CHAPTER 28 - Joker's Bloodbath
Zoro caught hold of the Nichirin blades and pulled them out. Blood gushed out much to his chafe and pain.
"We need to take him down as soon as possible." Zoro mentioned.
The Demon Slayers observed him and agreed.
"Pirate Hunter." Doflamingo grinned, "Those were some dissident words you have said."
Zoro raised his blades.
"Do you think you can defeat me?" Doflamingo asked. His grin turned to malicious laughter.
"It hasn't been long. My body felt rusted from being locked up inside Jack's ship. Heard he was heading for Kaido to have me pay for my failures. But, then I heard the most exciting news. Trafalgar Law and Pirate Hunter Zoro teaming up with Gecko Moria. I couldn't help myself but be excited. A former Warlord and two pirates from the Worst Generation."
"Is that all you have to say?" Zoro asked.
"I am a part of the bloodline of Donquixote, once a part of the Celestial Dragons and before that, the true rulers of the kingdom of Dressrosa. Despite a few hopeless cases in the recent past, my ancestry has a history of bestowing death and tyranny. You there… the poison girl." Doflamingo referred to Shinobu.
"I was almost careless when you attacked me with that measly sword of yours. Some strong venom you have got, almost reminding of my fate should I have found myself in Impel Down and offended Magellan."
"Impel Down? Magellan?" Shinobu was confused.
"Hahahaha… It was a big surprise when I heard Straw Hat survived Impel Down. How the tides shift! It's been 25 years since Gold Roger was executed, two years since Whitebeard and the War at Marineford, and now Kaido and Big Mom are after Straw Hat Luffy's head. While Blackbeard's rampaging through the New World, Red-Haired Shanks has laid dormant for his own reasons. And there's Mihawk and the Warlords plotting their own ploys. Not to mention the Worst Generation riled up in all sorts of trouble."
Zoro's Wado Ichimonji clicked from his bite.
"The pirate numbers are booming, and there's one seat that has been totally empty. You know what I mean, don't you?"
Their eyes clashed.
"The One Piece." Zoro said.
"And the biggest war in history!" Doflamingo bellowed, much to everyone's surprise, "The wheels have turned the moment Law destroyed the SAD Production Room in Punk Hazard, that brat!" He grasped his hands in fury, and began speaking in a graver tone, "And your crew destroyed the Smile Factory. Now, I have the responsibility to shift some tides before I can relish the future of the New World. Someone needs to put the people responsible for ruining my business, back to their rightful places."
"Get ready!" Zoro relayed to the others in haste.
"Three Sword Style…" He leaped high from his position.
The Demon Slayers got the cue and dashed in towards their evil enemy.
"Very well." Doflamingo was mad and furious, aiming his left hand ready to shoot string bullets. Upon his move, Kanae ordered her sisters to disperse in different directions, leading Doflamingo to aim his attack towards Zoro above instead.
The Pirate Hunter blocked the bullets.
"Spider's Web." Doflamingo released two layers of String Webs as a shield with his other hand.
"Tiger Trap!" Zoro slammed. Doflamingo's Armament Haki made it harder for Zoro to break through the shield. Instead, he decided to pass through the gaps in the giant webs whilst the free fall.
"Nigiri - Tower Climb Ripple!" Zoro unleashed below the webs.
Doflamingo armed both his arms with Haki, taking the lethal blow with angst. He was hurled mid-air from the impact.
"Fourth Form…" rushed Kanae and Kanao, bellowing at a simultaneous tone,
"Crimson Hanagoromo!" they raged.
Doflamingo had difficulty controlling his Armament Haki aftermath Zoro's Nigiri shockwave. The dual Crimson Haragoromos hit him at the same time and sharp upon his torso, and despite Kanae's broken blade, managed to crack the Hardening. Blood was spilled.
Shinobu gave him no slack, rushing in right after her sisters' combined attack.
"Compound Eye Hexagon!" she yelled with teary eyes.
