Island No. 27 of the Sabaody Archipelago.
After news spread that the Straw Hat pirate had beaten up a Celestial Dragon at the auction house, the entire island erupted into chaos like boiling water.
The local Marines, fleeing pirates, innocent civilians caught in the crossfire... In an instant, the whole island was filled with various battles and cacophonous noise.
Not long after, the support fleet sent from Marine Headquarters arrived.
"It's... It's Marine Admiral Kizaru!"
"Run! The Admiral has landed on the island!"
"How could someone like him be here!"
After a figure landed on the island in a showy display, riding atop a cannonball, the unlucky pirates on Island No. 27 became like lambs rushed to the slaughter.
Their wailing echoed throughout the alleys.
"Moshi-moshi, moshi-moshi... How come I can't hear any sound?"
Kizaru walked slowly through the smoke-filled street, dealing with pirates along the way while studying the Den-Den Mushi on his wrist.
His expression was particularly troubled.
With each raise of his hand, laser-like energy beams burst from his fingertips.
Explosions sounded as pirates attempting to escape fell one by one like wheat before a scythe.
"Moshi-moshi..."
The pirates were either pierced through the body or blown away by explosions caused by the beams hitting the ground.
Only a few minutes had passed since Kizaru landed, yet the pirates on Island No. 27 were almost completely wiped out.
But Kizaru's face showed no satisfaction, because the Den-Den Mushi on his wrist still wasn't responding.
This was the Den-Den Mushi that connected him to his subordinate, Sentomaru.
Due to the emergency, Kizaru had only reported to Sengoku before setting off with the warship, without obtaining sufficient intelligence beforehand.
He only roughly knew about a few criminals who had been near the incident with the Celestial Dragon, including Straw Hat, Kidd, Law, and others.
As for the rest, the whole sequence of events, the current situation, and the specific locations of the criminals, all of this information needed to come from Sentomaru, who had landed on the Sabaody Archipelago in advance.
But no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't connect with his subordinate.
After calling several more times, Kizaru finally gave up and decided to ask someone for information instead.
However, at this time, civilians had already hidden away in their homes and locked their doors.
The Marines had probably just disembarked from the warship and were still some distance away.
The few pirates on the street had all been knocked to the ground by him already.
Kizaru searched for a while before finally locating two people using his [Observation Haki].
Judging from their appearance alone, they seemed to be a pair of siblings with matching hair color.
They didn't look like pirates.
At a time like this, pirates would either flee or take advantage of the chaos to loot, but these two young people were sitting in front of a restaurant, enjoying food that was constantly being brought out from inside.
They weren't ordinary people either.
Just by the speed at which the food disappeared, it was clear that the brother and sister were like bottomless pits, continuously stuffing food into their mouths.
Empty plates kept piling up higher and higher, yet their stomachs showed no signs of bulging.
"Oh my, sitting in front of a restaurant to eat t this time. You two are quite relaxed, aren't you?"
Kizaru approached the pair quietly, picked up a plate of food quite naturally, and took two bites while making conversation.
"..."
Kyoma looked up with irritation, and seeing who did that, though… he became extremely panicked right now, the kind of panic that made him break out in a cold sweat.
He felt numb.
They had just left the Human Auction House, and because he knew that Luffy and the others would be surrounded by the Marines, he had run as far as possible with Kagura without looking back.
The journey had taken only a few dozen minutes.
They had used the unique transportation methods of the Sabaody Archipelago, such as bubble cars and flying fish riders, utilizing every means available to run straight from Island No. 1 to Island No. 27 in one breath.
But who could have predicted that he and Kagura would finally find a restaurant willing to sell them food, and while eating and singing songs, a Marine Admiral would suddenly appear…
Looking at the middle-aged face wearing sunglasses with an extremely casual expression, Kyoma's own expression became quite complicated.
The sense of oppression was incredibly strong.
Completely different from the Admiral who seemed to slack off in the anime, under close contact, the nearly three-meter-tall body exuded an overwhelming presence.
Even with that casual uncle face as a cover, Kyoma, who had obtained the Night Rabbit bloodline, could still feel the oppression like facing a vast sea.
He wasn't unfamiliar with this feeling.
Rayleigh could also give him this sensation, but perhaps because of Mr. Rayleigh's age, this sense of crisis wasn't as strong as what he felt from Kizaru.
Fortunately, he wasn't a pirate yet.
Based on the character Kizaru displayed in the anime, as long as he wasn't provoked, he should be safe...
However…
"You sleazy old man, why are you stealing our lunch?"
Kagura only reacted at that moment, bristling like an angry cat.
Then, as if words alone couldn't express her fury, under Kyoma's bewildered gaze, she jumped up and swung her umbrella toward Kizaru's head.
Whoosh!
The umbrella descended, and under the terrifying power of the Night Rabbit Clan, only a red afterimage flashed, setting off a powerful shockwave in the air.
'What are you doing?' Kyoma's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
No matter what, he had never imagined this scene would unfold.
'So fast'
Kizaru's pupils contracted slightly.
This young girl, before him, had achieved a burst speed in that short moment that was even faster than his [Observation Haki] could fully track.
However, after sensing for a brief moment, Kizaru relaxed.
The menacing umbrella wasn't coated with [Armament Haki].
Without [Armament Haki], no matter how fast or powerful the attack, it couldn't hit the physical form of a Logia-type user.
The fact was exactly as he thought.
The umbrella passed through his head without any obstruction, like a knife cutting through water.
It split him vertically in half before striking heavily against the ground.
Bang!
The ground shattered, and as the dust settled, a crater nearly ten meters long was revealed.
"Huh? I didn't hit him?"
Standing on the ground, Kagura weighed the umbrella in her hand with confusion written across her face.
"What do you mean you didn't hit him? Don't you see that massive crater in the ground?" Kyoma walked forward, his voice strained.
She placed a finger on her chin.
"But the sensation was wrong. I clearly struck his head, but I didn't feel anything."
"That's because he's a Logia-type user. Didn't I just explain this to you when we were eating?" he sounded helpless.
"Oh! Is that what Kyo-chan told me earlier? 'You need to learn Haki to hit them, and don't mess with them if you don't have Haki'?" Kagura suddenly realized.
"That's right. I'm so glad you remember what I said." Kyoma's weak voice sounded again.
Then with a glare… he looked at her.
"But could you remember it before you take action the next time?"
She turned her head with embarrassment.
'Who understands this feeling?' he thought despairingly.
'I just escaped one disaster, haven't even started developing my abilities, and my teammate is already picking a fight with a last boss...'