The black hole shrank away. Rakuya lowered his hand.
He had not killed the three of them. That was his choice. But inside that darkness, Zephyr, Borsalino, and Sakazuki were tasting a torment that had no words.
Rakuya flicked a finger toward Charlmarco Saint. The Celestial Dragon jerked midair and vanished into the same void.
The Marines could only stare, tongues tied.
"S-sensei. Our teacher was sucked in."
"Even the two monsters, Sakazuki and Borsalino, couldn't escape."
"One against three."
"Where did you take them?"
Bastille roared, eyes bloodshot.
"I captured them," Rakuya said lightly, already turning to leave.
"Soru."
"Geppo."
A shock ripped through the trees. Someone streaked out of the woods.
A black, Haki-clad palm slammed in.
"Shockwave."
"Repulsion Barrier."
Thud.
The strike hit the invisible shell and bled away.
Rakuya glanced at the newcomer. Frog-rimmed glasses. Twisted beard. A seagull on the Marine cap. Explosive afro under the brim.
Sengoku.
"So you're Rakuya."
Zephyr flashed in three meters away, eyes locked on the man before him.
From nobodie to the Celestial Dragon beater, he had risen like a storm. Today, Sengoku finally saw the face behind the name.
"Your defense is impressive," Sengoku said, weighing the recoil in his arm. "To blunt my Armament Haki shock palm. Your power is substantial."
"Strategist Sengoku," Rakuya replied, calm as still water. "Do not waste time probing me. Do not imagine you can map my tricks or sniff out a weak point. Whatever wisdom you pride yourself on is brittle before brute force."
"Where are Zephyr and the others?"
Sengoku's gaze swept the wrecked plaza. No Zephyr. No Borsalino. No Sakazuki.
Before coming he had spoken with Zephyr and Garp. Zephyr should have arrived first. Yet he was nowhere.
"Admiral Sengoku," a Marine shouted, voice cracking. "Zephyr-sensei was taken by Rakuya."
"Not just Sensei," another cried. "Even Sakazuki and Borsalino. He took them too."
"What?"
The calm on Sengoku's face hardened into stone.
He had raced here to join with Zephyr, rescue the Celestial Dragon, and take Rakuya alive.
Instead the board had flipped before he set a piece.
"Rakuya. Hand Zephyr and the others over," Sengoku growled.
"Why would I?" Rakuya scratched his head, unbothered.
Hand them back? After all that effort?
"Then I will beat you until you do."
Sengoku vanished. Soru carried him to Rakuya's side.
"Shockwave."
A sharp crack. The Haki-edged blow smashed into the barrier and went no farther.
Golden light flooded Sengoku's frame. His skin took on the sheen of hammered metal. The wrathful face of a great Buddha loomed above the battlefield.
"The Buddha of Sengoku," Rakuya smiled. "So this is the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Daibutsu."
Sengoku did not answer. His right hand turned pitch black. One finger snapped forward, stabbing for Rakuya's brow.
He fought with no hesitation, no mercy. None of Zephyr's softness, none of Sakazuki's frenzy. Only clean, lethal intent.
Rakuya did not flinch. Under the flurry his expression did not ripple.
"Strong," Sengoku panted at last, sweat beading on his brow. He, the veteran, was breathing hard. Rakuya stood serene.
"This cannot drag on."
His eyes cooled. If he wanted a result, he would need a single, decisive strike.
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