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The silence after Diamante's fall was shattered by a primal scream, a cry of pure rage from Trebol. "GLU-GLU-GLU! YOU'LL PAY, HAWKEYE!" His
The silence after Diamante's fall was shattered by a primal scream, a cry of pure rage from Trebol. "GLU-GLU-GLU! YOU'LL PAY, HAWKEYE!" His oozing body convulsed, and a massive wave of corrosive glue surged from his hands, turning the Nachthrone's deck into a toxic swamp. The viscous substance rose in bubbling geysers, aiming to engulf Mihawk and eat through the ship's black armor.
Gladius, his cracked goggles glinting, roared in turn. "TOTAL EXPLOSION!" His arms, now swollen to the extreme, unleashed a barrage of explosive projectiles—not precise shots anymore, but a chaotic storm meant to overwhelm Mihawk's defenses. Each blast shook the deck, rattling the Nachthrone's metal framework. Incandescent shrapnel flew, some grazing dangerously close to Mihawk's hair, yet he stood motionless at the center of the chaos.
Lao G, catching his breath, leaped with surprising agility for his age. "YOUTH NEVER DIES!" His fists, charged with Armament Haki so dense it seemed to make the air quiver, hammered the deck at blinding speed, sending shockwaves that cracked the metal around Mihawk. Each strike was calculated to limit his movements, forcing him to stay in Trebol's glue where Gladius's explosions could reach him.
From his web suspended in the air, Doflamingo was no longer laughing. His pink sunglasses reflected the flames of the explosions, his fingers twitching like a deranged puppeteer. "Fufufu… You think killing Diamante gives you the upper hand? Let's return the favor!" His strings, now laced with even sharper Armament Haki, wove into a deadly network. Invisible blades, nooses, and cutting nets converged on Mihawk, aiming to shred or immobilize him.
The Nachthrone shuddered under a fresh salvo of shells from the Donquixote flagship. Kiku, at the helm, fought to hold course, her hands dancing across the controls. "I can't keep this up forever, Captain! The engines are overheating!" she shouted, her voice barely audible over the din. The Nachthrone's side cannons fired back, but their rate slowed, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of enemy fire.
Perona, still aboard the infiltrated Donquixote ship, watched from a hatch, her eyes wide with frustration. "Stupid idiot, hihihi!" she muttered, discreetly launching a Negative Hollow at a group of enemy gunners, plunging them into tearful apathy. But she didn't dare show herself, fearing Doflamingo's attention. "Die, Mihawk, die!" she hissed under her breath.
Mihawk, at the heart of this storm of steel, glue, and Haki, remained an unshakable rock. His Observation Haki, honed to an almost supernatural level, let him perceive every threat like a living painting. Doflamingo's strings, Gladius's explosions, Lao G's fists, Trebol's glue torrents—everything unfolded in slow motion in his mind. Yoru, in his hand, seemed to pulse with a life of its own, ready to meet every assault.
He moved.
A step slid across the sticky deck, dodging a geyser of corrosive glue. Yoru sliced the air in a perfect arc, deflecting a rain of Gladius's explosive projectiles. PING! PING! PING! The shrapnel ricocheted, some hitting Doflamingo's string nets, disrupting them just enough to create an opening. Mihawk spun, his black coat swirling, and his black sword met Lao G's fist. CLANG! The clash rang like a steel bell, and Lao G staggered back, his knuckles cracking from the impact.
But Trebol seized the moment. "GLU-GLU! TAKE THIS!" A massive sphere of glue, ignited by one of Gladius's explosions, hurtled toward Mihawk, aiming to trap him in a burning prison. Without missing a beat, Mihawk raised Yoru. A razor-sharp air slash, infused with Haki, split the sphere in two. Flames scattered, and some of the burning glue splashed onto his hat, the fabric starting to smoke and blacken.
Mihawk frowned, briefly touching the brim of his hat. "Annoying," he muttered.
Trebol, enraged by his attack's failure, charged, his oozing body morphing into a tidal wave of glue, aiming to overwhelm Mihawk with sheer mass. "YOU WON'T ESCAPE!" he screamed, his Armament Haki hardening the glue to near-solid. Mihawk didn't dodge. He stepped forward, Yoru raised like a scythe. A black flash, so fast it seemed to swallow the light around it, cleaved the air. SHIIIIING! The glue wave parted, and Trebol, at its center, widened his eyes. A clean line cut through his chest, his face, his entire body. The glue stopped flowing, frozen by the precision of the strike. Then, like an overripe fruit, Trebol collapsed into two distinct pieces, his sticky form spreading across the deck in grotesque silence.
A second officer had fallen.
The Donquixote crew's rage hit its peak. Gladius, eyes bloodshot, unleashed a chain of explosions, turning the deck into a field of smoking craters. Lao G struck with doubled fury, his fists sending shockwaves that shook the entire Nachthrone. Doflamingo's strings, now everywhere, targeted not just Mihawk but the ship's vital structures, cutting cables, jamming cannons, aiming to cripple the war machine.
Mihawk, ever in motion, parried, dodged, and countered. Yoru danced. But even he couldn't ignore the assault's intensity. A particularly close explosion from Gladius sent a burst of flames that licked his hat, reducing it to a barely recognizable, smoldering mess. Yet his coat, his boots, his body—everything remained untouched, as if fire and blades couldn't reach him.
Doflamingo, seeing his officers fall and the Nachthrone still standing, lost patience. "ENOUGH!" he roared. His hands rose, and a terrifying aura erupted around him. His Devil Fruit awakened. The sky darkened, and colossal strings sprang from the ground, the ship, the seaitself. Zzzzzzip! A giant cage of Haki-infused strings enveloped the Nachthrone and the surrounding waters, trapping Mihawk and his crew in a prison.
"You're not getting out of here, Hawkeye!" Doflamingo shouted, his smile returning but laced with cold fury. "This cage is your tomb!"
Lao G, seeing an opening, launched a suicidal assault. "FOR THE YOUNG MASTER!" he roared, his fists hammering like pneumatic drills, each blow charged with desperate Armament Haki. He knew he couldn't defeat Mihawk, but he could slow him, buy Doflamingo time to tighten the cage. Mihawk, eyes narrowed, parried Lao G's blows with cold efficiency. But Lao G, in a final surge, grabbed Mihawk's arm, his Haki-hardened fingers digging in like claws. "YOU STAY HERE!" he bellowed, his body trembling with effort. Yoru fell, severing Lao G's arm, but the old man, in a defiant cry, poured all his Haki into one last punch aimed at Mihawk's chest.
The impact pushed Mihawk back a step. But Lao G collapsed.
Seeing the cage in place and Lao G down, Doflamingo made a sharp gesture. "We're pulling back!" he ordered Gladius, who had escaped in time, and the survivors. The Donquixote ships, riddled with holes but still operational, began retreating toward Dressrosa. "The Marines or Kaido will deal with him," Doflamingo muttered, his sunglasses barely hiding the rage in his eyes. "Enjoy your cage, Mihawk."
Perona, still hidden on the enemy ship, hissed one last insult. "Hihihi, you're stuck, idiot!" She slipped into the shadows, her Hollows covering her escape.
The Nachthrone, trapped in the string cage, floated in oppressive silence. Mihawk, at the center of the deck, lowered Yoru. His hat, burned and barely recognizable, hung limply on his head. His golden eyes fixed on the horizon where the Donquixote ships vanished.
"A cage," he murmured, a faint smile on his lips. "Interesting."