My most sincere apologies for the lateness of this chapter. With all the crazy news here in America over the past few weeks, nothing I'd written in that time made any sense nor met any of my standards. Frankly, I don't really like how this chapter turned out, either. Luckily, I believe we're moving past this block. This tardiness should be a one-off. (Posted to Pat-reon July 29th. "Crazy news" date July 13th.)

Thank you for your patience: Alison Carrillo, Andrew Bohl, Animephilosopher1, Ankhseram123, Anna Khuu, anony, Ant Franklin, Cam Bliss, Claude Walker, Cordell Sanders, Cory Johnston, Darko129, David, Daemon Targaryen, David Bowling, David Reynolds, Emi Stafford, Eugene Malone Jr., EvilJelly, Fenrir ragnarok, Garvin Lee Nelson-Mathlin, Immagenius, Inucbus, Javier Andres Estrada, JEP1010, Jkat, John Mekjian, Jonathan Moh, Joseph Baty, Joseph Morrison, Joseph Vargas, Joshua Groves, Karen Carrillo, Kcx1, kevin Calderon, Lamont Hale, MAEGHT Maxime, Majin buu, Marielle Orff, Matt Walther, Matthew Burley, McBanjo, Mcgin28, Michael Enqvist, Milagros Peres Davila, Milla, Pez, Rafael Cardenas, ReactedLyric, Richard Barkley, Ryuu, Sasha, Shaun Guard, Siddiq Morris, TheWolfThatExist, Thomas Sanders, Tom Peissig, and ViewtifulSoul!

Chapter 77:

Shifting Gears

He found Doflamingo on the roof of the potmarked castle, what little of it remained held up by the remains of the ancient brickwork that had survived his and Luffy's last battle. Doflamingo had moved a stone throne at some time — perhaps it had been there for years — and was lounging on it. The Warlord grinned.

"You killed Traffy."

If anything, Doflamingo's sick smirk widened. "You saw my little surprise, did you? Honestly, he was disappointing, but I suppose that's what happens when you cut off a man's arm and leg. He's just… never quite the same again." The king bit down a flinch, the Gamma Knife attack that Law had given him as a parting gift still making it feel like his insides were on fire despite the man's death and Doflamingo's subsequent self-healing, internal strings holding his vitals in place.

"You killed Traffy."

"I was hoping for some more astute dialogue, Straw Hat, but it seems that's beyond your purview. I should have known from our last bout."

Luffy threw his arm to the side, the blood inside bouncing violently from the force. His skin turned red as Second Gear activated, the smaller pirate blurring forward with a scream of rage. Doflamingo reacted instantly, a shield of strings forming between the pair. Luffy screamed, his Haki-coated fist smashing through the hasty shield like glass.

"My my," Doflamingo grinned, landing several steps away as Luffy's punch shattered his stone throne. "Aren't you angry?"

"I'm going to beat you into the ground," Luffy swore, popping his knuckles. "I'm going to make you live in defeat, your dreams shattered beyond fixing."

"Bold words, Straw Hat," the Warlord laughed. "Let's see you try!"

The pair blurred, smashing against each other in bursts of black lightning. Luffy grit his teeth, his foe's smile taunting him. He spun into an unannounced Gum-Gum Whip, Doflamingo bending backward underneath it.

"Five Colors Yarn!"

Luffy jumped upward, spinning over the razor string that tried to slice him to pieces. He twisted with a snarl.

"Red Hawk Gatling!" Luffy's fists ignited, burning punches falling around the pink-dressed Warlord. A single vein bulged on the blond's forehead as he ducked and weaved through the flurry of blows.

"Excess Yarn Whip!" A massive, woven length of string shot from Doflamingo's wrist, the man swinging it around toward the airborne pirate. Luffy couldn't move well in the air, only managing to turn enough to cross his arms as his Armament once more clashed with the king's. The Excess Yarn Whip smashed Luffy into and through the roof, making him disappear from sight.

