Snowflakes slowly drifted down, some landing on thick clothing worn for warmth, adding a unique charm.
Others touched exposed skin, instantly melted by the body's heat.
"Should I say that Gilgamesh is indeed worthy of being a rat that only steals food in the dark? To actually set up his headquarters on such a secluded island." Pica looked up at the several buildings ahead, his smile greasy.
Standing with him in the surrounding open space were the other members of the Donquixote Family. These top executives, whose strength could basically rival Navy Headquarters Rear Admirals or even Vice Admirals, rarely joined forces for an attack.
The Donquixote Family members, wearing thick coats, quietly guarded a tall young man, waiting for the Young Master's command to destroy.
"Fuffuffu, regardless, he's dead today anyway." Doflamingo pinched the neck of a trading company guard with one hand, easily lifting him off the ground. "Reporting news isn't a good habit!"
The outer guard, whose voice was choked off, his face flushed red from lack of oxygen. He futilely kicked his legs, trying to find a foothold.
But unfortunately, the Heavenly Yaksha had no interest in something that didn't even count as an appetizer. With a forceful twist of his hand, the guard's legs, which had been kicking vigorously just moments ago, hung down limply.
Draped in a loose pink feather coat, Doflamingo suddenly raised his hand, and bundles of crystal-clear threads shot rapidly from his wrist towards the sky.
Like spring water erupting from the ground, visibly fine threads gushed into the air like a geyser.
Even cutting the snowflakes falling from the clouds into several fine pieces.
This was the largest-range technique Doflamingo could use in his non-awakened fruit state. Countless threads, originally sufficient to create [Kage Kishi Ito: Ayatsuri Ningyo] (Shadow Knight String: Marionette Puppets), erupted like a volcano and fell from high altitude, scattered around the island's perimeter by gravity.
These beautiful threads, like a meteor shower, were sharp and deadly. The huge birdcage formed by countless threads in an arc even had the terrifying function of blocking radio wave transmission.
In other words, once trapped within this string cage with extremely strong cutting ability, one was like a "bird in a cage." While isolating external communication, the cage was also scattered with numerous parasitic threads invisible to the naked eye. The owner of the threads, Doflamingo, could arbitrarily manipulate the victims into killing each other.
Doflamingo watched the surrounding trading company members starting to notice something amiss, laughing wildly: "Fuffuffuffu, I really want to see which renowned Navy officer dares to oppose us?"
"Enemy attack!!" The trading company guards holding heavy weapons could only verbally issue the final warning before being unable to command their bodies even slightly.
They watched in horror as their comrades slowly pointed heavy rocket launchers and mortars at them: "Stop! What are you doing! We are not comrades..."
"Boom!!"
The sound of explosions swallowed the guards' desperate cries. Doflamingo casually picked up a rocket launcher scattered at his feet by the explosion's shockwave: "So many heavy weapons, interesting, interesting. Is it Rear Admiral Onigumo under Sakazuki? Or Rear Admiral Doberman?"
The gaze hidden behind sunglasses made it impossible to guess what he was thinking. Doflamingo looked up, smiling leisurely towards the second floor of an inconspicuous tavern not far away, where a figure wrapped entirely in bandages but still appearing somewhat thin stood: "Or perhaps, is it Lindeman, this little fox wanted by Kaido's black market??"
As soon as his voice fell, a figure crashed through the brick wall of the tavern's second floor, landing heavily on the snowy ground.
The figure slowly absorbed the landing force, standing up straight in the snow unhurriedly.
"Hmm? Looks like we have to deal with this subordinate first before catching Gilgamesh? Young Master?" Baby-5 asked her guardian somewhat naively.
But Doflamingo's silence made the little girl feel strange for the first time. Not just the Young Master, the expressions of the other top executives were also somewhat grave.
Diamante, who also used a sword, immediately shielded the head of the Donquixote family behind him.
Although primarily using his Devil Fruit, it didn't mean Diamante's swordsmanship was worthless. In fact, this top executive, the future guardian of the Dressrosa Corrida Colosseum, was eclectic, developing his own unique sword technique using the Hira Hira no Mi.
