The navigation logs he had read and the fragments of intelligence he had gathered rapidly pieced themselves together in his mind.
"We've run into Sea Monkeys."
Beneath the surface, shadows over twenty meters long churned the waves.
Those creatures delighted in creating whirlpools and surges, dragging passing ships into the depths-not to feed, but simply out of a playful nature.
"Ridiculous."
A gleaming silver rapier slid from its sheath. Diamante steadied his breathing and pointed its tip toward the roiling waters in the distance.
"How about trying out the slash I just mastered?"
"Through seawater, against monsters over twenty meters long... are you sure a slash will work?"
Despite saying that, Rossi drew his own saber.
Daylight reflected off the blade, casting a dull red sheen.
"This is a good chance for everyone to practice long-range attacks."
Boom-
The cannon fired first.
Smoke rose from the bow, and a splash tinged with dark red erupted several hundred meters away.
Gladius, the youngest of them, had fired the shot.
But rather than settling the chaos, the strike enraged the shadows. The whirlpool suddenly expanded, pulling the entire ship into a tilt toward its center.
"Sever!"
Rossi swung his saber.
An arc of interlacing dark red light tore through the air and raced over the sea, water steaming in its wake.
"Burial!"
Every muscle in Diamante's body tightened as his heavy sword came down.
An emerald slash followed closely behind, slightly smaller and lacking that corrosive aura.
Doflamingo's index finger took on a metallic sheen.
Armament Haki Hardening compressed to its utmost limit, and the fine thread shot from his fingertip became an invisible spike, piercing the air-
Hiss.
A gleam skimmed over the sea and vanished underwater.
But a muffled impact followed, as though it had struck thick rubber.
"Pinpoint attacks