The very next moment—Kizaru, who had just kicked Dragon, appeared above him in an instant.
A vicious axe kick sent Dragon crashing back down.
Before he could even hit the ground, Kizaru followed up with a powerful rising uppercut, launching Dragon into the sky once again.
Every time Dragon tried to turn into wind, Kizaru's speed was so ridiculous that he cut off the attempt before Dragon could even react.
Taking advantage of the storm's cover, Kizaru played with Dragon like a puppet, freely displaying his dominance without worrying about revealing his true strength.
"So… fast…"
Dragon, reduced to nothing more than a punching bag, was sent flying in all directions.
The near-light-speed combo left him completely defenseless—he didn't even have the chance to transform.
If Kizaru had actually been serious, the fight would have already been over.
At this rate, Sabo might as well start figuring out where to sit at Dragon's funeral banquet.
"FRIENDSHIP-BREAKING FACE PUNCH!"
Finally, after venting most of his irritation, Kizaru finished his combo with one last devastating punch, sending Dragon flying across the battlefield.
"Dragon-san!"
Kizaru's combo was so fast that by the time Dragon was blasted away by the finishing blow, a stunned Sabo had only just processed what was happening. Braving the storm, he sprinted toward where Dragon was about to land.
In Sabo's mind, Dragon—someone capable of standing against Kizaru—should at least be able to put up a fight, even if he ultimately lost.
Who could've expected such a one-sided beatdown?
To put it bluntly, even if he were up against an admiral himself, Sabo figured he wouldn't get beaten this badly.
"Phew! That felt good! Wait… was that… special Observation Haki? Future Sight?"
Having vented his frustration by thrashing Dragon, Kizaru finally relaxed a bit. But as he thought back on the fight, something clicked—Dragon had actually noticed his true strength?
Replaying the battle in his mind, Kizaru quickly deduced what Dragon's last, unrevealed trump card had been.
Compared to the ultra-rare Conqueror's Haki, which only one in a million possessed, Observation Haki was something anyone theoretically had the potential to awaken.
However, only a select few could develop unique abilities with it—like hearing others' thoughts, sensing the voices of all things, or even… seeing the future.
Dragon clearly had the ability to glimpse the future. Otherwise, there was no way he could have anticipated his own beatdown through Kizaru's Conqueror's and Observation Haki interference.
"Cough, cough… As expected of you, Kizaru-senpai. I never imagined that pushing the Glint-Glint Fruit to its limit could lead to such terrifying power…"
With Sabo's support, Dragon stood up. He paid no mind to the throbbing pain all over his body—especially on his face—and instead spoke in an awed tone.
If not for his future-seeing Observation Haki, he wouldn't have even seen how Kizaru had beaten him.
That kind of unimaginable speed was utterly despair-inducing.
Even seeing the future made no difference—he still had zero chance of winning.
At best, he could watch himself get pummeled in advance.
His eyes, empowered by Observation Haki, could predict Kizaru's next move—but his body simply couldn't keep up.
He'd see a vision of Kizaru's foot heading for his face, but before he could even lift his hand to block—BAM! The kick had already landed.
"Got any more tricks up your sleeve? Just this storm alone won't let you escape from me."
Kizaru naturally accepted Dragon's praise and didn't bother correcting him—this wasn't just the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit.
Without the "Flash" Stand, even he wouldn't be able to fully utilize light-speed movement in actual combat.
"Dragon-san, you go! I'll cover you!"
Sabo stepped in front of Dragon, determined.
He had no idea why Kizaru—who was supposed to be an ally—had suddenly turned on Dragon.
In his mind, the only reason Dragon had been beaten so badly had to be because he was already injured from fighting another powerful enemy earlier.
Otherwise, there was no way he would have gone down in just one exchange.
For the sake of the Revolutionary Army… for the man who had saved and mentored him…
At this moment, Sabo had resolved himself.