Deal with this one first? Heh... Diamante's mouth twitched hearing Baby-5's innocent words.
This unidentified fellow before them, how could his presence be only several times stronger than that arms dealer Gilgamesh on the second floor of the tavern?
The difference in their auras was immediately apparent. The stronger the swordsman, the more they could feel the suffocating pressure from the figure opposite, whose head remained bowed.
The strange person, whose face was mostly obscured by the brim of his hat, had his eyes tightly closed. The next moment, eyes filled with tyrannical killing intent locked firmly onto Doflamingo's position.
"Hehehe," a low laugh came from the visitor's mouth, like a devil from hell: "My sword is hungry."
Snowflakes were still fluttering, yet the sword was already sheathed.
Without any warning, the swordsman appeared before Diamante as if teleporting. That abrupt, terrifying explosive power, accompanied by a sudden eerie red glow, slashed fiercely towards the obstructer.
"Hira Hira... Mmph!" A flash of blood appeared before Diamante's eyes; he hadn't even seen the opponent make a move to draw the sword.
But the subconscious reaction of blocking with his steel cloak saved his life.
With just this one strike, this top executive of the Donquixote Family knelt limply onto the snowy ground. The broken sword, along with splattering blood, jolted the other family members who had nearly fallen into a trance.
"How can this be!!" Pica, also a top executive, stared wide-eyed. As the first four who followed Doflamingo, their strengths were comparable. Diamante, skilled in sword techniques, even surpassed him in combat prowess, second only to the first Corazon, Vergo, who had long since left.
Pica couldn't help but gasp, disregarding the fact that his high-pitched voice would be mocked: "One sword? Diamante couldn't even block one sword?"
Doflamingo's face was full of apprehension. He stared unblinkingly at the swordsman who had suddenly paused after the strike.
This fellow before him, sheathing his sword as if savoring the kill just now, maintained a tacit balance between extreme stillness and extreme motion. Still, his aura converged almost completely; moving, one sword sealed the throat.
The great swordsman, brimming with killing intent, grinned a bloodthirsty smile, commenting on the previous opponent: "Not bad as an appetizer before the meal."
The head of the Donquixote family couldn't guess the opponent's identity in a short time, but undoubtedly, that killing intent, like being immersed in a sea of blood, was definitely not something an ordinary swordsman could possess.
Doflamingo, having already completed full-body Armament Haki hardening, formed claws with both hands. Intersecting strings met the eerie red glow rushing forward again.
The Asura-like god of slaughter swung his sword again in an Iai style. Said to be one stroke, yet the moment the sword light left the blade, it transformed into scattering, flying blood-red broken lines.
The sword qi spread out with devastating momentum. The surrounding gangsters and bounty hunters, previously controlled by parasitic threads, hadn't even had time to cheer for this distinguished guest who drew his sword to help before being cut into several pieces.
Doflamingo, closest to the sword pressure, clenched his jaw tightly. The strings imbued with Armament Haki were cut open one after another by the sword qi.
The sword qi, filled with killing intent, finally stopped unwillingly near his fingers.
But apart from Law and Baby-5, the two kids hiding behind him who were unharmed, executives like Pica, Trebol, and Corazon were all wounded to varying degrees by this group-attack sword qi.
And Doflamingo finally recognized the famed sword in the opponent's hand, that terrifying cursed sword said to be no less than the Shodai Kitetsu.
Not a trace of blood stained the blade; it was unknown whether it was washed away or devoured entirely by this cursed sword humming with joy.
Veins bulged on his forehead, gone was the previous relaxed ease: "Why is the Vice-Warden of the Great Deep Sea Prison Impel Down here?"
No wonder he hadn't connected Shiliew's face with the Vice-Warden of the Great Deep Sea Prison earlier. The Donquixote family had preconceived notions, thinking they had figured out the opponent's background. If not for the hint from that cursed sword, Doflamingo would never have linked Shiliew, who rarely appeared on the sea year-round, with the North Blue.
The pure white snowfield was stained with large patches of blood, like ink spreading on white Xuan paper.
The snow, having forgotten its original color,highlighted the enchanting and deadly blood-red color to an even more beautiful shade.