Three people naturally formed a team. While one of them, who we'll call Little 3, wanted to fight two opponents by himself, he knew it would be impossible. The enemy team simply didn't have enough high-ranking members to go around.
If Little 3 were to take on two and steal a share of the glory, his teammate Jango would definitely get mad at him, especially since their other teammate, Chopper, was stuck fighting the weaker grunts.
"Alright, two-on-two it is. This is our first time teaming up like this," Jango agreed readily. Since his time on the Boin Islands, Jango often found himself only fighting the weaker enemies.
The higher-ranking opponents were always in short supply, and he never tried to take them for himself. He had always planned to wait for the perfect moment to make a big name for himself, just like how Karl had become famous in Loguetown.
However, as time went on, Jango grew frustrated. The lack of a real challenge left him feeling down. So, the occasional opportunity to fight a strong opponent and truly test his skills was incredibly fulfilling.
Jango and Little 3 successfully formed a duo and prepared to face Buffalo and Baby-5. Meanwhile, the remaining opponent, Lao G, was stopped by Sanji as soon as he got off the ship.
Sanji was annoyed that he was stuck fighting an old man, but since Lao G was the only one left and a high-ranking member of a Warlord's crew, Sanji figured he'd be a worthy opponent.
"Oh? You've come to fight me, Black Leg G!" Lao G leaned forward, made two 'G' shapes with his hands, and shouted, "The older you get, the more pain you feel. And the more painful you are, the harder your punches are! This is the Diweng Fist—G!"
Sanji picked his ears, shouting back, "Gecko Moria is so annoying! Old man, you should go home and rest! Be careful not to get kicked to death by me!"
"Aha—" But Lao G suddenly charged forward. He was still leaning forward with his hands in the 'G' position, but his feet moved at an inhuman speed, and he was in front of Sanji in an instant.
Sanji was caught off guard and was hit directly in the face with a 'G' palm strike. Lao G then launched a crazy barrage of attacks, hitting Sanji repeatedly in the face before a final two-handed push to the stomach sent him flying.
"Sanji?!"
"That damn cook?!"
The Straw Hat crew was shocked. They never expected Sanji to be defeated so easily by an old man. Sanji landed with a backflip, spitting out a mouthful of blood and wincing in pain.
"This old man is no joke," Sanji sighed, becoming much more alert. "I underestimated him. Of course a Warlord's officer from the New World would be a tough fighter."
The old man might have looked frail and complained about a bad back, but he was incredibly strong. Sanji hadn't even had time to react to the sudden flurry of attacks. He was dazed and had forgotten to use his abilities to dodge. The final two-handed strike was particularly powerful and had nearly crushed his stomach. Any normal person would have been instantly killed.
"Perfect, I needed a good opponent! I thought I was unlucky to be stuck with an old man, but it seems I hit the jackpot. Old man, you'd better be tough, don't get kicked to death by me!"
"Then, have you ever been kicked by lightning?"
Sanji's voice suddenly appeared behind Lao G, and the old man's expression instantly changed. A black leather shoe kicked Lao G's waist, sending him flying. But before he could land, Sanji, who had transformed into lightning, flashed in front of him and kicked him away again. Sanji continued to kick Lao G back and forth like a football before delivering a final kick to his forehead, burying his head in the ground.
"Is that the Logia-type Thunder-Thunder Fruit?!" Diamante's eyes widened in shock.
"No way! How is that possible!" Buffalo and Baby-5 also looked on in disbelief. The legendary Thunder-Thunder Fruit, considered one of the strongest Logia-type Devil Fruits, had been missing for years, and now it had reappeared in the hands of a Straw Hat crew member. If the Straw Hats continued to grow stronger, it was possible they could produce a fighter on the level of a Marine Admiral.
Diamante was filled with regret. But he had already fought against the Straw Hats, so it was too late to back down now.
Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi on Diamante's body rang. He was momentarily stunned and then immediately blocked Zoro's attack with his cloak. But then Law's fruit space suddenly surrounded him and quickly retracted. Diamante had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the Den Den Mushi was now in Law's hands.
Seeing the Den Den Mushi turn into Doflamingo, Law smirked. He assumed that Doflamingo had called because he knew that the Straw Hats were evenly matched against a strong enemy. Law believed Doflamingo was calling to stop the fighting. And there was no way Law was going to let him succeed.
Diamante shouted immediately, "Law! Give me back the Den Den Mushi! It's Doffy!"
Law smiled and hung up the call. "I'm not going to give it back just because you ask. That would be embarrassing. Besides, you're in the middle of a fight with Zoro. Please respect your opponent. He's going to be the world's greatest swordsman one day!"
"Exactly!" Zoro laughed when he heard Law's words and then launched a powerful attack.
Seeing everyone else engaged in battle, Tashigi wanted to jump in but didn't know who to fight. All the major cadres had opponents, and the weaker enemies had been mostly defeated by Chopper and the others.
She felt like she was the only one standing around with nothing to do. She noticed that Robin and Marie weren't idle, though—Robin was keeping Miss Bakkin trapped, while Marie was controlling Weevil. They were doing a great job preventing those two from causing trouble.
"I should have jumped in sooner," Tashigi complained to herself.
"Hehe, don't worry, Tashigi, you'll have an opponent soon," Koshiro said with a smile, pointing in a certain direction.
Tashigi looked and saw a familiar long-nosed person hiding behind a ship. It wasn't Usopp, but Kaku, the former shipwright. Tashigi knew Kaku was a member of CP9. He had left earlier and had now returned, and she wasn't sure why.
Tashigi knew the Marines and the CP organization were allies, but since she also knew that members of the CP organization were now undercover as pirates, it wasn't impossible for her to fight one of them.
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