Maude, standing alone, charged into enemy lines, delivering a declaration about the fate of the Donquixote Family.
To Vergo, those words were nothing short of piercing.
New grudges and old resentments combined, shattering any remnants of hesitation Vergo had towards Maude.
Rip—
Vergo raised his hand and tore apart the upper half of his shirt, revealing muscles as solid as rock.
Maude's blatant disrespect made it impossible for him to conceal his fury. Thick veins, as thick as fingers, surfaced all over his body, pulsating rhythmically with the surge of his strength.
Jack's gaze was filled with murderous intent as he locked onto the arrogant Maude.
The existence of the Donquixote Family was crucial to the trade that Kaido valued most.
Setting aside Kaido's personal desire to eliminate Maude, Jack himself could not stand by and allow any disruption to their transactions.
"Enough with the big talk, Bacardi Maude… You're just a clueless brat who's barely stepped into the New World!"
Jack tightened his grip on his pair of shotel blades, crossing them to form the shape of ivory tusks.
Elephant Charge!
Jack stomped down with immense force.
Boom!
The impact shattered the ground, sending debris flying.
Using the force of his stomp, Jack's towering and massive frame surged forward like a high-speed truck, charging straight at Maude.
The crossed shotels in front of him gleamed with a chilling light.
"Too slow."
As Jack rushed in with his Elephant Charge, Maude leaned forward slightly, his left hand gripping the scabbard of Shusui, while his right hand grasped its hilt.
Shadow Flow—Extreme Darkness.
Maude drew his blade from its sheath, and in an instant, both he and his sword transformed into an arc of pitch-black light, slicing through Jack in a single, fluid motion.
The dark arc extended from its deepest hue to a fading shadow, continuing for over ten meters past Jack before finally dissipating, revealing Maude's stance—a forward step with his right foot, blade raised in a follow-through slash.
"!?"
Jack's vision wavered as his aggressive charge came to an abrupt halt.
"Did I… just get cut?"
Jack's massive body stumbled as he halted his heavy steps, slowly turning his head to look at Maude, who stood with his back toward him.
Maude turned his head slightly, his gaze calm as he looked at Jack's astonished expression. With an indifferent tone, he said:
"What was that you were saying just now? I couldn't hear clearly. Would you mind repeating it?"
The moment Maude finished speaking, a deep wound appeared across Jack's exposed chest, spanning from his left chest to his right abdomen.
A torrent of blood gushed forth like a broken dam, instantly obscuring Jack's view of Maude.
With blood pouring from his wound, Jack opened his mouth, but no words came out. His massive body collapsed heavily onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.
"Jack-sama!!!"
"He… took down a Calamity with just one slash?! Impossible!"
"I must be dreaming…"
From the moment Jack initiated his attack to the instant Maude countered and felled him, everything had happened in a flash.
By the time the Beasts Pirates' crew fully processed what had occurred, their faces were filled with shock and disbelief.
In their eyes, Jack was one of the Three Calamities, among the three most powerful warriors in their crew, second only to Kaido himself!
Yet…
In front of Bacardi Maude, he hadn't even been able to withstand a single slash!?
The Beasts Pirates were dumbfounded. Vergo, too, wore a look of shock.
As the highest-ranking officer of the Donquixote Family, who had infiltrated the Marines for over a decade, Vergo had never personally fought against the top officers of the Beasts Pirates.
However, he knew that even the once-proud and now-deceased Doflamingo feared the Beasts Pirates.
The reason was not only Kaido's terrifying power—being known as the world's strongest creature across land, sea, and air—but also the terrifying strength of his elite subordinates.
Among them, Jack the Drought was a standout.
Behind Vergo's sunglasses, his pupils trembled violently. He had anticipated Maude to be a difficult adversary, but he never imagined that the mighty Jack—the force they had hoped to rely on—would be defeated in a single exchange.
"Hey, Jack! What the hell are you doing?!"
Repelled by Gaya, Ulti shouted in disbelief at Jack's fallen form, her voice laced with anger:
"Going down in a single blow? You might as well just die! Even if you survive, you should just give up your title as a Calamity when you get back to Onigashima!"
"Dinosaur meat is quite firm… It'd make a great stew, don't you think?"
Gaya's gentle voice reached Ulti's ears.
Ulti furrowed her brows, retracting her gaze from Jack and shifting it toward Gaya, who now walked toward her, eyes slightly open, gripping her battle axe loosely at her side.
"I'm gonna bash your mouth in!"
"Alright then."
Gaya smiled, swinging her axe to unleash an amber-colored slash toward Ulti.
With a fierce determination, Ulti smashed through the flying slash using her forehead alone.
As the residual energy of the attack scattered, black smoke curled up from Ulti's forehead, leaving a slightly swollen mark—but she seemed otherwise unharmed.
"Hmph. That's all you've got?"
"Alright then."
Gaya's smile deepened as she squinted, pressing her attack.
Meanwhile, on another battlefield—
Drake stole a quick glance at Jack's fallen form, his heart pounding.
As a Marine spy infiltrating the Beasts Pirates, one of his primary missions was to gather intelligence on their top combatants.
He was well aware of Jack's immense strength, destruction, and incredible resilience.
Yet, such a figure had been taken down in just one move.
Bacardi Maude… Has his power already reached the level of those true monsters who reign over the New World?
Drake's mind churned.
"Hoho… You're underestimating me."
Noticing that Drake still had the capacity to be distracted, Lafitte's eyes gleamed with a vicious glint. His cane sword slashed through the air, drawing a sharp, luminous arc.
Drake's body tensed as he barely evaded the fatal strike, though a deep wound was carved into his side, spilling blood.
"Setting Maude aside, even this guy… and that woman fighting Ulti… They're all formidable!"
Drake activated his Allosaurus Hybrid Form, using its regeneration to speed up his wound's recovery.
"And then there's Aokiji…"
Drake retreated to create distance, instinctively assessing the Maude Pirates' overall strength.
With just Maude and Aokiji alone, they were already an unstoppable force in the New World.
With Whitebeard's death, the vacant position among the Four Emperors…
Lafitte's relentless assault shattered Drake's train of thought, forcing him to focus solely on survival.
As their battle extended into Dressrosa's town, the Marines observing the clash were left in awe.
"This guy…"
Chaton's expression was grim, fists unconsciously clenched.
As much as he didn't want to admit it…
Maude's current strength was beyond anything he could challenge.
Hina, standing nearby, had complicated feelings.
Though she had narrowly avoided death, being saved by an enemy left a bitter taste.
Beyond the battlefield—
"As expected of our captain."
Jim's usually stern face showed a hint of a smile.
His expression immediately drew strange looks from Perona, Brook, and the others.
Noticing their odd gazes, Jim quickly reined in his smile and resumed his usual serious demeanor. Without hesitation, he strode toward the remaining Donquixote Family forces stationed at the shore.
"Haha, could it be that Jim is feeling shy?"
"Looks like it."
"You guys are terrible, yohohoho..."
Laughter rang out behind him. A few veins subtly bulged on Jim's scarred, bald head.
"Enough messing around, you guys..."
Law, watching Perona and the others with exasperation, spoke up to remind them.
"You're right. Just like Captain said, if we want to get stronger, we need to cherish every battle that comes our way. And it's the perfect opportunity to test new techniques, yohohoho..."
"Brook, you came up with another new move?"
"Yohohoho, that's all thanks to the captain's guidance."
"What?! Maude is playing favorites! He never gives me any advice on my Horo Horo no Mi!"
Perona puffed up her cheeks, looking like an angry pufferfish.
Brook hesitated for a moment before saying, "Didn't the captain suggest you start strength training? Only by building muscle can your 'negative abilities' reach their full potential."
"You train if you want! I'm way too cute to build muscle!"
Perona scowled at the mere thought of her body covered in bulging muscles—it was almost enough to make her faint.
"Sorry, I don't have any muscles..."
Hearing Perona's words, Brook collapsed to the ground, exuding an aura of pure negativity.
Perona blinked in surprise and asked, "Hey, I didn't even use Little Cutie on you."
"This is my own problem."
Brook remained in his slump of despair.
Perona was speechless.
"Enough!"
Law, finally unable to tolerate their antics any longer, ignored the two goofballs. Holding Kikoku in his arms, he walked toward the remaining Donquixote Family members.
The hatred in his heart had dissipated with Doflamingo's death.
But if it was for Maude, he didn't mind striking down the Donquixote Family once more—even if it meant eliminating them completely.
