The moment Sali turned around, Pica's pupils shrank.
"Shichibukai White Lion Sali!"
Unlike newer executives such as Gladius, Pica was no fool. Alongside Trebol and Diamante, he had ventured into the New World in his early years. He had witnessed true monsters of the sea, and more importantly, he understood the vast gap between himself and those at the top.
That understanding was exactly why all his faith rested on Donquixote Doflamingo.
Against weaker opponents, he could fight freely. Against overwhelming power, he knew the only sensible choice.
Survival.
If it were for Doflamingo, he could give his life without hesitation, just as Diamante had. But throwing it away meaninglessly was something he would never do.
Especially not when the memory of Doflamingo's crushing defeat, and Diamante being killed instantly ten months ago, was still fresh in his mind.
Pica knew one thing clearly. He stood no chance against the man in front of him. Not even a single exchange.
The instant he recognized Sali, he activated his Devil Fruit ability without hesitation and sank into the ground beneath his feet.
He was not attacking.
He was escaping.
Unfortunately, to Sali and the others, this looked no different from Gladius's earlier move, shouting dramatically and immediately using an ability.
Dicken, who had just dealt with Gladius and was standing the farthest away, calmly pulled out his stack of bounty posters again. Since the Daly brothers were already moving, he saw no need to compete and instead prepared to identify the opponent.
At the exact moment Pica submerged, Daly Jason and Daly Jella moved.
Both brothers leapt into the air at the same time.
Midair, Jella suddenly kicked Jason in the waist.
"You already acted earlier, leave this one to me!"
Jason flipped and landed smoothly, brushing off his clothes with an annoyed expression.
"What do you mean I already acted?"
He turned to Sali, who was watching with interest.
"I only used water to stop that bomber from blowing up, and burned what Dicken threw. Does that count?"
Sali ignored him completely, arms crossed as he observed the fight.
To him, these interruptions were already a waste of time. Their goal was Kaido, one of the Four Emperors. Coming to Dressrosa was only a detour to deal with the Heavenly Yaksha.
Whether they beat Doflamingo half to death or nearly killed him made little difference, especially since the Marines would likely interfere anyway.
Since they could not go all out, it was better to let the others sharpen their skills.
In an instant, Jella acted.
He coated his right fist in Armament Haki and drove it straight into the ground.
Boom!
A massive crater spread outward, more than fifteen meters in radius, tearing through the earth.
"Ah! Damn it!"
Pica's pained voice echoed from underground. The strike had connected.
"Not bad," Sali commented, resting one arm while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Suddenly, eight massive stone spikes burst from the ground, shooting toward Jella and the others.
"It's decent," Jason said, casually smashing the incoming stone spikes with a punch. "But Third Brother is still better when it comes to Haki control."
Dicken strolled over, holding up a bounty poster.
"This one's Pica. One of the top executives of the Donquixote Family. Stone Stone Fruit user. Bounty, 99 million Berries."
Jason raised an eyebrow. "About the same level as that guy you killed before?"
"Diamante," Dicken corrected.
Sali scratched his chin. "Stone Stone Fruit? Is that a Logia?"
Dicken pulled out his notes again and shook his head. "No. According to Ash, it's a Paramecia, similar to Gild Tesoro's Gold Gold Fruit."
Jason snorted. "They really don't put much thought into naming these things."
Before anyone could say more, the ground began to rumble violently.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Rocks and debris gathered rapidly, forming a colossal figure. Within seconds, a towering stone giant, nearly one hundred meters tall, rose before them.
"Speaking of Tesoro," Dicken added casually, "did you read last month's news? He built a massive ship called Gran Tesoro. Supposedly the most luxurious entertainment city in the world."
Jason shattered a chunk of falling debris with a punch. "Ash is definitely going there someday. I just wonder how strong Tesoro really is."
Meanwhile, Jella continued attacking relentlessly, striking the giant with powerful blows.
After blocking falling debris several times, Sali stepped away from the conversation. His gaze shifted toward the surrounding streets and damaged buildings, his expression tightening.
Letting them train was fine.
Letting civilians get caught in the destruction was not.
Jason noticed immediately. Following Sali's gaze, he understood.
"Jella! Stop messing around and end it!"
Jella rolled his eyes but did not argue.
In the next instant, he transformed into his Half Beast Form. His body surged with power as he vanished and reappeared atop the stone giant's head.
Armament Haki surged through his fist as he unleashed a full powered strike.
Boom!
The giant shattered instantly.
Cracks spread through the massive structure before it collapsed completely.
Pica's real body emerged from the rubble, unconscious, eyes rolled back, foam at the corner of his mouth.
Jason exhaled. "As expected, not that impressive."
Jella landed in front of them, clearly irritated.
"What do you mean I was messing around? He kept hiding underground. What did you expect me to do? I could sink the whole island if I wanted, but you wouldn't let me."
Jason ignored the complaint and turned to Sali.
"This guy caused such a scene, why hasn't Donquixote Doflamingo shown up yet?"
Jella frowned. "Who are you calling 'this guy'? Me?"
Dicken rested his hand on his dagger and glanced at the unconscious Pica.
"Should we finish him too? He's just one million short of 100 million Berries."
Jella fell silent.
Jason rolled his eyes. "Did you forget what you said earlier about Warlord subordinates not having redeemable bounties?"
Dicken clutched his chest dramatically. "What a waste. That's almost 100 million Berries gone."
Jason ignored him and turned back to Sali, only to pause.
Sali was staring out toward the sea, eyes sharp.
Noticing his expression, Jella and Dicken followed his gaze. At first, they saw nothing. Then, far in the distance, a small black dot raced across the sky at incredible speed.
Sali's voice was calm.
"Heavenly Yaksha is here."