"It's your turn to appear now? Dark King Rayleigh!"
Kizaru tugged at his sleeve and looked nonchalantly at the elderly man walking toward him.
"I can't let you kill these young people in the cradle. Their era is just beginning now."
Rayleigh smiled as he stepped in front of Jiang Lin. He had originally intended only to protect the Straw Hat Pirates, but now there was one more person he wanted to protect—Jiang Lin.
"Uncle!"
Luffy dashed excitedly to Rayleigh. Meeting him again clearly filled him with joy.
"I've heard about your presence on this island for a while. I didn't expect it to be true!"
"I didn't expect you to side with these brats. Even if you've fallen, you're still a pirate, huh? Mr. Rayleigh."
Kizaru kept his hands in his pockets, looking casually at Rayleigh.
"Looks like you're not going to let them go, huh?"
Rayleigh spoke with a low voice that carried a clear threat.
"Let them go?"
Kizaru chuckled without replying directly, but his attitude already said it all. After all, Luffy had punched a Celestial Dragon—there was no way he was letting him go.
"Is that so? Looks like..."
"Uncle, leave this one to me!"
Just as Rayleigh was preparing to fight the admiral, Jiang Lin stepped forward with a smile and stood in front of Rayleigh.
"You..."
Rayleigh looked at Jiang Lin, wanting to say something, but hesitated. He had watched the entire previous battle. He knew Kizaru hadn't fought with full strength—but he couldn't tell Jiang Lin that, for fear of hurting his confidence.
"I know he was holding back. So no, I'm not going in to die. I'm doing this because I must."
Jiang Lin spoke seriously to Rayleigh. He knew how powerful Kizaru was—powerful enough that Jiang Lin wasn't even close to being his match.
But so what? Should he stay out of the fight because of fear? Hide in the back out of worry for death? No! Jiang Lin couldn't do that!
"Alright then. Fight boldly—leave the rear to me."
Rayleigh, moved by Jiang Lin's determination, didn't stop him. Instead, he stepped back and looked on with admiration.
"You choosing to fight yourself is a big mistake."
Kizaru sounded annoyed. His gaze kept drifting toward Rayleigh—clearly, Rayleigh was still the one he feared most.
"Is that so?"
Jiang Lin smiled faintly. He knew he couldn't win against Kizaru—not yet. But who said being weaker meant you couldn't land a blow? Or make your opponent suffer?
"Kizaru! What is your justice?"
Jiang Lin slowly raised both hands. Two golden lights began to rapidly gather in his palms.
"Justice? Kid, you're not worthy of knowing that."
Seeing Jiang Lin's actions, Kizaru also raised his arms and formed the Ama no Murakumo sword—ready for battle.
"My justice... is to protect and to pursue! To protect all I wish to protect, and pursue all I desire!"
"That is my justice!"
Jiang Lin shouted. Instead of firing the beams directly, the golden energy began rapidly spinning in his hands, condensing into a small, rotating orb of light.
When energy is compressed to the extreme, it becomes a black hole.
Though not quite a black hole, the orb in Jiang Lin's hand had energy far beyond any beam he had fired before.
"Light may be the same, but the energy it contains can be vastly different!"
With a sharp cry, Jiang Lin fired two invisible beams of light toward Kizaru.
Pfft! Pfft!
Two faint penetration sounds rang out as the beams pierced Kizaru's body.
In that moment, Kizaru's face was filled with shock and disbelief. As a user of the Glint-Glint Fruit, he had never imagined using its power in this way.
"This is the power of science!"
Jiang Lin gave a weak smile, glancing at Kizaru in the distance. He knew he had reached his limit. The best he could do was teach Kizaru a lesson—defeating him was still out of reach.
"You brat... you've pissed me off!"
Kizaru quickly recovered from his injuries. Gripping the Ama no Murakumo sword, he flashed toward Jiang Lin in a killing strike.
"Enough! I'll take over from here!"
Rayleigh could see that Jiang Lin was at his limit. So when Kizaru charged, Rayleigh didn't hesitate to unleash his Haki and intercept him.
"My body... is still too weak."
Jiang Lin chuckled bitterly and collapsed heavily to the ground. He knew he was spent and didn't stop Rayleigh from stepping in.
As Jiang Lin rested and slowly got to his feet, preparing to rejoin Luffy and the others, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in front of Nami.
The man stood before her, removed his gloves, and with a single palm, struck Nami—instantly making her vanish from Sabaody Archipelago.
"Bartholomew Kuma!"
Jiang Lin looked up at the emotionless giant holding a book, and a complex expression came over his face.
"Nami! Where did you send Nami!?"
Luffy shouted angrily, charging forward, his face full of rage.
"Anyone struck by his power will fly for three days and nights. As for where they'll end up… only he knows."
Jiang Lin said softly, staring at Kuma.
"We can't beat him! He'll kill us all!"
Usopp trembled as he looked at Kuma. He knew how terrifying Kuma truly was. The moment Kuma appeared, his will to fight had already collapsed.
"I won't let that happen..."
Jiang Lin tried to rise and stop Kuma, but he was the most exhausted of all. He had fought PX-4, then Sentomaru, and finally Kizaru. His stamina was completely drained. Even with his Devil Fruit powers intact, he no longer had the strength to use the Glint-Glint Fruit.
"Where would you like to go on vacation?"
Kuma's gentle voice rang out. As his palm touched Jiang Lin, Jiang Lin's body was instantly launched and vanished from Sabaody.
"Jiang Lin!"
Luffy and the others screamed out, but Jiang Lin's body was no longer under his control—it was flying through the sky.
"Farewell."
Kuma's deep voice echoed in the empty sky. In those words, Jiang Lin felt infinite emotion.
"Farewell, Bartholomew Kuma... you are a gentle yet powerful warrior."
Jiang Lin's voice was full of sorrow. He had read the original manga and knew things that the Straw Hats didn't. That's why he reacted so emotionally to Kuma—he knew that after today, they might never see this version of Kuma again.