On the poison-filled island of Punk Hazard.
"Damn it!""Damn it all!!""It's Admiral Kizaru!"
Souta Kiryuu's face darkened. The bloodied holes across his massive body were rapidly closing, regenerating under the terrifying resilience of his altered physiology and the blazing Lunarian flames burning on his back.
But the moment he thought of Kizaru—his overwhelming strength and terrifying speed—the murderous rage in Souta's eyes flickered, then dimmed.
With a Marine Admiral present, his revenge today was impossible.
At his current level, how could he possibly stand against an Admiral? He hadn't even mastered Haki, so how was he supposed to counter a Logia user like Kizaru, the man who embodied light itself?
Just thinking this once was enough. Souta turned away immediately, fleeing without hesitation, desperate to escape Punk Hazard.
If the island was encircled, Kizaru's blockade would trap him for certain.
Revenge can wait ten years if it must.
"This grudge, I'll remember it!"
The crimson dragon let out a thunderous roar and beat its vast wings, surging toward the far side of the island.
Even as he fled, Souta forced himself to master his rekindled Ancient Giant lineage, shrinking his titanic dragon form down into a more manageable divine dragon size.
"Heh… so that bastard Kizaru's massive laser barrage scared out my transparent bloodline factor after all! If I can go invisible, then the whole world is mine to roam!"
Relief flickered through his eyes as he tested his newfound ability, speeding away under a cloak of transparency. This wasn't the time for recklessness.
He needed to survive. To grow stronger.
As long as he lived, he would have his revenge. Caesar's head… he would claim it sooner or later. Not even Kizaru could stop him. And Saturn of the Gorosei? He too was marked for death.
Punk Hazard wasn't small, and cloaked in choking violet gas, even Kizaru's Observation Haki couldn't cover the entire island.
And so, on the far side, Souta Kiryuu slipped away under his invisible form, escaping the hellish island that had scarred him with endless nightmares.
"Caesar! Saturn! Just you wait!!"
Crossing Punk Hazard, Souta burst free into the open sea. He glanced back, roaring toward the island in hatred.
But the next instant, his eyes narrowed sharply. Above the island's skies, more than a dozen dazzling golden silhouettes appeared in a flash.
"Kizaru's clones?!"
The sight made his muscles tense. Cold sweat trickled down his neck.
Luckily, he hadn't hesitated earlier—leaving immediately and masking himself with transparency. Otherwise, Kizaru's ambush would have ended him.
Souta accelerated madly, streaking further and further away from that deceptively lazy, yet monstrously lethal, Marine Admiral.
Meanwhile, Kizaru suddenly turned his gaze toward the direction Souta had vanished.
Could it be? Did that monster already escape Punk Hazard so quickly?
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Frowning, Kizaru unleashed a storm of laser beads, blanketing the sea in a cascade of light.
Seeing the golden barrage sweep in, Souta's heart lurched. He burst into even greater speed, darting through the clouds, weaving desperately as the blasts rained down.
But no matter how frantically he dodged, the density was overwhelming. Dozens of lasers tore into him.
Even so, Souta clung to his transparency, refusing to let his form appear. His blood spattered in the air—blood Kizaru's Observation Haki immediately sensed.
"Well, well… so you did escape."
Kizaru's brow arched. In a flash, his clones merged together, his body dissolving into pure photons as he accelerated toward Souta's trail.
"Shit! You bastard! Why chase me?!"
Panic seized Souta. He dropped lower, skimming the waves as he flew. If he could get far enough over the open sea, maybe he could shake Kizaru.
After all, even the Pika Pika no Mi's brilliance couldn't simply let its user hover indefinitely above an endless ocean.
But Kizaru, ever relentless, simply smirked. "Oh? A clever little invisibility trick… but for the sake of peace on the seas, I can't let you go."
Tracking the droplets of blood in midair, Kizaru pinpointed the dragon's path and rained another storm of lasers down upon him.
More blood splattered. With each burst, Kizaru tightened his grip on Souta's location.
"Subject 88… surrender yourself!"
His tone was casual, but the message was absolute. To him, Souta was nothing more than a runaway experiment—no different from a feral beast.
If not for the Gorosei's explicit order to capture him alive, Kizaru would've ended this already.
"Admiral Kizaru! Let me go! One year from now, I'll pay you a bounty of ten billion Berries!"
Under the relentless bombardment, Souta finally lost control of his invisibility. His colossal crimson dragon form materialized over the waves, his voice hoarse with desperation.
"Oh? A bribe? I'm afraid not. The orders come from above… and I do follow orders."
Kizaru's smile faded. In his hand formed a golden lightsaber of pure energy, and with blinding speed, he shot forward.
"You Marines… do you join the so-called 'justice' only to serve the Celestial Dragons in their cruelty?!"
Souta roared, his flames exploding outward. His claws lashed at Kizaru, fire breath and lasers streaming wildly as he raged.
"Too slow."
In a blink, Kizaru's body dissolved into photons, slipping past the claws. A blinding arc of light cut down, and blood sprayed as he slashed open Souta's dragon talon.
The Admiral pressed on ruthlessly, his golden blade a blur, carving wound after wound across Souta's body.
"Impressive defense… and regeneration. You really are a monster," Kizaru admitted, eyes narrowing with rare seriousness.
But Souta's eyes burned with fury and despair. Each exchange dragged him back to the days of cold laboratories and merciless experiments—the helplessness of a test subject, struggling in vain.
He couldn't… he wouldn't go back.
Yet with each slash, his stamina drained. His scales split, his muscles tore, his blood poured. Even his Lunarian flames couldn't keep up. His face paled as exhaustion dragged him down.
"Forgive me, Subject 88."
Kizaru's tone was almost mocking, his blade hacking again and again, aiming to wear Souta down until capture was inevitable.
"No!!"
Souta's anguished roar echoed over the sea. He unleashed dragonfire, lasers, lightning—everything at once. But Kizaru's speed was overwhelming. Nothing struck him.
Clinging to hope, Souta dove toward the sea, whipping up whirlwinds of spray to block Kizaru's light. But nothing worked.
"You should accept reality."
In a sudden burst, Kizaru carved a gaping wound deep enough to expose organs. Souta's massive body convulsed.
No! I refuse! I will not go back!
The memories of brutal surgeries, endless pain, and inescapable despair ignited something inside him.
From his body surged a dreadful aura—black and crimson lightning exploding in every direction.
Kizaru faltered for a moment, genuine surprise flashing across his face.
Souta seized the opening. With a roar of hatred, he unleashed a devastating blast of dragonfire and searing lasers, the attacks smashing into Kizaru's body and scattering him into fragments of light.
Gasping, pale and weak, Souta cloaked himself once more in invisibility and fled madly, his body trembling from both wounds and the awakening of that new, terrifying force.
Kizaru reformed slowly from photons, his face grim as he steadied himself.
That aura… Conqueror's Haki? And not just any type… something that disrupts even Logia regeneration?!
Scanning the empty sea with Moonwalk, Kizaru realized his quarry had vanished.
Scowling, he turned back, streaking as light toward Punk Hazard.
On the warship, his face was like thunder as he barked orders: every available Marine was to scour the seas for the wounded experimental subject.
If Souta Kiryuu escaped—or worse, was devoured by a Sea King before capture—Kizaru would bear the blame.
He hadn't expected this. Not only had the experiment awakened Conqueror's Haki, but a unique form that countered Logia recovery.
It was a grave mistake, one he reported immediately through the transponder snail to Marine Headquarters and the World Government.