Vergo and Diamante, as Doflamingo's earliest partners and the highest-ranking officers of the Donquixote Family…
For an operation like infiltrating enemy territory to kidnap hostages, they normally would not need to handle it themselves.
But Doflamingo felt that this time absolutely could not fail, so after evaluating all sides, he believed sending Vergo and Diamante would be enough to deal with the people remaining in the shogunate to protect Kozuki Oden's family.
Yet Doflamingo didn't expect…
Kozuki Toki herself was actually a master swordswoman.
She never flaunted her skills, and despite her fame, almost no one truly knew her strength…
It seems she didn't just inherit Michael's combat ability—her style of handling things was also strikingly similar.
But right now Vergo and Diamante had no mind to think about these irrelevant matters.
As the people involved, seeing the supposedly frail woman they were sent to kidnap draw two short broad blades from her waist and slash out two massive flying sword strikes at them…
The visual impact was far greater than facing a well-known swordswoman directly.
At least then…
They could prepare.
But as Doflamingo's most trusted and relied-upon subordinates, Vergo and Diamante were definitely not weaklings.
Even in their shock, the two were not killed in a single strike.
Vergo pulled out his bamboo stick, wrapped it in Armament Haki, and forcibly blocked the slash.
Diamante raised his own longsword.
Diamante swung his sword, powerful sword energy surging like crashing waves; the ground split open instantly as if slicing tofu.
The sword aura collided with the flying slash and vanished into nothing.
"Huff… truly unbelievable…" Diamante lifted his head, surprise flashing on his face. "I didn't expect that the famous 'Lady Toki' of Wano would actually be a master swordswoman…"
"Why? Is that strange?" Kozuki Toki lightly flicked her wrists; Kogarashi and Oto sang with a thin hum of blades. Her delicate wrists paired with the heavy-looking short broad swords formed a strangely mismatched image.
Diamante and Vergo exchanged a glance…
They had to finish this quickly.
Since Kozuki Toki herself possessed strong combat power, fighting her head-on was impossible.
But the children hiding in the corner—Kozuki Momonosuke and Kozuki Hiyori—were nowhere near as strong.
At least from their failure to evade the first attack, the two could basically be ignored in terms of fighting capability.
So, as members of the wicked Donquixote Family, with abundant experience in such matters, Vergo and Diamante formed a silent understanding with a single exchange of glances.
One would stall Kozuki Toki with full force; the other would seize the hostages.
Next moment…
Both rushed toward Momonosuke and Hiyori.
Kozuki Toki moved, instantly blocking their path.
She raised Oto and Kogarashi…
Countless slashes burst from Toki's hands, enveloping Vergo and Diamante entirely.
This time, Diamante finally failed to parry.
A slash flew straight at his midsection.
In desperation, Diamante twisted his body, barely dodging the blow that would have cleaved him in half…
But his left arm was severed cleanly by another slash.
"Aaaah!! Damn it… my hand!!!"
Blood gushed everywhere.
As for Vergo—his strength truly surpassed Diamante's.
With full-body Armament Hardening, he blocked the overwhelming number of slashes.
But… Vergo still spat a mouthful of blood.
Though he suffered no external wounds, the impact caused considerable internal damage.
One brother wounded inside, the other missing a hand.
And this…
Was the result of Kozuki Toki using only two moves.
"Hey! Didn't we agree that one person would stall Kozuki Toki and the other would grab the hostages!?"
"Your look just now clearly told me to grab them!"
"So we had no tacit coordination at all!?"
Diamante clutched his severed stump, gritting his teeth.
"Sigh… you two… are weaker than I expected." Kozuki Toki looked at the two top officers of the Donquixote Family and smiled.
"You know, I haven't drawn my blades in a very long time… My hands are a bit rusty. Otherwise… losing only one arm wouldn't have been the end of it."
As she spoke, a faint flush spread across Toki's face.
Watching their mother's current state, Momonosuke and Hiyori both sighed.
"How badly do they have to misjudge to think they could kidnap Mother…" Momonosuke shivered.
"They really don't understand what a terrifying existence Mother is."
"Right." Hiyori nodded vigorously. "Even though Mother is always gentle, back then on Whitebeard-san's ship, she had a nickname."
"So you've heard Father mention it too!" Momonosuke looked at his sister in lingering fear and sighed. "What kind of decent person… has a nickname like 'Lionheart Princess'?"
Within the Kozuki family, everyone shared one understanding…
Even if you angered Kozuki Oden, it wasn't a big deal—he had a huge heart.
But never—ever—infuriate Lady Toki.
Lady Toki would absolutely give you a 'training match.'
All the samurai guards of the shogunate, even their leader Kikunojo, had been beaten by Lady Toki…
But their strength had indeed improved significantly.
"All right, the game ends here… Will you two attack me now and get sliced in half, or escape… and get sliced in half?"
"So either way, we're getting chopped in two, huh?"
"I could swing an extra blade… but then my garden becomes harder to clean."
Smiling sweetly, Toki looked at them with her usual gentle expression.
No killing intent at all.
Other than the faint blush on her face, she looked completely normal.
Vergo exhaled slowly, then raised his bamboo staff.
"Vergo, Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral."
"I know, I know. You're Doflamingo's mole." Toki smiled. "So, you choose the first option."
"Well then… the training match begins."
"Young man… Haki is not something you use like that."
Toki shifted her grip; her sword posture changed instantly.
The two blades crossed, striking sparks—
The sparks expanded into flames.
Next moment, Toki's twin flaming swords swung toward Vergo.
Atop the crimson flying slash, a faint trace of Ryuo shimmered at the blade's edge.
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Fanfic is finished. 583 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg