Diamante felt an irresistible, immense force transmitted from the sword in his hand.
The ferocity of this force was something he had never encountered before.
Even when sparring with Pica, a blow from Pica in his rock giant form didn't give him this kind of feeling.
Sent flying by a single slash, Diamante's eyes were filled with disbelief.
When did a monster like this appear in the East Blue?!
Bang!
The airborne Diamante landed.
The fluttering cape and the clothes on his body turned to steel, carving a deep scar across the ship's deck before he crashed into the ship's railing.
Crack.
Cracks spread across the railing.
The surrounding pirates, who had been cheering, were now like ducks with their necks wrung.
A moment ago they were raucous, now they were silent.
Everyone stared blankly at the defeated Diamante.
This was Lord Diamante!
The strongest gladiator in Dressrosa's colosseum, who had never known defeat.
"Is that all?"
Cyrus swung Flame, creating a piercing whistle.
Diamante, who was just getting up, froze when he heard Cyrus's voice, and his face filled with rage.
But just as he stood up, the railing he had crashed into shattered and fell into the sea.
Diamante gripped his sword tightly, his eyes glaring at Cyrus.
From that single exchange, Diamante no longer dared to have the slightest bit of contempt in his heart.
Although strength wasn't his forte, his extremely rich combat experience told him clearly that when one ability reached a level unattainable by ordinary people, it could bring a huge advantage in battle.
'I can't meet him head-on!'
Cyrus walked to the other side of the arena, turned, and beckoned to Diamante with his finger.
This gesture was seen by all the pirates.
Diamante's face instantly flushed red.
Even a fool could see the contempt in that gesture.
But a fight isn't won by whoever has more strength.
Diamante strode onto the arena stage, gripping his sword with both hands and staring at Cyrus.
Before he could continue his trash talk, Cyrus's right foot stomped forward, and his figure charged toward Diamante.
Clang!
Although Diamante had mastered Armament Haki, he was not a master swordsman.
He relied too much on his Devil Fruit.
Seeing the approaching Cyrus, he raised his sword to block for a moment before immediately retreating.
The sword in his hand became limp again, twisting on its own like a piece of cloth, its shape distorting into a long-horned bull-headed fish.
A Dressrosa fighting fish.
Bang!
Gripping the hilt with both hands, he thrust forward violently, like a thrown war hammer.
Cyrus raised his sword and met it head-on.
Boom!
Even with the help of his weapon, this collision still made Diamante's hands go numb.
"You fell for it! Serpent Sword!"
Diamante shouted, and the longsword in the shape of a fighting fish immediately dispersed.
The blade, as soft as a venomous snake, launched a cunning attack on Cyrus.
Cyrus, with his Observation Haki constantly active, swung his sword and easily parried the incoming blade.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal colliding rang out continuously.
Cyrus calmly blocked these attacks, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
He had thought this guy's strength would be decent, but now it seemed his application of the Devil Fruit was like a circus act.
The Paramecia-type Ripple-Ripple Fruit.
He thought it would hold some surprises.
But that made sense. Even within the Donquixote Family, this Diamante wasn't one of the strongest.
While blocking the incoming blade, Cyrus shook his head slightly.
Then, he suddenly flicked Flame upward, and a slash flew from the blade's edge toward Diamante.
Seeing the incoming slash, Diamante shook his cape.
The red cape shielded his front and then turned into steel.
Bang!
The slash landed on his steel cape, creating a loud bang.
"Hahaha, I'm a Flag-Man! You can't possibly break this steel!"
Having blocked the attack, Diamante was about to gloat when he saw Cyrus's figure appear before him at some unknown point.
Flame was raised high and brought down in a fierce slash.
"Useless, useless, useless!"
Diamante's heart tightened, still attempting to use his steel-ified cape to block this blow.
But with this strike, Cyrus's sword was even sharper.
The steel-ified red cape was cut through by Cyrus's sword as if it were a real piece of cloth.
The sound of a blade slicing through flesh rang out.
A huge diagonal gash ran from Diamante's left shoulder to his right waist, and blood splattered.
His tall body fell backward.
"Bastard!"
The surrounding pirates were stunned by this turn of events, then one by one, they became enraged, brandishing their swords and guns and attacking Cyrus.
Cyrus's figure flickered, and in just a few blinks of an eye, there was no one left standing on the ship.
The smell of blood filled the deck.
Diamante, whose physical constitution was quite good, was not dead. He stared fixedly at Cyrus, who was walking over with his sword.
"Any last words?"
Cyrus walked over, looked down at Diamante, who was lying in a pool of his own blood, and asked calmly.
"Young Master, save me!" Diamante suddenly shouted.
Cyrus's gaze fell on the Den Den Mushi by his ear.
"Pirate Hunter Cyrus, leave now, and I can pretend what happened before never occurred."
Doflamingo's voice sounded again.
When Cyrus was attacking the pirates, Diamante had contacted Doflamingo.
"A good proposal!" Cyrus said, but then his tone shifted.
"But I refuse."
With a slash of the sword in Cyrus's hand, Diamante's groans came to an abrupt end.
"You're seeking death!"
Doflamingo's furious roar came through the Den Den Mushi.
"I don't trust a guy like you. Who knows, if I let him go, he might be my enemy again the next time we face off. So, it's better to be decisive."
Cyrus crouched down and picked up the Den Den Mushi from the ground.
"And next time, don't send your subordinates. Aren't they your family? This is just sending them to their deaths. If you want to come after me, come yourself. Or, in a little while, I'll come find you in Dressrosa."
"Fuffuffuffu, what a fearless bastard!"
People really do laugh when they're extremely angry.
Doflamingo's sinister laugh echoed from the Den Den Mushi.
"That's an ugly laugh. Is there anything else? If not, I'm going to take this head to the Navy to collect the bounty."
Cyrus's tone was practically begging for a punch.
Unfortunately, Doflamingo couldn't just jump out of the Den Den Mushi.
"I will find you!"
"Sure. I'm heading to the West Blue next. Oh, right, you have business in the North Blue, don't you? After I'm done with my business in the West Blue, I'll go and ruin it for you." Cyrus said, as if he had just remembered something.
The other end of the Den Den Mushi fell silent.
After a long moment, the call was disconnected.
Looking at the Den Den Mushi in his hand, which was about to fall asleep again, Cyrus stuffed it into his coat, then bent down to pick up Diamante's head.
Startup capital, here it is again!
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