The sudden appearance of that figure caused a collective gasp among the crowd.
That face—everyone knew it.
The face of the man-eating monster—feared, hated, and dreaded like a devil itself.
"It's him! The man-eating monster! He's here! Run!"
"Don't panic! We have our great king—he'll protect us from that thing!"
"He only eats people from the Donquixote Family, right? I'm just a commoner… he won't eat me, right?"
The people watching below screamed and backed away in terror, as though they'd seen something straight out of a nightmare.
"He's the one standing there?!"
"No way… don't tell me he's the man that woman refused to betray no matter what?"
Cavendish froze in shock. He had been wondering just who could be so charming, so lucky, that a woman would gladly give her life for him… he never expected it to be him—his benefactor!
"You came to save me…?"
Baby-5's eyes welled with tears the moment she saw that familiar silhouette. Her heart overflowed with joy.
For this man, she had been willing to die—so long as it protected him.
She never imagined he would appear in front of everyone, putting himself at risk, just to save her.
"Don't flatter yourself. If you hadn't messed up the pace of my game, I would've never needed to show up here… You stupid woman. If I'd known you'd cause me this much trouble, I should've just killed you back then."
Lance turned his head and said coldly.
"I'm just glad you came…"
Baby-5 was completely swept up in her own happiness, paying no mind to his harsh words.
"This foolish woman… she's hopeless."
Lance's eyes flickered with helplessness.
"So you're the one Baby-5 was willing to betray me for… just to protect you?"
Doflamingo finally spoke. His voice was laced with fury.
He never expected that the man who'd corrupted Baby-5—turning her against him—was the very same person he had been desperately trying to hunt down.
This man had already killed several of his family members and high-ranking officers from the Donquixote Family. And now, even Baby-5 had fallen under his influence.
Doflamingo didn't care how Lance had done it. There was only one thought in his mind—
He flung his arm forward, launching dozens of nearly invisible threads from his palm. These threads twisted together into a thick braid, like a whip of hair, and lashed out violently!
A move with massive range—enough to slice an entire building clean in two.
Doflamingo wasn't holding back. He clearly wanted to finish Lance off in one blow!
"Attacking without a word, huh?"
"Doflamingo, don't fool yourself. You're not the king of Dressrosa anymore. You're not the feared Shichibukai of the past… Before me, you're nothing but a slightly stronger bug."
Lance's voice was cold.
[Ken: Jaken] (Sword Style: Serpent Blade)
[Busoshoku Haki: Envelop] (Armament Haki: Envelop)
Suddenly, a Western longsword appeared in Lance's hand, wrapped in pitch-black Haki. He faced Doflamingo's strike head-on!
Thread whip and sword clashed—both coated in Haki—producing a ringing metallic sound!
Sparks flew as Lance, empowered by the many masters he had devoured, forcefully blocked Doflamingo's attack head-on!
"You troublesome woman—get out of my way already!"
Lance turned his head, and with a flick of his sleeve—transformed into a blade—he sliced through the ropes binding Baby-5. "Kuro, get her out of here!"
Baby-5 felt herself caught in an invisible embrace. Then her body was lifted and launched far into the air, falling away from the scene.
"No one who defies the family escapes!"
Pica suddenly melted into the ground, pursuing the direction Baby-5 was being taken.
"You shrieking freak, stay out of this!"
[Don Don: Jutton Baisu] (Boom Boom: Ten-Ton Vice)
Lance's body crashed down, slamming into the ground, and he pressed his palm into the surface.
[Bakuhatsu: Iwa] (Explosion: Stone)
The ground surrounding Lance suddenly began to swell like a balloon, growing rapidly.
"Wait a minute… aren't those abilities from Diamante, Gladius, and Machvise?!"
"How does he have all of them?!"
Senor Pink's pacifier nearly dropped from his mouth in shock.
As one of the Donquixote Family's veterans, there was no way he wouldn't recognize his comrades' powers.
Every move Lance used was identical to theirs!
Could it be… this man-eating monster could gain the abilities of those he devoured?!
"Young Master, be careful!!"
At the same time, the ground beneath Lance erupted.
The entire tower exploded from within after its extreme inflation, collapsing entirely!
Pica, who had been pursuing Baby-5, was forced to stop, leaping in front of Doflamingo and using stone to shield him from the explosion.
The citizens beneath the tower screamed as stones rained down from the sky. Everyone scrambled to flee—they didn't want to become collateral damage in this battle between the man-eating monster and Doflamingo.
"Devouring corpses and stealing Devil Fruit powers?"
"Fufufufu… What an amusing ability you have."
"But if you think that alone is enough to defeat me, you're even more naive and stupid than I thought. I'll show you what happens to those who cross me."
"I'll leave you with nightmares you'll never forget!"
Doflamingo's eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
[Sora Michi] (Sky Path)
He suddenly leapt into the air and, like a panther, sprinted across the sky—appearing before Lance in the blink of an eye!
[Goshikito] (Five Color Strings)
Five threads of different colors shot out from his fingertips like beastly claws, tearing straight toward Lance!
These threads, hardened with Busoshoku Haki, were sharp as steel. If they landed—they would slice through flesh and bone without resistance!
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