More Than One Person Underestimates Others

"Damn it!"

Feeling underestimated, Luo even went so far as to "talk big": "If I beat this guy, do I get to become an executive on the spot?"

Hearing this, everyone present froze for a moment, then burst into loud laughter, as if mocking Luo's overestimation of himself.

"Hahahahaha~"

"Behehehe~ I'm laughing so hard snot's dripping down my face."

"Are you serious?"

"Shut up!"

Flushed with anger, Luo immediately charged forward shouting and slashed hard with his blade, only to be casually knocked to the ground by Diamante again.

It was so pitiful that even Abel felt embarrassed for him.

Speechless. The guy was usually pretty sharp, so why did he lose his mind the moment a fight started?

But on second thought, it wasn't that unreasonable. After all, up until now, Luo had never actually learned how to fight properly, how to kill in combat.

Even when facing those vagrants, Luo had only relied on sheer ferocity to hold his ground.

So being both weak and reckless was actually forgivable.

"Relying on brute force alone won't kill anyone," Diamante taunted further.

"Then I'll use this. I don't have long to live anyway, so I've got nothing to fear!"

Luo suddenly pulled a grenade from his clothes, his face fierce.

He'd found it on the ship and secretly stashed it away.

Because of Senor's influence, the two of them hadn't been tied up after being captured, and they were even fed full meals every time.

That gave Luo the chance to hide things.

But Luo's actions didn't scare anyone; instead, they deeply irritated Diamante, whose face instantly darkened.

"Don't underestimate pirates, kid!"

The usually defensive Diamante suddenly swung his blade—with the flat side—in a single slash!

Ah!

Luo let out a scream, his body flying several meters before crashing heavily to the ground. Even his short sword and the grenade slipped from his grip and tumbled into a pile of trash.

What kind of idiot thought a single grenade could handle an opponent on Diamante's level?

No wonder Diamante was so angry, feeling looked down upon.

"As expected, this guy's all talk."

At some point, two kids about Luo's age had appeared nearby, sitting on a trash heap watching the show.

One was a cute little girl in a maid outfit, with a yellow bow on her head.

The other was a fat kid in suspenders, all in green, with a pink wool hat on his head, looking none too bright.

"It's over, it's over. Let's go play hide-and-seek."

"I'm in~"

The little girl and the fat kid hopped off to leave. Even Doflamingo, who had been watching Luo closely from upstairs, shook his head slightly and turned to go back inside.

But just then, something no one expected happened!

"It's not just him who's been underestimated!"

Bang!

Whoosh!

With the boost from Gear Three, Abel—forced to step up—kicked hard into a pile of metal scrap in front of him.

He knew perfectly well that with just these tech shoes, even using all their power, he couldn't beat the opponent.

But they could create an opportunity for his next move.

He had to show his worth as much as possible.

Though he was also joining the Donquixote Family, the path he intended to walk was completely different from Luo's future one.

He would climb the ranks as fast as possible, become an executive, and deep in his heart, he even harbored the ambition to one day replace Doflamingo himself!

And he believed that surpassing Doffy was not his limit.

He could go even further, until one day, he truly stood at the peak of this world!

Carried by this terrifying ambition, countless metal scraps instantly surrounded Diamante from all sides.

Diamante had indeed been careless.

Most of his attention had been on the boastful Luo, subconsciously ignoring the other useless rookie beside him.

Who would have thought that this overlooked rookie would suddenly startle him?

By the time the mass of metal scraps was already upon him, he had no time to dodge.

Cape Bull!

The soft, bright red cape instantly blocked in front of Diamante.

This cape appeared light and thin, but in reality, it was made of steel, which he had softened to this texture using his Devil Fruit ability.

A large number of metal parts and debris struck against it, producing a clattering sound.

For a powerhouse of Diamante's caliber, these petty tricks were completely useless against him. The gap in strength had already widened to an insurmountable degree.

Not to mention breaking through his defense—not even a single nail slipped past; he blocked everything.

Yet even so, Diamante's expression grew even uglier.

Because he had actually been forced to use his Devil Fruit ability!

This was a sheer humiliation!

Diamante's face, hidden behind the cape, was now shifting between shades of gloom and uncertainty.

If it weren't for Doflamingo's orders, he would have already torn that damned brat who had embarrassed him into pieces!

But this was only an appetizer.

No one noticed that among the pile of kicked metal parts and debris, a banana was mixed in.

"Kid, you—"

Diamante's face had just emerged from behind the cape.

When—Boom!

The sudden explosion immediately stunned everyone watching.

Abel wasn't about to make the same low-level mistake as Luo. Since he had decided to use bombs, there was no point in blabbing nonsense!

Diamante hadn't expected the other party to have such a trick up his sleeve, and he was instantly engulfed in flames.

Then Abel quickly ran over to Luo's vicinity, picked up the grenade that had fallen on the ground, and without hesitation, pulled the pin and threw it toward the flames.

Boom!

Another loud blast.

Two consecutive bombs somewhat stunned Diamante.

And it also gave everyone else a false impression—that Abel, like Luo, had hidden grenades on his person, and had just kicked them along with the other metal debris toward Diamante.

Otherwise, he couldn't explain why a banana would explode.

But even so, Diamante remained undefeatable.

"I'm going to kill you, kid!"

With a furious roar, Diamante, wrapped entirely in his cape like an enraged bull, charged out from the flames.

But he wasn't completely unscathed either. At the very least, Abel noticed that some of his hair had been singed, and his face was a patchwork of black and white.

If it weren't for the fact that all his clothes, pants, and cape were made of steel, he wouldn't have gotten off with just a bit of dirt and ash.

But soon enough, Abel paid the price for his actions.

Bang!

Diamante, his face twisted with rage, kicked Abel flying dozens of meters away.