Doflamingo frowned, walking over to the hole. He could tell the Supernova was still alive, but not what he was doing.

"…Giant Bazooka!"

The Celestial Dragon barely had time for his eyes to widen behind his red-tinted glasses before the roof below him cracked and shattered, exploding upward with the force of Luffy's massive arms. The taller man spun through the air, landing on his feet hard. His one vein was joined by a second.

"What a ridiculous power you have, Straw Hat. Igniting your fists, making them bigger somehow, these do not make sense."

"Good," Luffy grunted. "That means you can't figure them out! Jet Battle Ax!"

Doflamingo Shaved forward, reappearing before Luffy as the smaller pirate's foot came down on the rooftop far behind.

"Full Blight." Luffy's eyes widened as pain assaulted him, five string javelins stabbing into his gut. He gasped and stumbled backward, blood dripping from his wounds. Doflamingo sneered. "I grow tired of this. Entertain me better or die already, Straw Hat."

"…Never," Luffy snarled, his shaded eyes glaring at the Warlord. He reached up, yanking out the javelins of string. "I'm not going to fall to a bastard like you."

All at once, Luffy's Conqueror's Haki bore down on Doflamingo whose eyes widened by millimeters. His grin redoubled with a third vein, the tyrant's own Haki exploding from his form to counter Luffy's. The black lightning of clashing Haki materialized around them, radiating from the pair and making the air oppressive to any would-be spectators.

"The Spirit of the Conquerors… You've got guts, I'll give you that," the man chuckled. "That said, you cannot defeat me with the paltry attacks you have shown."

"My attacks have nothing to do with chicken."

Doflamingo pulled up short, blinking. His Haki fizzled. "Excuse me?"

"I said my attacks have nothing to do with chicken."

One of Doflamingo's eyelids twitched. "Dare I ask why you say that?"

"You called my attacks poultry. They aren't chicken, though."

The usurper king sighed. "I just can't kill you morons fast enough."

"You can't kill this moron at all! And I'm not a moron!" Luffy Shaved forward, planting his fist in the roof where Doflamingo had been half a second before. The Warlord threw two more Five Colors Yarn, forcing Luffy onto the defensive.

"You're nothing, Straw Hat! You're a rat with a half-decent power and luck, no intelligence of your own to speak of! You're so weak that you need your followers to pick up your slack! In fact, you're so stupid that I suspect they are simply using you as a shield, readying to cut you away and use you as a scapegoat the moment the Marines back you into a corner."

"Don't you dare, Mingo," Luffy hissed. He spun on his heel, dodging three Bullet Yarns that tried to do what the Full Blight did not. "I don't have followers! I have friends, and I trust my friends to be able to do everything I can't. But what I can do is beat the crap out of angry jerks like you!"

"Foolish." Doflamingo whipped his hand upward, another Five Colors Yarn slicing through the roof marking a trail toward the smaller pirate. "Just die already!"

Luffy didn't reply respond verbally, moving enough to dodge the attack that carved away a corner of the building.

"Jet Rifle!" Doflamingo turned, interposing his hand. Luffy's spinning fist smashed against the Warlord's palm, skin scraping against skin. The tyrant king's fingers clamped down, trapping the Supernova's hand. Luffy's eyes widened.

"Let's see how much your stretchy skin can take," Doflamingo chuckled, bringing up his other hand. Strings shimmered between his fingertips, the man coating them in Haki to counter Luffy's own a moment before he brought his strings down on Luffy's wrist. Luffy grit his teeth as skin lacerated. The blond's smile turned to a sneer as he felt tugging on the hand in his grip. "You're going nowh—"

He looked up just in time to get a fist to the face, the rubber pirate's knuckles shattering his glasses. His fingers let go as the pain registered, physics catching up a moment later. Doflamingo bounced, each one bleeding away a little more momentum. Luffy glared.

"Your double already tired something like that. I never make the same mistake twice."

