Finally, we get to see the return of the one you all have been waiting for! You asked where he was since Fishman Island, you learned his location nine chapters ago, it's the First Son of the Sea himself, back in the flesh!

Thank you all for your patronage and patience with me: 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, GODA98, Immagenius, Inucbus, Javier Andres Estrada, JEP1010, Jkat, John Mekjian, Jonathan Moh, Joseph Baty, Joseph Morrison, Joseph Vargas, Joshua Groves, Karen Carrillo, Kcx1, kevin Calderon, Korakas, 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, Riley Bolerjack, Ryuu, Sasha, Shaun Guard, Siddiq Morris, TheWolfThatExist, Thomas Sanders, Tom Peissig, and ViewtifulSoul!

Chapter 71:

The Docks and the Streets

Billy eyed the unfolding chaos below, the injured Spotted-Hat-Missing-Leg and the Boat-Calling-Self-Jinbei in the saddle on his back. The duck wasn't sure what he was looking for —perhaps Young-Alpha-Child, perhaps the others of his flock, perhaps Alpha-Immune-To-Shock himself— but he kept his eyes open either way. The white-and-blue marines swarmed below like Alabastian sand ants in territory dispute after a rainstorm, searching for any sign of the Straw Hat Pirates but far from anything that would help them. He noted that two men stood on one roof, only one following his flight, but neither made any motion to stop him despite their calm. His instincts screamed, urging the bird to flap just a little harder, to get away from the two dangers as quickly as he could.

Something CRACKed below, a musket ball whizzing by Billy's head. He squawked, barrelrolling to the side away from the minute air current left in the projectile's wake. Spotted-Hat hissed something, grabbing the horn of the saddle with a curse as Billy righted himself. The bird's eyes shot down, finding a small group of Doflamingo Pirates, one with a rifle pointing in their direction. His eyes narrowed.

"Bird…" Spotted-Hat began. Billy wasn't listening, turning into a dive. He felt the pirate on his back clench the saddle as the whistling of the wind grew in their ears. "Biiird!"

More gunshots CRACKed, barely missing the Gigafowl. This was not his first time diving into gunfire, however, the temporary and honorary member of the Super Sonic Duck Squadron wrapping his copper-encased talons around the first offender of the group. He spread his wings and tail.

"WAH!" Billy called, electricity arcing from his body. Pirates were flung backward by the sudden jerking of their muscles, tossing them down the street or into nearby walls. The smell of ozone and smoke reached Billy's nose from the charred, but breathing, pirate below. He didn't wait for the group to recover, the Gigafowl throwing himself back into flight with a short running start.

"We don't have time for petty revenge like that!" Spotted-Hat yelled from the saddle. "Just because my leg is bandaged does not mean the bleeding has stopped! I need to get to the medical room of your ship before I pass out from blood loss!"

Billy silently rolled his eyes. Who did this human think he was to give Billy orders? He only took orders from his alphas and suggestions from the rest of his flock, neither of which Spotted-Hat belonged to. He didn't even like bread which, in Billy's opinion, made his trustworthiness questionable no matter what Alpha-Immune-To-Shock said.

"I will agree that every moment counts," the boat toy said. "Until Sugar is defeated and Law's injury is negated, we are both effectively useless. It is best to remove us from the battlefield before we become liabilities rather than mere hinderance."

"Wah," Billy agreed. "Wah wa-wah."

The rest of the flight was more-or-less silence, if one did not count the growing panic below as word of the Straw Hats declaring war on their king spread. Billy wasn't sure why the flock inspired such fear considering they hadn't been to this place before, much less wrecked it, but he supposed this was that 'propaganda' stuff Blue-Alpha-Princess told him the Coos carried to the world. He'd never read any of it himself —only Captain Carue could read out of the ducks and Camel— but Female-Alpha-Calls-Shock always seemed to get mad at the papers despite still paying for them. Whatever was written must be why the humans below felt such fear.

