Boom!
Amid the symphony of explosions and agonized screams, Admiral Kizaru stood alone at the far end of the bridge, a single figure against the world. Yet, in that moment, he seemed as insurmountable as the World Government itself. The hundreds of prisoners who had tasted freedom just moments before now trembled in unison, their faces ashen with terror. They didn't dare take another step forward; instead, they scrambled backward, a wave of pure fear washing over them.
"So… so terrifying!" Perona shrieked, hiding behind a thick wall of sand that had materialized out of nowhere. She clutched her head, her entire body shaking as tears and snot streamed down her face. The scene that had just unfolded was burned into her mind. Countless shimmering clones of Kizaru had appeared in the sky, filling the heavens with a blinding golden light before a dense rain of laser beams descended, piercing through the escapees like a storm of deadly arrows. In a single, horrifying instant, the joyous armies of the Okamas and the Level 5 prisoners had been annihilated, their dream of freedom turned into a living hell. The desperate wails of the dying still echoed in Perona's ears. "Is this what an Admiral is? It's so scary… I just want to leave this place."
Beside her, Bonney could only pat her friend's trembling back comfortingly. Having already witnessed the cataclysmic battle between Admiral Akainu and Yamato, she was somewhat prepared for the sheer scale of an Admiral's power, so her reaction wasn't quite as extreme. Still, her face was grim. She looked over at Crocodile, who stood beside them with his arms crossed, completely unfazed.
"Thank you," she said, her voice quiet but sincere. If he hadn't instantly thrown up that sand wall to shield them, she knew they would have been skewered just like all the others.
Crocodile didn't even glance at her, keeping his proud demeanor intact. "Hmph. Don't thank me. This is just a transaction. Once we get out of here, our debt is settled."
Just then, a powerfully built man with blades for hands walked up to them.
"Boss."
"Oh." Crocodile's expression shifted, a flicker of what might have been satisfaction in his eyes. "Mr. 1. So you made it out, too." He then glanced past him toward Buggy's terrified group and fixed his gaze on Mr. 3, who flinched as if struck. Fortunately, Crocodile had no interest in him. "You," he commanded Mr. 1, gesturing vaguely at Bonney and Perona. "Take these two brats and get them somewhere safe. The fight that's coming is not something they can be a part of."
"Understood, Boss," Mr. 1 said without a word of protest. He promptly tucked a sobbing Perona under one arm and a stunned Bonney under the other, carrying them away from the front lines and back toward the relative safety of the prison entrance.
Only then did Crocodile turn his full attention back to the lone figure at the end of the bridge. A sinister, predatory smile spread across his face. "Kukuku… I came here to take Whitebeard's head, but taking an Admiral's head first would be a fine warm-up."
As he spoke, the sand around his feet began to swirl and rise, coalescing around him like a shroud.
Far down the bridge, Kizaru tilted his head slightly, a hint of mild surprise on his lazy features that was quickly replaced by a shadow of annoyance. "Ooooh, how very scary. Tell me, Crocodile… where exactly do you get the confidence to think you can take my head?"
Crocodile simply raised his hook, and a miniature sandstorm began to spin violently in his open palm. "How will we know if we don't try?"
But just as the two titans faced off, an enraged roar echoed from above.
"Fire Fist!!!"
It was Ace. Having seen Kizaru bypass him on the open sea to attack the prison directly, he had ignited his body and given chase. Now, seeing the devastation the Admiral had wrought upon the very people who had helped free him, he could no longer hold back his rage. While he didn't know most of them, he couldn't deny one simple fact: they were all in this mess because they were trying to save him.
BOOM!
A colossal pillar of scorching flame descended from the sky, crashing down directly onto Kizaru. The Admiral didn't even flinch. The inferno engulfed him completely, but he stood unmoving within the blaze.
"How terrifying," Kizaru's lazy voice drawled from within the flames as he casually glanced up at his attacker. "Fire Fist Ace."
Whoosh!
A golden light shimmered, and Kizaru shot out of the fire, moving as a beam of pure energy straight toward Ace. Ace was prepared, instantly turning his own body into fire to phase away from the attack. But just as he reformed, feeling he had safely dodged, a terrifying voice spoke directly into his ear.
"Caught you, now didn't I?"
"!!!"
Ace's pupils constricted in shock. Before he could even turn his head, an immense force clamped down on his neck. Kizaru had reformed instantly, his arm extended, his hand gripping Ace in a vice. In that single moment, Ace felt his Logia powers nullified; he couldn't turn back into fire.
"Haki!" he choked out.
"Argh!"
He struggled violently, but Kizaru's grip was like solid Seastone, making it impossible to break free. The crushing force on his throat sent a wave of agony through him, and he let out a pained scream.
"Ace-san!"
Out on the sea, Jinbe, who was steering the captured warship back toward the prison, saw the scene and his face paled. They had just gone through hell to rescue Ace, and now he was right back in the enemy's grasp. Jinbe wanted to rush to his aid, but the battlefield was too far away; he could never make it in time.
Suddenly, a massive blade made of swirling, razor-sharp sand shot through the air, slicing Kizaru's upper body clean from his lower half. In that instant, the Haki suppressing Ace's powers vanished. He immediately transformed into fire, slipping free from the Admiral's restraining arm. He landed on the bridge beside Crocodile, the man who had just saved him. His face was grim as he forced out the words.
"Th-thank you."
Crocodile shot him a look of pure disgust. "Hey, Fire Fist," he reprimanded sharply. "Why do you think all these people are here? They're here to save you! And now you're just going to foolishly rush in and get yourself killed? What do you think that makes of all the effort they put in to save you?"
"!!!"
Ace's face went white. "I…" He opened his mouth to argue, to make an excuse, but his words died in his throat. His gaze drifted across the bridge, taking in the sight of the fallen, the injured, and the terrified survivors wailing around him. He was right. Maybe most of these people were just convicts who took advantage of the chaos. But Yamato, Luffy, Ivankov… they were here for him. If he got captured again because of his own reckless pride, all of their sacrifices would be for nothing. He would have failed them all.
"I'm sorry," Ace said, his voice barely a whisper as he lowered his head in a rare display of humility. "I won't do it again."
Crocodile looked at him with a hint of surprise, then turned his gaze back to the sky where Kizaru's two halves were already rejoining in a flash of golden light. "Fighting alongside Whitebeard's son makes me feel sick to my stomach," he said slowly. "But this isn't the time for personal feelings. Hey, Fire Fist Ace. Are you ready?"
"Yeah," Ace replied, flames igniting on his fists. "I'm ready."
The battle of Sand and Fire versus Light was about to begin.
But just then, far out on the calm sea, a panicked cry came from the crow's nest of one of the pursuing Marine warships. The lookout's voice was filled with such terror that it caught the attention of every sailor on the deck below.
"Vice Admiral Onigumo! We… we've got a ship appearing on our flank! It's… it's one of the Seven Warlords! It's Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach!"
At that very same moment, alarms were sounding back at Marineford. They had discovered that the Warlord Blackbeard had vanished from his post. But they no longer had time to worry about him.
Urgent news had just arrived from the New World: the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates had gathered their full fleets and were on the move.
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