First Encounter with Tsuru

"Fufufu..."

"Come! Let us teach that approaching enemy a profound lesson." Laughing wildly, Doflamingo led the family members toward the docks.

The family base was not far from the docks to begin with, so even at a leisurely pace, ten minutes was more than enough.

The members of the Donquixote Family arrived at the docks, setting up their formation to await the enemy's arrival.

Doflamingo stood at the very front, with Diamante first on his left and Pica first on his right.

These were Doflamingo's right and left hands, as well as symbols of status.

As for the others, there was no particular arrangement. After all, they were all family executives, and there was no rigid hierarchy of leadership among them.

Among these people, except for Gray, all the younger ones were at the very back, with Jora in charge of looking after them.

The sea breeze blew gently, fluttering everyone's hair; it was a scene of pure villainy that anyone who saw it would feel immediately.

"They're here!" They did not have to wait long before a black dot appeared on the horizon, speeding toward them.

"Telescope!" Doflamingo reached out to his side, and Trebol pulled an exquisite-looking monocular telescope from his large cloak.

At such a distance, a telescope was indeed more useful than Observation Haki.

After all, if the distance was too great, one could only sense a presence, but could not see the actual image.

"How could it be her!" The moment he saw the figure on the opposite deck, even someone as wild as Doflamingo could not help but break into a cold sweat.

"Everyone, prepare to retreat!" Without time to ponder why Tsuru had come, Doflamingo issued the order directly.

"What!" Despite their confusion, Trebol immediately prepared to run back and pack up, taking Jora, Baby-5, and the others with him.

"Diamante, Pica, Lao G, Senor, Machvise, Gladius, Gray."

"You will fight with me to stall for time. Everyone else, go prepare supplies for setting sail and pack up the important items. We are abandoning this base."

"Yes, Young Master!"

After Trebol and the others left, Diamante was the first among those remaining who could not help but ask in confusion: "Doffy, who is the enemy?"

"To think we actually have to abandon this branch base!" It was no wonder Diamante was so confused; although this was only a branch base, after a year of development, many things on the island had been built by them bit by bit.

The Berries spent on it were enough to make even the Donquixote Family feel a long-lasting sting if they had to lose it all at once.

"Marine Headquarters Great Staff Officer~ Tsuru!" Doflamingo said only one sentence, and everyone fell silent.

In this world, the Marines were the largest violent organization outside of the World Government, and the Great Staff Officer, Vice Admiral Tsuru, was famous even on a global scale.

As the underground emperors of the North Blue, even if they didn't know the exact extent of her capabilities, they knew with their eyes closed that this situation was going to be difficult!

"Hey, hey! Are we really fighting such a legend?"

"It is said that she was active in the same era as Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the former Admiral Zephyr, and the current Marine Hero Garp."

"Fufufu..." Doflamingo found it hard to describe his current mood; he was worried about losing, yet he looked forward to witnessing the combat power of such a legendary figure.

"Don't be afraid. I will hold her off, and you all just need to deal with the Marines she brought."

"Understood!"

"Hoo~" Facing such a powerful enemy for the first time in his life, even though Gray already knew the outcome, he could not hide the excitement in his heart at this very moment of encounter.

The advantage of being able to fly gave him the means to retreat calmly; all that remained was to start testing his current strength.

As Tsuru's personal guard, although they were all female Marines, their level of elite training meant they could not be underestimated just because they were women.

Beyond these guards, Tsuru's ability was also troublesome.

The Paramecia-type Wash-Wash Fruit—once caught by Tsuru, one's evil thoughts and wicked intentions would be washed away until nothing remained. Whether one would become a saintly figure after that depended entirely on Tsuru's mood.

So, I must never let Tsuru's ability work on me, especially since I don't have Armament Haki yet.

The thoughts in everyone's minds were naturally unknown to outsiders. Amidst the anxious waiting, the Marine warship carrying Tsuru became increasingly clear.

"Prepare for battle!"

At this distance, Doflamingo's Observation Haki could finally see clearly. Because of this, he saw the female Marines on the warship adjusting the cannons and loading explosive shells.

This told Doflamingo that Tsuru had come with malicious intent; there was no room for negotiation.

Whoosh, whoosh~

A Sky Crystal Flying Wheel rose behind him. As Gray's magnetic field rotated faster and faster, electric light began to flicker on the wheel.

This electric light looked very much like the static electricity generated by the Mink Tribe.

This level was already Gray's current limit; his physical age restricted his rapid growth. If he accelerated the magnetic field rotation any further, his stamina would be severely depleted.

He extended his right hand, and the high-speed rotating Sky Crystal Flying Wheel hovered above it.

The crackling electric sparks made Gray look like a superman manipulating thunder.

"Eight-Fold Light Wheel!" As Gray swung his arm, the Sky Crystal Flying Wheel flew toward the warship's mast at high speed, like a flash of electric light.

At the moment Gray made his move, all the remaining combatants began their assault.

Because the enemy had already entered firing range and had begun to ignite and fire their cannons toward them.

"Five-Colored Strings!"

"Explosion!"

"Throw the giant rocks!"

"Fluttering Slash Wave!"

"G!!!"

Those without long-range attack methods used their raw strength to hurl the stones created by Pica.

BOOM!!!

Cannonballs fell past his side, but the resulting bombardment had nothing to do with Gray, because he was flying.

Fighting at an altitude of three hundred meters—how many people could use Moonwalk?

And of those who could, how many had the stamina to spare?

If they possessed all of that, they wouldn't be called elite female marines; they would be called brigadier generals or major generals.

The electric light of the flying wheel flashed by, but just as it was about to soar over Tsuru's head to strike the mast, everything vanished.

No! It didn't vanish—the power on the flying wheel was washed away! Gray, whose Observation Haki had been locked onto Tsuru, discovered the reason his attack had failed.

Can attacks be washed away too? After sighing once more at how troublesome she was, Gray intended to retract the Sky Crystal Flying Wheel.

"Hm?" Tilting his head in confusion, Gray exerted force again and finally felt the immense resistance on the Sky Crystal Flying Wheel.

Not only was the attack washed away, but the Sky Crystal Flying Wheel was washed along with it? Since he couldn't retrieve the weapon, Gray decided not to waste any more effort on it.

At this moment, Gray widened his eyes instead, narrowing his Observation Haki to this immediate range so he could clearly see how Tsuru and these female marines would face the attacks from the Donquixote Family executives.

Unfortunately, their attacks were just like Gray's—all thunder and no rain.

Once every attack reached the range of Tsuru's ability, it vanished without a sound.

Even the Five-Colored Strings reinforced with Doflamingo's Armament Haki became as soft as yarn, falling limply into the sea.