On the other side of the island—
Luffy and the others also faced a dire challenge.
They, too, had run into a pacifist.
Unfortunately, Zoro's old wounds flared up at this critical moment, leaving them completely exposed. The pacifist's relentless assault caught them off guard.
"Third Gear!"
Seeing his friends bloodied and battered, Luffy bit into his right thumb and blew hard, inflating his bones.
In an instant, his right arm ballooned into a massive limb, grotesquely disproportionate to his body. Though he was still human-sized, he now dragged the arm of a giant.
This was Luffy's trump card—Gear Third.
"Gomu Gomu No… Gigant Pistol!"
With a furious roar, Luffy's titanic fist crashed into the pacifist, hurling the machine through the air.
The blow landed true.
But victory came at a cost.
Luffy's body shrank like a punctured balloon, leaving him the size of a child, sprawled on the ground and gasping for air.
His crew collapsed alongside him, exhausted.
The truth was undeniable: the Straw Hats were still too weak. A single pacifist had nearly broken them.
Looking at the fallen machine twitching faintly, Nami's voice trembled. "I-It's still moving… how terrifying."
Usopp wheezed. "If that thing gets back up, we're done for. I can't even lift my arms."
"But what is it? It doesn't fight like the real Warlord." Zoro grimaced.
"Looks more like a cyborg," Franky muttered, narrowing his eyes.
Panting, child-sized Luffy stuck out his tongue. "Let's rest a bit… then run."
But their reprieve didn't last.
A cold voice echoed from above the treetops:
"You brats… that's too much. You've damaged my PX-4."
"Who's there?!" Nami squeaked, shrinking back.
The others jolted upright.
"There!" Chopper pointed, his tiny voice quivering.
Two massive figures dropped from the branches, shaking the ground as they landed.
The Straw Hats' eyes widened in horror.
One was another pacifist—identical to the one they had just barely defeated.
The other was a huge, burly man with a massive belly, a bib across his chest, and a colossal axe slung over his shoulder. His expression was vicious and overbearing.
It was Sentomaru.
Scowling at the wreckage, Sentomaru barked, "Do you brats have any idea how much one pacifist costs? Destroying one is the same as sinking a battleship! How the hell am I supposed to explain this to Old Man Vegapunk?!"
Another Warlord? No…
The Straw Hats froze.
Usopp's teeth chattered. "D-Don't tell me… is this guy the real one?"
The color drained from everyone's faces.
Franky frowned. "Hey, axe-boy. Who the hell are you supposed to be?"
"Hmph! Doesn't matter if you ask, I won't tell you a thing. This uncle here is the man with the tightest lips and the strongest defense in the world… Sentomaru!"
The Straw Hats blinked.
Hadn't he just blurted out his own name?
"…So your name is Sentomaru?" Usopp muttered weakly.
Sentomaru twitched, then snapped in fury. "PX-1! Attack! Don't let them escape!"
The pacifist immediately unleashed a searing shockwave.
"Uwaah!!"
The crew was blown apart, tumbling across the ground.
"Everyone, scatter!" Luffy yelled hoarsely. "We can't win! Run!"
But before they could regroup—
A golden beam tore through the air.
"Zoro!!"
The light pierced Zoro's chest, blood erupting as he collapsed.
"ZORO!!" Usopp's scream cracked, his eyes overflowing with tears.
The others froze in horror.
Sentomaru clicked his tongue. "Tch. Slow as ever, old man."
"Old man…?"
Robin's face went pale. "No… it can't be. Admiral Kizaru!"
The words struck like a death knell.
An Admiral.
The highest combat power of the Navy.
The crew's last glimmers of hope shattered.
"…Are we really going to die here?" Nami whispered, her face bloodless.
Even Luffy's fists shook. He didn't know what to do.
Kizaru's drawling voice echoed strangely as he approached Zoro's fallen body.
"Oh my, a bounty of 120 million. Pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro." He adjusted his sunglasses lazily. "You're already half-dead. Why don't I put you out of your misery?"
Golden light gathered on his foot as he raised it above Zoro's skull.
"ZORO!! MOVE!!" Luffy screamed, desperation cracking his voice.
But Zoro couldn't even lift a finger.
Kizaru's glowing heel hovered—
Then, at the last instant, another voice rang out, calm and clear:
"Admiral Kizaru. It's been a long time. Why don't you do me a favor… and let these kids go?"
The battlefield fell silent.
Everyone turned.
Fenric stood a short distance behind Kizaru, hands in his pockets, a faint smile playing on his lips.
The Straw Hats' eyes lit with desperate hope.
"It's the uncle from the auction house!" Usopp shouted.
Nami, Sanji, Robin, and the others fixed their gazes on Fenric as if clinging to a lifeline.
Even Zoro, coughing blood, managed to lift his head. "…Uncle…"
For them, their fate now rested entirely on Fenric.
Sentomaru's eyes widened as recognition struck. "Wait—Uncle… that's Mundo!!"
But Kizaru had already realized. He adjusted his glasses again, studying Fenric with mocking intrigue.
"Ohhh, what a surprise… looks like I've caught a very big fish."
His lazy grin didn't hide the sharpness in his tone.
"Hisashiburi da na, Mundo."
—To be continued!!
[Translator's Note: The last sentence oddly got me excited, lol.
Anyway, let's push this into the top 3 so we don't get a cliffhanger in the upcoming fight!!]