By now, three of Doflamingo's officers had already fallen: Pica, Dellinger, and Machvise. Among them, Machvise had undoubtedly suffered the most gruesome end. The sight of his mutilated corpse on the blood-soaked battlefield was still fresh in everyone's minds.
Now, of the officers gathered on the second floor, only Gladius, Lao G, Senor Pink, and Baby 5 remained. The atmosphere had grown suffocatingly tense. Even though they were all veteran fighters who had survived countless bloodbaths, facing Gojo inflicted a psychological pressure unlike anything they had ever experienced.
Gladius, however, was far too enraged to care. The deaths of his comrades had pushed him beyond the brink of reason.
"You bastard!"
His face twisting with fury, he immediately unleashed another technique. The stones surrounding him began to swell violently.
Then—
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
One explosion triggered the next. The entire second floor was engulfed in a chain reaction of powerful detonations as rocks, debris, and fragments of the shattered battlefield ruptured continuously. The force of the blasts rippled outward in every direction, tearing apart what little remained of the ruined floor.
The shockwaves were so devastating that the surviving officers scrambled backward. Lao G leapt away, Baby 5 retreated to a safer distance, and even Senor Pink dove clear of the blast radius. None of them wanted to be caught in Gladius's indiscriminate crossfire.
Meanwhile, the actual target stood calmly at the epicenter of the chaos. Gojo remained completely motionless.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions continued to erupt around him, swallowing the area in thick smoke and blinding dust. Large chunks of stone were obliterated into powder. Yet, when the haze briefly cleared, Gojo was still standing exactly where he had been.
Perfectly unharmed.
Not a single scratch marred his skin. His clothes remained immaculate, his expression entirely serene. Just like every attack before it, Gladius's explosions had failed to touch him. Everything had been stopped dead by Limitless.
On the other side of the smoke, while Gladius was creating chaos, Lao G had finally bought enough time to prepare. A fierce glint ignited in his eyes as he activated the strongest technique in his arsenal.
Ultimate Art of Jio-Ken Style: Battle Insurance Fist!
A dramatic transformation occurred. His aged, frail body began swelling rapidly; muscles expanded, his hunched posture straightened, and his deep wrinkles smoothed out as his physique reverted to the prime of his youth. The transition was astonishing. The brittle old man from moments ago had become a towering, muscular powerhouse radiating a violent aura.
Without wasting another second, Lao G dashed toward Gojo.
Boom!
The floor beneath his feet shattered from the sheer acceleration. His speed crossed an incredible threshold, distorting the surrounding air with the force of his momentum. Arriving right before Gojo, Lao G unleashed his signature strike.
"Seal of G!"
Thrusting his fist forward in the shape of a "G," he poured every ounce of his stored strength into the blow. The sheer pressure cracked the solid ground apart. Yet, when the attack finally reached Gojo—
Nothing happened. Or more accurately, it never truly reached him.
Lao G's fist froze inches away, colliding with Limitless. An invisible, absolute barrier stood between them. Deprived of its target, the tremendous kinetic energy redirected outward.
Boom!
The battered battlefield fractured even further. Cracks spiderwebbed across the room, stones shattered, and debris went flying. But Gojo himself remained completely unaffected. Not a single strand of his hair even stirred.
Lao G's eyes widened in horror. Before he could even think to pull back—
Shing!
Gojo unsheathed his sword. The movement was so fluid, so blindingly fast, that most of the officers barely registered it. A silver flash bisected the battlefield as Gojo casually delivered a diagonal slash.
Lao G couldn't even perceive the trajectory. For a split second, there was only silence. Then, a thin diagonal line divided his torso, and blood suddenly erupted from the wound.
Slash!
Lao G stared in disbelief. Instantly, the youthful physique he had reclaim began to wither. His swollen muscles rapidly deflated, his stored youth vanished, and his body shriveled back into that of a frail old man. The temporary strength granted by the Battle Insurance Fist evaporated in seconds. His legs trembled violently, blood pouring from the deep gash.
