Rubick was a little surprised, but he was not unprepared.
A small Portal suddenly opened beneath Rubick's chin. The killing move Doflamingo had formed from threads made by turning the floor with his awakened power passed through it and emerged behind Rubick.
Whoosh!
Doflamingo stopped controlling the threads just in time. Their pointed tips halted at his back.
Rubick closed the Portal, and the force of space instantly severed Doflamingo's threads.
"You think Awakening makes you special?"
Rubick charged in again. This time, he fought with wild abandon. His massive body, compressed to eight meters tall, swung its Dragon Claws in broad, sweeping strikes, each faster than the last.
Doflamingo chose to meet him head-on. He was no match for Kaido, but surely he could beat Rubick, who had trained for only two and a half years?
Every collision between claws and threads rang out with a tremendous crash. The clashes of Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki left the Dock riddled with damage.
Rubick was having a great time. With Haki and dragon scales to protect him, he could afford to trade blow for blow. Doflamingo, meanwhile, was anxious about Caesar's whereabouts. His mind was unsettled, but his fury burned hot, and he held nothing back.
They fought for over a hundred exchanges without either side suffering any serious injury.
"Well, well. What a lively scene. Even the weather doesn't feel quite so cold anymore."
Just as Rubick and Doflamingo were in the thick of their fight, an unexpected figure appeared on the battlefield.
"Aokiji?"
Rubick and Doflamingo stopped at the same time. Rubick asked, "What are you doing here?"
Aokiji said, "I came specifically to find you. So, Doflamingo, could you give us some space?"
Doflamingo had wanted to leave anyway. His subordinates were still watching from a distance,