"It worked!"
A middle-aged woman—Giolla, an officer of the Donquixote Family and the wielder of the Art-Art Fruit—cheered excitedly.
She was a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user. Anyone touched by her mist would be transformed into the artwork she envisioned!
"Turn into an abstract oil painting for me!"
Giolla was a die-hard fan of abstract art, and she planned to turn this arrogant little girl into one of her masterpieces.
"Did it work?"
Trebol was so excited he could barely contain himself. It was completely unexpected.
Devil Fruit powers are absolute. That cocky brat Yamato… Did she really think she was invincible?
"Did it work?"
A calm voice echoed from within the mist. "So… what kind of ability is this, exactly?"
"No way!"
The smile on Giolla's face froze instantly.
She stared in disbelief at the dispersing mist.
Inside the fog, Yamato looked down at herself, confused. "There's no change at all?"
"How can that be possible?!"
Giolla's expression twisted in horror. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "How could my power not affect you?!"
"Yamato's Haki is too strong," Jinbei said sharply.
"Even if she wasn't consciously using it at the moment, this woman's ability simply isn't powerful enough to break through it."
Just like how Law couldn't use his Op-Op Fruit powers to teleport Kaido or Big Mom, Giolla's ability had no effect on Yamato either.
"If my ability's useless, then let me handle it!"
A frail-looking old man suddenly burst forward, moving with a speed that belied his appearance.
"Geo-Fist Ultimate Secret Technique—Battle-Preservation Fist!"
As he charged in, his previously scrawny body began to inflate like a balloon, muscles bulging as if he were some sort of Muten Roshi in battle mode.
"Let me show you the power I've built up over decades—!"
White mist surged forward, instantly engulfing the old man and Giolla. In the next moment, two ice sculptures appeared right before Yamato.
"Got you!"
At that moment, behind Yamato and beneath Viola's feet, a man in a sharp suit suddenly burst out from the ground.
"Though attacking women and children is despicable, I have no other choice now!"
As long as he could catch this woman, there was still room to turn things around.
He reached out with both hands toward Viola's legs.
But—
"Moon Walk!"
Viola suddenly leapt into the air.
"What?!"
The man named Senor Pink froze in surprise.
"Don't underestimate clerical staff, damn it!"
Viola shouted angrily.
Then—
"I'm leaving it to you, Yamato!"
"So you're leaving it to me, huh?"
Jinbei laughed heartily, "I thought you were going to show off!"
"That's why I told you I'm clerical staff!"
Viola said matter-of-factly, "Besides, I'm not going to steal Yamato's prey!"
"Heh, Viola's such a good person!"
Yamato turned her head back.
As a user of Swim-Swim Fruit, Senor Pink could turn the ground and walls into liquid and swim freely within. He had already submerged back into the ground again.
But—
"No use, nowhere to escape."
The crystal-clear wolf tooth mace, Takeru No. 2, lightly tapped the ground.
The ground froze instantly.
Senor Pink, realizing something was wrong, instinctively tried to escape by burrowing underground.
But it was too late.
Only his upper body had left the ground before he was frozen solid, turning into an ice sculpture.
"Attack together!!"
Diamante, one of the top officers, roared.
This woman was a true monster—no one was spared in her presence.
If they all attacked together, maybe they could buy a little more time.
"Half Moon Funeral!!"
Diamante drew her sword and swung it down.
A fierce flying slash surged toward Yamato.
"Sticky Slime Cannon!"
The terrifying Trebol gritted his teeth and fired chunks of sticky slime at Yamato.
"Exploding Rocks!"
Gladius, a Pop Fruit user, hurled chunks of rocks.
The rocks began to swell as they flew.
His power was similar to Killer Queen's—anything he touched could turn into a bomb.
"Hah!"
A bulky man leapt up, floating in the air like a balloon.
"Ten Thousand Ton Bates!"
His name was Machvise, a Paramecia-type fruit user of the Ton Ton Fruit.