Lao G was no longer capable of fighting. He was barely capable of standing.
Gojo looked down at him with detached calm and raised his blade to deliver the killing blow. But before the edge could fall, the ground beneath Lao G suddenly rippled like liquid.
Swish!
Senor Pink emerged from the solid stone, scooped Lao G into his arms, and dove back into the earth in a single, seamless motion. Using his swimming ability, he navigated the stone floor as if it were an open sea.
Gojo simply watched the display, making no effort to intercept them.
A few moments later, Senor Pink surfaced far across the room, carefully placing Lao G in a safe location beyond Gojo's immediate reach. Only after ensuring his comrade's safety did he return. The ground rippled once more, and Senor Pink emerged directly in front of Gojo.
Unlike the others, there was no panic on his face. No visible fear, no blinding rage. Only pure, unwavering determination.
The battlefield fell strangely quiet. The remaining officers watched breathlessly. Gojo calmly met his gaze.
Senor Pink adjusted his posture, stood firmly, and spoke. "Let's fight this battle man to man."
For the first time since stepping onto the second floor, Gojo's eyes showed a flicker of amusement. Unlike the others who had attacked recklessly out of blind fury, Senor Pink had stepped forward with absolute resolve despite witnessing everything that had just transpired. Despite seeing three officers die. Despite watching every attack fail.
He still chose to stand his ground. And that alone made him different.
Gojo stared back at him, his expression entirely indifferent. "What 'man to man'?" he asked calmly. "We are already fighting man to man."
His tone carried neither anger nor mockery; it was a cold, matter-of-fact observation. "Do you expect me to throw away my sword and fight you hand-to-hand just to waste more of my time?" Gojo's eyes locked onto Senor Pink's. "I don't think you deserve that much respect from me."
The words cut deeper than any blade.
"You are nothing more than a clown to me," Gojo continued, his voice echoing in the eerie quiet of the ruined room. "Your story might be tragic." He paused briefly. "But it wasn't tragic because of someone else. It is tragic because of you. You are the one responsible for everything that happened in your life."
Gojo slowly shook his head. "So don't give me this nonsense about being a real man."
The moment the words left his mouth—
Shing!
Gojo struck. His sword flashed forward with terrifying velocity.
Senor Pink's survival instincts screamed. Without hesitation, he dove straight down, the stone behaving like water as he submerged himself. However, even though he avoided a fatal strike, he wasn't quick enough to escape unscathed.
Slash!
The upper portion of his swim cap was cleanly sliced off, spinning through the air before bouncing onto the ruined floor. Senor Pink continued diving deeper underground, descending into the dark stone as if escaping into the deep ocean. His presence vanished completely.
The battlefield returned to a tense silence. Then, without warning, Senor Pink erupted from the ground directly behind Gojo. His movements were flawlessly smooth and completely silent, executing a textbook surprise attack from Gojo's blind spot.
Unfortunately for him, Observation Haki rendered ambush tactics entirely meaningless.
The instant Senor Pink materialized—
Boom!
Gojo casually threw a backhand punch. The strike connected flush with Senor Pink's face. The impact was devastating; his face visibly caved inward under the sheer force, spraying blood from his mouth as his body was launched across the battlefield like a cannonball.
The surviving officers watched with wide, horrified eyes. Even a casual, offhand strike from Gojo carried overwhelming, lethal power.
Yet, as Senor Pink hurtled toward the earth, he managed to mitigate a lethal crash. The moment his body touched the ground, he activated the Swim-Swim Fruit ability, treating the impact zone like water. Instead of smashing against solid stone, he sank partially into the earth, dispersing the brunt of the kinetic force. For him, the ground was no different than a safety net.
Blood dripped from his lips as he stabilized himself. Pulling himself together, he began swimming through the ground once more—like a shark stalking its prey beneath the waves. And his target remained unchanged: Gojo.
