Half an hour later…
The massive stone bridge connecting Red Port to the G1 Branch was crowded with Marine vessels. When Fleet Admiral Sengoku stepped onto the island, flanked by Admirals Akainu and Aokiji, he was met with a scene of utter devastation.
The entire base looked like a warzone. Smoke choked the air, rising from dozens of smoldering fires. A huge chunk of the main headquarters building had been completely vaporized. Everywhere, shell-shocked Marines with expressions of pain and despair moved through the rubble, carrying their injured comrades to makeshift triage centers.
Of the perpetrator, Kaido of the Beasts, there was no sign. He had vanished completely.
The tragic sight was almost more than Sengoku could bear. He grabbed a nearby soldier by the collar, his voice sharp with urgency. "What happened here? Where is Borsalino?"
Even if an Admiral couldn't defeat a Yonko in a one-on-one fight, Kizaru was still one of the Marines' top combatants. He should have been able to stall Kaido until reinforcements arrived. But this level of destruction in such a short time was unthinkable.
The soldier, who had been staring into space like a man in a trance, flinched violently. He looked up, and upon recognizing the Fleet Admiral, his eyes filled with terror. "It was Kaido!" he screamed, his voice cracking. "A monster… He's a monster!"
Seeing the man was too far gone to be of any use, Sengoku released him and grabbed another Marine officer. Only then did he get an answer—an answer so shocking he could barely process it.
"Admiral Borsalino… was defeated by a single blow from Kaido," the officer stammered, his face pale. "He's currently being treated in what's left of the headquarters building."
"What? How is that possible?"
Behind Sengoku, both Akainu and Aokiji wore expressions of stunned disbelief. Sengoku himself couldn't believe it, but the ruins of G1 told a story that was hard to deny. He pressed on.
"And Kaido? Where is he now?"
"He left," the Marine replied, trembling. "Right after he struck down Admiral Borsalino… he just flew away."
Sengoku knew he wouldn't get any more useful information from the terrified soldiers. He turned to the two Admirals behind him, his face a grim mask.
"Follow me."
In a makeshift medical room within the damaged G1 building, they found him. When Sengoku entered with Akainu and Aokiji, he saw Borsalino sitting on the edge of a bed while a doctor finished applying bandages.
If they had harbored any lingering doubts about Kizaru being defeated by a single attack, the sight before them erased them completely. He was disheveled, his signature suit was torn, and bandages covered his chest and arms. In their hearts, shock gave way to a cold, heavy caution regarding the immense power Kaido now wielded.
"Borsalino. Tell me exactly what happened," Sengoku demanded, wasting no time on pleasantries.
Kizaru looked up at his colleagues, his usual lazy expression gone. "Kaido," he began, his voice flat, "has become even more terrifying."
"What do you mean by that?" Akainu asked, his fists clenched.
Kizaru paused, gathering his thoughts before recounting the battle.
"His Conqueror's Haki… it was on a completely different level. For a moment, it felt like I was facing Whitebeard in his prime, or even Red-Hair. My Observation Haki, my Logia abilities… they were completely useless in that instant."
One hour earlier…
High above the Marine G1 Branch, Kizaru faced the surging torrent of fire. He moved with incredible speed, bringing his hands together in front of his chest.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Countless projectiles of pure golden light shot from his fingertips, slamming into the Heat Breath. The resulting collision created a series of dazzling explosions that lit up the sky like a deadly fireworks display.
For the Marines on the ground, however, it was a rain of death. Chunks of superheated debris and stray blasts of fire fell from the sky, engulfing parts of the base in an inferno.
"Ooooh, hey now… Kaido of the Beasts, are you really trying to start a war with the Marines!?" Kizaru shouted into the fiery sky.
He had successfully blocked the initial attack, but he had no intention of continuing the fight. Not only was it impossible to stop a Yonko by himself, but the battlefield was his own base, where tens of thousands of Marines and their families lived.
But as the smoke cleared, he felt a sudden chill. He realized with alarm that Kaido's massive dragon form was no longer in the sky. He had vanished.
Boom!
A sound like a sonic boom cracked the air beside him. A burly, giant-like figure wielding a spiked kanabo appeared in front of him instantly, moving so fast that space itself seemed to warp around him.
"What!?"
Kizaru was shocked. His Observation Haki hadn't sensed a thing. The only other person who could do that was Red-Haired Shanks. His reaction time was still phenomenal, though. He immediately began to transform into light, intending to evade the attack.
But a deep, primal sense of dread rose from within him. At the same time, Kizaru saw a faint, cruel smirk on Kaido's lips.
In that frozen instant, Kizaru heard two words uttered in a low, commanding tone.
"God's Advent."
BOOM!
Back in the medical room, the three top-ranking Marines exchanged grim glances as Kizaru finished his story.
Akainu, who despised seeing pirates grow stronger, was the first to speak. "God's Advent? What kind of technique is that? Was he infusing his attacks with Conqueror's Haki?"
Although none of the three Admirals possessed Conqueror's Haki, they were the Marines' strongest fighters and had all faced opponents who did. They had a working knowledge of how it could be used in combat.
To Akainu's question, Borsalino shook his head.
"No… it wasn't an infusion of Haki. It wasn't even a direct physical attack. It felt more like the most fundamental use of Conqueror's Haki—intimidation. But the feeling… it was like facing Roger or Whitebeard when they were young, or Red-Hair now. Still, it was different. Red-Hair's Haki feels like a sharp pain that paralyzes you. This… this was just like the name Kaido gave it. In that moment, I felt a crushing pressure, as if I were being judged by a god. It was so absolute that it caused my Devil Fruit ability to fail completely."
No one in the room doubted he was telling the truth.
"In other words," Sengoku summarized, his expression darkening, "Kaido has developed a new power. He now has an ability similar to Red-Hair's that can 'kill' Observation Haki, and he can nullify Logia abilities. He's become even more dangerous."
For Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, there was no worse news than a pirate growing stronger.
He looked at the disheveled Admiral Kizaru and softened his tone. "I understand. I'll report this to the World Government immediately. All of you must be extremely careful if you encounter Kaido. The seas are becoming more chaotic by the day. How are your injuries? Are they serious?"
Hearing Sengoku's concern, Kizaru let out a short, self-deprecating chuckle. "It's laughable, isn't it? To think I'd be shown mercy by a pirate."
"What do you mean?" Sengoku frowned.
Borsalino's face took on a strange expression. "His new ability caught me completely off guard, and I was in an extremely dangerous position. If Kaido had wanted to kill me, he could have. Even if I survived, I would have been bedridden for months. But strangely… my injuries are all superficial. He didn't use his full strength when he hit me."
This completely illogical action gave Sengoku pause. He didn't believe for a second that Kaido would show mercy to a Marine Admiral. So why hold back?
Just then, the Den Den Mushi in Sengoku's coat pocket began to ring. He assumed it was the Five Elders calling to inquire about the incident with Kaido. But when he answered, the news he received was so unexpected it left him momentarily speechless.
"One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Sir Crocodile, has been defeated… by a rookie pirate from the East Blue named Straw Hat Luffy."