Ch-25: A terrifying opponent

By now, the ship had docked, and Doran's double had reached the harbor. He hid in the dense shrubs, peering out to see who was disembarking. His heart pounded in his chest, the tension mounting with each passing second.

Emerging from the ship was a man of imposing stature, standing eight and a half feet tall.

He wore a long black coat adorned with gold metal rings on the arms and chest, and gold rivets studded around the collar and shoulders.

Black and gold metal gears embellished his elbows, complementing his matching black boots.

A similarly-studded white mask covered the lower half of his face, matching a pair of blue goggles, and he topped it all off with a black top hat.

The man exuded an aura of menace and authority.

A few pirate goons standing on the harbor immediately bowed to him, their deference evident. They motioned in a direction and spoke, but the double couldn't hear their words from his hiding spot.

The man's gaze was cold and calculating as he listened. After a moment, he started moving with the pirates. The double knew he had to act quickly to distract them. He began to shift, preparing to create a diversion.

But suddenly, the man's head snapped toward the double's hiding place. Panic surged through the double as he realized he'd been spotted. The man raised his hand, and the double's eyes widened in fear.

Before he could react, the man's arm swelled grotesquely, and then it with a flash a fireball shot towards the double's location, the air crackling with heat.

"Run!" the double thought desperately, but it was too late.

BOOM!

An explosion rocked the harbor, sending debris flying and dismissing the double in an instant. The intense blast left a smoking crater where the double had been hiding. As the connection severed, the double managed to send the crucial information back to Doran.

Doran's eyes snapped open, his breath coming in short gasps. "It was a big guy," he panted, his voice trembling. "Eight and a half feet tall, black coat with gold rings and rivets, mask, goggles, top hat. He spotted the double and... he just blew him up. His arms swelled up and then... just explosion."

The shock of the news hit us like a wave.

I immediately knew who it was based on the attire and power described by Doran. Gladius, the man with the powers of the Pop-Pop Fruit. He could make his body and any inorganic object he touched explode.

I kept the full extent of his identity to myself but shared enough to instill urgency. "His devil fruit must be related to explosions," I said.

Hiro clenched his jaw, his eyes dark with worry. Kosuke's eyes narrowed, the determination in his gaze intensifying. Suleiman's expression turned grim, his thoughts clearly racing.

"Damn it," Kosuke muttered, frustration and fear evident in his voice. "We're dealing with someone serious."

"We need to move," I said, trying to lighten the mood despite the urgency. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be turned into a Dante flambé."

Kosuke shot me a serious look, his tone unwavering. "This is no time for jokes, Dante. We need to get the treasure and the griffin back to the ship before he gets here. We don't have much time."

I shrugged, trying to keep the tension at bay. "Relax, Kosuke. I've got a plan. It involves running very fast and not looking back. Sound good?"

Kosuke didn't smile, but there was a glimmer of resolve in his eyes.

—----

[Third Person POV]

Gladius lowered his hand, feeling the presence vanish in the wake of the explosion. "That was easy," he muttered to himself, not caring too much about it. He turned to the shocked pirates, his expression cold and menacing.

"There was a rat hiding there," he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Hopefully, the goods haven't been bitten. Otherwise, none of you will be left alive for wasting Young-..." He paused, catching himself just in time. "...the boss's time."

The pirates flinched at his words, their fear palpable. They were trembling as they led him towards the warehouse, praying that nothing had happened to the precious cargo.

But their hopes were shattered as they arrived at the scene.

The warehouse was in ruins, the door blown off its hinges. Bodies of their comrades were strewn around, each killed in a different, gruesome way.

Some were split through the middle, others shot, a few speared and hoisted on the ground with bone-white lances. A couple had their necks twisted to grotesque angles.

The sight of the carnage filled the pirates with dread. The realization hit them hard: the cargo had been stolen. Panic spread among them like wildfire.

Gladius's head swelled with anger, literally causing his top hat to stretch and burst, revealing his light blue hair. Veins bulged on his forehead, his fury barely contained.

Before the pirates could react, Gladius grabbed their necks, his grip like a vice. "You worthless fools," he growled, his voice a dangerous whisper. "You let this happen under your watch."

His arms swelled up, and with a sickening crunch, they exploded, incinerating the pirates in his grasp. Their charred bodies fell to the ground with a thud.

"Thieves in a small sea like South Blue, daring to cross our path?" Gladius sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "Where was Suleiman? He was assigned to protect Flint and the goods. Did he turn traitor, or did he get bested by some nobodies from South Blue?"

He paused, scanning the area with a cold, calculating gaze. His eyes narrowed as he spotted the tracks left by the cart. The path was clear, the heavy load making the tracks prominent in the dirt.

Gladius's eyes burned with a fierce determination. "Whoever you are," he muttered, his voice low and menacing, "you've made a grave mistake. I'm coming for you. And when I find you, you'll wish you never set foot on this island."

Without wasting another moment, Gladius expanded his legs, his muscles bulging grotesquely.