This time, however, Gojo had no intention of entertaining the game. The moment Senor Pink began his underwater approach, Gojo vanished.
Boom!
The stone beneath Gojo's previous position shattered. In the blink of an eye, he materialized directly over Senor Pink. Gojo's sword was already out, a brilliant blue glow enveloping the blade.
The moment Blue manifested, the surrounding space violently distorted. Rubble, dust, and heavy broken stones were all violently vacuumed toward the sword. The attractive force intensified exponentially, and Senor Pink was caught right in the center of it.
His body was abruptly wrenched upward. The ground that had always been his absolute sanctuary could no longer hold him. The sheer gravity of the attraction dragged him out of the earth as though a violent vortex had caught a scrap of paper.
"No—!"
Before he could sink back down, he was ripped completely free of the ground. And at that exact moment—
Shing!
Gojo swung. A flash of steel severed the air, and a deep, clean cut opened across Senor Pink's neck. Blood sprayed outward. His eyes widened, the life rapidly draining from them, before his body fell lifelessly onto the ruined battlefield. Senor Pink died almost instantly.
Gojo didn't spare the corpse a second glance. Instead—
Boom!
He vanished again.
The surviving officers could barely track his trajectory. One moment he was standing beside Senor Pink's body; the next, he was standing directly in front of Gladius.
Gladius's eyes widened, but he was far too late. Gojo's sword was already buried deep inside his chest, the blade protruding completely through his back.
Gladius coughed violently, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the floor. His eyes filled with absolute despair. Only now, with blade through his heart, did he truly understand the gap between them. Until this very moment, Gojo had merely been playing around.
A second later, the light faded from Gladius's eyes, and his body collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Another officer had fallen.
Now, only Baby 5 remained.
Gojo withdrew his blade and vanished once more. When he reappeared, he was standing directly in front of her.
The sudden proximity made her freeze entirely. The blood-stained sword, the corpses of her comrades, and the overwhelming slaughter she had just witnessed finally broke her psyche. Her legs gave out.
Thud.
She collapsed onto her knees. At this point, she had no will left to fight, nor could she muster a single shred of courage. The disparity between them was an unbridgeable ocean.
"Please!" her voice trembled violently, tears streaming down her face. "Please let me live! Let me go! I'll leave Dressrosa immediately! I'll never come back! I swear I'll change my ways!"
Her desperate pleading echoed hollowly across the ruined floor. Gojo looked down at her coldly, his face devoid of a single ounce of sympathy.
"Well," his voice was terribly calm. "This is ironic."
Baby 5 froze.
"You have probably seen many scenes like this throughout your life," Gojo said, his gaze fixed on her trembling form. "Many people begging for forgiveness. Many people begging for their lives." His eyes narrowed slightly. "But did you leave them alive?"
Silence hung heavy in the air.
"Let's just say that I'm not quite as heartless as you," Gojo continued.
Shing!
The sword flashed in a clean, singular arc across Baby 5's chest. Blood immediately burst from the wound. Baby 5 cried out in agony and collapsed to the floor, but unlike the others, the strike bypassed her vitals. It wasn't fatal.
Gojo calmly sheathed his sword.
Click.
Without turning back to look at her, he began walking away.
"I only attacked you once," his voice drifted back to her. "I gave you a single slash. You won't die instantly. If your luck is good, you'll survive. If not..." Gojo shrugged carelessly. "Then that is that."
By the time the final words left his lips, his silhouette had already vanished from the second floor, leaving behind a battlefield stained with blood, the corpses of Doflamingo's elite, and a severely wounded Baby 5.
His destination was clear. The third floor.
----
Want to get daily updates and read 20+ chapters? Then join my Patreon!
Patreon Link: https://[email protected]/Hkj822
Join Discord Link: https://discord.gg/uSjdDFrW5