I crested the hill toward Barrels' hideout, the echoes of rapid gunfire still ringing in the frigid air.
The scene was a nightmare. Commander Rosinante (Corazon) lay face-down in the snow, a pool of crimson spreading beneath his feathered coat. Standing over him, the barrel of his flintlock still smoking, was Donquixote Doflamingo.
He wasn't alone. The elite were all there: Diamante, Trebol, and the towering figure of Pica. Behind them stood the veteran Lao G, while Buffalo hovered above with Baby 5 perched on his back. Seven of them. I hadn't spotted Jora or Dellinger—likely guarding their ship.
I didn't waste a second. As I sprinted toward the line, I pulled a metallic canister from my pouch, flipped the cap, and doused the unconscious Rosinante.
"GAAAAHHHH!!!"
Rosinante let out a strangled shriek of agony. Sorry, Commander, I thought grimly, it's high-grade disinfectant. Better the sting now than an infection later.
I didn't stop to apologize. I lunged straight for Lao G.
"Ha! You dare—!" The old martial artist dropped into a combat stance, his eyes tracking my every movement with terrifying precision. But I wasn't here for a fair duel. I triggered the mechanism in my left gauntlet.
THWIP-POP!
Lao G's legendary reflexes allowed him to swat the projectile out of the air, but the moment his palm made contact, the shell burst. A super-compressed, high-viscosity adhesive sprayed everywhere, instantly bonding his arms to his chest.
"Accursed trickery! I shall rip this—!"
I didn't let him finish. I fired a rapid-fire volley of "Birdlime Bolts." Within seconds, the "G" of the family was a immobile white cocoon. I made sure to miss his face—he needed to breathe to face trial, after all.
"Strip him of his toys!" Doflamingo roared, his veins bulging. "He's nothing without his gadgets! Once he's empty, I'll slaughter him myself!"
"Betra-Launcher! Take this, ne~!"
Trebol swung his scepter, launching a massive glob of sticky mucus. I sidestepped, the liquid hissing as it hit the snow. You want 'gadgets'? I'll give you a masterpiece.
I reached over my shoulder and drew Hakuokan (The White-Tailed Staff). I swung the heavy alloy pole through Trebol's midsection, but as expected, it passed right through him like he was made of liquid. He wasn't a Logia, but he hid his skinny frame inside a coat of thick mucus.
"Physical attacks don't work, ne~!"
"Then let's try chemistry." I clicked my thumb against a concealed switch in my palm. A high-pressure flamethrower ignited from my wrist-port.
"Wait! This stuff is flammab—"
BOOM!
Trebol's mucus was highly explosive. The resulting blast was spectacular, a gout of orange fire that shook the very foundations of the island. My custom Marine coat, lined with fire-resistant fibers, shielded me as I braced, but I panicked for a second.
"Crap! Rosinante! Are you—?!"
I looked toward the Commander, but he was gone. In his place stood a gargantuan, jagged stone giant.
"You've done it now...!"
The voice was high-pitched and squeaky, completely incongruous with the massive golem. Pica had assimilated with the island's bedrock, forming a shield over the wounded Rosinante. I breathed a sigh of relief—Pica had accidentally protected my target.
I flipped the toggles on my armor, and four Gatling barrels slid into position. "Fine! Eat lead, you overgrown pebble!"
I unleashed a hailstorm of armor-piercing rounds. The bullets chewed into the stone giant's chest, sending chips of rock flying, but the damage was superficial.
"Pikkya-ra-ra... pea shooters mean nothing to me!" Pica's giant stone foot descended like a falling building. "I am a Stone-Assimilation Human! As Doffy's enemy, I shall crush you into dust!"
The Gatlings weren't cutting it. I retracted the barrels and gripped Hakuokan with both hands.
"Ren-Shigan: Kurogane (Successive Finger-Pistol: Black Iron)!!"
I thrust the staff with the speed of a machine gun, the alloy tip pulverizing the stone foot into gravel.
"Useless! You can break the stone, but you cannot hurt me!" The foot regenerated instantly as Pica drew more mass from the earth.
"Annoying... then I'll just have to take the head!"
I used Geppo to kick off the air, soaring toward the giant's face. "Ren-Kenpou (Successive Fist-Cannon)!!"
A barrage of Haki-infused punches shattered the stone skull into dust.
"Pikkya-ra-ra... I am the stone! This entire mountain is my body! Blowing off a head is meaningless!"
"Shut up! That high-pitched voice is giving me a headache!" I yelled, frustrated by his pseudo-Logia mechanics.
"Did you... laugh at my voice?!Ishi-Usu (Stone Mortar)!!"
The ground beneath me surged. Two massive stone slabs rose like a pair of clapping hands, slamming together with me in the middle.
"Yes! Well done, Pica!" Doflamingo shouted. "Everyone, concentrate your fire on the—"
CRACK!
The stone mortar exploded outward. I stepped out from the rubble, though my prized Marine coat was torn and scorched.
"Pikkya-ra-ra... your armor saved you. But your precious coat is ruined, isn't it?"
"Damn it," I spat, looking at the tattered fabric. "This was my best one."
I plunged Hakuokan into the ground and reached for the second weapon on my back: the colossal Great Hammer. I gripped the handle, feeling the weight that would crush a normal man's spine.
"Enough games."
I swung the hammer in a wide arc, the sheer centrifugal force shattering Pica's stone arms as they tried to reform.
"I told you, it's USELESS! Charleston (Dancing Stones)!!"
Stone spikes erupted from every direction. I spun the hammer like a shield, the alloy head clanging against the rock as I cleared a path.
"Then try and regenerate from this!! JET... HAMMERRRRRR!!"
As I brought the hammer down, I twisted the handle to the right. A set of high-output jet boosters on the rear of the hammer-head ignited with a roar.
The acceleration was instantaneous and terrifying. The hammer slammed into Pica's torso, the impact so violent it didn't just break the stone—it vaporized half of the giant's body in a single, thunderous explosion.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: [email protected]/Master_Studios677
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 100 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.