The Crane's Interception

Three warships were chasing the Numancia Flamingo across the sea.

Their fierce firepower was in a completely different league from those half-baked pirate ships they'd faced before.

Doflamingo didn't even dare stop the ship and take them on. He knew full well they couldn't win.

If it had been any other Marines, he might not have taken them seriously.

But the one leading the pursuit was Tsuru!

The last time he'd defied her, he'd nearly ended up in Impel Down, drinking tea and reading the newspaper.

Those were hard lessons he'd learned back when he was young and reckless!

Ever since, Doflamingo had felt a certain admiration and fear toward Tsuru, though he'd never admit it.

"Damn old woman! One day, I'll stand before you openly, and you'll have no choice but to sigh in frustration!"

The veins at Doflamingo's temples bulged. The humiliation of being forced to take a beating without fighting back infuriated him.

"Hasn't Buffalo returned yet?"

He couldn't help asking.

"I see them! Over there!"

Baby-5 suddenly shouted, holding up a telescope.

The others looked over and spotted a black dot rapidly approaching through the sky.

"When you see me leave, keep going at full speed. I'll teach those Marines behind us a lesson."

Doflamingo was clearly nearing the limits of his patience.

And without someone staying behind to hold the Marines off, they had no chance of shaking them.

In this situation, there was no one better suited to the job than Doflamingo.

That was one of the main reasons the Donquixote Family had always managed to escape Tsuru's pursuit unscathed.

"Huff... huff... I... I'm gonna die..."

In the sky, Buffalo began panting, his strength nearly spent.

He'd first carried Baby-5 while they fought a horde of pirates, then searched all over the island for supplies, gathered everyone together, and finally flown back to pick up Abel. He was completely worn out.

"Hang in there! We're almost there!"

Abel shouted. Since he couldn't fly, all he could do was fret.

If Buffalo gave up now, they'd both be done for!

"I can't... I can't keep flying."

"Think about your favorite ice cream! When we get back, I'll buy you ten of the fanciest kind, so you can eat your fill!"

At his wit's end, Abel could only think of this way to encourage him.

And, surprisingly, it worked.

As soon as Buffalo heard Abel would buy him ten of the fanciest ice creams when they got back, his eyes lit up. Somehow, he found a little more strength, and even his "propellers" began spinning faster!

"Go, go, go! For fancy ice cream, I'm giving it everything I've got!"

With a determined look, Buffalo carried Abel across the sky above the sea, straight toward the Numancia Flamingo, which was under fire.

But at that moment, they caught the attention of the Marines below as well.

"Hm? That's..."

Tsuru sensed something and looked up at the sky.

The female Marine beside her immediately raised a telescope, then compared what she saw with the information from Marine Headquarters.

"One of them is a member of the Donquixote Family, a Paramecia user with the Spin-Spin Fruit. He can fly."

"The other... um, there's no record of him. He may be one of the children the Donquixote Family abducted recently."

Tsuru nodded. "I see. Then let's rescue them. They're both still children. If we cleanse their hearts, they may yet become pillars of the Marines."

Anyone Doflamingo considered worth recruiting was bound to have some potential.

Tsuru acknowledged that much.

And compared to adults, who were more set in their ways, these children, whose values had yet to fully take shape, would be easier to "reform."

That was why Tsuru had decided to snatch them away.

They'd be better off in the Marines than following Doflamingo and committing one wicked deed after another.

"Hina, I'll leave this to you."

"Yes, Vice Admiral Tsuru!"

A sexy young woman with pink hair immediately stepped forward.

A glimmer flashed in her hand, and a black iron rod appeared out of thin air. She took aim at the sky, then hurled it with all her might.

At the sharp whistle of the rod cutting through the air, Abel finally sensed it.

Something was hurtling toward them at high speed!

Before, he would never have reacted in time.

But after merging with White Yaksha's battle memories, he drew the short sword at his waist almost by instinct.

Asura Aurora Slash!

Ssh!

A dazzling, multicolored blade of aurora struck the iron rod speeding toward them and split it in two.

Buffalo was badly startled!

The iron rod had come within just a meter or two of him. If it had hit, he would have "crashed" on the spot.

And that wasn't all.

Hina had the Cage-Cage Fruit. If the black iron rod hit him, he'd be bound at once.

"What?! My attack was cut in half?"

After missing, Hina looked utterly shocked.

She'd expected that she might miss, or that her target might dodge. The one thing she hadn't expected was for her attack to be stopped head-on.

And if she hadn't seen wrong just now, that was...

"A Flying Slash?"

"A boy so young has already mastered swordsmanship of such a high caliber?"

"We absolutely cannot let a swordsmanship genius like this fall into Doflamingo's hands!"

Before, Tsuru had wanted to rescue the children mainly out of a Marine's sense of duty. Now, in addition to that, she had another reason to act.

She couldn't bear to imagine what kind of terrifying demon Doflamingo might turn such a swordsmanship genius into.

To nip that possibility in the bud, she immediately issued a string of orders.

"Hina, give it everything you've got and bring them down!"

"Hina understands!"

"Change course! Full speed ahead!"

"Third Fire Pistol Squad, prepare to fire! Avoid vital spots as much as possible!"

Having missed with her first attack, Hina was clearly taking this one much more seriously.

Black Spear Formation!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Hina hurled one black iron rod after another, leaving Buffalo almost no room to dodge.

Fortunately, Abel was prepared this time and counterattacked at once.

Asura Aurora Slash!

Several black iron rods were stopped, but many more broke through the wall of sword energy.

With no other choice, Abel wrung out every last bit of his strength and mental energy to unleash one final slash.

The iron rods rained down into the sea, but a few still slipped through.

Ultimately, Abel simply wasn't strong enough yet to unleash the true power of the Asura Aurora Slash.

Otherwise, no matter how many iron rods there were, they would all have been cut down.