Finally, the southern docks came in sight, battle evident on the shore. A group of marines, Doflamingo Pirates, and several toys stood on the shoreline facing Nest-That-Floats, most of them screaming and running as the Nest-Fairy fired another volley into the island.

"Raaahahaha!" she laughed, clinging to the rigging with one hand as her other waved over the assorted attackers. "Just 'cause my crew isn't here doesn't mean I'm defenseless! I'm Thousand Sunny, and I'll protect my crew's smiles for a thousand sunny days and forevermore! Raaahahahaha!"

"Wah!" Billy cawed, flying low in a wide circle. Spotted-Hat slid off his back with the boat toy in hand, the pair landing on the grassy deck by Deer-Is-Person's medical office. Spotted-Hat dropped the sentient toy as he used the wall to prop himself up, forcing the door open and hopping inside. Human-Child-Is-Dragon practically slithered over, eyeing the boat that grunted, trying in vain to right himself without limbs. Billy would have tried to help, but there were larger problems to deal with at the moment.

He turned, flapping his wings to gain back the momentum he'd lost in his arc before shooting toward the crowd. Nest-Fairy laughed again, the cannons going BOOM. Billy followed at a slightly-slower pace, letting the cannonballs splinter wood and throw up dust and chunks, pirates and marines alike screaming.

Billy focused on the one who looked like the leader, a heavier-set man in a coat unlike the other marines around. He wore a double-breasted black suit with a yellow shirt and red tie as well as an armored hat with flaps on either side. His hair was black, a spiky beard upon his chin, and he held a katana with a green handle and golden guard in his hand.

"What‽" he demanded, swinging his sword up as Billy angled backward, bringing his metal-covered talons forward. The impact pushed the marine backward but he stayed on his feet, his sword having caught Billy's attack. "The Thunderbird?"

"Wah!" Billy lit up, the marine dropping his sword and jumping back a moment before the electricity could get him, even if the sudden ambient static caused his hair to become that much spikier. Billy mentally dubbed him Marine-Hat-Flaps.

"Die, bird!" a pair of Doflamingo underlings yelled, charging in from either side with their own swords raised. Billy spun on one foot, swinging his orange tail out to smack the one on his left. There was a rumble of thunder as his feathers connected, the seizing of the man's nervous system and muscles making it seem like Billy and not the man's own reaction to being electrocuted was what caused him to go flying.

The other pirate, however, was not deterred, probably reasoning that he could claim Billy's defeat for himself. Unfortunately for him, his attack was sloppy and practically choreographed to the Gigafowl after his training in Alabasta. Despite living in the New World, Billy doubted the man would've lasted against any decent pirate in Paradise. He kicked up with all the leg strength Captain Carue had been sure to drill into him, bringing his tail feathers around with his backflip. They caught the man in the chin, pushing his upper half backward. Gravity and the concrete below did the rest.

"I see," the marine commented with a scowl. "It appears you're more dangerous than previously believed. You do not solely rely on your innate electricity. Somehow, the Straw Hats have trained you. That explains how you infiltrated G-517 so easily a year ago."

"Wah wah wa-wa-wah."

"And perhaps you can understand human language," the man added, more to himself. He sighed, settling into a ready stance with his fists up, considering Billy still stood over his sword. Whisps of Armament Haki slowly materialized over his hands. "Very well, I shall take you in, Thunderbird. I am Marine Commodore Daigin. Come at me."

"WAH!" Billy flapped, wind and lightning shooting toward the marine. He barely blinked, backhanding the lightning with his Haki-coated fists while tanking the wind. He slid back a couple inches.

"I do hope that's not everything you've got, Thunderbird," he said. "I'd hate to be seen beating up a defenseless animal. Shave!"

"Wah!" Billy vanished in the same moment, Daigin appearing where he'd been, his left-hand fist planted in the earth. The ground rumbled as Sunny fired another volley of cannonballs into the fodder around them. Daigin grinned, scooping up his sword while pivoting on his other hand.