Even if it cost him his life, he would ensure Dragon's survival.
"Hmph! Know your place!"
Kizaru let out a cold snort.
His Conqueror's Haki, formless yet oppressive, crashed down on Sabo like a mountain.
Even as Sabo used every ounce of his strength to resist, he was still forced to one knee.
This was what happened when a kid interrupted an adult's conversation.
Besides, did he look like a villain?
Lost in thoughts of teaching Dragon a lesson, Kizaru had zero awareness that he now had the exact demeanor of a classic final boss.
If Luffy were here, he'd be so triggered by Kizaru's sheer villainous aura that he'd probably activate Gear Fifth on the spot.
"I… won't… lose… to you!"
Sabo struggled against the overwhelming pressure, forcing his body upright inch by inch.
The stone tiles beneath his feet cracked apart under the strain. Facing an opponent of Kizaru's caliber for the first time, Sabo—embodying sheer tenacity—underwent a breakthrough, his strength visibly increasing.
"Damn it! Another one of those annoying guys!"
Vivian, the giantess vice admiral, scowled as she watched Sabo push himself up under Kizaru's suppression.
If getting stronger was that easy, she would've begged Kizaru ages ago to do the same for her.
"Sabo…"
Meanwhile, Dragon looked conflicted.
Fighting against tyranny and growing stronger under pressure was one thing. But the problem was—the opponent here was Kizaru.
The Kizaru he knew all too well had plenty of peculiar habits, one of which was his special enjoyment of "bullying" talented warriors with cockroach-like tenacity.
Don't ask Dragon how he knew.
Just know that some memories are better left buried.
What he couldn't understand, though, was—wasn't this the kind of thing usually done by people without talent?
Why would someone like Kizaru, a monstrous prodigy who became a Marine vice admiral before twenty, have such a strange hobby?
"Until I crush every oppressive force that rules over the world, how could I possibly fall here?!"
Though still immature, his overwhelming willpower rippled across all of Marineford.
"Another Conqueror's Haki user…"
At the storm's center, Fleet Admiral Sengoku had given up chasing pirates entirely.
Though the storm obscured his vision, making it difficult to identify the user, the sheer determination behind it was unmistakable.
That kind of resolve—definitely not something that belonged to a Marine.
"Ahahaha! Now that's impressive! Feels like another young brat…"
Vice Admiral Garp let out a hearty laugh.
Ace survived.
Luffy escaped unscathed.
Even that bastard Dragon was still alive.
And, most importantly—Whitebeard was dead.
The pirates had suffered a huge blow, while the Marines now had Whitebeard's corpse to intimidate the world.
For Garp, this outcome was better than any dream scenario he could've imagined.
"You crazy old mutt! Why aren't you chasing down the pirates?!"
Sengoku fumed with rage.
He understood when Garp had hesitated back when Ace was about to be executed.
But now? Ace had already been saved by pirates—yet this senile mutt was still slacking?!
If not for the Marines having both Pure Gold and Whitebeard's severed head, the Five Elders and the World Government would absolutely hold Garp accountable later.
"Ahahaha, but I'm injured, you see? That Rayleigh guy just keeps getting stronger. Honestly, I think he might be even tougher than Roger was!"
Garp cackled.
A deep wound from Rayleigh's sword still marred his chest, his upper body drenched in blood—making him look gravely injured.
Unfortunately for him, Sengoku had fought alongside Garp for decades.
There was zero chance he was falling for that act.
Still, as long as Garp had an excuse to pacify the Five Elders and the World Government, Sengoku decided to let it slide.
Back to Sabo—
With his sudden Conqueror's Haki outburst, he managed to withstand Kizaru's pressure.
But before he could even feel proud, Kizaru let out another dismissive snort—BOOM!
A wave of Conqueror's Haki ten times stronger than before crashed down.
Sabo was instantly flattened to the ground.