"Fufufu…" Doflamingo chuckled from where he laid on his back. "Fufufuuaahahahaha!"

"You think this is funny?"

"This country is burning down around us, and the government that purports to protect the people is on my side. The evil pirates are fighting to save it. The world is upside down! How can I not laugh?"

"You're sick."

"The world is starting to burn, Straw Hat, but one of us won't be around to see it." Doflamingo got to his feet, blood dripping down into his smile. "Is that the best you can do? Do you not want to avenge Law?"

Luffy's fist clenched. Haki swirled around his arms, the smaller pirate deciding he needed to up the ante. "Fine. I have to make this quick, then. I'll show you my Fourth Gear."

"Fourth Gear?" Doflamingo echoed.

"Yeah. In order to beat you, I have to get stronger. You've seen Second Gear and Third Gear already, but this is stronger than both of them." He sucked in a breath before blowing it into his arm. The limb expanded as it did in Third Gear, the air inside making the Haki-covered skin ripple before it moved into the rest of his body. He started to float slightly, kicking his sandals off, as his chest and torso expanded, his arms now the same width and color of cannons. His Haki swirled over both arms, creating a mirrored pattern on his chest as it flowed up and over his shoulders, giving it all a red sheen over the dark coloring. A band of steam trailed under his arms and behind his head. "Muscle Balloon. Fourth Gear: Bounce Man."

He bounced with a boing!

"…You're joking," Doflamingo accused, a hand coming to his face. He chuckled. "You're joking. This is a joke, right? Look at you. You made your body all big by inflating yourself as if some air is supposed to help you. I spared you and marked you during the War of the Best two years ago to make you train and grow stronger to entertain me, and this is what you bring? I was expecting some great stratagem and secret technique. This is it? This is it? You can't be serious!"

"This is my stratagem and I am serious!"

"You can't even stand! You keep bouncing like some child's ball! How are you supposed to kick my ass is that state?"

Luffy cocked his fist back, his hand slowly seeming to disappear into the forearm. "You won't be able to do anything. Gum-Gum Kong…" Luffy shot forward, far too fast for Doflamingo to react to in his current state. All he could do was cross his arms, coating them in several layers of Haki. "Gun!"

The blow launched Doflamingo through the railing of the castle roof at the speed of a bullet, the disgraced Celestial Dragon vanishing into the city below. Luffy tracked his progress by the trail of dust as the king's body smashed through multiple buildings before finally stopping at the base of one, the whole thing toppling over.

Despite the hit, Luffy knew the taller man would not go down that easily. He bounced twice before launching himself over the divide, following Doflamingo's trail.

The king had lost his smirk, his teeth grinding as he watched the Supernova approach. He flexed his hand, calling forth a vast number of strings that rubbed against each other quickly, generating enough friction to glow. "Overheat!"

He slashed, Luffy vanishing from the path the instant it started. The next moment, both of Luffy's feet we planted in the side of Doflamingo's face, his body dragged along by the neck as he was blasted into and through another building.

"Rhino Schneider!"

The trail of dust ended abruptly, the pink outline of Doflamingo using his strings to pull himself into the air, away from more buildings.

"You won't get away from me," Luffy swore, taking to the air with his own version of Moonwalk. "Get back here, Mingo!"

The pair rose into the sky.

"Ace!"

The toddler perked up at the sound of his mother's voice, the boy turning from Chopper's lesson on the reconnection of cleanly-severed arms without painkillers. He jumped to his feet.

"Mommy! Mommy, I'm here!" Ace ran, leaving the lesson behind. The reindeer doctor sighed with a shake of his head and resumed stitching the gladiator's arm back on.

"Oh, Ace!" Nami slid off Billy's saddle, kneeling to scoop her son into her arms. "Oh, my boy! I was so worried about you!"