"Tempest Kick!"

Billy jumped, barely avoiding the slash of sharpened air that shot into the backs of several Doflamingo pirates behind him. He landed as Daigin finished his spin, the man's eyes landing on Billy just as the Gigafowl Shaved forward. Metal scraped against metal, Billy's copper-alloy claws being blocked by the furious movements of Daigin's sword. When he couldn't interpose the blade in time, his Haki-coated offhand had to do, said Haki not managing to completely negate the voltage that danced over Billy's weapons.

"This style," the man muttered. "I've seen it before."

Billy's eyes widened a fraction, the bird pushing off and spreading his wings. He took to the air, flips and rolls swinging his tail at the Commodore who ducked and weaved in line with Paper Art. He sliced upward with his sword, forcing Billy backward.

"You changed your form as soon as I said that," Daigin commented. "You don't want me to recognize your style. This tells me it is distinct; that I can identify who trained you. There is only one group I can think of that is both unique and suited toward your skills. The Super—"

"WAH!" Billy charged headlong, throwing caution to the wind. Daigin was unprepared for the reckless attack, Billy's beak slamming into his sternum hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs. Daigin kept his grip on his sword, the flailing weapon cutting a gash into the top of Billy's beak. The bird cried out in pain as the marine rolled back to his feet, his free hand's fingers digging trenches into the earth to slow him down.

"I see," he grinned. "Command will want to hear about this."

A pulse nearly shook the air, the nearby toys beginning to glow.

"Wh-What?" several marines questioned.

"Who's doing that?" one of the pirates wondered aloud.

"Raaahaha!" Sunny laughed, suddenly understanding the posters and photos in her hull that hadn't made sense. "The forgotten return!"

"I can move again!" a voice called from the deck of the Sunny, a wide, blue figure stepping up to the railing. Daigin stared in horror over Billy's shoulder. The fishman was dressed in a kimono under a black cape, the kimono decorated in wavy green patterns with highlights of red embroidery. "Luffy should remember me now, too!"

"A former Warlord?" Daigin gasped. Sensing something coming, Billy took to the air and flew high. Jinbei leapt from the railing, the splash of him hitting the sliver of water between Sunny and dock pushing the ship away. "Oh… shit."

"Fishman Karate: Little Big Wave."

Water surged over the dock as if a tsunami had been given orders. Daigin raised his sword and cut downward, imbuing his attack with Armament as the wave reached him. The other marines and pirates were not so lucky, the water washing them away without mercy, smashing them into the nearest buildings —several of which shattered and broke— or carrying them down streets and alleys. Only the former-toys were spared, Jinbei having enough control to no more than splash them. Daigin raised his head slowly as a shadow covered him, the fanged-underbite smile of 'First Son of the Sea' Jinbei grinning down on him.

"Do you remember me?" Jinbei asked, Daigin paling as the fishman made it clear the inverse was true. Dark eyes, one crossed with a lightning-shaped scar, glared down on the human. "You tried to stop our jailbreak two years ago and we took your ship. I'm sure the brass weren't happy with you."

"I-I-I—"

Jinbei leaned over. "Do you want to repeat that moment, marine?"

"I-I-I—"

Jinbei couldn't help enjoying the way the marine trembled under his stare. It had been so long —months, maybe a full year or more— since he'd been able to move at all. After being powerless all that time, having this control over another was almost intoxicating. He'd have to apologize after all this was over.

The ground rumbled, physically shaking the entire dock. Jinbei stumbled back, his eyes widening as stone and concrete began to swell, the bulge sucking in buildings and roads indiscriminately into its mass. Daigin took his chance to run, fleeing the battlefield in what he would later report to be a "necessary tactical retreat."

