The voice wasn’t particularly loud, but in a situation like this, it sounded strangely out of place.
Facing a battlefield that resembled a clash between gods, surely no one would willingly involve themselves in it.
Yet everyone’s attention was instantly drawn toward the source of the voice.
When they saw the unexpected visitor, even Doflamingo and Tesoro couldn’t help but have their pupils contract sharply.
"That’s Fujitora Issho! How could he be on his ship?!"
Tesoro was the first to lose his composure.
He had come here to lend Doflamingo a hand because Doflamingo had assured him that victory was practically guaranteed.
But now another person had appeared—someone Marine Headquarters regarded as possessing combat power comparable to that of an Admiral.
Did this mean they were now facing two Admirals?
This was practically a nightmare.
Doflamingo’s expression was equally grim.
But with the arrow already nocked, there was no turning back.
His expression darkened as he shouted,
"Tesoro, we’re in the same boat now."
"No matter how powerful they are, we’re both awakened Devil Fruit users. There is absolutely no way they can defeat us within half an hour."
"When that time comes, they’ll become the culprits responsible for slaughtering the entire kingdom!"
"I really want to see how he’ll explain that when he returns."
"As long as we hold out, we’ve won!"
"So I bet he still doesn’t dare act recklessly."
"He’s just trying to scare us!"
"Bet again?"
Tesoro’s expression turned even more ashen.
Even the hand gripping the controller of his Golden Giant had begun to sweat.
Looking at Fujitora Issho standing side by side with Lucas, it would have been a lie to say he wasn’t nervous.
But Doflamingo wasn’t wrong.
As long as they could hold out—
Forget thirty minutes. Even if they could endure for only ten minutes without being defeated, victory would belong to them.
Seeing Tesoro hesitate, a vicious glint appeared in Doflamingo’s eyes.
He was already struggling against a single newly appointed Marine Admiral.
There was no way he was going to give Tesoro even the slightest opportunity to retreat.
"Make your move, Tesoro!"
"They can’t afford to gamble!"
However, the instant he finished speaking, a hearty laugh rang out without warning.
"Hahaha! The youngsters a hundred years later really are interesting."
"Since he says they can’t afford to gamble, why not count me in as well?"
BOOM!
A gigantic figure carrying an enormous sword walked out from the special cabin at the rear.
It was Dorry the Blue Ogre.
Behind him came another giant—
Brogy the Red Ogre.
The two enormous figures, each nearly ten meters tall, immediately attracted everyone’s attention.
Their rugged faces and heroic bearing created an inexplicable sense of oppression.
As legendary heroes of Elbaf, neither Dorry nor Brogy possessed an aura that could be compared to that of an ordinary Giant Vice Admiral.
When they finally stopped behind Lucas, the few people remaining at the scene immediately recalled the hottest news of recent days.
Marine Headquarters had declared war on two of the Four Emperors simultaneously, creating unprecedented pressure.
The newly appointed Marine Admiral had been tasked with recruiting special combat forces.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku had personally issued invitations to two such special combat forces.
Both invitations had ended in failure, turning Marine Headquarters into a laughingstock!
That front-page story in the World Economic Journal, personally orchestrated by the Big News Morgans, was still fresh in their minds.
They could still remember the schadenfreude with which they had laughed at the time.
Yet what they were witnessing now completely overturned everything they had believed.
Was this really a joke?
"Th-those... aren’t they the special combat forces whose failed recruitment has been making waves throughout the sea?!"
Trebol’s face turned pale as he finally blurted out the question.
They certainly hadn’t been able to identify the two giants at a glance.
But the fact that they had appeared aboard Lucas’s ship and were now standing beside Fujitora made their identities obvious.
"Two more..."
Doflamingo’s expression became extremely ugly.
"But I’ve never encountered these two giants before. They’re probably just putting on a show."
"Tesoro, don’t let them scare you."
"All we need to do is hold out for thirty minutes!"
"That’ll be enough!"
"There are three, not two."
Tesoro’s voice suddenly rang out.
"There’s another one on that giant’s shoulder!"
Everyone’s eyes instinctively followed his gaze.
The moment they looked over, a disheveled, unkempt figure with a pipe between his teeth leaped down and landed beside Fujitora Issho.
At first glance, he looked like someone so inconspicuous that he could have been thrown into any corner of the sea without attracting the slightest attention.
But when Fujitora casually addressed him as "old bro," both Doflamingo’s and Tesoro’s hands trembled slightly.
If Fujitora Issho’s sudden appearance had already placed tremendous pressure on them, leaving them with virtually no chance of victory—
Then the appearance of three more special combat forces aboard the same ship...
Combined with Fujitora Issho and the newly appointed Marine Admiral, Lucas the Glutton...
Did they really still have any chance of winning this battle?
Thinking back to every single boast he had made moments ago, Doflamingo now desperately wanted to slap himself across the face.
"Having more people is a strength too!"
"I bet you don’t dare make a move!"
All of it made Doflamingo feel as though he had personally dug a pit and buried himself in it.
He looked up at the figures gathered on the distant deck.
Then he glanced at the ground around him that had been transformed by his Devil Fruit ability.
Suddenly, his entire setup didn’t seem nearly as impressive anymore.
Pica finally couldn’t hold back.
"Young Master, what are we going to do?"
"What are we going to do?"
Doflamingo’s expression froze.
Then the five fingers of his right hand clenched violently.
A hysterical, almost deranged expression appeared on his face.
"I don’t believe for a second that all of these people can really be called special combat forces!"
"Tesoro, we’ll join forces!"
"We only need to hold out for twenty minutes."
"No!"
"Ten minutes will be enough!"
"These guys are nothing but paper tigers!"
"This must be some trick Marine Headquarters deliberately came up with by using this brat!"
"Now, let me tear this paper tiger apart!"
"Die, you Marine bastards!"
"Wasteland Giant Wave!"
Doflamingo roared like a madman.
Countless white strings beneath his feet surged upward like enormous waves.
They rapidly formed a gigantic wave more than ten meters tall and crashed toward Lucas and the others.
Looking at the densely packed strings, everyone present understood just how terrifying this attack was.
If anyone were struck directly by it, an ordinary person would probably be riddled with holes like a pincushion.
Faced with Doflamingo’s sudden attack, even Tesoro clearly hadn’t expected him to act so recklessly.
But the arrow had already been loosed.
There was no turning back now.
The only thing Tesoro could do was anxiously look toward the warship.
He wanted to see for himself whether these supposedly special combat forces really were nothing more than paper tigers.
Yet the instant his gaze fell upon the ship—
everyone’s pupils suddenly contracted.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ Chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789