Dressrosa, SMILE Factory.
Pica knelt on one knee, clutching his stomach, while Jack stood before him with his arms crossed, sneering.
"Is this the extent of Doflamingo's subordinates?"
The Beasts Pirates burst into raucous laughter, while Trebol and the others glared at Jack with fury. Diamante drew his rapier, pointing it at Jack as he roared:
"You bastard! This is the territory of the Darkseid Family! Even if you're under one of the Four Emperors, you can't just run wild here!"
Hearing this, Jack tilted his head back and laughed uproariously.
"Hahahaha! The Darkseid Family? What kind of nonsense is that? We were giving you too much face before. Did you really think you were anything special?"
This completely enraged Trebol and the others. Gladius, one of Pica's direct subordinates, launched the first attack. Using a specialized device on his arm, he fired several stone projectiles at Jack. Then, activating his Pop-Pop Fruit powers, he transformed the stones into "grenades," triggering a series of violent explosions on Jack's body.
When the smoke cleared, however, Jack emerged unscathed. As a Fish-Man and an Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit user, his defensive capabilities were monstrously strong.
Seeing that Gladius's attack was ineffective, Diamante, one of the three top executives, swung his blade, unleashing a slashing shockwave.
For this attack, Jack showed a trace of caution. Covering his arms in Haki, he crossed them in front of his chest. With a grating clash, Jack shrugged off the attack, unharmed.
As one of the All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates, Jack's strength was at an Emperor's Deputy level. While not the strongest among the deputy-level combatants, he was still formidable. If someone from the Seven Warlords of the Sea's crew could easily breach his defenses, it would be an insult to the Beasts Pirates.
Moreover, the Beasts Pirates were known for their incredible resilience. Each of them was a walking tank with immense endurance.
Jack's eyes gleamed with disdain as he cracked his neck, then charged at Trebol and the others like a rampaging war machine.
As he barreled forward, Jack's trunk suddenly extended, becoming a massive, Haki-covered battering ram.
Pica, forcing himself to stand, activated his Stone-Stone Fruit powers, merging with the surrounding rocks to form a giant stone colossus that stood between Jack and Trebol.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, the stone colossus shattered into pieces as Jack bulldozed through it. Pica was sent flying, coughing blood, and crashed into Trebol, knocking him unconscious.
Jack then swung his massive trunk, swatting away Zoro and Lao G like they were mere flies. Gladius detonated the ground beneath Jack's feet, but Jack, solid as a boulder, barely wavered before steadying himself.
Another trunk swing sent Gladius hurtling into the distance.
Diamante and the remaining officers continued to engage Jack, while the Beasts Pirates stood back and watched the show.
Jack's massive frame tore through their attacks, rampaging through the area and leaving destruction in his wake. The factory producing SMILE fruits was on the verge of collapse when, suddenly, several massive boulders fell from the sky, burying Jack beneath them.
Doflamingo descended slowly from above, landing lightly on the ground.
Diamante's face lit up as he called out, "Doffy!"
Doflamingo nodded to his men, instructing them to take the heavily injured Pica and others away. Then, his gaze turned toward the pile of boulders burying Jack, his crimson lenses glinting coldly.
"Roar!!!"
A colossal brown mammoth burst forth from the rubble—it was Jack in his fully transformed state.
Steam hissed from his nostrils as his giant eyes locked onto Doflamingo. His voice boomed like thunder:
"Doflamingo, are you really going to oppose the Beasts Pirates?"
Doflamingo replied coldly:
"Jack, you've injured members of the Darkseid Family. If you don't pay a price today, don't think about leaving here alive."
His gaze swept over Jack's massive tusks, and a wicked grin spread across his face.
"Fufufu... Those tusks of yours look like a fine offering for a certain someone."
"What?! You dare?! I'll kill you!"
Jack roared in fury, charging at Doflamingo. His transformed body caused tremors with each step, shaking the entire area.
Doflamingo remained unfazed. As Jack closed in, he leapt into the air, evading the charge.
Jack skidded to a halt, looking around furiously for Doflamingo, who now perched atop the SMILE factory. From above, Doflamingo extended a hand and clenched it into a fist.
The ground beneath Jack's feet rose abruptly, forming two massive slabs that slammed together, trapping him like a sandwich.
But it wasn't over. As Jack shattered the stone slabs, the ground surged like waves, enveloping him and his crewmates in a tide of rubble. Diamante and the others were lifted into the air by floating earth blocks.
This was the terrifying field control of Doflamingo's Fruit, awakened to its highest level. After two decades, he had developed it to the point where he could manipulate the terrain of nearly the entire island.
Whoosh!
Jack shot out from the rubble, now in his hybrid form.
Faced with Doflamingo's air dominance, his full mammoth transformation was too cumbersome, turning him into an easy target. Now, in hybrid form, Jack leapt into the air like a cannonball, hurtling toward Doflamingo.
Doflamingo casually ascended higher, causing Jack to miss again. Jack, growing increasingly enraged, cursed at the airborne warlord:
"Doflamingo, you disgusting fly! Come down here and fight me like a man!"
Doflamingo crossed his arms and hovered in the air, chuckling:
"Fufufu... A fly? I am the Heavenly Yaksha! Big dumb elephant, if you're so tough, come up here and get me!"
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+255 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg