"We... we've been saved?"
Accompanying the roar in the sky, the Navy sailors on the warships below finally realized, belatedly, that they seemed to have finally been saved.
"It's Admiral Kizaru! Admiral Kizaru has come to support us!"
"This is great! We're finally safe!"
The Marines even started cheering immediately.
To all the Marines, the three Admirals of Marine Headquarters were a symbol of invincibility! They were the World Government's ultimate fighting force, the strongest guardians of Justice!
And now, the strongest warrior had arrived!
The Marines instantly relaxed, and then—
"Leave the enemy to Admiral Kizaru! Put out the fire! Hurry and put out the fire!"
"What's wrong with this flame! It's thick like magma!"
"Vice Admiral Yamakaji! He's covered in burns! Doctor! Ship's doctor, hurry over!"
As the Marines busied themselves, in the sky.
The exploding golden light and the pitch-black lightning illuminated each other, momentarily dividing the entire sky in two.
Photons shot backward, coalescing into the form of Admiral Kizaru.
Simultaneously, King, who was flying backward, flapped his wings to stabilize his posture, his right hand already resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Clang!!
In the next instant, the dazzling Light Sword and the pitch-black blade violently clashed, and streaks of hopping Haki lightning spread out.
Unlike the black lightning that occurred when clashing with Conqueror's Haki, the Haki lightning generated from a clash of Armament Haki was much weaker.
"Ooh! That's quite something!"
Kizaru's mouth twisted into a strange arc, and the world's fastest man spoke with a pace that was frustratingly slow, "Having vanished for so many years, yet you've already grown this strong, you're practically a monster."
King looked at the lecherous face so close to him and spoke calmly, "Did you think you could change anything?"
"Ooh ooh ooh ooh."
Kizaru exclaimed in his usual strange manner, "Honestly, you really look down on people, don't you? I'm still a Marine Admiral, after all."
Photons spread out from Kizaru's body, instantly transforming into one light clone after another, each wielding a sharp Light Sword.
In a moment, a small section of the sky was filled with Kizaru's clones, and hundreds of Light Swords simultaneously slashed toward King.
"Truly bothersome."
King's gaze darkened.
His already large black wings grew even wider in the next moment, and a red Tengu mask settled onto King's face.
Simultaneously, a green current instantly swirled up on the black longsword in his hand, mixing with fierce wind, fire, and Haki. The final product was a bizarre, dark-green inferno.
"Demon Aura - Scorching Twin Sovereigns!!"
Following King's swing, the magnificent dark-green flame slash instantly swept across the sky, directly capping the entire area with a dark-green dome.
"Ooh!"
Light converged behind King. A finger, shining with dazzling light, aimed at the back of King's head, "That sword, seems a little off, doesn't it?"
"Laser!"
A blinding flash of light shot out at that moment.
However, a red glow flashed in King's eyes. He simply tilted his head slightly, avoiding the attack. Then, he spun his body, and the black blade slashed backward through the air.
The pitch-black blade, wreathed in dark-green flames, clashed fiercely with the scorching Light Sword once more.
But this time, Kizaru's expression changed abruptly. He had turned into light but was directly slashed and sent flying. The expanse of the sky was suddenly penetrated by the beam of light he had become.
King didn't even bother to pursue, instead swinging his blade toward the sea below.
Fire, fierce wind, Haki, and Demon Aura—multiple forces converged as one, transforming into a world-shattering flame storm that pressed down overwhelming the Marine fleet below.
However, at that very instant, a beam of light refracted down. At the end of this light beam, Kizaru instantly coalesced into form.
"Yasakani Sacred Jewel!"
Points of light exploded into the sky, once again crushing King's attack.
"..."
King frowned, "Must you court death?"
"Apologies, but it's my duty,"
In the sky below, Kizaru pushed the frog-eye sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose up to his forehead. A look of heavy solemnity, difficult to suppress, was now plastered over his lecherous face.
"That sword, is it a Black Blade, correct?"
The sword in this man's hand was indeed the original Kitetsu, the personal sword of Elder Nasujuro of the Five Elders, which had been stolen by Roa!
But now that sword had completely changed its appearance; its blade was covered in a pitch-black coloration!
Moreover, that strange and terrifying aura definitely wasn't something an ordinary sword could emit!
"You do have some insight."
King's mouth twitched, "Since you want to stop me, let me show you something more interesting."
Kizaru's eyes suddenly widened.
Because he saw that at this moment, King's figure was visibly growing taller.
The feathers of his wings were becoming more chaotic and flamboyant, his muscles in his limbs visibly bulged, and the Tengu mask on his face became more terrifying and ferocious.