"Wah?" Billy questioned from the air as the concrete began taking the form of a giant human, one comparable to Panz Fry and Lily, the only two Giants the Gigafowl had ever seen. The most detailed aspect of this moving mountain of stone was the head, the area taking for form of a helmet with a four-pointed star shape over the visor. Much of the cityscape in the general area was sucked into the beast, leaving bare dirt where before had been roads and buildings. Billy lowered, landing beside Jinbei so the pair could study their new foe. Its mouth opened.

"Straw Hats," it said in the highest-pitched voice any of the pirates or Momonosuke had ever heard. "I am Pica! Prepare yourselves and beware, for I will—"

"RAAAHAHAHAHA!" Sunny laughed, her manifestation falling from the rigging to roll over her grassy deck. "His—! His—! H-H-His voice! RAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Jinbei and Billy pressed their lips and beak together respectively, trying valiantly to not laugh. Certainly, Sunny was doing enough for them and the rest of the crew on her own. Momonosuke, still in his dragon form, goggled at the fairy that had the gall to laugh at such an enemy to their face.

The stone giant had no blood that the pirates could see, but the sudden placement of the lips and the narrowing of the eyes suggested Pica's face was purple with rage, embarrassment, and indignation. Wordlessly, he raised a fist to smash the offending ship.

"Arabesque Brick Fist!"

Billy squawked as the fishman beside him punched upward, sending out a shockwave that shattered the stone wrist before the fist could impact the Thousand Sunny. Sunny, for her part, stopped laughing and jumped to her feet, spreading her arms as she took control of her mechanisms. Gears clanked as she shifted her innards, activating her Paddle Mode to spin herself upon the wave of the severed stone fist hitting the water. Billy took to the air as the wave washed over the dock, Jinbei standing unaffected.

"You will regret laughing at me!" Pica swore. "I'll smash you to kindling!"

"Y-Yeah, we'll *hic* see," Sunny replied, a hand on her stomach and another on her throat. The waters of the dock were still trying to settle, tilting her bows up and down. Sunny used Robin's intellect to calculate her timing. "As Maker would *hic* say, I'm super firing my laser."

Sunny opened her mouth in time with the one on her figurehead, white light gathering in the tube that extended. Pica tried to recoil but could not move so much rock such a distance so fast.

"Gaon Cannon!"

The weapon fired on an up-turn of the fore bow, the beam shooting both from the cannon and the fairy's mouth, though the latter was much smaller and weaker. The light blasted into and through the top of the stone giant, obliterating the upper chest and most of the head in moments before slicing into the clouds. The rest of the body seemed to freeze. Jinbei stared, having never seen nor heard of the Straw Hat ship's greatest weapon, while Billy was flung backward on the suddenly-superheated air currents.

Eventually, the Gaon Cannon petered out, Sunny belching some smoke as the last of the carbonation left her.

"Now that's a caffeine high," she commented with a smirk.

"What was that?" Momonosuke questioned from the deck.

"That?" Sunny grinned. "That was super awesome is what that was."

"It was certainly impres—" Jinbei began only to suddenly cough blood. He was thrown backward, hitting the now-muddy ground and rolling. Where he'd been stood Dellinger, the half-fishman still a little beat up from his confrontation with Coby some time before. He lowered his high-heeled foot, cracking his knuckles at the same time.

"Kyahaha!" he laughed. "Who knew the Straw Hats had a bigwig like a former Warlord hiding on the island for them?"

"They didn't, seeing as they'd forgotten I existed," said former Warlord grunted, getting to his feet. He studied the hybrid. "You must be Dellinger."

"Oh, you know about me. I guess I should be flattered. Except I'm not." His smile dropped, his hat shading his eyes. "You tried to hurt Pica and we haven't heard from Giolla in a while. If you did something to her, I'll never forgive you."

"She's not dead, if that's what you wanted to know," Sunny offered from the figurehead, her manifestation now standing on the Captain's Seat. "We dumped her and her lackies into the water and they hauled her up and went to lick their wounds somewhere. She was probably embarrassed."

