A few meters away from the crater, light particles gathered in midair and gradually formed and solidified into a human figure.
"Tsk, what a scary girl. I was almost killed."
As expected, Kizaru stood outside the pit completely intact and unharmed. Not even a speck of dust had settled on his clothes, and the plate of food he'd stolen remained perfectly balanced in his hand.
"Hey, aren't you a Logia-type user? That kind of attack couldn't hit you at all. What do you mean you almost died?"
Kyoma couldn't stand his exaggerated act and called him out without hesitation.
This guy in the original series was exactly like this, always saying things were "scary" while casually kicking Supernovas around and relying entirely on his overwhelming strength.
"Oh? So you know my identity, young man?" Kizaru looked at Kyoma with mild surprise.
"You're a Marine Admiral. I think more people in this world know who you are than those who don't."
"Ah? Does that mean this old man is like a celebrity?" This question came from Kagura.
"A celebrity?" Kyoma was caught off guard by her line of reasoning.
"You know, someone who's famous. Lots of people either like him or hate him."
"Uh... Now that you put it that way, I suppose that's accurate."
"Hahaha, I'm not quite as popular as that. Young man, you're making me feel a bit embarrassed." Kizaru scratched his forehead.
"Hey, why are you acting embarrassed?" Kyoma complained helplessly.
It was one thing for Kagura's thought process to be chaotic since she came from that absurd world, but why was this Admiral being so frivolous?
By the way, according to the anime plot he'd watched, shouldn't this guy be kicking Supernovas right now? Why was he standing here eating so leisurely and chatting with them instead?
"Speaking of which, is it really okay for you, a Marine Admiral, to be slacking off here instead of catching pirates?"
Since he wasn't a pirate yet, Kyoma said this without any pressure.
"Oh my. After you reminded me, I suddenly remembered that I was originally looking for someone to ask for directions. I'm trying to find my subordinate, Sentomaru, but now..."
He paused.
Kizaru stroked his chin and looked at the two of them from top to bottom, left to right, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses.
After a long moment, he suddenly nodded, a meaningful smile spreading across his face.
Though it was unclear what the old man was thinking, both Kyoma and Kagura felt a chill run down their spines at the same time.
Could this old man have ulterior motives toward them?
Thinking of this terrible possibility, the two hurriedly stepped back and hid behind Kagura's open umbrella.
"What are you scheming?" Kyoma said.
"Yeah, what do you want from us, you sleazy old man?" Kagura also added.
"Eh? Was my expression really that obvious?" Kizaru looked at the two suddenly alert individuals with apparent surprise.
"Extremely obvious. Your expression is the same as that of those human traffickers who dragged me to that auction house yesterday."
"Ah? So this suspicious-looking old man really is a human trafficker?" Kagura hit an Aha pose.
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm not a human trafficker." Now it was Kizaru's turn to grow anxious.
Seeing the conversation drift further and further off track, Kizaru's frown deepened.
Since becoming an Admiral, aside from a few people like Garp and Sengoku, he'd rarely encountered anyone who dared to gossip about him to his face.
But given his personality, as long as the other party wasn't a pirate, he wouldn't feel angry.
And facing these two youngsters who… might even become his subordinates, he was even less likely to take offense.
"Have you two ever considered joining the Marines?"
Kizaru crouched slightly, a lazy smile on his weathered face as he stroked his chin and looked at them both, seemingly anticipating their answer.
"What? Join the Marines? Us?" Kyoma pointed at himself and Kagura in disbelief.
He was confused again.
How had simply eating a meal caused him to catch an Admiral's attention?
The man was personally extending an invitation. He hadn't done anything special, had he?
'Wait...' Thinking about it, he suddenly glanced at the bewildered Kagura beside him.
'It must be because of Kagura.' This girl had attacked Kizaru the moment they'd met.
He'd been wondering why Kizaru didn't retaliate.
Turns out he was attracted by her potential.
"What are the Marines?" Kagura tugged at Kyoma's clothes.
She'd only been in this world for a short time, and her common knowledge about it was practically nonexistent.
"The Marines? Well, they're people who steal other people's food, and after eating, they try to drag others into joining them." Kyoma said casually.
"Huh."
After hearing the implication in Kyoma's words, Kagura looked at Kizaru with obvious displeasure.
"Hey, young man, you can't mislead her like this. The Marines don't do such things. Don't think I'm this leisurely all the time. I'm here to catch pirates."
"If that's the case, why don't you catch those pirates over there?"
Kyoma pointed.
Somewhere down the street, there was a tall man with a pair of three thin black triangle symbols on his eyebrows, red eyes, and golden-blonde hair.
It was Hawkins.
Kizaru turned his head with mild surprise.
At that moment, the blond man also looked over, and their eyes met in midair.
The atmosphere froze.
'Is that... Kizaru?'
Hawkins' pupils contracted, but after glancing at the card in his hand, his expression returned to normal.
His fortune told him he wouldn't die today.
While he managed to regain his composure, his subordinates behind him were far from calm.
"That's Admiral Kizaru."
"How could someone like him suddenly appear in this place?"
"Damn it, of all people to run into, it had to be the most troublesome one."
Ignoring the pirates' commotion, Kizaru looked at Kyoma helplessly.
"Young man, you really caused some trouble for me. I thought it would be fine if they didn't notice me."
"But now I have to..."
Kizaru suddenly paused and looked up in surprise.
Whoosh.
A powerful sound of something tearing through the air rang out.
A massive body came flying backward, knocking down several buildings along its trajectory.
The spot where it was about to land was exactly where Kyoma stood.
"That's the Mad Monk Urouge. How could he be beaten so badly?"
A sharp-eyed subordinate behind Hawkins recognized the identity of the airborne object.
Kizaru wore an amused smile and made no move to help Kyoma block the huge body.
Kyoma also noticed the enormous figure hurtling toward him from above.
Though slightly nervous, he didn't dodge.
Because Kagura had already flashed in front of him. Her small frame gave him an immense sense of security.
Under the shocked gazes of Hawkins and his crew, this young girl, who stood barely 1.5 meters tall, actually caught the falling giant with one hand.
"Ha."
Then, like throwing a rock, she grabbed the massive monk in her grip, spun around twice to build momentum, and hurled him back the way he'd come.