The biggest change, of course, was the black flame cloud that extended from his back shoulder downward, passed under his armpit, and wrapped around his shoulder upward, forming a ribbon-like loop behind him.
A bead of sweat involuntarily appeared on Kizaru's forehead.
"Awakening?"
The flame cloud was the mark of an Awakened Zoan Devil Fruit user.
This guy had Awakened?
And an Awakened Mythical Zoan at that!
This is bad!
"Now, try to stop me again."
King suddenly vanished from Kizaru's sight.
Kizaru's eyes instantly widened.
He's gone!
No!
It's Invisibility!
But, what about his aura?
Where did his aura go?
Boom!!
A warship below exploded, and the brilliant flames turned it completely into a blooming flower.
"..."
Kizaru abruptly looked down.
When did that happen?
Boom!
A second ship exploded immediately afterward.
When was this attack launched?!
Forget the man, even the attack he launched was invisible; it couldn't be seen at all!
Where is he?
Where is that guy right now?
His Invisibility concealed even his aura!
Boom!!
An invisible behemoth, at that moment, smashed through one warship after another, and one brilliant flower of flame after another blossomed on the sea surface.
In just a few seconds, the Marine sailors on the sea surface, who had thought they had escaped death, were engulfed by the flames.
"..."
Kizaru's expression completely froze.
He couldn't save a single ship?
Even the usually lackadaisical him felt a sense of frustration at this moment.
Just as this man had said, he truly couldn't stop him, and he truly didn't change anything.
Huh?
His dejection came to an abrupt halt. Kizaru instinctively gathered a laser longsword and slashed to his side without hesitation.
Clang!!
Amidst the earth-shattering explosion, the intensely glowing laser sword collided with the invisible blade.
Kizaru felt a tremendous, mountain-toppling force transferred from the blade. He immediately transformed into a beam of light and shot out.
And that wasn't all!
The moment he was sent flying, he also saw that his Light Sword seemed about to be cut in half!
This guy!
"This is truly a terrifying Awak—"
His slow-paced exclamation abruptly ceased. Kizaru's face was ashen, and he quickly swung his sword to meet the attack again.
Boom!
The invisible sword struck him fiercely once more, sending him crashing almost straight down toward the violently churning sea.
What incredible strength!
Just as he was about to hit the sea, Kizaru transformed into photons again, flashing upward.
But the moment he reformed his body, the air beside him was already turbulent again.
Even more exaggerated was the speed!
Even a Lunarian shouldn't be this fast, should they? He could actually catch up to the brief moment I elementally shift and follow me?
While secretly gritting his teeth, Kizaru struggled to meet the attack, judging the movements of the invisible King by the wind he stirred up.
After barely deflecting a few slashes, his laser sword was about to be cut in half. Before Kizaru could proactively elementally shift to create distance, an invisible foot kicked him in the chest, sending Kizaru flying out as a laser beam once more.
What a terrifying fellow!
His chest felt like it was splitting open from the kick!
His strength and speed were both so astonishing, and his blade was incomparably sharp; the Ama no Murakumo sword could barely withstand it!
This time, Kizaru simply flashed several kilometers away into the sky, fully releasing his Observation Haki to sense his surroundings.
This time, he finally sensed a faint aura, flickering in and out.
And it was hurtling through the sky, covering several kilometers in an instant, breaking the sound barrier at an extremely high speed, and was almost upon him in the next moment!
"Laser!"
Having sensed the aura, Kizaru fired a laser beam without hesitation.
However, the faint aura abruptly refracted without warning, easily dodging the laser while already being within close proximity to Kizaru again.
Not just speed, but the reaction time is too fast!
That was a Laser!
Without any hesitation, Kizaru instantly elementally shifted again to create distance. When he looked back at the sky, he could no longer sense any aura.
Kizaru couldn't help but lick his lips.
Since becoming an Admiral, he had never encountered such a troublesome opponent!
An Invisibility ability that concealed even his aura, combined with terrifying speed that could even keep up with his elemental movement over short distances.
His greatest advantage couldn't be brought to bear at all.
The mission was a complete failure!
Now, where was this guy?
Kizaru remained vigilant.
In the sky a distance away, a figure suddenly materialized in the air.
The pitch-black wings flapped lightly, sending him streaking across the sky like a black lightning bolt.
King's eyes were calm and unperturbed.
After the Tengu Fruit Awakened, in addition to a significant increase in stamina and recovery, all his abilities had evolved.
