Fierce Battle

"If I apologize now, is it still too late?"

Kane chuckled and stepped in front of the solemn-faced Cuckoo.

Doflamingo was taken aback by his antics, and the sinister smile on his face immediately froze.

He stared hard at Kane, only to find not the slightest panic at being surrounded on his face. He could not help but frown.

Did he have something to rely on?

The question flashed through his mind, only to be immediately replaced by hatred.

Ever since the family had been established, Doflamingo had never suffered such a huge loss.

More than half of the family officers had been lost...

The spies planted within the Marines were dead or missing...

The Op-Op Fruit, which should have fallen into his hands according to the plan, had vanished without a trace...

Any one of those would have been enough to send him on a killing spree, yet all three had happened at once today!

Although it was not yet certain whether the Op-Op Fruit was in this bastard's hands, Doflamingo believed that, within the Birdcage, no one but the bastard before him had the ability to lay hands on it.

This man had to die after suffering every possible torment!

With that thought, Doflamingo sneered.

"Want to beg for mercy? Fine. Hand over the Op-Op Fruit, and I can let you leave."

"Really?" Kane's face lit up with delight as he pointed at Cuckoo and explained, "Could you let us discuss it? We hid the Op-Op Fruit, and only my companion knows where it is."

Doflamingo looked at Kane suspiciously, unable to tell whether he was lying from that carefree, grinning face.

Stalling for time? Trebol and Pica were on their way. The longer this dragged on, the less chance Kane had of causing trouble, so Doflamingo simply watched him without a word.

Kane turned to Cuckoo and said, "Quick, tell him where the Op-Op Fruit is hidden. If you say it, we can both live."

Cuckoo knew Kane was acting. She forced down the absurdity in her heart, put on an unwilling expression, and turned her face away.

Doflamingo watched with a frown, inexplicably growing irritated as thin, sharp threads emerged from his hand.

"It seems your companion does not wish to..."

"Wait, I can persuade her!"

Kane hurriedly raised a hand to stop him, but in the instant Doflamingo was distracted, thunderous gunfire erupted!

Bang! Bang!

Armor-piercing incendiary rounds, carrying a vicious gale, slammed into Doflamingo's chest. Kane had no time to check the results and grabbed Cuckoo, sprinting toward the forest!

As they ran, Cuckoo glanced back at Doflamingo, whose entire chest had been torn open. Yet an eerie smile hung on his lips as he coldly watched her and Kane flee!

And what spilled from the enormous wound in his body was not crimson blood, but strands upon strands of fine white thread!

A String Clone!

Where was his real body?!

Alarmed, Cuckoo warily scanned her surroundings, her gaze sweeping every corner where someone might be hiding.

"Five minutes left."

Kane's voice rang beside Cuckoo's ear. He spoke quickly, but his calmness was reassuring.

"Doflamingo's real body isn't nearby, but he'll probably arrive soon.

"The Birdcage is getting smaller. If we keep running, we'll just be surrounded again. Let's take out Pica together first, then you go hold off Trebol."

Cuckoo froze for a moment. Kane had not mentioned Doflamingo, giving her a bad feeling.

She was about to question him when a tremendous force tugged at her wrist. The scenery before her rapidly swept backward, and in the blink of an eye, Kane had dragged her toward a spot deeper in the forest.

After only a dozen or so breaths, Cuckoo sensed a figure over ten meters tall through Observation Haki. It was Pica!

"He hasn't merged with enough rock yet. This is our chance!"

Kane warned her, released her wrist, placed a hand on the hilt of his rapier, and assumed the starting stance of Bird Style.

He really learned my swordsmanship!

An indescribable feeling rose in Cuckoo's heart. Her delicate hand tightly gripped her sword hilt, and a faint anticipation filled her chest.

The next instant, darkness fell before their eyes as a rock giant nearly twenty meters tall appeared in front of them!

"Die!"

The rock giant let out a shrill roar, swinging its massive fist at them and generating terrifying wind pressure.

In the snowy night, two streaks of clear, bright sword light burst forth, tracing identical paths as they flashed past the rock giant's legs like lightning!

Crack!

The two slashes produced a single sound. The rock giant's legs instantly broke into several sections, while its massive body remained suspended in midair from inertia!

Watching Kane execute the exact same sword technique as her own, Cuckoo felt inexplicably thrilled. Haki wrapped around her blade as she continued slashing upward!

Identical sword light erupted again, charging like a flock of birds. As it destroyed the rock giant's abdomen, it also sent it soaring into the air.

To defeat Pica, they had to force out his real body hidden inside the rock giant. Therefore, they had to shatter the giant before it hit the ground.

Cuckoo and Kane exchanged a glance and instantly understood each other's intentions. Their sword momentum gathered and exploded as sword light circled like flying birds, shredding the rock giant's arms to pieces.

Then they used Geppo, crossing each other in midair. Their swords dragged behind them in perfect coordination, and after building up enough force, they slashed fiercely. Dazzling sword light blasted apart the rock giant's chest.