"Venom girl!" Doflamingo yelled, extending his right arm hurling towards her, "Pentachromatic String!"
Doflamingo felt a stunning sensation. He realised Shinobu was one step ahead of him, passing through with tremendous speed. Despite her successful attempt, two of her six-strike Dance of the Dragonfly were blocked with Haki.
The counterattack continued. Kanao and Kanae leaped back right above Doflamingo, whilst the latter tried to gain sense from Shinobu's toxin attack.
"Fifth Form…" the two sisters yelled.
"Everyone's bloodthirsty tonight." Doflamingo chortled.
"Bull Demon…" Zoro initiated his attack from the ground.
"Fulbright!" Doflamingo threw down his impaling strings.
"Courageous Talons!" Zoro broke off the Fulbright with his Armament imbued blades, allowing the sisters to attack.
"Peonies of Futility!" Kanae and Kanao dived. The nine-strike attack timed twice struck both arms. They realised Doflamingo had blocked their attack with his restored Haki.
Sparks generated spread from the impact.
Whilst Doflamingo had been busy, Shinobu had dived in from above.
"Dance of the Bee Sting…" Shinobu mumbled.
Doflamingo couldn't shoot his Bullet String, his arms defending from the dual Fifth Form attacks.
"True Flutter!" Shinobu bellowed.
"Don't push your luck." Doflamingo growled ready to employ his legs to block Shinobu's thrust.
In spite of having his hands full, he began sensing an ominous aura in the vicinity.
"You shouldn't lose sight of your enemy." Zoro mentioned.
Doflamingo was shocked to find the Pirate Hunter right in front of him and ready to attack. He lost track of the threat above. Shinobu stabbed right through Doflamingo's right shoulder, administering her poison.
Kanae and Kanao leaped off the moment Zoro declared to attack.
"Purgatory Oni Giri!"
It was a carnage of retribution. An X-shape made of blood spread in the air before bursting off into droplets of blood. Zoro slashed through Doflamingo leaving a large three-slashed mark through the torso.
Zoro looked back. He was surprised to discover Doflamingo yet on his feet.
"Bugs all around." Doflamingo remarked, grinning with blood drooling out of his mouth, "But you are the beast, Pirate Hunter."
Zoro knew of Doflamingo's resilience during the latter's fight with Law and Luffy, but he verified the threat when Doflamingo turned around displaying the devastating scars and blood on his chest.
"The scars shall remain." he said.
Zoro realised the enemy had used no Haki to defend.
"But thanks to you, I have finally caught the beast."
Doflamingo moved his finger. Zoro was surprised to find that his right arm moved without command.
"Damn." Zoro winced realising his whole body was trapped in Doflamingo's strings.
"You won't die from mere stabs. I'll have to finish you off myself." Doflamingo began walking.
"You won't." Kanao sped and jumped in front of the pirate, "Sixth Form…"
Instead, Doflamingo sped past her with incredible speed dashing towards the Pirate Hunter.
"Athlete!" There was no one capable of stopping the man.
Zoro took a full-powered Armament kick. He gasped from the nasty blow, despite having himself armed at the same time.
Doflamingo was a monster. Shinobu and her sisters realised it the moment he took Zoro's previous attack straight on and without Haki.
"Fourth Form… Crimson Hanagoromo!"
"Pentachromatic String!"
Kanao and Doflamingo clashed. Zoro saw the Warlord leading in strength.
"Peonies of Futility!" Kanae rushed in.
"Athlete!" Doflamingo countered her.
"Bullet String!"
Kanae and Kanao dodged the counter shots parrying back.
"Caprice!" Shinobu dashed in from the side.
Unlike before, Doflamingo could concentrate on Shinobu's extreme speed, blocking her attack with his right arm. He caught hold of her neck with his other arm.
"You have been the most annoying bug." Doflamingo said, glaring at her face.
"I'm flattered." Shinobu replied, with a mocking grin.
Doflamingo aimed his right index finger at her face.