"I had a lot of fun, Mommy! The Coloso fights were great, then Daddy got super mad and knocked people out, then these girls were mean to Merry and we did a lot of running, then we saw the new Lucy who is Super-Uncle Sabo and we saw a lot of good people fighting bad people, then we found a door with secrety things inside, but Merry got hurt and I had to save her, so I ate one of the super-duper Fruits and went FWOOSH! It was gross! Then Uncle Sanji and Kaku showed up and we got out and Super-Uncle Sabo ate the other one and everything went CRACK! Kablooey! And now we're here."

"You ate a Devil Fruit?" Nami gasped.

"Yeah, look!" Ace raised his hands, his palms and fingers turning to fire. "Cool! But not as cool as Super-Uncle Sabo. He makes the air go CRACK, BABOOM, BAM! And not cool cool 'cause fire's hot, not cool."

"Amazing," Robin grinned, reaching over to ruffle little Ace's dark hair under his too-big hat. "I was unsure if Sabo would eat a Devil Fruit if given the chance."

"Aunty Robin-sensei? Do you know Super-Uncle Sabo?"

"I do. Quite well, actually. I've spent more time around him than with the crew. After all, I did sojourn with the Revolutionary Army during our absence."

"Sojourn? What's that?"

"It means to spend a long but limited time somewhere."

"Is that you, Robin?" A blur of soft pink and magenta practically flew into the archeologist, doing its best to tackle her in a hug. Robin grew several legs and arms to stabilize herself against the assault, letting Koala squeeze her like an old friend. "Eee! I'm so happy to see you!"

"Look what the Sea King dragged in." Robin, Nami, Billy, Brook, Viola, and Mansherry on the other princess' shoulder turned to the trio from which the voice had come, Sabo, Hack, and William D. Chapston approaching. It was the latter of whom that spoke. "It hasn't even been six months. Did you miss us that much?"

"What he means is that we're happy to see you," Sabo supplied, offering a smile. He turned to Nami as Koala let go of Robin. "So, you're the one that managed to tame my wild baby brother? Robin's told us a lot about you and the others."

"Baby brother…?" Nami echoed.

"Super-Uncle Sabo!" Ace grinned.

"Sup— Sabo? Wait, I thought Luffy told me you died when you were kids."

"The tales of my death were greatly exaggerated," Sabo chuckled. "I tried to go out to sea to escape my family and a visiting Celestial Dragon blew me up. I survived, barely, but didn't remember anything about who I was or where I was from. Commander Dragon found me and trained me. I didn't remember anything until after the news of the War of the Best two years ago." His smile turned strained.

"I'm sorry," Nami offered. "We met Ace briefly in Alabasta. He seemed like a good guy."

"There was nothing 'good' about us," Sabo chuckled. "We were a pair of hellions and Luffy only made us more chaotic when we met him. We'd steal food and jewelry and valuables, all with the goal of buying a ship to sail away. We didn't know anything about the world, we just knew it was supposed to be the three of us against it. Even now, pirates and revolutionaries, we're raising hell like there's no tomorrow."

"Anything to make Garp pull his hair out, right?" Nami grinned. Sabo laughed in agreement. He stepped forward, taking his top hat off to bump it against the orange hat resting on little Ace's head.

"Welcome to the family. Both of you. I'll have you know, Dragon's real proud. 57-million at one-and-a-half? We actually heard him laugh."

"Who's Dragon?" Ace questioned. "Is it like the dragon Daddy and the others ate on that hot-cold island?"

"No, kid," Sabo laughed. "Dragon is your dad's dad."

"Like how Old Man Garp is Daddy's dad's dad?" Sabo nodded with a smirk.

"Right. Old Man Garp is your Grandpa Dragon's dad."

"Woah. Family's super-duper confusing." Ace nodded to himself. Nami was just glad he didn't call it a mystery and leave it there. "Super-Uncle Sabo, these are Mommy and Auntie Robin-sensei and Billy and Grandpa Brook!"

