Frenzy

Just as Doflamingo raced through the air using Geppo, a gleaming silver figure shot up from the Amalgam Pirates.

Doflamingo looked at his opponent in surprise. That should be Modok, the captain of the Amalgam Pirates and the user of the Mercury Fruit.

Behind Modok was a pair of beautiful, gleaming silver wings, light flowing across them. They were formed entirely from mercury.

"This guy's got quite the imagination, and he's developed his Fruit pretty well too," Doflamingo muttered. Then he saw Modock extend a hand and casually flick it. A gleaming silver whip stretched dozens of meters and instantly lashed toward him.

"Damn!" Doflamingo barely reacted. Only at the last critical moment did he manage to tilt his head aside and activate his intangibility. Even so, a bloody mark was left across his shoulder.

The longer a whip was, the faster and more lethal its tip became.

Even an ordinary person on Earth could snap a whip close to, or even beyond, the speed of sound. Let alone in this extraordinary world, with a mercury whip dozens of meters long!

Normally, a whip that long would be impossible to wield properly unless its user was a giant. Yet this Mercury Fruit user had compensated for that weakness with his Devil Fruit ability.

The mercury whip he wielded was not only incredibly fast, had immense range, and possessed terrifying cutting power, but because it was an extension of his own body, his control over it was unparalleled.

If Doflamingo had not had his intangibility to protect him just now, one move would have nearly cost him an arm!

"I really can't afford to be careless!" Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Doflamingo's earlier arrogance was swept away by his opponent's opening warning, returning him to his former cautious self.

Still, that move had only caught Doflamingo off guard at first. No matter how flexibly a whip dozens of meters long was controlled, there would be long gaps between attacks. That was determined by the whip's own inertia. As long as he watched the direction of the strike, dodging would not be difficult.

If every one of Modock's attacks could reach that level without any gaps between them, his bounty would not merely be over five hundred million. He would at least be at the level of a one-billion-Berry First Mate.

Naturally, Doflamingo was not going to stand there and take it. Using Geppo, he quickly charged at Modock.

But Doflamingo soon discovered something awkward—he could not catch Modock!

Generally speaking, the Marines' Geppo was already the easiest and least exhausting aerial technique among physical arts. While top-tier fighters all possessed some form of aerial combat ability, among fighters of the same level, Geppo was usually the best aerial combat technique unless their Devil Fruit ability inherently granted flight.

And Doflamingo's luck was terrible. His opponent was a Devil Fruit user with the ability to fly.

Or rather, this Mercury Fruit user had developed his Devil Fruit ability so astonishingly well that he had even unlocked the rare ability of flight.

Modock flew with his mercury wings while wielding his mercury whip. Using hit-and-run tactics, he soon left Doflamingo in a miserable state.

"Damn it!" After launching several Flying Slashes that Modock easily blocked or evaded, Doflamingo simply stopped tangling with him. Instead, he shifted his target to Snow and Kojiro below.

He glanced at the Horde Pirates. Every crew member aboard looked exactly like Kojiro, so Doflamingo rationally fixed his gaze on Snow.

Doflamingo did not know how strong Kojiro's Clone-Clone Fruit was in battle, but its survivability and sheer nuisance were fully demonstrated by the ship full of clones.

It was far simpler to deal with than a Zoan Fruit user, who had no strange abilities beyond a powerful physique.

Seeing Doflamingo descend toward his pirate ship, Snow immediately flew into a rage. "You think I'm easy to bully?"

Wasn't that exactly what this meant? Of the three of them, Doflamingo had not chosen to keep fighting Modock, nor had he exchanged blows with Kojiro. He had charged straight at Snow. Wasn't he treating Snow like the weakest link?

"Roar, roar, roar!" Amid his furious roars, Snow's already towering body grew even larger. A long mane sprouted around his neck, thick fur covered his body, and fangs and sharp claws emerged. He transformed into a massive upright lion-man.

Compared with an ordinary lion, the mane around his neck was somewhat shorter, while his fur was not yellow but faintly whitish. Most importantly, he was far larger than an ordinary Lion Fruit user.

This was the power of the Ancient Zoan Savage Lion Fruit. Ancient Zoan Fruits enhanced the body far beyond ordinary Zoan Fruits.

In his hybrid form, Snow raised the wheel-headed battle axe from his back and hacked down at Doflamingo.

At the same time, Modock's mercury whip swept over like a silver crescent moon.

Kojiro of the Horde Pirates instantly produced a large number of firearms. Dozens of guns fired directly at Doflamingo. From the danger warning fed back by his Observation Haki, some of those bullets had to be fired by Kojiro's true body and infused with Armament Haki.

Yet even at this critical moment, Doflamingo showed no fear. His eyes faintly reddened as he looked straight at Snow.

Frenzy Art!

This was a powerful mental interference illusion developed by Doflamingo.

During his last battle with Goriki, Doflamingo had discovered that while the illusions he had developed, such as Tenbu Hōrin and Dream Hollowing, were extremely powerful, they were also tremendously draining. In a real fight, they would nearly exhaust his stamina after only a few moves.

Thus, while eliminating pirates during this period, he had also honed his various illusions and developed a series of strange techniques that affected the emotions of others.

Though they were not as terrifying as those ultimate moves, when used well, they were no weaker than high-level illusions. They also consumed almost no stamina.

"Ahahahaha!" Affected by Frenzy Art, Snow immediately lost his head. Without hesitation, he wildly swung his wheel-headed battle axe and charged forward.

Doflamingo swiftly pulled back, causing Snow to take several of Kojiro's bullets. His reckless charge also let the mercury whip carve a huge wound across his chest, nearly disemboweling him.

Yet rather than waking up under the stimulation of pain, Snow became even more frenzied. With a powerful leap, he landed on Kojiro's ship, then swung his great axe and killed one of Kojiro's clones.