Besides, as Lafitte had just pointed out, they couldn't let small fry disrupt Maude's fight.
Law's right hand rested on Kikoku's hilt as he narrowed his sharp gaze at the two remaining high-ranking officers of the Donquixote Family—the Sticky-Sticky Fruit user, Trebol, and the Ripple-Ripple Fruit user, Diamante.
Unlike Brook, Jim, and Urouge, Law wasn't one to show off.
However… when it came to assisting Maude, he was determined to execute his role flawlessly and without hesitation!
As Law and the others moved into action, Urouge and Hawkins shifted their focus to dealing with the remnants of the Beasts Pirates.
Thus, the core members of the Maude Pirates split into two groups—one targeting the Donquixote Family's remnants, and the other engaging the remaining Beasts Pirates.
Meanwhile, the first to step onto the battlefield, Aokiji, suddenly found himself with nothing to do.
"Arara... As expected of an awakened Ancient Zoan. He even tanked such a fierce slash head-on."
A deep red gleam flickered in Aokiji's eyes as he lazily observed Jack, who lay motionless on the ground.
Using Observation Haki, Aokiji could tell that despite the severe blood loss, Jack had not lost his ability to fight. His breathing remained steady.
This was precisely the troublesome trait of awakened Zoan users—their recovery, durability, and endurance were ridiculously overpowered.
The high-ranking members of the Beasts Pirates were notorious for this kind of fighting style: even if they couldn't overpower their opponents, they would outlast them through sheer tenacity.
"Maude... Captain should have noticed too."
Aokiji shifted his gaze, watching as Maude ignored Jack and walked directly toward Vergo.
Just as he looked over, Maude casually gave a thumbs-up and made a stabbing motion in Jack's direction.
The message was crystal clear.
"Would've been better to finish him off."
Aokiji scratched his messy hair and muttered to himself.
But then he recalled Maude's instructions before the battle—keep the enemies alive.
"Fine."
Aokiji lowered his hand and focused his attention on the downed Jack.
Icy mist began spreading from beneath his feet, rolling forward like a tidal wave, swiftly engulfing Jack's location.
As his wounds rapidly healed, Jack suddenly felt an overwhelming chill wash over him. He lifted his head slightly, his vicious eyes narrowing sharply as he saw the ice rushing toward him.
Meanwhile…
After entrusting Jack to Aokiji, Maude faced Vergo.
His right hand rested casually on the hilt of Shusui as he observed Vergo, whose entire body was covered in a deep black-red sheen, like ink spilled over his flesh.
Maude shook his head slightly.
Being able to coat his whole body in Armament Haki meant that Vergo's mastery of it was exceptional.
However, activating full-body Armament Haki in advance during a fight exposed a clear weakness—it revealed his lack of confidence in Observation Haki. Either that, or he simply wasn't proficient in using it.
Against a powerful opponent, covering one's body entirely in Armament Haki was a foolish move.
No wonder Vergo, despite his formidable physical strength and exceptional Armament Haki, had been so easily bisected by Law in the original timeline.
If he could concentrate his Armament Haki at will instead of spreading it thinly across his entire body, he might have performed far better.
"Full-body Armament, huh? Impressive… but…"
Maude's fingers tightened around Shusui's hilt as he spoke in a relaxed tone, "That also means that even if you had eaten the Gura Gura no Mi, you'd still be nothing more than..."
Noticing Maude's imminent attack, Vergo's eyes sharpened. He focused all his attention on Maude, his body taut with tension.
"Huh!?"
Suddenly, the figure reflected in his pupils vanished into thin air.
He lost sight of Maude.
A chill ran through Vergo's heart. He failed to track Maude's movement in time.
By the time he reacted—
Blood sprayed into the air.
It was his own blood, gushing from his body.
"One slash was all it took."
At that moment, Vergo heard Maude's voice from behind him.
The dark red glow of his full-body Armament Haki receded like a receding tide, leaving behind only a pale, blood-drained complexion.
"I... I didn't even get a chance to fight back… This gap in strength..."
An overwhelming sense of unwillingness filled Vergo's heart, but in the next moment, his body collapsed.
The other Donquixote Family officers, who had placed their last hopes in Vergo, watched this scene unfold before them.
Seeing their supposed leader fall in a single strike, their hearts plummeted into despair.
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