"We already knew Robin—"

"I'll introduce us," Koala said, interrupting Sabo. "I'm Koala, the better, smarter, and more beautiful half of this lug." She poked the blond in the cheek. "Behind us are Hack the fishman and William D. Chapston, an old pirate."

"I'm not old!" William rebuffed. "I hate old men! I'll never get old!"

"Yoho!" Brook chuckled. "You cannot be older than me."

William stared at Brook for a long moment. "…I am conflicted. You're old, so I want to stab you, but you're also already dead."

"Pardon me, miss," Brook continued, addressing Koala. "Would you be so kind as to show me your panties?"

"Like hell!" both Koala and Sabo roared. Fishman Karate and a quaking punch tried to shatter the musician's bones, blasting the undead pirate backward with a scream. William drew his sword.

"Nevermind. Not conflicted anymore."

"So, Ace tells me you and him both ate Devil Fruits," Nami prompted, focused on Sabo. She didn't need their allies re-killing her oldest crewmate because of his perverted tendencies.

"We did." Sabo raised his hand, moving as if to snap his fingers. His hand trembled slightly, the air over his middle finger and thumb cracking before the entire thing ruptured with a burst of force that ruffled everybody's clothing. "Little Ace snagged his namesake's power, so I got the next-best thing. We'll put it to good use."

"I've rolled that Fruit with my own a few times," William spoke up, referencing the gambling nature of his roulette Devil Fruit. "I'm sure we can find some things to break with the power of Whitebeard."

"Three ladies walk in after Sanji leaves," Usopp commented as he and Franky finally joined the little group. Chopper went to see to Brook. "He'd be so mad."

"Four ladies!" Mansherry piped up, harrumphing with a pout.

"You must be one of the super dwarves we've heard about," Franky said, offering Mansherry a tiny robotic hand to shake that came out of his small hand that came out of his larger hand.

"I'm Mansherry!"

"And I'm Viola," the other princess put in. "Are King Riku and Rebecca here?"

Those who had fought in the battle in the Colosseum exchanged glances.

"No, they aren't," Sabo said. "They were escorted away with Diamante hot on their heels."

"The samurai went with them," Usopp explained. "I'm sure they're fine." Nami and Robin shared a worried look. "Oh no, what happened?"

"Well, Coby was with us," Nami said. "He felt some sort of disturbance and went to check it out…"

"You don't think—"

"I don't know what to think, but I'm sure we aren't going to like it."

"You didn't go with him?" Franky questioned. "That wasn't a super choice."

"It shouldn't have been a big deal," Nami replied. "I was just so worried about Ace."

"I'm fine, Mommy!" the boy grinned. "Giihihihi!"

"He did say he required no assistance," Robin added.

"What's the state of Doflamingo's forces?" Koala asked, still eyeing the bonehead who asked inappropriate questions to nearly every woman he met.

"It seems most of them are dead," Robin replied. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms, sending out a veritable wave of blooming and dissipating eyes that scanned a majority of the island. "Yes, a majority of the Doflamingo officers have met their demises, that horrid Trebol included. Most now cool in coagulating puddles of their own external blood."

"What about the little girl that could make people into toys?" Usopp asked.

"I did not see her. The harpy, either. It seems they are in hiding or actively fighting. Ah, we should have visitors soon."

"What do you—?"

"Princess Mansherry!" a cacophony of voices cried, a wave of dwarves flowing through one of the archways. The little blonde on Viola's shoulder perked up.

"Leo‽" The dwarves came to a stop as Viola lifted their princess gently, setting her on the ground. Mansherry kicked off her tiny heels and ran to then, throwing her arms around the one in the lead. "Leo!"

"I'm sorry we were late, Princess. By the time we rallied the army and rescued our brethren in the SMILE factory, it seems you were already rescued."

"Yes, Princess Riku Viola rescued me. She knew where they were holding me at the castle."

"Princess… it's not all good news." Leo looked down and away. "We lost about half our forces to a surprise attack from one of the Doflamingo officers. He also killed Thunder Soldier and King Riku in that battle."