"You…!" Dellinger growled, bearing his sharp teeth. "I'll rip you all to shreds!"

"Wah!" Billy dove, sparking, ready to take the boy out of the battle using what he'd hoped would be an elemental weakness of the half-fishman considering what electricity did in water. Dellinger turned a single eye on the bird, Billy's own widening. He was too deep into the dive to pull away.

Dellinger jumped, grabbing the bird as Billy flew under him. He landed on the Gigafowl's saddle, his weight driving Billy into the dirt where he skidded to a stop. Without fear of the sparks still arching from the bird, Dellinger reached down, grabbed several of Billy's tail feathers, and yanked.

"Billy!" Sunny yelled as the bird cried out in pain as three of his feathers were pulled from his skin. A wave of the Klabautermann's hand fired a cannonball at the Doflamingo pirate, but Dellinger only glanced that direction, his free hand coming up to catch the projectile.

"I don't want it," he muttered as the ground rumbled, the decapitated giant beginning to regenerate from the buildings and roads further inland. "You can have it back!"

He threw the cannonball, Sunny throwing her hands forward. She slowed the cannonball before it could do more than thunk against her hull, not that she was all that worried considering she was made of Adam Wood. It was more an instinct than anything, her mind more worried about Billy.

"Water Shot!"

Dellinger turned at the voice, causing the high-speed droplet of water to impact one of his horns rather than the side of his head. As a result, the attack sent him both flying and spinning, his horn cracking from the indent where it had been hit. Billy got to his feet and ran, his front covered in mud.

Dellinger slowly got to his feet, small flakes falling from his cracked horn.

"The hell is this guy made of?" Sunny questioned, suddenly wishing they had an extra sword laying around. At least she could try throwing flying slashes like Zoro and Coby if they did.

"That almost hurt me," the high-pitched voice of Pica commented, Sunny's aghast eyes rising from Dellinger to the full —but slightly smaller if still gigantic— Pica. The mountain of a simulacrum ripped a chunk from the earth and raised it over his head. "I won't miss again, you stupid boat."

"Spear—!" Jinbei began, gathering water from the mud under their feet.

"Pistol High Heel!"

"Sharkskin Palm Thrust!" Jinbei pivoted, dropping his attempted attack to block the high heel with his palm. The impact caused a shockwave that made the mud around the fishman and hybrid ripple. Jinbei growled, shoving forward with his palm, sending Dellinger skidding backward.

"Millstone!" Pica yelled, throwing the hunk of earth in his hands. Sunny screamed.

"Sisyphus' Rest!"

The piece of earth cracked and shattered with the sound of a thunderclap, lightning zapping certain larger pieces to the point where they partially melted. Pica's eyes widened as the black-lightning-winged man appeared from between the broken remains of his attack. The mad scowl on the man's face made the monolith flinch back.

"Gin!" Sunny said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I chase a harpy an' what do I find?" Gin questioned, flapping his wings once to hold himself aloft long enough for his words, his Haki-covered tonfa spinning in his hands. "A titan thinkin' our home can be taken. Ya might as well try t' quench th' sun himself, for our chariot has her defenders. Come, heretic, an' be cleansed in defeat."

"You can't think you can beat a mountain," Pica said, Gin's eyes widening slightly as his lips pursed, trying not to laugh. "I can exist anywhere inside my golem. There's no way you can find me unless your Observation is perfect."

"Perhaps not," Gin admitted, "but I don' need to. I jus' gotta hold ya down 'til someone else can, assumin' I don' get lucky."

"You are a fool," Pica reiterated, raising a fist.

"Perhaps," Gin grinned. "Ain't we all? Sunny! Get out to sea! We'll handle things here!"

"But Gin!" the ship spirit tried to protest.

"Don' worry 'bout us! We'll be fine!"