"You damn bastards! How dare you look down on me!"

A shrill voice came from the rock giant's head. A burly figure suddenly emerged—it was Pica's real body!

He held a massive cleaver, his entire body coated in black Haki. His eyes locked onto Kane and Cuckoo, filled with wariness.

He could not understand how the two before him knew him so well. They had forced out his true body in just a few moves.

However, the situation gave him no time to think further. With a roar, he swung his cleaver and charged at Cuckoo!

He could tell that Cuckoo was somewhat weaker than Kane and would be easier to deal with.

But Kane would not give him the chance. A mocking smile appeared on his face as his remaining two sniper clones pulled their triggers at the same time.

The thunderous gunshots had barely sounded when two armor-piercing rounds crossed a hundred meters in an instant, striking Pica precisely between the legs!

In the night, a bloom of blood suddenly burst forth, along with what seemed to be fragments of something else.

Pica's scream of agony rang through heaven and earth. Kane could not even comprehend how such a shrill voice could produce such an enormous sound.

The soul-rending pain made Pica's body curl up in midair. His bloodshot eyes trembled violently, and he could no longer hold his cleaver. Even his Armament Haki dispersed.

Cuckoo watched the scene before her with an odd expression, but from the corner of her eye, she saw Kane rapidly approaching with Geppo. She instinctively swung her sword as well.

In an instant, the blades in their hands crossed, leaving a massive X-shaped wound across Pica's chest.

Blood shot into the sky as Pica plunged headfirst toward the ground, spitting out broken curses in fury.

"You... despicable... scum..."

"Who the hell wants a fair duel with you?"

Kane had no moral scruples whatsoever. He disdainfully glanced at the falling Pica, then pointed Cuckoo toward Trebol's location.

"Trebol is over there. I'll leave him to you."

With that, he darted into the distance. His bat clone had seen Doflamingo rapidly approaching from that direction.

Cuckoo watched him leave. She wanted to follow, but held herself back, gritted her teeth, and charged toward Trebol.

Since Kane had asked her to hold Trebol off, then even if it cost her life, she would never let Trebol take a single step forward!

After seeing Cuckoo obediently leave, Kane secretly sighed in relief.

Though he still did not want to face Doflamingo, Hina and Baby 5 were still inside the Birdcage. Showing himself should slow the Birdcage's contraction.

Besides, with his current abilities, he should be able to hold out for a while if he went all out.

As he pondered this, Doflamingo, his face dark as water, had already arrived before Kane. Looking down at him, he said coldly, "I'll ask you one last time. Where is the Op-Op Fruit?"

He had suffered enormous losses after landing on the island, yet had not even caught sight of the Op-Op Fruit. No matter what, he could not accept that.

Kane helplessly spread his hands. "Unfortunately, I haven't seen the Op-Op Fruit either. I only know that someone took it.

"As for who took it, I'd like to know that too."

As he spoke, he dismissed his bat clone and simultaneously created three clones in the forest behind him, each aiming a Bullet rifle at Doflamingo.

"It seems you have no value in staying alive."

Doflamingo's fury surged. His eyes gleamed coldly behind his sunglasses as his spread fingers twitched, and sharp, thin threads coated in Armament Haki shot toward Kane's throat like lightning!

Kane's nerves tightened to the limit. The moment Doflamingo moved, he immediately flashed backward as all five sniper clones opened fire at once.

The booming gunfire shook the surroundings, yet failed to even break through Doflamingo's Haki. The massive impact merely forced him back a single step!

Kane's heart sank slightly. Doflamingo's stats were still far too overpowered. His Haki was clearly more than a level above Pica's.

"Are they your helpers? Unfortunately, they aren't much use."

What answered him was a continuous barrage of gunfire!

Bullets rained down upon him, many aimed directly at his eyes and vital points.

Yet under the reinforcement of his extraordinary Armament Haki, his thick winter clothes and glasses resembled armor far harder than steel. The armor-piercing rounds could not even leave a dent!

Doflamingo casually waved a hand amid the barrage. Sharp threads wove into a giant net that descended over Kane's head.

Kane's sword whirled, sword light crashing through the net like a flock of birds and producing bursts of metallic clangs!

However, when the sword light faded, the net remained completely undamaged and continued toward Kane with unstoppable force. Kane hurriedly used Soru to dodge aside.

"Six Powers? You're a Marine!"

Doflamingo's expression darkened even further. The word Marine reminded him of someone—someone who had relentlessly hounded him for years.

He rushed at Kane, but the moment he lifted a foot, he felt someone grab his ankle.

Who was it?!

Doflamingo looked down in shock and saw a heavy iron ring around his ankle, though he had no idea when it had been placed there.

The thread on his finger lightly sliced across it, instantly severing the iron ring.

There was another enemy?!

Could they be underground?

Doflamingo frowned slightly and quietly spread out his Observation Haki. Yet apart from Kane and the few helpers hidden in the woods, he found no one else, leaving him deeply uncertain.