One Piece: Holy Light Swordmaster

"..."

Doflamingo's expression shifted drastically—if Rosinante and Smoker had reunited with Wright, didn't that mean his entire cadre of executives had been wiped out?

"Impossible…"

Doflamingo's self-control was clearly not as refined as it would be ten years later. At this moment, the fiery rage rushed straight to his head, the veins on his forehead nearly bursting.

"Fuffuffuffuffu… I've really underestimated you, my dear brother…"

Clutching his throbbing forehead with his left hand, his right hand twitched like the claw of a bird. "What's it been? Fifteen minutes? Twenty, maybe..."

"So, it seems my reliable executives have been completely annihilated… Rosinante, your combat ability is truly astonishing…"

"And then there's Smoker, a Logia user with the Smoke-Smoke Fruit. It seems the three of you devised a strategy specifically tailored against my executives. In this 'arena,' they couldn't even utilize their Devil Fruit abilities effectively due to the restricted environment..."

"Wright, this must be your plan… Judging by the results, the three of you together have the combined strength of at least one elite Vice Admiral and two elite Rear Admirals..."

Doflamingo broke into wild laughter. "You really are determined to bring me down, Wright! Three against one? Come on! Do I look like someone who would surrender without a fight?"

"Hmm… Don't get the wrong idea." Wright twirled his blade gracefully. "I'm not one for ganging up on people. Someone as meticulous as me wouldn't stoop to that, would I?"

"Maintaining the Cross Arena takes a lot out of me," Wright said with a wave of his hand. The entire arena, the Cross Stage, disintegrated into countless particles of light, vanishing completely and revealing the other sections of the battlefield.

"Otherwise, do you think I wouldn't have just taken you down directly? I needed to buy some time for those two to arrive so I could deactivate the ability and properly fight you!"

"Dammit!" With the arena dissolved, Doflamingo surveyed the battlefield. Aside from Baby 5 and Buffalo, nearly all his executives lay unconscious, restrained by thick, white smoke.

"Light Speed!"

In a flash, Wright accelerated toward Trebol's charred body. The golden glow of his blade, Ashes, flared with divine flames as he drove it cleanly through Trebol's torso.

The unconscious Trebol let out a guttural, agonized scream, his bloodshot eyes bulging so violently they shattered his sunglasses. The golden-red holy flames engulfed his body, causing him to writhe and convulse violently.

"Wright! You bastard!"

Doflamingo was completely blindsided—Wright, who just moments ago spoke of a fair fight, had immediately broken his word by finishing off Trebol the moment his ability was deactivated. Was Wright intending to leave no one alive?

"Hey! Don't misunderstand me—this guy is just too repulsive. I couldn't resist taking him out," Wright said, grinning insincerely as he parried Doflamingo's Five-Color Strings.

But in truth, Trebol, the mastermind behind much of Doflamingo's descent into darkness, could never be forgiven.

Rosinante sighed deeply—he knew all too well what Trebol had said and done to Doflamingo back then, leading him into the abyss. By all accounts, Trebol was also Rosinante's father's murderer.

Smoker raised an eyebrow but wasn't surprised. Wright had never hesitated when dealing with pirates back in the East Blue. Killing someone as wicked as Trebol was entirely in character for him.

Baby 5 and Buffalo, still conscious, screamed in terror. Meanwhile, Pica, who had passed out earlier from blood loss after being impaled by Smoker's White Spear, was startled awake by the commotion.

"Doffy—! Trebol!"

Pica's normally high-pitched voice now sounded like a frightened child who had just watched a horror movie, which was utterly incongruous with his massive frame.

"Tsk tsk tsk… what a sight," Wright sneered. "Smoker, finish him off!"

"Got it."

"Overheat Whip!"

Doflamingo tried to intercept Smoker, coating his massive whip of threads with Armament Haki.

"White Wall!"

Smoker raised a wall of smoke, snapping his fingers as he launched another attack. "White Eruption!"

Boom!

The Haki-infused whip barely shattered Smoker's defensive wall, but it was too late to reach him.

Doflamingo turned to Pica, only to see that the earlier explosion had blown a gaping hole through his abdomen.

"Well, that's unfortunate. I mean, efficient," Wright remarked, his Observation Haki confirming Pica's demise.

"..."

Doflamingo could no longer suppress his rage. Two of his top executives had been killed right before his eyes—this was an unparalleled humiliation.

"Don't sulk, now. Give me a smile!" Wright taunted, smirking. "Doflamingo… when you were out there burning, killing, and pillaging, did you ever think this day would come?"

"Don't get cocky, Wright!" Doflamingo's fury surged, his combat power rising with it. "With the energy you've spent, you're barely able to swing your sword! Stop bluffing!"

"White Tendrils!"

Smoker unleashed a wave of smoke, binding the remaining Donquixote executives and dragging them into one area, creating a large enough space for Wright and Doflamingo to face off.

Wright stood firm. "No rush. Let's take our time. Besides, don't you see the Marines on the warship enjoying the show? My stamina isn't an issue."

"Huh? Something's off…"

Smoker frowned, sensing the air around him turn cold.

"This isn't right!" Rosinante's voice cut through sharply. "Among the executives… there's one I haven't seen yet! The woman—she's a Logia user!"

"Land Banner!"

Diamante, who had feigned unconsciousness, opened his eyes, slamming a hand to the ground and activating his Devil Fruit powers. The ground turned as light and pliable as cloth.

In an instant, Gladius, Baby 5, and Buffalo reacted. With a flick of the fabric-like ground, Diamante wrapped them up and carried them off.

"Crescent Burial!"

A powerful slash severed the pliable ground, allowing Diamante to flee towards the island's center, leaving behind the gravely injured Lao G, Machvise, and Senor Pink.

"Damn it!" Smoker and Rosinante finally noticed the thin layer of snow on the ground, so similar to smoke that they had failed to distinguish it earlier.

"That Logia user… Snow? She used her low temperatures to awaken the unconscious executives!" Smoker growled, snapping his cigar in frustration as he prepared to give chase.

"Grand Wave of Strings!"

A massive wave of intertwined strings, coated in Haki, surged up to block Smoker and Rosinante's path.

"White Wall!"

Smoker quickly raised a defense. "What the hell kind of power is this?"

"Keep an eye on the unconscious ones!" Wright's voice rang out, heavy with resolve. "I didn't expect… Doflamingo, you've developed your String-String Fruit to this extent… Awakening!"

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