CHAPTER 153 — Ugly?
The moment Gaius' boots touched the ground, the mood of the battlefield shifted.
It was not loud. There was no single sound that marked the change. No signal horn. No shouted order. But everyone felt it. Marines who had been aiming toward the frozen sea now turned their weapons inward. Their lines adjusted without being told. Rifles lifted. Cannons realigned.
To them, the picture was simple.
Unknown fighters had arrived in the middle of Marineford. They had resisted an Admiral. They had killed Marines. And the pirates, the enemy they had prepared days for, were standing back and watching.
That alone was enough.
Gaius stood still, his weight steady, the ground beneath him cracked from his weight. Saeko stepped down beside him, her sword held low but ready. Mindy slid off his shoulder and landed lightly, sniper rifle still in hand. Naruto crouched nearby, his clones fading one by one as he focused on the people around him.
Tony hovered just above the ground, his armor humming softly. Diana stood farther ahead, closer to the Marines, facing Akainu directly. Her posture was calm, her sword once again sheathed at her side.
They were surrounded.
Rows of Marines formed a loose circle, weapons raised, faces tight with tension. Some were afraid. Some were angry. Many were confused. None of them lowered their guns.
Then light flashed.
It was sudden and sharp, a clean streak that cut across the air. The Marines closest to it straightened immediately.
A man appeared in front of Gaius.
He stood casually, hands in his pockets, yellow coat hanging loosely from his shoulders. His posture was relaxed, almost lazy, like someone who had wandered into the wrong place and decided to stay anyway.
"Admiral Kizaru!" someone shouted from the Marine lines.
Relief spread through the soldiers like a wave.
"He can handle them!"
"He's got this!"
Kizaru stood directly in front of Gaius now.
Up close, the difference between them was clear.
They were nearly the same height. But Gaius was wider. Thicker. His armor made him look like a wall made human, every piece built for war. Kizaru, by contrast, was slim, almost casual, his frame light and loose, like nothing weighed on him at all.
Kizaru tilted his head slightly, eyes half-lidded as he looked up at Gaius' golden armor.
"So tall," he said lazily. "And all dressed up too."
His gaze lingered on the armor for a moment longer than necessary.
Gold.
He found it strange. Gold was soft. Decorative. Not something you used for real combat. He'd faced armored men before, big ones, loud ones, monsters that relied on size and spectacle. None of that mattered.
Still.
His Observation Haki brushed against Gaius again.
No edge. No aggression. No intent reaching back at him.
Just mass.
Not physical mass, presence. Like standing near a mountain and realizing it wasn't trying to intimidate you. It simply existed. Solid. Unmoving. Something you didn't test because testing it served no purpose.
Kizaru had felt dangerous people before. Most of them leaked something, anger, hunger, ambition. This one didn't. The will here was compact, controlled, like pressure sealed behind reinforced walls.
Not a fighter waiting to act.
A weapon already at rest.
He didn't think about it, his body reacted before his mind did. He shifted his stance automatically, preparing for a fight, alert to every movement around him. Though he still looked lazy on the surface, anyone who knew his stance would recognize how solid and ready he truly was.
Then he raised a finger.
Light began to gather at its tip, bending and flickering, the air around it shimmering like broken glass.
He smiled crookedly.
"You look kinda scary," he said. "I don't really wanna fight you, you know?"
His tone suggested boredom, not fear.
Mindy, standing slightly behind Gaius, tilted her head and frowned.
"The ugly uncle is clearly lying," she said flatly.
For a second, the battlefield froze.
Saeko, focused and serious moments ago, let out a small, surprised smile before she could stop herself.
Kizaru's mouth twitched.
He turned his head just enough to look at Mindy.
"Ugly?" he said, sounding wounded. "That's harsh. I'm clearly handsome~~"
The laser fired.
It was instantaneous. A thin line of light shot forward, faster than sound, aimed straight at Gaius' chest.
But Gaius had already moved.
He raised his hand.
The power fist activated with a low hum. Energy rippled across its surface, invisible but precise. When the laser struck, it did not explode. It did not bounce.
It broke apart.
The light scattered, destabilized, fading into nothing as if it had never existed.
Kizaru's eyes opened a fraction wider.
"Oh?" he said.
Then he moved.
His body dissolved into light, vanishing completely. In the same instant, he reappeared directly in front of Gaius, foot already raised, leg glowing bright as it swung forward.
It was fast.
Light-fast.
But not thought-fast.
One fighter unleashed magma, another moved as if made of light. This world had warriors who could control elements, and, even more surprisingly, could take on their form. That caught his attention. Most enemies he had faced could only manipulate their power, to become the element itself was something else entirely.
But Gaius noticed something else.
The fighter moved with extreme speed, but his reactions didn't match.
The moment the light-based fighter solidified before him, Gaius struck. Even as a veteran Primaris Ultramarine, he had already outclassed most of his peers. Now, blessed by the Emperor, his strength rivaled that of a Custodian. He was bulkier than a Custodian, trading some speed for sheer mass, but his reactions matched theirs perfectly.
The punch was short. Clean. Direct.
His fist went straight through Kizaru's torso.
There was a sound like air being punched out of a room.
Kizaru froze.
"Oh my," he said.
Marines stared.
Pirates stared.
For a heartbeat, the world held still.
There was no blood. No spray. Just a hole where Kizaru's chest had been, light flickering around the edges.
Then his body reformed.
Light flowed back into shape, filling the gap as if rewinding time. Kizaru stepped back, brushing imaginary dust from his coat.
"That was close," he said lightly. "You almost killed me, big guy."
His tone was unchanged. Lazy. Almost amused.
Inside, it was anything but.
He had attacked by surprise. He had moved at light speed. He had only solidified for a fraction of a second.
And still… he had been hit.
He couldn't believe it.
Across the battlefield, Whitebeard threw his head back and laughed.
A deep, booming sound that cut through the chaos.
"Well now," he said. "Looks like we've got some help."
He raised his weapon slightly.
"Help them, my sons!"
Marco nodded beside Whitebeard. He couldn't help but acknowledge it, these unknown fighters were holding their own against the Admirals. The idea that two strangers could contend with them was astonishing.
The war surged forward.
Marines shouted orders. Pirates charged. Weapons clashed across the ice and stone.
~~~
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