An advanced version of the Kilo Kilo Fruit, he could freely control his body weight—up to ten thousand tons.
"Take this, you bastard!"
Battle maid Baby-5 transformed both her hands into rocket launchers, ready to fire.
"Blizzard!"
A green-haired woman named Monet took a deep breath and then exhaled a raging icy wind, suddenly attacking Yamato.
"Oh?"
Yamato paid no mind to the others, but her gaze fixed on Monet.
She smiled and said, "A power similar to mine? Let's see who can freeze whom."
Charging the iron rod her his hand with Df ability, white mist suddenly swirled around the rod.
"Phantom Horse Blade."
Yamato finally used his second named technique.
The condensed mist struck like a slash, shattering Diamante's strike, cutting through Trebol's slime, and instantly engulfing all the members of the Donquixote family in front.
The rushing mist pierced straight through the wall ahead, freezing everything along its path.
Right before Yamato's eyes, ice sculptures began to form.
Even Monet, the Snow-Snow Fruit user, was frozen solid by Yamato's attack.
Snow, after all, is a lower form of ice.
"Awesome!!" Viola excitedly pumped her fist. "Yamato! That's how you do it!"
"Viola!"
At that moment, a shout came from behind.
Viola froze for a moment, then turned around in delight. " Brother-in-law Kyros!"
The legendary gladiator of Dressrosa, Kyros, charged into the palace with a sword in hand, followed by a few soldiers.
"What are you doing here?"
Seeing Viola, Kyros couldn't believe it.
Hadn't his sister-in-law long ago joined the Beast Pirates and should still be on Hive Island?
"Of course, I came to save you all!"
Viola said anxiously, "Brother-in-law Kyros, what happened to father, mother, and sister?"
"They escaped with me," Kyros replied briefly, "I had Her Highness the princess and Scarlet hide Rebecca first, while King Riku went to gather the old forces."
"That's a relief."
Viola let out a long breath of relief. It was good that everyone was safe.
"But… what exactly is going on?"
Kyros still didn't understand.
Why was Viola here?
Obviously nobody remembers them.
And those ice sculptures—were they officers of the Donquixote Family?
He turned his head and caught sight of Yamato's back.
The right hand of the Pirate Emperor Ian—such a major figure was personally on the move?
"Damn woman! I won't let you off!!"
A sharp roar echoed through the area.
"It's Pica!"
Kyros gripped his sword tightly. "That guy's power is terrifying!"
The entire palace trembled violently; walls and domes twisted abruptly, revealing the sky.
Then the space was darkened—an enormous giant looming overhead, blotting out the sun.
"I'm going to crush you all!!"
Having assimilated the King's Plateau, Pica created a hundreds-of-meters-tall rock giant in one breath, towering over Yamato as he roared and slammed his fist down.
"That's a bit over the top, isn't it?"
Viola couldn't help but gasp. "Bigger than the flame giant Ian summoned when he fought Captain Kaido, right?"
"Just big."
Jinbe crossed his arms, calm as ever. "At its core, it's just a bunch of stone."
Viola didn't seem too alarmed either. "Yamato, want me to point out where he is?"
Kyros glanced sideways, surprised.
They completely ignored the massive stone giant.
Even Viola.
"No need."
Yamato swung his iron club with just a little force. "Kongō · Dō!"
White mist wrapped around the iron rod instantly transformed into a laser beam, shooting straight through the giant's falling fist.
The entire fist froze solid like ice, but the laser's momentum didn't weaken.
It easily pierced through the giant's chest again.
Inside the chest—
"Ugh!!"
Pica's eyes rolled back as the beam forcefully blasted him out from inside the giant's body.
His body froze solid at the same time, shooting up into the sky.
Fortunately, just at that moment—
"Pica!!"
With a furious roar, the massive stone giant suddenly exploded, breaking into countless threads.
Some threads caught Pica.
More threads crashed downward like a tsunami, sweeping toward Yamato and the others below.
Doflamingo stood atop the wave of threads like a raging beast, "I want you dead!!"
**********
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