Two Dead, One Escaped

"Damn it, Snow, what the hell are you doing?!" Kojiro and his clones dodged left and right with furious expressions, but the clones were clearly too weak. Several were soon cut down.

"Damn it! Could his Zoan Devil Fruit have awakened?"

Kojiro had heard that a Zoan Devil Fruit awakening could cause its user's beastly nature to run wild. If the awakening failed, even their intelligence could regress to the level of a half-human, half-beast. But he had never imagined Snow would lose control at a time like this.

In fact, there was a trick to Doflamingo's Frenzy Art. Generally speaking, the more a Devil Fruit user resembled a Zoan, especially one based on a vicious animal, the weaker their resistance to the Frenzy Art.

Lions were vicious animals by nature. The Dire Lion was also a powerful Ancient Zoan, so Snow was effortlessly controlled by Doflamingo's Frenzy Art and began launching frenzied, indiscriminate attacks.

At times like this, a Devil Fruit user's behavior was easy to predict. Whoever hit him was whoever he hit.

Snow had just been attacked by both Kojiro and Modock. But Modock was flying through the air, and Snow, whose mind was now completely muddled, had no way of stepping on the air to reach him. Naturally, Kojiro became his target.

Kojiro was no pushover either. Though he knew Snow had lost his mind, what pirate would just take a beating without fighting back? Before long, the two were locked in battle.

Modok, who had been flying overhead, glanced at the two fighting below. After hesitating for a while, he actually flapped his wings and flew away, abandoning both his men and his Pirate ship.

"I#@&#!" Seeing this, Kojiro was nearly enraged enough to curse aloud, only for Snow to cut down another one of his clones.

Doflamingo frowned as he watched Modock fly farther and farther away, but there was nothing he could do.

He then turned his gaze toward the ordinary pirates.

How could the ordinary pirates of the Lion Pirates possibly be his opponents? A few Flying Slashes swept them away with ease.

As for the Amalgam Pirates, a single Flying Slash split their entire ship apart. Doflamingo had no interest in catching the pirates who fell into the sea. Their lives and deaths were up to fate.

Kojiro and his clones had been controlling their Pirate ship, trying to escape. Unfortunately, with a destructive maniac like Snow around, how could they possibly succeed?

Seeing this, Doflamingo was in no hurry. He stepped through the air with Geppo and unhurriedly landed on Kojiro's Pirate ship.

There were no other crew members aboard Kojiro's Pirate ship. Every person there was one of his clones.

However, those clones clearly did not possess the original's combat strength. It would already be impressive if they had even twenty or thirty percent of it. Relying on their seamless coordination, they barely managed to restrain Snow, who was fighting mindlessly on instinct alone. Meanwhile, Kojiro's true body remained hidden and never showed himself.

But under Doflamingo's Observation Haki, which could sense the aura of life, his true body was easily exposed. In fact, the lookout standing at the highest point, atop the mast, was Kojiro himself.

That was perfectly normal, because Kojiro was a rare master of gunmanship and sniping on the seas.

There were certainly snipers on the seas, but it was extremely difficult for a sniper to become a captain. Although snipers held a higher status than ordinary crew members, they could not hold their own like swordsmen. There had never been a truly Top Expert among them.

After all, a sniper's weaknesses were simply too obvious. Once the distance was closed, a sniper capable of intervening in a battle involving the Four Emperors might still be taken down by an ordinary Navy Captain.

Kojiro's Clone-Clone Fruit made up for his shortcomings to a certain extent. By using numerous clones to conceal his true body, he would not easily be caught even in close combat.

However, the greatest nemesis of this tactic was naturally top-tier Observation Haki.

Unfortunately, Doflamingo was an expert with top-tier Observation Haki. It was hard to say about his other abilities, but when it came to Observation Haki, very few people could compare to him.

Seeing that Snow was still locked in an inseparable battle with Kojiro's clones, Doflamingo did not hesitate. With a flash of his sword, he sent a Flying Slash toward Kojiro's true body.

Kojiro, who was holding a long gun and keeping watch above, revealed a shocked expression. Seeing the Flying Slash almost upon him, he hurriedly drew the long blade at his waist and barely raised it to block.

Yet in an instant, the blade coated in Haki shattered from the impact. Kojiro was sent flying by the Flying Slash, vomiting blood wildly in midair before crashing down in front of Doflamingo.

"I... I sur... render!" A single Flying Slash had already gravely wounded Kojiro. He had nearly been cut in half at the waist as he lay on the ground and begged Doflamingo for mercy.

"Sorry, I don't have enough Sea Stone handcuffs," Doflamingo said without the slightest sincerity. With a swing of the Great Grade Sword Narikitsune, he severed Kojiro's head.

Ever since last time, Doflamingo had liked using this excuse to kill pirates who had lost their ability to fight. After all, it was true that he did not have enough Sea Stone handcuffs.

Well, Doflamingo had not brought any Sea Stone handcuffs with him when he set sail.

The moment Kojiro died, all his clones let out miserable cries and dissolved into bubbles.

For a moment, Snow, who had been hacking wildly in every direction, suddenly had no targets left. He froze blankly.

But only for a moment. The instant he looked up and saw Doflamingo, he roared and charged forward with his axe raised.

"Illusion, release!" Doflamingo snapped his fingers with great flair. Snow shuddered, and the blood-red haze in his eyes rapidly cleared.

"What... happened?" Snow looked around, still somewhat bewildered. But Doflamingo's Flying Slash soon left him with no time to worry about his earlier lapse.

In his frenzied state, Snow's strength had actually been weakened by more than half.

Though he looked ferocious, with his mind clouded, he could not use either Armament Haki or Observation Haki. He had also cast aside many techniques and moves involving physical combat.

Under such circumstances, he could not serve as Doflamingo's whetstone at all. That was why Doflamingo released him from the Frenzy Art.

Narikitsune rang out with a clear note in his hand as Doflamingo and Snow resumed their battle.

It had to be said that Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit users truly possessed abundant stamina and tough bodies.

Throughout the battle, Doflamingo had kept Snow suppressed. His Armament Haki was slightly stronger than Snow's, while his Observation Haki far surpassed it.

As for swordsmanship and all manner of combat techniques, he held an overwhelming advantage. In terms of physical strength, Doflamingo's power and speed were no inferior to Snow's; only his endurance was somewhat lacking.

Even so, the battle between them lasted more than ten hours. They fought until the sun set, the moon rose, and the sky at the horizon turned pale again. Only then did Doflamingo claim the final victory.