit the floor, she was like a fragile sheet of paper — unrecognizable as human.
Babe turned at the sound of her body hitting the ground. The tears from Lassoo's death were still fresh on his face, and now shock and grief struck him anew.
Then came the rage.
Roaring like a black bear, he swung his massive bat wildly, smashing walls, pillars, windows — anything but the airborne Buggy.
Buggy watched his impotent fury, then offered one final act of "mercy": he tossed several small Buggy Bomb at Babe's feet.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—!
The blasts ripped up the floor, burying Babe, Drophy and Lassoo beneath rubble like a sealed tomb, snuffing out Babe's last shout.
"Galdino, are we… really okay just doing this?"
"No problem. The boss's orders were to stall the enemy."
Galdino sat with one leg crossed over the other.
"All I need to do is seal every exit with wax and wait for the right moment. As for that Davy Jones who disappeared — nothing I can do about him."
At the moment, he and his partner Marianne were inside a "wax house" shaped like an upside-down bowl over the floor, sitting at a small round table, sipping tea.
Galdino, the Paramecia-type Wax-Wax Fruit user, had indeed blocked most of the routes to Crocodile with hardened wax.
He was no fool. He could tell Davy Jones was dangerous, so he wasn't about to go looking for trouble.
Nor did he want to risk fighting Davy Jones' crew. If he could complete his mission with the least effort, that was best.
So, while Buggy's bombs thundered outside, he simply created this wax shelter to protect himself and Marianne.
"Mmm—" Marianne dangled her legs from her stool in the candlelight, crunching cookies between her teeth.
Galdino shot her an annoyed look. "You sure seem to like it in here."
"I never said I didn't," she replied bluntly. "You always misunderstand me."
"I don't 'always'—"
Their conversation stopped as both heard footsteps approaching. Someone had found the wax house.
"No problem," Galdino said calmly. "Once my wax hardens, it's as strong as steel. Nobody outside can touch us."
"I know. I just meant — should we go deal with him first?"
"No rush. Let him struggle for a while."
Outside, Hachi scratched his head in puzzlement. He could hear voices inside, confirming people were there. Drawing six swords, he struck the wax house — clang, clang, clang — but even with all six blades, he could only scratch it, not break through.
What now? Hachi folded all six arms across his chest, thinking.
Inside, Galdino chuckled smugly — until the scent of something burning made him frown.
He turned in shock to see one corner of the wax house melting away.
From the hole, Hachi's face appeared, peering in with a big, guileless smile.
(Author's note)
How do weapons even eat Devil Fruits? I forget if Oda's ever explained that.
Also, a quick note on Haki: In the manga timeline, two years ago Haki wasn't formally "implemented." Back then, fights were just raw blows. Post-timeskip, the Haki system was more fleshed out, and we could "see" Armament Haki as blackened limbs. I'd like to explain it this way: Observation Haki lets you perceive Armament Haki, so in the Marineford War they were using Armament, but to ordinary eyes it wasn't visible — similar to Stand abilities or Nen powers in other series.
PS: Access advance (100+) chapters at