"What's going on!?" This time, even Bernice lost her composure. Her gaze fell upon Doflamingo on the sea; seeing his utterly indifferent expression, she bit her red lip, her heart shocked to the extreme.
"Hmm?" Drake's brow furrowed slightly. Kenshin and the others also became serious, as it was clear the opponent had come fully prepared. Most critically, they had not seen any of Doflamingo's men land on the island, which made their shock even greater.
"Not good! The hostages are flying away on their own!" someone suddenly shouted. The three individuals, who were supposed to be tied up and unable to move, suddenly took flight and drifted toward the Donquixote Family. To say the members of the Dark Clan weren't afraid would be a lie; they were gradually losing their footing as strange occurrences happened one after another, pushing their nerves to the breaking point. Doflamingo's ship was still quite a distance away, and they truly could not fathom how this was happening.
Boom!
At that moment, Drake suddenly appeared above the three hostages and, with a wave of his hand, slammed them back down into the ground. "The trade is only official when the money is handed over and the goods are delivered, isn't it, Warlord Doflamingo?" Drake said as he sat beside the three captives, addressing the man on the ship.
"Captain Drake has made his move!" The spirits of the Dark Clan members were bolstered.
"So, you are Vale D. Drake?" Doflamingo asked.
"That would be me," Drake replied with a slight smile, before suddenly slamming his palm against the ground.
Boom!
The entire Moka City suddenly shuddered violently.
"Ah—!" A sharp cry suddenly erupted from the ground. The earth beneath the Dark Clan's feet bulged upward as a massive face slowly emerged.
"This is..." The Dark Clan members scrambled back, leaving an open space for the giant face. Bernice recognized the person immediately.
"Top Executive, Pica!"
As the leader of the Dark Clan, Bernice knew more than the others; it was precisely because of this knowledge that she felt the Donquixote Family was immovable. They had far too many executives, and more importantly, almost every executive possessed unique skills and formidable combat power. Any single one of them could force the Dark Clan to be on full alert. This was an absolute disparity in strength.
"Fire!"
Having confirmed him as an enemy, the Dark Clan members immediately opened fire on Pica with everything they had. A series of violent explosions rang out, and dust filled the air. When the smoke cleared, the giant face's eyes eerily shifted.
The crowd stood there, dumbfounded. It was useless—completely useless.
"This level of attack is entirely useless..." Pica said with a serious expression, though his voice left much to be desired. His voice was extremely high-pitched and shrill; even when speaking normally, it gave people the urge to burst out laughing. However, Drake ignored him entirely and said to Doflamingo, "Mingo, it seems you didn't plan on a fair trade, did you?"
"Hmm?" Doflamingo stared at Drake wordlessly for a long time before his lips curled upward. "If you want this gold, it's not impossible, but you must hand them over to me first." He pointed toward Locke and Ann on the high platform. "How about it? Fuffuffuffu..."
"What did you say!?" Before Locke or Ann could respond, Bell couldn't sit still and shouted at Doflamingo, "You're dreaming!"
"Exactly. It is impossible for us to betray our comrades," Kenshin added, his hand moving to his sword hilt as his eyes narrowed.
Doflamingo didn't speak, his gaze remaining fixed on Drake. Drake let out a grin: "My crew's opinion is my opinion."
Hearing this, Doflamingo maintained his smile as he slowly stood up, his fingers twitching slightly. This movement did not escape Drake's eyes.
Vrumm... Spatial energy gathered in Drake's hand, and he threw a punch.
Boom!
Countless thin strings snapped instantly. Drake teleported above Pica, who was about to act, and unleashed a spatial suppression. The earth trembled violently under the blow. After the strike, Drake turned back to show Doflamingo a side-profile: "The gold—I've taken it. If you don't want to leave, you can stay behind!"
"Hmm?" Veins bulged on Doflamingo's forehead, his face darkening as he remained silent. Suddenly, his hands jerked back.
The three hostages were instantly yanked toward him at high speed. Although Drake could shatter the strings, he could not perceive their movement trajectory. The three captives were retrieved with almost no resistance. But before Doflamingo could celebrate, a chorus of screams rang out behind him.
"The gold! The gold has been stolen!"
"What!" Doflamingo spun around, only to find the previously full chests of gold were now empty. Meanwhile, three chests filled with gold had appeared out of thin air beside Drake's feet.
"When did he..." Doflamingo's face was so dark he couldn't speak.
"The trade is complete. Do you still want to fight?" Drake asked.
"It's useless, you can't hurt me!" That shrill voice rang out again as Drake's brow furrowed slightly. Following Pica's movements, the earth began to shake again. This time, the surrounding buildings began to rise slowly. While others were confused, Drake knew exactly what was happening: the man was about to create a colossal stone giant. Dealing with this ability would be quite troublesome.
"Fuffuffuffu..." Doflamingo waved his arm and ordered, "Charge!" He then took to the air, flying toward them.
"Not good! Battle stations!" Bernice reacted immediately and ordered her forces into action.
Drake was about to move to stop Doflamingo, but someone was faster than him. Locke lunged toward Doflamingo, brandishing a steel staff.
"Fuffuffuffu... it's you." Just before contact, Doflamingo shifted direction to evade the strike. His fingers moved with practiced agility, sending countless thin strings swarming toward Locke.
"Watch out!" Drake shouted to Locke. Locke was nimble; his steel staff blurred in a rhythmic dance, snapping strings that Drake could barely even see. The staff then swung toward Doflamingo again.
Even Doflamingo showed a hint of surprise as he raised his leg to block the blow.
Boom!
The two were pushed back simultaneously. This was the first time Drake had seen Locke fight, and he hadn't expected Locke to be able to block Doflamingo's attacks. Seeing that Locke wasn't injured, Drake relaxed slightly, but the situation elsewhere was not as positive. Kenshin was currently engaged with the massive stone giant manipulated by Pica.
Boom!
With every exchange, Kenshin seemed to struggle slightly; the power of Pica's massive body was considerable. Even though he repeatedly sliced through the stone body, he could not harm the actual person inside.
"Kenshin, leave him to me. You go and hold back the people on the ship." Drake stashed the gold and teleported in front of Pica, meeting him with a punch. He sent Kenshin because there was still another executive on Doflamingo's ship. Combined with the three previously released, there were four executives total; Bernice and her people likely couldn't hold them off alone. In fact, they definitely couldn't, as one of those executives was Dellinger, a formidable opponent.