Little Oars Jr. tilted his head. The incredibly sharp string whip instantly struck his shoulder, piercing through it.
Oars' face contorted in a snarl. He exerted force with both hands again, pulling his entire body out of the deep pit. He grabbed the string whip and, with a direct tug, pulled Doflamingo towards him.
Doflamingo released the string whip just in time. Little Oars Jr. pressed his left hand to the wound on his shoulder, fiercely pinching the muscles together to reduce the bleeding. He strode forward, grabbed his longsword from the rubble, and its blade once again glowed red-hot.
"Earth Current!" Pica roared. The shattered earth transformed into a monstrous, tens-of-meters-high tidal wave that crashed towards Little Oars Jr.
Little Oars Jr. tightened his grip on his longsword, his entire arm swelling, veins bulging like coiling pythons. He struck out fiercely, the longsword igniting instantaneously as it cut through the air. Boom! A twenty-meter-long flame slash flew out, instantly cleaving the monstrous wave in two. The terrifying slashing sword qi continued its horizontal trajectory.
If Pica hadn't reacted swiftly and decisively dived back into the earth, he might have been killed by that single slash.
A series of extremely faint whistling sounds cut through the air. One after another, fine threads struck Little Oars Jr.'s body, the sharp strings piercing him and creating numerous small holes.
Little Oars Jr. immediately spun around and, without hesitation, delivered another slash.
A violent wind swept through, flames boiling. This slash was extremely fast and vicious, aimed straight at Doflamingo.
Doflamingo's expression was aghast; the ferociously slashing longsword gave him no room to retreat. He frantically waved his hands forward, countless strings intertwining to form a thick Shield White Line. The longsword boomed as it sundered the Shield White Line and continued towards Doflamingo.
Doflamingo's hands turned black as he raised them to block. He felt as if a mountain range was crashing into him, an irresistible force. His body shot away like a meteor, slamming into the earth and causing it to explode.
Following closely, Little Oars Jr. took two strides to where Doflamingo had landed and stomped down with one foot. His towering posture was fierce and domineering; he clearly didn't regard Doflamingo as a threat at all.
"Damn it!"
Doflamingo, his hands blackened with Haki, pressed against Little Oars Jr.'s giant foot. The immense pressure made him cough up blood continuously, his body being pressed inch by inch into the earth.
A shrill roar sounded again. The earth began to tremble violently, and countless fragments of rock gathered towards one spot. An enormous rock giant rose from the ground.
This rock giant was even taller than Little Oars Jr. It threw a punch at Oars. Little Oars Jr. reached out with his left hand and caught the rock giant's fist, but the tremendous impact still forced Oars back two steps. This also gave Doflamingo a chance to breathe, and he quickly shot out of the pit.
"Die!" the rock giant spoke, its voice Pica's distinct, high-pitched tone.
The rock giant swung its other fist at Little Oars Jr., who raised his sword to block, only to be knocked back several more steps.
The rock giant pressed its advantage, wanting to defeat Little Oars Jr. in one fell swoop.
Little Oars Jr. braced himself against the rock giant's fist, his feet digging firmly into the ground, carving two trenches as he slid backward. Suddenly, he stepped forward with his right foot, his large eyes glaring, muscles bulging all over his body, prominent veins popping out. With a fierce roar, he directly pushed the rock giant away with sheer brute force.
Then, seizing the opportunity, he delivered a heavy slash, shattering the incoming rock fist, and followed up with another slash that cleaved the massive rock giant in two.
The rock giant crashed to the ground with a rumble. But even split in two, it could still crawl. Its upper body crawled towards its lower half, and the severed sections actually began to fuse back together.
"It's useless! Your attacks are useless against me!" The rock giant climbed up from the ground, a sinister, cold smirk on its face, and then charged at Little Oars Jr. again.
"Useless, huh?"
Little Oars Jr. took a deep breath, gripping his longsword even tighter with both hands. His thick arms bulged, and flames boiled on the blade. Swish, swish, swish!
Another series of whistling sounds. One after another, incredibly sharp string cones shot into Little Oars Jr.'s back, creating over a dozen bloody holes. Blood streamed down from the embedded cones.
"I'll kill you!" Doflamingo looked at Little Oars Jr. with murderous intent, continuously driving the string cones deeper into his body.
Little Oars Jr. stood motionless, completely ignoring Doflamingo's attacks, his gaze fixed on the approaching rock giant.
Suddenly, Little Oars Jr.'s eyes widened. He let out a bellow and swung his longsword.
"Demon Man Slash—Cross Mountain Cleaver!"
The longsword instantly carved a cross-shaped mark in the air. A massive, cross-shaped slashing sword qi pushed outwards. The rock giant's fist shattered upon contact with the slash. The cross-shaped sword qi then slammed into the rock giant's body, cutting it into four pieces.
Then, Little Oars Jr. struck again, his hands a blur as he unleashed a flurry of slashes. One wave of sword qi after another bombarded the remaining rocks, shattering all of them.
A figure screamed as it was sent flying from the rubble, spraying blood, and crashed into the earth, buried by debris.
Little Oars Jr. took a breath and, with a casual slash, severed the string cones embedded in his back. His disdainful gaze looked down on Doflamingo.
"Bugs, are you trying to tickle me?"
Ignoring the bleeding wounds on his body, Little Oars Jr. strode towards Doflamingo. His mountain-like, imposing figure brought with it a pressure that felt like the sky was falling and the earth was splitting.
"Bastard!"
Doflamingo's expression was extremely ugly; he couldn't have imagined Little Oars Jr.'s strength would be this terrifying.
"Doffy! We can't fight him head-on! Retreat, quickly! I'll hold him off!" Pica climbed out of the rubble, a massive gash on his body from which blood flowed ceaselessly. Rocks from the ground quickly spread over the wound, staunching the bleeding temporarily. He roared at Doflamingo in terror.
Doflamingo, extremely unwilling, turned and his figure flashed away. Threads shot from his hands, grabbing Lao G, and he quickly sped into the distance; he had to retrieve Diamante.
As for Pica, his abilities were enough for self-preservation.
"You ruined my mission, and now you think you can just walk away?" Little Oars Jr. strode in pursuit. The earth trembled again, and countless rocks shot towards Oars.
"Annoying bug! Don't bother me!" Little Oars Jr. swung his sword, and a massive slash tore through the barrage of rocks, instantly landing near Pica and sending him flying. His wounds burst open again, and he crashed into the rubble once more.
Little Oars Jr. broke into a run, the earth trembling beneath his steps. He quickly caught up to Doflamingo and slashed through the air.
The powerful pressure of the slash bore down on Doflamingo. Threads flew from his body, forming a massive shield wall in the air.
The longsword tore through the shield wall and struck Doflamingo. He let out a muffled grunt, his eyes rolling back, and he coughed up a large mouthful of blood. Like a cannonball, he, along with Lao G, crashed into the earth, creating a deep crater.
Doflamingo lay in the large pit, covered in blood, barely clinging to life, his aura weak.
Little Oars Jr. glanced at him and snorted. With a sweep of his massive hand, he grabbed both of them.
Doflamingo gritted his teeth, his fingers twitching, still wanting to fight back.
But Little Oars Jr. squeezed his hand, directly crushing them into unconsciousness. He strode off to find Pica, but couldn't locate him; he must have escaped by sinking into the earth. He then walked towards Diamante, whom he had defeated first, pulled him from the rubble, and carried him away as well.