"What‽" Viola demanded above them. "No, that can't— You must be mistaken! My father would not fall so easily! And with Kyros at his side—!"

"I am sorry. The man called Diamante also cut off one of Princess Rebecca's arms, but she is still alive. Thunder Soldier gave his life that Princess Rebecca could slay the man."

Tears streamed down Viola's face, the woman falling to her knees. Koala was at her side in an instant, holding her gently. "Dad… Kyros…"

"There was nothing we could do," Leo reported. "We were first attacked by a marine and would not have made it out except for the intervention of the Lizard."

"Lizard?" Nami echoed.

"He must mean Uncle Coby," Ace deduced as only toddlers could. "Uncle Coby's a big, big lizard sometimes." Billy nodded in agreement.

"I remember he called himself Coby, yes," Leo agreed. "He fought the man of candy who trapped the rest of our forces. I held back the marines that wished to interfere but could do nothing for Thunder Soldier, King Riku, or the Tontatta lost. We rushed here after learning Princess Mansherry had been rescued already."

"You said Rebecca lost an arm?" Viola questioned.

"Yes, but Lizard had a Devil Fruit with him he said could heal such wounds in time."

"I see," Robin hummed. "It was a good idea to give Coby that Fruit for safekeeping, Nami."

"That Devil Fruit could heal?" the navigator asked.

"Not quickly, but Coby and Grace asked me for help researching axolotls since that was the Zoan Fruit in question. They seem to be native to the Kingdom of the Dead: Shishano. They can regrow lost limbs and, like fishmen, possess both gills and lungs. Many in the country consider them sacred, claiming them to be pieces of their god Xolotl, god of fire, lightning, death, and monsters."

"What cold comfort," Viola muttered, her tears falling to the broken earth. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Rebecca."

Mansherry smacked herself on the cheeks, turning to Viola. "For centuries, the Tontatta and the Riku family had an agreement. By driving your father out ten years ago, Doflamingo severed that alliance. Princess Viola, with King Riku's death, the crown falls to you. Will you resume our agreement?" Mansherry knelt first, Leo following her lead. Within seconds, every dwarf was kneeling before the crying woman.

"I-I will," Viola hiccupped. "I swear I will."

"Coby knew where we were going, so he should meet us here," Nami announced, trying to move the conversation away from such morbid topics until such time as Ace was not listening. Death might be part of the pirates' life and wars like the one they found themselves in the middle of, but that did not mean he needed his innocence spoiled so soon. "Where's Sanji?"

"Not really sure," Usopp answered. "He ran off right after the battle. Amy, Gin, Merry, and Kaku haven't come back, either."

"Merry, Gin, Kaku, and Grace had to sail off. They were stuck on Sunny when the strings came down and a battleship started firing on them. We'll meet them when we're done here."

"Maybe Sanji and Amy are super fighting marines?" Franky suggested. "They're like cockroaches, so it's possible."

"And none of us have Haki, so we can't just go looking for them the easy way," Usopp lamented.

"I have Haki, but I don't really know what they feel like," Sabo commented.

"Why can't Auntie Robin-sensei look?" Ace asked. "She just did, didn't she?"

"My eyes avoided the areas with active fighting, Ace-chan," Robin replied, resting a hand on Ace's head. "If something were to destroy one of them, I would lose that eye for real. Then your auntie wouldn't be pretty anymore."

"Nu-uh! You'd still be pretty! And you'd match Uncle Mosshead!"

Robin grinned. "Fufufu. When you put it that way…"

"Robin, you're not risking your eyes for something so stupid," Nami chastised. She sighed. "Honestly, you're supposed to be one of the adults."

"Fufufu," Robin chuckled.

"We just need to super lock them in a room together…" Franky muttered.

"You say that like Zoro wouldn't find his way out by accident and we'd find him swimming in the fish tank or something," Usopp said.

"Yeah, that's fair."

