An Unexpected Ambush

Three days later, at dusk, Kane and his party arrived safely outside Mary Geoise.

He stared coldly at the magnificent white city, a trace of disgust flashing through his eyes.

In his eyes, Mary Geoise was not a majestic city built of brick and stone, but an evil beast born from countless corpses, endlessly devouring the flesh and blood of the living.

A moment later, Kane withdrew his gaze.

The afterglow of the setting sun fell into his eyes, only to be swallowed by the still, black depths of his pupils.

He did not order the camp to be set up at this usual hour, and the Marines continued onward without finding it strange.

Because everyone knew that without permission, no one was allowed to stay overnight near Mary Geoise—not even Marines.

After who knew how long, night had fully fallen. Even Mary Geoise could no longer be seen; only the distant night sky illuminated by it remained visible.

"Set up camp."

Kane spoke two words expressionlessly. Everyone stopped at once and began pitching tents and lighting campfires in an orderly manner.

Suddenly, two pale hands reached out from behind Kane, slender fingers gently massaging his temples.

"Do you feel any better?"

Robin's soft voice was filled with concern.

She understood Kane best. Merely from his tone, she had keenly sensed that turmoil was churning beneath his calm exterior.

And if they had not been out in public, she definitely would have used a more effective way to comfort him.

"Much better."

Kane let out a long breath, closed his eyes, and enjoyed Robin's massage. Much of the hostility in his heart gradually faded.

Meanwhile, inside the prison carriage disguised as a wagon, Tsuru, who had been keeping watch over Doflamingo, suddenly raised her eyebrows in surprise.

She had never expected Kane, who clearly cared deeply about Mary Geoise, to merely glance at it twice before leaving.

That was for the best...

Tsuru relaxed considerably. She could sense Kane's deep-rooted aversion toward the Celestial Dragons, and she had been worried that he would cause trouble if he encountered them.

Now that he could rationally avoid Mary Geoise, Tsuru considered it the best possible choice.

"Old hag, you seem awfully afraid that he'll provoke the Celestial Dragons."

Doflamingo wore a mocking smile, as though he had found something amusing in Tsuru's reaction.

"He's not a rule-abiding Marine. Does that frighten you? Fufufu..."

Tsuru calmly flipped through the newspaper in her hands, with no intention of responding to Doflamingo at all.

Yet Doflamingo did not feel the slightest frustration at being ignored. The Seastone shackles left him weak all over, indirectly suppressing his Haki as well.

But he could still barely use Observation Haki, though its range was limited to the area around the prison carriage.

Closing his eyes and quietly sensing his surroundings, he looked in a certain direction with an intrigued expression.

"Compared with a boring old hag like you, I prefer that guy called Kane.

"Does he hate the Celestial Dragons? Fufufu... I'm starting to look forward to this..."

Kane did not know that Doflamingo had developed a strong interest in him, but even if he had known, he would not have cared.

In his eyes, someone about to be thrown into Impel Down was not worth wasting brainpower on.

Besides, even if he wanted to care, he could not afford to be distracted now, because the moment he returned to his tent that night, he was ambushed.

"Instructor, this counts as breaking and entering."

"But~ you're breaking into my home too~"

"Instructor, you were the one who warmly invited me in just now."

"Really? My head feels all dizzy~ I seem to have forgotten~"

Cuckoo looked down at Kane, her pretty face flushed crimson and her eyes full of longing.

"Now that you've looked around for so long, what do you think of my house~"

"Pretty good. Compact layout, flowers and water, very comfortable to live in."

Kane paused, then suddenly praised her.

"What surprised me most was that you actually cleared away the weeds outside the house."

"Mhm~ I cleaned them up especially before coming here~ Do you like it?"

"I like it."

Kane nodded seriously. He had felt Cuckoo's sincerity, so he decided to repay her properly.

A full day of travel had taken a great toll on everyone's energy and stamina, so less than an hour after camp was set up, snores were already rising throughout the campsite.

Kane, who was responsible for keeping watch, left behind a clone sitting by the campfire. His real body held Cuckoo, who wore a blissful smile, and slowly closed his eyes.

Cuckoo gazed at Kane dreamily, feeling that every part of his face—his brows, eyes, nose, and lips—was pleasing to look at.