Sunny nodded slowly despite knowing Gin couldn't see her. Her paddlewheels spun backward, carrying her away stern-first. She wouldn't leave the dock, but she could at least avoid the worst of the battle on shore.

"Kyaha!" Dellinger laughed. "As if some boat could get away from us."

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already," Jinbei said, stepping between the teen and the ship. "If you want a bite of that Klabautermann, you have to go through me to do it."

Pica's fist hit the ground beside them, signaling the start of a war of Jinbei's defense against Dellinger's fast-paced onslaught.

Nearby, Monet alighted on one of the taller buildings, tucking her sister into one of the nooks so she wouldn't fall. This seemed like as good a spot as any to roost as the war continued now that she'd lost her pursuer, having flown by Pica to use him as a distraction. Slowly, carefully, she wrapped her wings around Sugar, erecting a low dome of snow around them. They would flee once the war was over no matter who won. Quietly, she rather hoped the Straw Hats pulled it out just to get arrested. At least that way they wouldn't have anyone potentially coming after them for revenge.

All this cloak and dagger, she thought, was getting to be too much.

"Missile Girl!"

Several of the gladiators and marines dove away from the yell as the maid landed, detonating with enough force to blow a crater into the already-ruined arena. Several watched in horror as Baby 5's body reconstituted itself from the shrapnel, her arms already guns aimed at the fighters around. The Young Master hadn't said who was friend or foe, so the girl aimed for anyone she did not recognize or were not dressed in the lower-ranked uniforms of the Familia. With each crack of her weapon-arms, another gladiator or marine bit the dust.

"Ggggggggg!" Lao G yelled as he fell, spinning. "Falling Lotus of the Viper Joints! FallinG! There's the G!"

His landing kicked up a plume of dust, something that immediately caused both himself and several of the fighters of all sides to sneeze. Moaning rather pathetically about his joints, Lao G moved faster than any man of his age had any right to, instantly taking out several men in the prime of their youths.

Buffalo, for his part, stayed in the air, dropping grenades and other such payloads from above indiscriminately, caring not for friend or foe injured. He laughed, rather enjoying himself to the fullest extent to distract from the punishment he knew the Young Master was cooking up in his mind for them when everything was over.

"Grenade! Grenade!"

Marines dove away from the call and the subsequent explosions, one unfortunate soul being blasted into a small group by one of the blasts. Wallace Wood shook his head, trying to clear his mind and the ringing of his ears as the already-chaotic battle worsened with the introduction of three new pirates.

"Shit," he heard Vice-Admiral Dalmatian growl, the man jumping away from his battle with the Revolutionary Chief-of-Staff. "Those damn Doflamingo Pirates don't care if they take us down, too. What the ruff are we supposed to do about that?"

Wallace rubbed his head, feeling blood soaked into his hair, and went to wipe it on his clothing. Rather than his usual suit, he smeared his bare side, only then remembering his gladiatorial outfit that was meant to help him blend into the competition. He sucked in a breath.

"This is a bad idea," he muttered to himself, getting to his feet. He could fly. He knew he could fly. And he'd had a lot of practice since that damn duck or whatever had embarrassed him by breaking into his base, injuring him, and stealing that Devil Fruit a year ago. "This is a bad idea. This is a bad idea."

He started to float, the man kicking off the ground without pesky gravity holding him down. It wasn't so much him flying, but him using his Float-Float powers on his shoes and clothing. With the added force of his jump, the disguised marine shot toward Buffalo, the Doflamingo pirate too absorbed in his laughing to notice. Wallace screamed as his fist punched into Buffalo's chest, said man coughing spit at the impact.

"What is that idiot doing?" Dalmatian demanded from the ground. "That's supposed to be an ally."

"Well, it's not like he's acting like one," Wallace's second-in-command commented at his side. "I'm sure Wally knows what he's doing."

'I have no clue what I'm doing!' Wallace screamed in his mind, now running —flying, really— from Buffalo as the enraged pirate threw everything he had at the airborne man who had attacked him. On the plus side, based on his screaming, the bucktoothed man seemed under the impression Wallace was one of the gladiators rather than a marine, which was nice but didn't help his situation in the least.

"And that's that," William D. Chapston commented to himself, the unconscious forms of the Crescent Blade Pirates scattered around him. His clothing was slightly rumpled but he was in no way hurt despite all their impassioned attempts. He reached up, popping a crick in his neck. "I wonder what Doxie's up to right now. I haven't seen her since she went to check out the Toy House." He scanned the battlefield, taking stock of who remained and calculating the odds of either side taking the day. It was only habit by this point, mentally equating everything to games of chance. He blinked, realizing that three new fighters had entered the battle, and none on their side. "Well, that's just…" He trailed off. There was an old man. A strong old man.

One of the enemies was a strong old man.

Sabo was probably going to be pissed about this, and Doxie would yell that he didn't wait for her, but it was going to be worth it. Old habits died hard, and it had been too long since he'd killed an old man that really deserved it. He unsheathed the Ace of Spades —having not needed it to fight the youngling pirates— and stalked toward the bald man screaming about the letter G.

Baby 5 wasn't really enjoying the battle. She wasn't a fan of all this violence and, in her own experience, hurting people tended to make people sad. She really didn't want to do that; she wanted to live her life helping others and making those around her happy, but the Young Master said these people were trying to make him, the Donquixote Familia, and the rest of the country into a bad place of bad people. She wouldn't let that happen.

Baby 5 spun, firing another pair of shots into the crowd only for the distinct ting ting of her bullets being deflected to reach her. She turned, finding a shirtless man with a frilled collar and a polearm standing where she'd fired. He scowled at her.

"So now Doflamingo's sending his maids after us instead of coming himself?" the man questioned. "I didn't think the pig could fall any lower."

"You take that back!" Baby 5 yelled, turning her arms into swords. "The Young Master just wants to do what's best for the country!"

"That bastard stole the country after framing for former king and has been selling weapons to prolong other wars," the man rebuffed, falling into a ready stance with his polearm before him, the blade angled downward. "The world could do with less of his kind."

"The Young Master needs me," the maid muttered to herself, shooting forward. "I won't fail him! I will be useful!"

"20,000-Kilogram Dark Guillotine!" Amy yelled, her Haki-covered leg extended. Machvise didn't bother naming his block, raising the shield he carried to catch the attack. He increased his mass as well, doing the mental conversion. He'd long figured out the woman's maximum was equal to 20 metric tons. His maximum weight was 500 times that at 10,000 tons, or ten-million kilograms. In terms of Devil Fruit power, he had the woman outclassed in every possible way.

No, the problem was her Haki. Machvise, for all his time with the Donquixote Familia, had never needed Haki for himself. Even the greatest pirates that had tried to topple Doflamingo and faced the super-weight human had fallen to his powers, Haki or no. This woman was different, however. Wherever she'd learned her Haki was a step above the rest of the pirates who come through, and it was only getting stronger with each blow she landed. His super-dense body meant little if her force was localized enough.

If he was going to deal with this woman, he'd need to do it somewhere where the collateral damage wouldn't affect his crewmates.

"25-Ton Tennis!" Machvise pushed up, Amy wobbling with a squeak as the man below her managed to move her even at her maximum weight, a paltry sum compared to the powers of his own. He bounced her twice before swinging his shield around, smacking her like a fly or a ball of sport, blasting her away with his immense strength. Amy screamed, barely having the wherewithal to curl herself into a ball and cover her entire body in Armament Haki, taking on an appearance not dissimilar to a cannonball. The force blasted her through the weakened wall of the Colosseum and a row of houses besides, the Weightless Woman plowing into the road and leaving a trench in her wake.