His already exaggerated strength amplification became even more astonishing. The fierce wind he could control might not be inferior to a Logia Wind-Wind Fruit user. His Invisibility ability could suppress his aura to a degree that was difficult for even top-tier powerhouses to detect.
The Tengu Fruit's boost to slashing attacks also improved further. Coupled with the Black Blade, it made him unafraid of any of the Great Swordsmen on the sea.
Finally, there was the enhanced defense and recovery gained through Lineage Factor implantation, and the specially chosen Lineage Factor ability called "Speed," which was the antithesis to Bullet's ability and could comprehensively enhance his mobility, agility, and reaction speed!
Adding all these factors together, his strength was indeed only slightly inferior to Bullet's.
Even when compared to monsters like Kaido or Shiki, King was confident he would not lose.
However, even so, it was impossible to take down the Marine's Flash Man.
Unless he had a reason to fight to the bitter end, as long as he couldn't kill him instantly, there was absolutely no way to keep him here.
It was pointless to continue the entanglement, as the mission had been successfully completed. King chose to retreat directly.
He pulled out his Transponder Snail.
"It's me, Boss. It's all taken care of. I'm on my way back."
Meanwhile, in that area of the sky.
Kizaru, who had been constantly using Observation Haki to survey his surroundings, finally realized something.
"Has that guy already left?"
Otherwise, no matter how invisible he was, it was impossible for him not to attack for several consecutive minutes, right?
Upon realizing this, Kizaru let out a helpless sigh.
No wonder that guy looked down on him.
He wanted to destroy the fleet, and Kizaru failed to stop him.
In their engagement, Kizaru didn't even manage to touch him once throughout.
Finally, the opponent retreated, and Kizaru didn't realize it until several minutes later.
What a terrifying fellow!
And yet, such a person remains loyal to Roa?
Just how terrifying has Roa become over these twenty-five years?
His photo looks no different from twenty years ago, though.
Muttering inwardly, Kizaru descended as a beam of light.
Although the fleet on the sea had been completely destroyed, a few lucky Marine soldiers had managed to survive the ordeal.
Of course, the most important thing was to quickly report what happened here to Headquarters!
And so, very soon, at Marine Headquarters, Sengoku received a communication from Kizaru.
"...That's the situation, Mr. Sengoku. I was completely helpless against him."
Sengoku stared fixedly at the Transponder Snail in his hand, then looked up at his three old friends sitting on the opposite sofa.
Hero Garp, General Instructor Zephyr, and Grand Strategist Tsuru all had grim expressions.
"Understood, Borsalino. First, settle the surviving Marines."
Sengoku hung up the phone.
"We knew they had been accumulating strength over these twenty-five years, but we never expected them to have grown this strong!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru rubbed her temples. The Vice Admiral, who had always remained calm in the face of any crisis, was now suffering from a pounding headache. "One Devil Descendant, King, was already difficult for Borsalino to handle, and there is another Bullet, who is probably no less capable than him!"
"The strength of those two was to be expected! They were already a match for Sakazuki and Borsalino when they were just teenagers. How could they be weak now?"
Zephyr stood with one arm crossed, his voice sharp, "The matter we should be considering now is what to do about the West Blue and the North Blue. Losing ten Vice Admirals and twenty battleships in one go, not to mention the magnitude of the loss this time, it seems that bastard Roa won't allow us to easily support those two seas!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru and Hero Garp remained silent.
They couldn't possibly send the Admirals over now, could they?
If they did, the tragedy of twenty years ago might repeat itself.
"We can only rely on the Government now."
Sengoku looked up, "At this time, the only ones who can be deployed are the God's Knights!"
And so, very soon, in the Flower Room of Pangaea Castle.
The Five Elders once again knelt before the black robes of the King of the World.
"...The situation is as such, Lord Imu,"
The bald Five Elder, V. Nusjuro, spoke respectfully, "Sengoku requests the deployment of the God's Knights to deal with the pirates currently wreaking havoc in the North Blue and the West Blue."
"The Navy has been infiltrated to this extent?"
Imu's voice was indifferent, "A bunch of failures. After dealing with Roa, the Navy needs a thorough cleansing."
"Yes!"
The Five Elders had no objection to this.
The Navy was the public face of the World Government. Now that the Navy was impure, it was time for a thorough wash.
"This world belongs to Imu. The West Blue and the North Blue are also Imu's territories. Roa, you shall not act so presumptuously!"
Imu coldly snorted, "In that case, let the God's Knights mobilize with the Giants!"
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, Roa was also speaking to someone over a Transponder Snail.
"Yo, Tiger, is this what you'd call a long time no see? So, have you come to bring me the answer from Fish-Man Island?"
"Lord Roa..."
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