Hearing the voice coming from the Den Den Mushi, Barn curled his lips into a smile and tossed it aside. Fitz circled down and landed on his head. Barn sheathed the Onikiri he had pulled from Pica's body and headed toward the King's Plateau.
But he had barely taken a step when Pica grabbed his ankle and said,
"Barn... the young master will kill you..."
Barn merely smiled and said to Pica, who lay on the ground,
"Whether he can kill me is another matter. But if you don't let go, whether you get to keep that hand will become a very real question."
As he spoke, killing intent burst from behind Barn's smiling face, directed straight at Pica, who was still gripping his ankle.
A chill swept through Pica, and he instinctively let go. By the time he came to his senses, Barn was already far away.
"Heh heh, Doflamingo. Am I the one getting impatient, or are you?"
The First-Generation Onikiri in Barn's hand slashed through the air several times, severing the nearly invisible threads concealed there. Barn smiled and entered the plateau.
The corridor was so dark that nothing could be seen, but that was perfectly normal for Barn. He entered a hall on the second floor. Directly before him stood a long table, with Doflamingo enjoying a meal at its far end. He seemed perfectly composed, as though Pica's fate had little to do with him.
The four people sitting beside him, however, glared angrily at Barn. Among them was a familiar face: Gladius, sporting his brand-new hairstyle.
"Sit."
With a napkin tucked around his neck, Doflamingo elegantly sliced off a piece of beef and put it in his mouth, then gestured toward a chair opposite him.
Barn accepted without hesitation, walking straight to the opposite