Kaido's massive, domineering dragon form had barely lasted thirty seconds before it was obliterated by the combined might of two true Admirals.
"Yo~ I'm feeling~ much better now~"
Borsalino scratched his head. Even if it was just a fake, vaporizing a "Four Emperors" lookalike in one move made Kizaru more than a little excited.
"Makes me kinda wanna~ try soloing the real Kaido~ someday~"
"..."
Kuzan gave a wry grin. Borsalino's flippant attitude had already earned Akainu's scolding back during the Summit War. Clearly, the habit hadn't changed.
"These clones just can't take a real hit. Once they hit a certain threshold, they break down. Just a bit of cleanup, that's all."
"Let's finish the rest quickly—Patrick Redfield has been gone for quite a while now."
Borsalino nodded lazily, fingertips flaring with dazzling light.
"Pirates~ don't blame me if you get hit~ totally not on purpose~"
Zzzzap—BOOM!
A laser pierced right through the "Law" that had just appeared behind Usopp, triggering a massive explosion!
"WAHHH!!"
Usopp nearly lost his soul. That laser had missed his head by barely an inch...
"Kizaru!!"
Luffy roared in fury, blasting the "Whitebeard" clone into confetti with an Elephant Gun. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared beside his crew, his Boundman form radiating pure Haki:
"This time, I'm not going down without a fight!"
"Lion: Scattering Valley!"
Up above, the cloned Golden Lion unleashed a slash infused with the power of the Float-Float Fruit, golden energy raining down like a waterfall to engulf Zoro.
Zoro stood firm, three swords drawn, his voice low and intense:
"The nine mountains and eight seas constitute one world;
"A thousand of them form a small chiliocosm;
"And when I gather and cube that chiliocosm, there's nothing I can't cut."
"Santoryu Ogi—
"Ichidai Sanzen Daisen Sekai!!"
CLANG—BOOM!
The barrage of golden slashes vanished in a single sweep. The fake Golden Lion was shredded like autumn leaves and scattered into nothingness.
"A real Admiral… That's a whole other league compared to these knock-off legends."
Zoro turned back with an eager grin.
"So, Kizaru, let's see how long I can last against you this time!"
Snap, flick.
Sanji lit a cigarette, tapping his foot. His target, the cloned Kaido, had already been taken care of by the Admirals. He'd dealt with the clone "Enel," and the last remaining enemy, "Kuma," had been eliminated by Smoker.
As for "Fujitora"... he had only resisted briefly, before smiling and allowing himself to be taken down by the group.
It seemed even the clones carried over their original's sense of justice.
Pato was now bawling, clinging to Chopper and Usopp:
"T-Two Admirals!!"
"I couldn't even handle one… TWO?! We're gonna die, we're so gonna die!!"
"Whimper… Are those two going after Boss now? I-I don't want Boss to—sniffle—"
The battlefield had shifted. Now it was the Straw Hat Pirates facing off against two Admirals and a Vice Admiral!
"Ahh… You've improved a lot. And you're certainly more confident. Shame about the brains, though."
Kuzan frowned, sighing.
"We don't have time to waste here. But don't be foolish—"
"Even Garp-san and Wright-kun's goodwill has limits. Sure, 'Red the Aloof' poses a far greater threat than any of you, but if we have to take you down before going after him, we won't hesitate."
"You're still far from the top. Way too far."
His eyes drifted to a serious-faced Nico Robin.
"Redfield chose to clone you, Nico Robin. You know what that implies. You know what level of threat he considers you to be. Walk away now, and I'll pretend I never saw you."
"Mmm~ That lion-headed ship was~ so interesting~" Borsalino mused, his eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses.
"If it weren't for the Fleet Admiral's orders~ I might've tried to catch me a little ship spirit~"
"..."
The crew collectively gulped.
So Kizaru had seen both Merry and Sunny before this? Another trail pointing to Wright-san...
"We're leaving!"
Luffy let his Fourth Gear dissipate, took a deep breath, and adjusted his straw hat with solemn resolve:
"We can't handle two Admirals right now… not yet."
Clenching his fists, he stared down Kuzan and Borsalino:
"I hate it… but two years of training still isn't enough to stand on your level. Not yet… but we'll catch up. Soon."
"I won't make the same mistake again. I won't let my crew fall into danger like that. Next time… next time, we won't be the ones retreating!"
"Tanuki, go with them."
Pato blinked in surprise, turning to see Luffy's serious gaze.
"We may be enemies, but I know Admirals aren't bad people. You'll be safe with them. Didn't you say you wanted to see your Boss?"
"But…"
"Are you really okay with letting some copy stand beside the one who means the most to you… instead of you yourself?"
Luffy turned, voice soft.
"If there's something you want to protect—someone you want to stand beside—go fight for it. Or you'll lose them forever."
As the Straw Hats followed their captain away, Pato's expression hardened. He turned to Kuzan:
"Please take me with you! I want to help my Boss!"
"So what you're saying… is that we're supposed to send Redfield a new power-up, huh?"
Kuzan scratched his head, looking troubled.
"Straw Hat boy… you really gave me a tricky one here…"
"HOHO~ I'm waaay past the age where I keep pets~" Borsalino sighed, walking ahead.
"Redfield's way older than you, and he still likes pets!"
Kuzan grumbled as he summoned an icy hand under Pato's feet, flinging him toward a silent Smoker.
"You carry him!"
"..."
Smoker cracked a crooked grin and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
"You're saying you're too old for this?"
"Shut up! Let's move!"
...
The Thousand Sunny sailed on.
Luffy slumped on the deck, sighing.
"Man… Wright-san saved us again. Not happy about it at all…"
"Luffy, you made the right call. Right now, we still can't handle even one Admiral, let alone two."
Sanji took a drag of his cigarette, his tone low and serious.
"As frustrating as it is… that's the truth."
"Right now, we've only just earned the right to stand before an Admiral."
"Luffy…" Nami stepped up and offered a gentle smile.
"I'm so glad you've grown like this. You're not just rushing in blindly anymore…"
"Huh?"
Luffy tilted his head.
"Was I really that dumb before?"
"Yes."
Everyone answered in unison—then burst out laughing.
"Luffy, our biggest gain this time," Zoro said, carefully wiping his swords, eyes sharp, "was experiencing how the clones of Admirals, Four Emperors, and Warlords fight."
"Even though they're much weaker than the originals, their combat styles and techniques are real. If we can learn from that… we'll grow. Fast."
"And next time we face the real ones—we might just stand a chance."
"Yeah… when you put it like that…"
Luffy frowned for a moment, then laughed heartily.
"Guess we did come out ahead! Let's throw a party!"
"When you think about it—escaping from two Admirals? That's a win!"
"You just realized that, you idiot?!"
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