Astonishing Willpower

Diamante was a user of the Float-Float Fruit.

He could turn any object he touched into a light, cloth-like form, though the material itself didn't change.

So he used this ability to tailor himself a full suit of steel armor.

Many had once tried to ambush him, only to find they couldn't break through his defenses, and were instead killed by him.

But Diamante had never imagined that he would be forced to use this prideful defense of his against a brat he didn't even consider worth his attention.

And to make matters worse, he had been reduced to such a pathetic state in front of Young Master Dof?!

Though everyone knew it was because he had been too careless and underestimated his opponent, allowing a brat to land a successful sneak attack.

The facts were right there—this face was already lost beyond recovery.

Unforgivable!

Rage overriding his calm, Diamante kicked Abel flying with almost no restraint.

With the force of that kick, it could absolutely kill a man!

"Calm down, Diamante!"

Hearing Doflamingo's voice, Diamante realized what he had just done, reined in his fury, and let out a light snort.

Today, he had thoroughly embarrassed himself.

He'd probably be mocked by the others over this for a long time to come.

Doflamingo, however, had no intention of mocking Diamante. He simply thought that brat was indeed bold enough, ruthless with few words, and clever enough to hide his true killing move.

If properly trained, he might actually become one of his future assets.

As for Law—he had the edge, but was still far behind in other aspects. Slow and steady.

Thinking this, Doflamingo's mood improved considerably.

"Baby-5, Buffalo, go bring them back for treatment. Hopefully, our new family members won't die so easily."

"Yes, Young Master."

"Great, I'm needed again~"

What Doflamingo said was clearly an acknowledgment of Abel and Law, intending to take them into the family for training, just like Baby-5 and Buffalo now.

It also carried another meaning—telling Diamante to stop here.

Of course, if luck was bad and the person was already dead, that was that.

Doflamingo naturally wouldn't scold Diamante over something like this, because in his mind, the two weren't even in the same dimension of importance.

Even if Diamante had killed both brats today, well... dead was dead.

The dead had no value and wouldn't warrant a second glance.

But Abel's surprises for him didn't seem to be over yet.

Baby-5 and Buffalo had only taken a few steps when they saw that the guy who had been kicked flying had actually gotten back up on his own—it was unbelievable!

"So scary!"

"A corpse rising! A ghost!"

Standing back up, Abel ignored Baby-5 and Buffalo's shocked exclamations, and instead glared with his left eye at Diamante, whose face was full of surprise.

That kick had truly made him feel the breath of death.

But luckily, the day before, the System Shop had refreshed, and he had bought another item that could save his life.

Item:

[Defense Bracelet] (Blue)

Equipment-type item

Description: Some kind of high-tech product, principle unknown.

Effect: When actively activated, forms a transparent protective film in front of the user. Defense Value: 500

Price: 200 Trade Points

Quantity: 1

PS: Though it has many flaws, it can save your life in a critical moment.

Although this [Defense Bracelet] required active activation and could only defend one direction, seeming to have quite a few flaws, Abel had still bought it the moment he could.

And just now, this thing had saved his life!

The price was that the 500 defense value had been kicked to pieces in one blow, and the [Defense Bracelet], which he had only gotten a day ago, was instantly scrapped.

Then, his arms, which he had crossed in front of him to block, were broken, hanging limp at his sides.

After being kicked away, his head had hit something unknown, leaving a large gash on his forehead. Blood was now streaming down the right side of his face, making it impossible for him to open that eye.

This appearance was terrifying, abnormally ferocious!

Seeing this, a flicker of additional appreciation appeared in Doflamingo's eyes.

In the midst of battle against an enemy, strength was certainly important, but the willpower to stand back up no matter how many times you were knocked down was even more crucial.

A person with that kind of will, as long as they didn't die prematurely, would eventually grow strong enough to stand on their own!

But—

"Lead Sickness... that's a troublesome thing. Oh well, let's see how their luck holds."

Diamante had already been ready to let it go, but that look in Abel's eyes really pissed him off.

Yet just as he was about to teach that brat another lesson, Law—who had been mocked by everyone earlier—had somehow already stepped in front of him.

And the expression on his face said it all.

If you want to get past, you'll have to kill me first!

Diamante's eyes narrowed instantly, and without hesitation, he raised the longsword in his hand, then brought it down—

Thud!

That was the sound of Abel finally collapsing unconscious.

At the same time, Diamante's blade flicked Law's hat clean off.

If it had been just an inch further forward, what got flipped wouldn't have been the hat—it would have been Law's skull.

But this kid didn't budge an inch, and there wasn't a trace of fear in his eyes.

"Boring. Well, since Doffy agreed to let you join, fine. Hope you two last a while, hahahaha."

Diamante left. Law picked up his hat, put it back on, and immediately ran over to Abel.

After confirming that Abel was badly injured but not in immediate danger of death, he hoisted him onto his back and followed Baby-5 and Buffalo to the treatment room.

But the doctors here were barely passable—not only were their skills poor, but they also nearly had a heart attack when they saw the white patches on Abel's body.

They flat-out refused to let Abel stay, trying to kick him out.

Even if Doflamingo asked later, they could just say the injuries were too severe and he couldn't be saved.

What they didn't expect, though, was that Law not only knew medicine—he was a genius at it!

So Law took matters into his own hands, treating Abel himself and kicking that quack doctor out.

The guy had never been treated like that before!

Pissed off, he ran off to lodge a complaint first, playing the victim.

Little did he know that Doflamingo had already found out what happened.

He simply had the man arrested.

If Abel ended up dying from his injuries, maybe the doctor would keep his life.

But if Law managed to cure him...

Guess what happens to a useless person around here?

The doctor's face went pale with terror. For the first time in his life, he regretted his actions—but no matter how much he regretted it, it was already too late.