"Ooowwww," she moaned, unrolling like a pill bug as the Haki faded from her skin. Her gladiatorial clothing was battered and torn but had held up better than she'd expected it to and her club had survived. She shifted, getting to her feet. She studied the trail that marked her path, several houses and buildings with clean holes through them, all of which allowed unobstructed line-of-sight to the Colosseum. "Let's not do that again."

"I suppose that is one sort of entrance," a voice said, Amy turning to see a muscular, one-legged man, an army of dwarves, and a small woman with periwinkle hair. It was the man who spoke, a hand on the handle of his sword. "On whose side do you fight, señorita?"

"The side of the future King of the Pirates," Amy responded, a flash of anger glinting in the man's eyes at the word 'pirate'. Amy blinked. "Wait, aren't you that statue guy Rebecca likes?"

"You know Rebecca? Where is she?"

"She's fighting in the Colosseum with the others right now." The blonde patted the dust she could get off herself. The human woman curled in on herself, hiding in the man's shadow, trying to make herself as small as possible. "The samurai and her grandfather were fighting with her."

"Her grandfather?" the man echoed. "King Riku? I must go."

Amy relaxed, now certain of which side this man was aligned.

"What about us, Thun… I mean Kyros," the dwarf on the man's shoulder asked.

"We shall go together. Come!"

"Ton-Ton…!"

"Get down!" Amy ordered, pushing the man away. She raised her arms at the last moment, covering herself in Armament Haki. Machvise fell on her like a hammer, Amy's legs, hips, and waist burying themselves in the road below. She cried out, the bones in her twice-reinforced arms still threatening to give out, but they were not what cracked.

"Eh?" the bearded pirate questioned. "I thought for sure that would turn you into a pancake." He lightened, Amy feeling the weight come off her arms. She wasn't going to let such a chance get away, grabbing the cloth of his shirt. She swung him down, slamming his head into the road before giving him a swift punch to the throat. Machvise hacked and coughed, the increased-mass punch sending his enlightened form backward as his windpipe tried to recover.

"If you're so worried about Rebecca, go help her with Diamante," Amy said, cracking the road around her to climb free. "This fatass is mine."

"You still think you have a chance?" Machvise questioned, getting to his own feet. "My maximum weight is 500 times yours, girl."

"Yet you can't break me," Amy shot back with a cold smirk. She planted her feet before shooting forward, Haki coating her foot as she lashed out. Machvise raised his shield only for the new crack in it to get bigger, his eyes only having time to widen as his ear comprehended the audible break.

"Black Matter Kilogram!" The shield shattered, the follow-through blowing Machvise into the building behind him. Amy panted, wincing as she set her leg down gingerly, the fading Haki revealing a number of bruises that had not been on her leg before. She cracked her knuckles. "Without too many allies around, I don't have to hold back so much. You all, get going. This fight is gonna be destructive."

"Very well," Kyros nodded. "Tontatta, let us go."

Amy settled back into a stance with her club raised, favoring her unbruised leg, as Haki swirled over her hands, forearms, and weapon.

"Come on, tubby. Round two."

Doflamingo watched the battle unfolding below, the tall man sitting on the edge of the Castle Plateau. Though his eyes were not strong enough to see most of the individual fighters, his Observation worked in tandem to give him a decent idea of where each side stood. His malicious grin widened as he felt a number of individuals die in the Colosseum, the largest source of conflict in the country.

Despite that fact, he was more entertained by the battle at the southern docks, Pica cutting an impressive —and unmissable— figure as he did his best to remove the Straw Hats' living transport from any plan they may come up with. He knew it wouldn't be an easy mission and, should Pica fail, he already had a backup plan. He just had to wait until that plan arrived before he could activate the Birdcage.

He stood and stretched. His bout with Straw Hat had been a fun time, but it would not do to pull a muscle because he allowed himself to cool off before their next meeting.

"I'm waiting, Straw Hat," he said into the distance. "Entertain me more! Aaahahahaha!"

End of Chapter 71

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-SwordOfTheGods