Battle

With a clang, the Flying Slash struck the giant axe and knocked off a spark. But compared to the mountain-like size of that double-bladed battle axe, it was utterly meaningless.

Doflamingo, who had been grumbling just moments ago, immediately rolled across the ground and sprawled flat. When he turned his head, Captain Alexander was already lying down.

The two of them had hit the ground quickly enough, but the Marines behind them were terribly unlucky. After a round of shrill screams, aside from a few quick-reacting Marines, all the rest were crushed to pulp by the giant axe.

"What kind of ability was that?" Doflamingo had not seen Buck use stones to attack earlier, and he had nearly suffered badly in this ambush. After climbing back up, he asked Alexander.

"Cyclops Buck possesses the ability to enlarge objects he throws," Captain Alexander explained, still shaken. "But I never expected him to be able to enlarge an axe that huge."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Buck laughed loudly. "I'm a Devil Fruit ability user with the power to shrink things, not enlarge them!"

Fine, he had just exposed his own ability. Very One Piece.

Of course, after suffering losses at the hands of both the Three-Headed Hydra Pirates and Buck, Doflamingo understood that he could not underestimate someone just because they were simple-minded. After all... their minds might be simple, but their limbs were incredibly well-developed!

If his Observation Haki had not been exceptional just now, he would not even have had the chance to use his backup illusion ability. He would probably have been crushed into meat paste.

Once he got up, Doflamingo did not spare another thought for anything else. He used Soru and charged forward in an instant.

Buck had clearly shrunk his weapons before keeping them at his side to throw. The principle was somewhat like the Overturning Heaven Seal from Investiture of the Gods. In one's hand, it was a small seal; once thrown, it became a mountain.

At a time like this, the only option was close combat. Otherwise, if Buck threw a few more huge rocks, even Doflamingo would not be able to withstand them!

Seeing Doflamingo rush over, Buck casually grabbed a large handful of stones from the bag beside him and scattered them like heavenly maidens scattering flowers. The stones grew in the wind, turning into countless boulders that smashed toward Doflamingo.

Doflamingo slashed out two Flying Slashes and casually cleaved apart two boulders. His speed increased further, and in an instant, he had reached Buck.

Jet-black Haki wrapped around the swift blade, concealing its silvery gleam. Silently, the blade cut toward Buck's forehead.

Buck's eyes widened. He pulled a dagger from his waist and raised it before his face. The dagger instantly expanded, becoming a massive two-handed sword.

After a burst of clashing metal, Buck staggered backward again and again. His martial skills were far inferior to his Devil Fruit ability. Though he had awakened Two-Colored Haki, he was only at the most basic stage of using it. He could not even coat a weapon with Armament Haki.

After exchanging more than a dozen moves, Doflamingo shouted and sliced the massive two-handed sword in half.

Although the swift blade in his hand was merely well-made rather than some divine weapon, he had comprehended the realm of Iron Cutting and possessed Armament Haki. If not for Buck's two-handed sword being so huge, broad, and solidly built, Doflamingo could have split both Buck and his sword in two the moment they clashed.

Seeing his weapon broken in half, Buck casually pulled out another dagger and, in the blink of an eye, replaced it with another two-handed saber.

"Damn it! How many weapons does this guy have?" Doflamingo was nearly furious to death. But then he thought of the double-bladed battle axe Buck had used. Buck was a Shrink-Shrink Fruit user—he did not have the ability to enlarge things. In other words, that double-bladed battle axe had genuinely been forged at its full size before he shrank it.

If he could forge a weapon as large as a small mountain, then naturally he could prepare several portable weapons for himself.

"Even with a different weapon, you'll still die!" This time, Doflamingo did not hesitate at all. Amid flashing blade light, he directly knocked aside the two-handed saber and thrust toward Buck's chest.

Buck's face filled with terror as he reached out, intending to block Doflamingo's swift blade.

How could flesh and blood possibly stop a metal weapon? Did he think he was Big Mom, or did he think he was Kaido?

Doflamingo laughed inwardly, only to see his swift blade shrink with a swoosh until it was smaller than an embroidery needle. It merely left a tiny red spot on Buck's hand.

Damn! So he had that trick too!

However, this trick also allowed Doflamingo to thoroughly understand the Shrink-Shrink Fruit's functions.

First, it could only shrink objects through direct contact with both hands. Otherwise, Doflamingo's weapon would have been shrunk the moment they first clashed, and Buck would not have needed to touch it with his hands afterward.

Second, it definitely could not affect living beings. Otherwise, Buck would not need weapons at all. He could simply stretch out his hands, and anyone he touched would shrink. Who could withstand that?

Now that he knew the Shrink-Shrink Fruit could not affect living creatures, Doflamingo relaxed considerably. Seeing that weapons were now ineffective, he clenched his fist and threw a punch!

Yet a crafty smile appeared on Buck's face. The palm blocking his chest flipped over, revealing a slender cone. The cone then abruptly enlarged into a spear that pierced straight through Doflamingo's chest!

"Ha ha ha ha ha! You got careless, didn't you?" Buck roared with laughter. Seeing that Doflamingo's heart had been pierced, the punch he threw also seemed weak and powerless as it sank into Buck's chest.

Hm? Why had it sunk into his own chest? Before Buck could process it, he felt an intense pain in his heart.

"You're the one who fell for it. Hahahafu fufu... Ptooey, ptooey. Why did I laugh so horribly again?"

As Doflamingo spoke, he reached in with one hand. Buck let out a wild roar as Doflamingo pulled a blood-red heart from his chest.

As for the spear that had pierced Doflamingo's chest, he gently pulled it out. There was not even a drop of blood on it, and Doflamingo's chest was completely uninjured.

"There are Devil Fruit ability users in this world besides you," Doflamingo said with a cold laugh.

"You... could you be... the legendary... Logia Fruit... ability user?" Buck groaned, then breathed his last.

Doflamingo tilted his head, then understood. Apparently, the spear stabbing into his heart without having any effect had caused the Captain of the Cyclops Pirates to misunderstand something.