"Bug's die."
"Iai…"
Doflamingo felt the ominous aura once again.
"Death Lion's Song!"
There was no escaping, no mercy. Shinobu observed the spray of blood flowing right next to her face, as she was dropped from the arm.
Doflamingo fell on his knees, shocked, being hit with one of Zoro's strongest Single-sword techniques. He groaned in pain, not being able to deploy Hardening whilst he was adamant in ending Shinobu's life. His arms fell, and so did his guard.
The damage inflicted upon him was finally taking a toll.
"We have to finish him off." Kanae mentioned, "He's too dangerous to be let alive."
Despite being their enemy, Shinobu and Kanao, being Demon Slayers, had doubts on the back of their heads, knowing well that Doflamingo was a human being, despite his twisted and demonic personality.
Zoro breathed hard; his blades sheathed. He took some heavy damage through the night clashing against three enemies, a member of the Worst Generation, a Demon King, and a Former Warlord. Though Hawkins fell early on, Kibutsuji and Doflamingo gave him formidable fights, especially the latter, who survived straight on Armament-imbued attacks, having dragged every member of Zoro's group to almost uncertainty of survival through the night.
"Message! Message!" bellowed a messenger crow.
Zoro and the Demon Slayers looked above in surprise.
"Hashira Tomioka, Hashira Uzui, overwhelmed by enemies. Pirates. Entire town of pirates. The Hashiras fight on."
"What?" Shinobu was surprised.
"Beast Pirates." Kanae said looking uneasy, "They have made it this far."
Damn, I can't move. And I've lost a lot of blood.
Doflamingo realised Shinobu's paralytic toxins taking effect.
"What do we do with him?" Kanae asked, indicating Doflamingo. She thought to leave the decision to Zoro.
"The toxins are taking effect." Kanao realised.
"Speaking of which, why didn't you use the lethal poison used against Demons?" Kanae asked.
"He is not a Demon." Shinobu mentioned, "We are Demon Slayers. We are supposed to protect humans from Demons, and we have compromised enough to employ our Nichirin blades against humans. Pirate or no pirate, they are living breathing souls just like us."
Kanae was irritated by the fact that her sister was right. After being revived by Moria's power and being on his ship, Kanae knew the terror of humans, whilst on the other side, her body soon revived her memories of being a Demon Slayer, overlapping her initial personality as a pirate representing Moria's crew. It was a frustrating conundrum to pity the enemy pirate in front of her.
"I heal injured Demon Slayers. No matter how villainous they must be, my Demon-killing drugs were never meant for humans when I made them." Shinobu said.
Kanao agreed with her resolve.
"Alright then." Zoro decided, "There's no time to argue about poisons and Demons right now. The point of the matter is, Doflamingo is defeated and our comrades might be in danger."
He turned around, and looked above at the crow, "Tell Tomioka and that twin-blade guy to retreat. I believe that dead old-man is with them as well. Tell them, we are regrouping as soon as possible. I don't want them fighting the Beast Pirates. Right now, it's not their fight."
"Once that's done, go back to headquarters and deliver this." Shinobu added to Zoro, taking out a letter, "It details the defeat of Kibutsuji and the events from our end."
The messenger crow took the letter and flew off into the sky.
Kanae was amazed at her sister's resolve as a Demon Slayer Hashira, keeping her code of protecting humans despite the difficulty of a situation they had to face. She regarded Zoro's decision to regroup as wise, knowing well that he and her sisters were concerned over the safety of Tomioka's group.
It had been one of the hardest nights in her life, and she could have said the same for her siblings. Zoro was bruised more than anyone else in the group needing medical attention. She believed everyone in the group had the right to a much-needed recuperation and health treatment.
"Let's move out. I have had enough of this annoying night." Zoro said, leading the others away from Takeshi's Castle, a place that saw much action and terror in a single night.
The sun began to rise from the east, ending a night of nefarious darkness.
TO BE CONTINUED...