With a powerful burst of energy, he propelled himself forward at incredible speed. The air around him crackled with the force of his movement, the ground beneath him trembling slightly from the impact.

As he sped off in pursuit, his mind raced with thoughts of vengeance. He envisioned the moment he would catch up to the thieves, the fear in their eyes, the futile attempts to escape.

The satisfaction of reclaiming what had been stolen and punishing those who dared to defy the Donquixote Family fueled his determination.

"You can run," he snarled to himself, "but you can't hide. Not from me."

The night air whipped past him, but Gladius felt only the rising heat of his anger. Every muscle in his body was taut with the need for retribution. He would find them. And when he did, there would be no mercy.

—--

[Dante's POV]

The ground trembled slightly beneath us as a distant explosion echoed through the night. The sound, unmistakable in its intensity, came from the direction of the warehouse.

My mind raced, piecing together what had happened. Gladius had reached the warehouse and discovered the aftermath we had left behind.

I knew from my memories that he was a hothead, fiercely loyal to Doflamingo. Loyal enough to mistake Kin'emon in disguise as Doflamingo, I mused with a brief, ironic smile, recalling that funny moment from One Piece.

But the smile quickly faded. This world I found myself in now wasn't the comical, exaggerated adventure depicted by Oda's pen.

Here, the stakes were real, and Gladius's wrath wasn't something to be taken lightly. The thought of him chasing us down with relentless determination sent a slight shiver down my spine.

I turned to the others, who were riding in the bone cart with me. The skeletal horses pulling us seemed to sense the urgency in the air. "We need to move faster," I said, my voice steady but urgent. "Joker's subordinate is on our tail, and he won't stop until he catches us."

Kosuke nodded, his face set in grim determination. "We figured as much," he said. "We've got to outrun him."

Doran, still pale from the vision of Gladius, looked at me with wide eyes. "Can we even do that?" he asked, fear evident in his voice. "He seemed so powerful…"

"We don't have a choice," I replied, forcing confidence into my voice. "And I've got a trick up my sleeve."

Concentrating, I used my Devil Fruit power to manipulate the skeletal horses, enhancing their speed.

Bones creaked and shifted as the horses elongated and strengthened, their hooves pounding the ground with renewed vigor.

The cart surged forward, the landscape blurring around us. The wind whipped through my hair as I urged the horses on. "Come on, faster," I muttered, almost as if coaxing them with my voice alone.

The sound of Gladius's pursuit still echoed in my mind, a constant reminder of the danger that followed us. Every second counted. I couldn't let my guard down, not even for a moment.

"We can do this," I called out to the others, more to bolster my own resolve than anything else. "We've come this far, and we're not giving up now."

[Dante's POV]

The harbor where Fury was docked came into sight, and a collective sigh of relief washed over us. We neared it quickly, the skeletal horses slowing their pace as the ship grew larger in our view. But a nagging uneasiness gnawed at the back of my mind. Something wasn't right.

Despite the relief, an unsettling silence surrounded us. I didn't hear any sounds of pursuit, and even with my Observation Haki, I couldn't feel any presence behind us. My mind raced with possibilities. This was strange. With Gladius's temper, he wouldn't just give up the chase. Unless something had happened to stop him?

Fury came fully into view, and our cart raced down the main road where we had fought Flint earlier that day. We pulled up to the harbor, the cart slowing to a stop along with the griffin behind.

Everyone got off, but the uneasy feeling only grew stronger.

"Wait," I said, scanning the area. "Where's Lucy? She should be here, waiting for us."

Kosuke and the others looked around, their expressions mirroring my concern.

Panic began to set in. "Lucy!" I called out, my voice echoing in the night.

Suddenly, a voice pierced the silence from behind me. "Run away, Kosuke! Everyone, run!"

We spun around, my heart sinking at the sight before us. On top of a nearby building, Gladius stood, holding Lucy by her neck. Her legs fluttered weakly, her body battered and bloodied.

"Lucy!" Kosuke shouted, his face contorted with fear and rage.

"You thought you could escape?" Gladius sneered, his eyes gleaming with malice behind his blue goggles.

"No one crosses the Donquixote family and lives." He let the name slip, but it didn't matter to him—as according to him, we were all going to die anyway.

Lucy gasped for air, her eyes meeting mine with a desperate plea. "Kosuke," she choked out, her voice barely a whisper. "Please…"

"Let her go!" I shouted, my voice shaking with a mix of anger and fear. "This is between us."

"Oh, it's far more than that," Gladius replied, tightening his grip on Lucy's neck. The menace in his voice was palpable. "You've made a grave mistake, and she will pay for it."

Kosuke stepped forward, his fists clenched, his eyes burning with rage. "If you hurt her, I swear—"

"Swear all you want," Gladius interrupted coldly. "It won't change anything. You think you small fries from the South Blue can challenge us and live to tell the tale?"

The tension was palpable, the air thick with dread. My mind raced, trying to think of a way to save Lucy.

The fear in her eyes was a knife to my heart, but I couldn't let it paralyze me. We had to act, and we had to act fast.