A grunt interrupted their conversation, a marine beaten black and blue rolling to a stop at their feet. The group followed his trajectory with their eyes to find Coby marching in flanked by Kin'emon, Kanjuro, and Izou, his face stormy. It softened slightly when he saw his crewmates, but he still stomped his way down the stairs toward them. Chopper and Brook took that as a chance to join the huddle as well.

"Lizard!" Leo called.

"He doesn't look like a lizard to me," Mansherry commented.

"Someone doesn't look happy," William muttered.

"Not looking happy is a Godadamned understatement," the roset growled. "I'm so fu…" He trailed off, noticing Ace amongst the crowd. "Fudging peeved off."

"What's got you so mad, Uncle Coby?" Ace asked.

"Well, I failed. Then I met some high-rank marines who haven't been doing jack just because they don't want to risk getting court marshalled by directly disobeying what they know are immoral orders, so they're letting us do their dirty work, not caring about the casualties." He sucked in a deep, shuttering breath. "Viola, I'm sorry."

"We've already heard the news," the princess replied, her voice strained. "Rebecca… Is Rebecca okay?"

"Hopefully in time," Coby nodded, offering the axolotl in his palm with two hands. "She's been unconscious or asleep since Kyros died in her arms… arm. Even my shouting at that Vice-Admiral didn't wake her up."

"A Vice-Admiral?" Nami gasped. Viola took Rebecca into her hands gently, staring down at the new Zoan. Her shoulders drooped slightly at the missing appendage.

"I think the Devil Fruit I gave her will regrow her arm since it managed to stem the bleeding pretty quickly, but she'd lost it before I gave her the Fruit, so it might not. I… think the odds are in favor, though. Devil Fruits seem to be pretty mental. If she thinks she's supposed to have two arms, she'll probably grow it back."

"You did the best you could," Viola sniffed. "Leo said there was a marine there preventing you from doing more."

Coby snarled. "Yeah. Helmeppo."

"Who?" every other Straw Hat in the area questioned. Really, the only one who might recognize the name was Zoro, and Coby even doubted that he'd remember Morgan despite the month of time Zoro spent tied up, much less his crybaby son.

"He was the son of the first marine Luffy and Zoro-sensei beat up together," Coby summarized. "Helmeppo got pressed into service after his dad was court marshalled or something and got ahold of Gasparde's Candy-Candy Fruit. He and I fought the day I joined the crew, back in Marineford, and again here. He blames me for his current life."

"So, like, an arch-nemesis?" Usopp suggested.

"Cool!" Ace grinned. "Uncle Coby's got an archy-nemees!"

Coby sighed, brushing off the comment and ignoring the sniper. "Listen, we need to move deeper into the city soon. The birdcage is almost on us. It'll slice the Colosseum and everyone in it to shreds if we linger too long."

"I don't wanna get sliced to shreds!" Chopper squeaked.

"How long are we talking, Dino-bro?" Franky questioned.

"Maybe ten minutes?"

A massive BOOM echoed across the island, turning the group's attention upward. Two shapes shot across the sky, one pink and the other much darker in color. The pair of shapes smacked against each other and separated again and again, each impact sending out shockwaves that were almost visible to the observers below.

"What is that?" Chopper gasped.

"I think that's Captain Luffy."

"He must be fighting Doflamingo," Sabo reasoned. "We're never going to be able to get up there in time to help, much less manage anything at long range with how quickly they're moving. We'd be just as likely to hit Luffy than Doflamingo."

"Perhaps there's something we can do," Brook thought aloud. "Could we possibly slow the Birdcage if not stop it completely?"

"I would appreciate anything at this point," Viola said. "Even if it's a waste of energy, the attempt is meaning enough. I'll not stand by and watch the country my father loved — my country — cut to ribbons by the temper tantrum of an overstuffed flamenco."

"Alright, then," Sabo nodded with a clap. "I'll gather the troops. Let's see what we can do."

End of Chapter 77

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-SwordOfTheGods