When Paths Cross, the Brave Prevail

"Honestly, as the captain, I don't even get a decent enemy to fight."

Rod swept his gaze across the battlefield with a sense of ennui.

It was rare for Rod to be so full of fighting spirit, and his opponent was his inner demon, the Donquixote Family. Rod really couldn't bring himself to snatch enemies from him again.

Most importantly, after the few exchanges just now, Rod could sense that although Gladius's strength was not weak, Rod should be able to win against him steadily.

Over there, Nia and that dachshund were fighting fiercely. Zoan Devil Fruit users were indeed resilient. Although that guy was no match for Nia at all, he had managed to hold on for so long without being completely defeated.

However, judging by his appearance, it should be soon.

As for the other members of the Donquixote Family, thanks to the efforts of Pekoms, Shakky, and Bepo, they had basically all fallen.

Of course, Gladius's help was indispensable. His few rounds of explosions had taken down quite a few of his own men.

"Ehh, Grey, why are you lying on the ground too?"

Rod looked at Grey, who was lying on the ground, with surprise.

"You're not injured at all."

"Hahaha..."

Grey wore a sheepish smile on his face.

"I'm pretending to be one of the defeated so no one will notice me."

"You're so honestly cowardly."

"What could I do? I'm just a scientist who can't even lift a chicken!"

Grey's emotions suddenly became agitated, and he jumped up, pointing at the two intense battlefields over there.

"I was wrong. I shouldn't have gone to Minion Island in the first place. If I hadn't gone to Minion Island, I wouldn't have boarded your ship. If I hadn't boarded the ship, I wouldn't have..."

"Since this battlefield doesn't need me anymore, I'll go find the Donquixote Family's treasury."

Glancing at Rod's fight, Nerl put away his weapons and called out to Grey.

"Let's go together. According to the intelligence we gathered earlier, the Donquixote Family is likely the largest weapons supplier in the North Blue. We might find some interesting weapons."

"Okay!"

Grey, who had been mumbling, instantly revived and followed Nerl with a face full of anticipation. The two walked towards the back of the manor.

"Damn it, you guys really don't take me seriously at all!"

Even though he was in the middle of the battle, Gladius noticed Nerl and the others' actions. Seeing the two completely ignore him and walk straight towards the back of the manor, veins bulged on Gladius's forehead, and boundless rage almost completely engulfed him in an instant.

"Full Body Explosion!"

Gladius's body instantly swelled like a balloon.

After using this move, his entire body would continuously inflate, and the power unleashed after the explosion would far surpass ordinary techniques.

More importantly, when his body exploded, millions of explosive hairs would be simultaneously released. The hairs shot out would instantly pierce everything, and on his hair, there was a potent poison that could paralyze people instantly.

Let's end them with this move!

The thought flashed through Gladius's mind. The next moment, his body was about to explode completely.

"ROOM--Conductor's Baton!"

Sensing the danger of this move, Rod's ability was instantly activated. He first controlled Gladius's body to appear at the farthest point within his ability range, then swung his [Kikoku] fiercely, directly cutting open the entire main building and controlling it to fly towards Gladius, blocking between him and everyone else.

"It won't be stopped!"

With Gladius's roar, the next moment, his body expanded to its limit. Accompanied by a deafening boom, a terrifying explosion instantly swept across the entire town.

The shockwave from the explosion destroyed more than ninety percent of the town's buildings almost instantly. The almost imperceptible poisonous hairs were also shot out in all directions with the explosion. Countless people instantly collapsed, letting out wails of pain powerlessly, unable to even stand up.

"That was close. I almost got hit. Are those things... hair?"

Nia patted her chest, a look of relief on her face.

Being at the epicenter of such an explosion was fine, but those scattered hairs were the truly dangerous things, her sixth sense told her.

"Good thing I have you, string bean!"

Patting Manudo's head, Nia was quite satisfied.

The moment the explosion occurred, she suppressed Manudo with one move and used him as a shield in front of her.

Fortunately, although he was a string bean, he had blocked all the flying hairs for her.

Looking at the dense hairs all over his body and the wounds left by the hairs piercing him, Nia felt relieved again, but also a hint of regret.

The battle wasn't over yet!

"Sorry about that, I missed some."

Rod showed a sheepish smile, looking at Grey, who was lying on the ground with a stiff body.

Ultimately, his swordsmanship wasn't good enough to block all the flying hairs.

"I..."

Grey's mouth twitched slightly.

Even though he was hiding at the very back, why were the people in front of him fine, and only he was unlucky enough to be hit?

"What do you want to say?"

Rod moved a little closer.

"I was wrong, from the very beginning..."

"Enough, shut up."

Ignoring Grey's murderous glare, Rod forcibly closed the other man's mouth. Under the effect of the paralyzing poison, he couldn't control his facial muscles at all, and for a moment, he couldn't even speak again.

"Don't worry, this isn't a lethal poison."

Nerl said after a brief examination.

"At most, it will just paralyze his body for a while. Of course, that's if he doesn't get help."

"Can you do it, Rō-boy! If not, we'll switch."

Rod shouted loudly at Rō.

"Are you kidding me? I can end this fight in one minute."

A hint of annoyance flashed in Rō's eyes.

Looks like I have to go all out, otherwise those guys will keep talking.

But Gladius's move is really troublesome. Fortunately, Bepo and the others weren't hit.

His peripheral vision swept over Bepo and the other two, and a hint of caution flashed in Rō's eyes.

A short distance in front of him, Gladius had recovered and was rapidly approaching him.

If this guy was allowed to unleash this move repeatedly, it wouldn't be good.

The shockwave from that momentary explosion just now was something Bepo and the others couldn't withstand. If they were caught off guard at close range by this move, with their physical condition, they would definitely be seriously injured.

Not to mention, there was Grey, who was almost a normal person.

Then...

"ROOM--"

The blue sphere of light enveloped the entire area again.

Feeling the ability field covering his surroundings, a fierce glint flashed in Gladius's eyes.

He hadn't expected that Trafalgar Law, who had betrayed his family, could grow to this point. Especially Law's ability, which was so troublesome.

However, even if Law could dodge everywhere with his ability, as long as this dragged on, the result would only be more favorable to him. After all, from Law's performance, it was clear that his Devil Fruit ability consumed a lot of stamina.

Moreover, compared to his advantages in dodging and agility, Law showed no highlights in terms of offense.

The moment Law attempted a close-range attack and they closed the distance, the fight would be over!

A faint red light flickered in Gladius's eyes.

Now!

As a piece of gravel in front of Gladius disappeared, Law's body appeared before him.

To have such an ability and choose to attack head-on, too naive!

A fierce light flashed in Gladius's eyes. As he swung his arms violently, his arms instantly expanded.

"Black Feather Arm Cannon!"

He expanded his arms to their limit and, at the moment of explosion, fired out the solid armor fragments wrapped around his arms. So far, no one had been able to escape this move unscathed!

"Heartbeat Shock!"

Discarding his katana, Kikoku, Law extended his hands and, ignoring Gladius's swung arm, pressed his outstretched thumbs onto Gladius's chest before his arm could explode.

A terrifying electric shock erupted. Gladius's eyes suddenly went white, and he instantly lost consciousness. His previously expanded arm quickly returned to normal.

Thump--

Gladius's body fell powerlessly to the ground. Just as Law had said, the fight ended within a minute!