"This… this can't be…"
The sheer pressure felt like the weight of the heavens themselves pressing down on him.
Even breathing was a struggle.
Let alone protecting Dragon.
Before facing Kizaru, Sabo had always been confident in his strength.
Sure, he wasn't on Dragon's level yet.
But given time—no more than ten years, at most—he was certain he could grow into Dragon's right-hand man.
Even if he had to face an admiral in the future, Sabo had always believed he could put up a fight.
And after breaking through the limits imposed by Kizaru's pressure, he even thought he could shorten the time needed—maybe in just five years, he'd be able to stand toe-to-toe with an admiral.
But now?
Forget five years.
Even if he had fifty, he had no idea how he'd ever defeat Kizaru.
That wasn't just an ordinary strong enemy.
That was a force of nature.
For the first time, Sabo truly understood why Kizaru's old nickname had been "The Navy Monster."
"…Still bullying kids, just like always."
Dragon sighed in resignation.
From his tattered clothes, he pulled out a small Den Den Mushi.
Somehow, the little guy had survived the fight in his pocket without getting squashed—if only barely.
The poor thing was still seeing stars, but as soon as Dragon dialed a number, it shook itself awake and got to work.
"Morimori~! Is that you, Dragon-san? I found it already!"
From the other end came the voice of Morley, the commander of the Revolutionary Army's Western Forces.
After helping the Red-Haired Pirates hold off Akainu, Morley had immediately followed Dragon's orders and begun his search.
"Good. Where is it?"
Dragon nodded.
Against an unbeatable enemy, he had no choice but to resort to less-than-honorable tactics.
"Just as you suspected, sir—it's exactly 100 meters underground, right beneath Marine Headquarters."
As soon as Morley's words left the Den Den Mushi—
Kizaru's eyes sharpened instantly.
Down in the hidden chamber beneath Marineford, even someone like Morley—who had lived for over a hundred years and stormed more royal vaults than he could count—
Couldn't help but gasp at the sight before him.
The entire underground vault was filled with gold.
Endless, dazzling, radiant gold.
Even the treasuries of the world's greatest kingdoms didn't hold one percent of what was stored in this single chamber!
But Morley, as a Revolutionary Army commander, had long since lost any personal interest in wealth.
Even mountains of gold meant nothing to him.
The only regret was that he couldn't distribute this fortune to the common people.
"One here… another one here… let's put one right there…"
Carrying a massive duffel bag, Morley moved through the vault, carefully planting explosives throughout the piles of gold.
Gold itself wouldn't be destroyed by explosions—
But if it was blasted into the sea, recovering it would be nearly impossible.
Once Dragon gave the order, Morley would push down the vault walls, flooding the chamber with seawater—
Then, all the bombs would detonate at once, scattering the gold across the entire ocean floor.
Even Kizaru, with all his strength, wouldn't be able to retrieve it all.
Above ground—
Kizaru's Observation Haki had already locked onto Morley's exact location.
"Dragon! You've got a damn death wish, huh?!"
Kizaru gritted his teeth.
Dragon had given him plenty of surprises today—
And up until now, Kizaru had just found them annoying.
But this?
This was different.
Dragon wasn't just messing with him anymore.
Dragon was threatening his precious treasure hoard.
That was unforgivable.
Every single piece of gold in that vault had been painstakingly acquired—
From Enel's personal stash.
If Dragon had just stolen it, fine.
Kizaru could always steal it back.
But Dragon's plan was to scatter all of it into the ocean—
Where it would be impossible to recover.
That—was a crime beyond redemption.
"Pirates and revolutionaries used the storm to escape from Marineford. What do you think about this outcome, Kizaru-senpai?"
Dragon spoke as if he couldn't even feel Kizaru's growing fury.
He knew Kizaru far too well.
A normal person might have tried to blackmail Kizaru with the gold.
After all, that vault contained far more wealth than even the Celestial Dragons' tributes.
°°°
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