Just as she was about to close her eyes and fall asleep, Kane suddenly opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing through them.

"Little Kane, what is it?"

"Someone is sneaking up on the camp."

"Do you need my help?"

"No. Sleep."

"Okay~"

Seeing that Kane had no intention of getting up, Cuckoo smiled happily and obediently closed her eyes. Her arms, already wrapped tightly around Kane, tightened another fraction.

In the woods outside the camp, Kane's four Flower Clones silently appeared and ran off in four different directions.

Before long, one clone encountered a tall man radiating astonishing heat.

The man was powerfully built and muscular, with three fan-shaped sections of orange hair resembling the club symbol on a playing card. The moment he saw Kane's clone, he snorted and sneered.

"You actually dared leave the camp alone. It seems you're not just arrogant, but foolish too."

"You are... Charlotte Oven?"

Kane's will descended into the clone. After recognizing Oven, confusion appeared in his eyes, followed by an understanding smile.

"You came to rescue Doflamingo. Does Big Mom know about this?"

Oven immediately stopped in surprise and studied Kane suspiciously.

"You seem to know a great deal."

"Looks like she doesn't."

Kane laughed heartily and asked curiously.

"So whose idea was it? Katakuri's? No, if it were his idea, he would have come straight here and killed his way in alone.

"Then... Perospero?"

Oven's expression darkened. "Who exactly are you?!"

"That isn't important. What matters is..."

Kane deliberately paused, raised one finger, and pointed into the distance with a smile.

"Your brother is about to die."

Oven was startled. Fierce sounds of battle suddenly erupted from the distant forest, mixed with several agonized screams that sounded extremely familiar.

"Counter! Bastard, what did you do to him?!"

Oven roared and charged at Kane, his enormous fist carrying terrifying heat as it hurtled toward Kane's face like a meteor.

But Kane did not dodge. He simply watched Oven with a mysterious smile.

"Want to know? Why not go take a look?"

The moment he finished speaking, Oven's fist crashed into Kane's face.

Yet the instant Oven's fist touched Kane, Kane's body suddenly burst apart into countless petals.

Having punched empty air, Oven hurriedly steadied himself and scanned his surroundings uncertainly, trying to find where Kane had hidden.

However, the sounds of battle and screams constantly coming from afar left him extremely agitated.

A moment later, after failing to find Kane even with Observation Haki, Oven roared, smashed a large tree apart with one punch, and sprinted toward the source of the screams.

Oven was incredibly fast. In only a short while, he found Counter and the others.

The towering Counter was kneeling weakly on the ground, blood continuously pouring from his nose and mouth, soaking the thick beard on his chest red.

Three men who looked identical to Counter lay beside him on the ground. They were Counter's quintuplet brothers.

"Counter! Cadenza! Cavalette! Gala!"

Oven was horrified and was about to rush over when a figure suddenly appeared beside Counter, a black Haki-coated hand held across Counter's neck.

"You got here so quickly? Too bad you were still a step too late."

Kane looked at Oven with a cheerful smile and warned him.

"You'd better not come any closer. Otherwise, I might get startled and accidentally hurt him."

Oven stopped immediately, his face dark as he said, "Let them go!"

"And then?"

Kane tapped Counter's neck with his fingers, tilting his head as he asked.

"What are you willing to give up in exchange for their lives?"

Oven hated Kane so much that his cheeks trembled faintly from how tightly he was clenching his teeth.

After glaring at Kane for several moments, Oven took a deep breath.

"Let Counter and the others go, and we'll give up on Doflamingo."

"That is certainly tempting, but it seems you've forgotten someone."

The moment Kane finished speaking, a thunderous boom sounded in the distance.

Oven suddenly remembered that he and his brothers had agreed to split up and launch a surprise attack on the Marine camp, then rescue Doflamingo amid the chaos.

Now that the operation had failed and both he and Counter's group had been intercepted, then Opera...

The thought had barely formed when another massive boom rang out, only this time much closer.

In the blink of an eye, a tall, fat figure appeared in Oven's field of vision. His body was covered in sticky cream, while his face was swollen and bruised, leaving him in a miserable state.

Behind him, a familiar figure gave chase, repeatedly throwing pitch-black punches that slammed heavily into Opera's body with deafening booms.

Oven looked carefully, then his expression changed drastically.

Another Kane had appeared!