Weevil's gleaming naginata pierced almost completely through Kuma's body.
The scene reminded Xia Te of Marineford—
of Squard's "filial" stab through Whitebeard.
Though most of Kuma's body had been modified, he was still human at his core.
As the blade ran through him—
a thin stream of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
From the wound, mechanical components were clearly visible.
Honestly, Bartholomew Kuma had terrible luck.
That strike from Weevil—
was meant for Luffy.
Aside from Xia Te, a transmigrator, who could have predicted Kuma would suddenly jump in like that?
"Get lost!"
At that moment, Akainu reacted.
With a magma-roaring punch, he blasted Kuma away.
He was certain—
Kuma had been trying to save Straw Hat Luffy.
If it were Kizaru, he might not care.
But Akainu was different.
He already despised the Seven Warlords—
and now one of them dared save a pirate right in front of him?
That punch showed no mercy.
It burned through Kuma's arm, exposing the steel beneath.
Then—
Akainu grabbed Luffy.
"Cuff him!"
He tossed Luffy toward Sentomaru.
Sentomaru froze for a moment, then quickly shackled Luffy with Seastone cuffs.
Even he hadn't expected Kuma to act like that—
let alone risk angering Akainu just to save some rookie pirate.
Because he's your "young master," after all…
Xia Te thought with amusement.
"D-Don't… worry about me… just… run…"
Bound by Seastone, Luffy weakly called out:
"Run…"
"You're not getting away! PX-1, PX-2! Pursue the Straw Hats!"
Sentomaru ordered.
A flash of a blade—
cleanly sliced one of the Pacifistas in half.
"Careless of me…"
Rayleigh descended from above, back facing the Straw Hats.
"Go! As you are now, you can't save your captain!"
"But—"
Chopper tried to protest.
Usopp cried out:
"He's right! This place is full of monsters! We have to retreat and wait for another chance!"
Compared to enemies they had defeated before—
Crocodile, Moria, even CP9—
the gap now was like that between children and adults.
Grinding their teeth in frustration, the Straw Hats finally accepted reality.
They retreated.
Seeing this, Xia Te's eyes flickered.
So the butterfly effect has already begun…
Instead of being scattered across the world by Kuma—
their captain was captured,
and the crew forced to flee.
"Spacing out in a fight isn't a good idea, Xia Te."
Suddenly—
a golden blade slashed down before him.
Kizaru, wielding a sword of light, struck from above.
"Heh."
Xia Te raised Sakura Ten and Kogarashi to block.
The clash sent another shockwave ripping through the battlefield.
Crack—
In the middle of their clash—
a faint cracking sound rang out.
Not from the blade—
but the hilt.
Xia Te raised a brow, retreating several meters and glancing down.
The hilt of Sakura Ten was already riddled with cracks.
Kogarashi wasn't in much better shape.
After all—
these swords had been embedded in Shiki's legs for twenty years.
The blades were still decent—
but the hilts had long decayed.
If not for Xia Te constantly reinforcing them with Armament Haki—
they would've snapped long ago.
Against fodder, it wasn't an issue.
But against top-tier fighters like Kizaru—
the flaw was obvious.
"Oh my~ Those are Golden Lion's swords, right? Looks like they've reached their limit."
Kizaru remarked.
"Yeah… It'd be a shame if I couldn't use them in the grand event that's coming."
Xia Te sheathed both swords.
His gaze shifted.
Akainu truly lived up to his reputation.
Having just captured Luffy—
he immediately turned to the Kid Pirates.
In just a few exchanges, he had already beaten Killer to the ground, coughing blood.
Kid himself was steadily being pushed back.
In less than ten moves—
he'd fall.
"Captain!"
Shiryu called out.
"We're leaving."
Xia Te said calmly.
Enel turned into lightning, streaking through the air before landing beside him.
"But big brother, I haven't avenged father yet!"
Weevil protested.
"Straw Hat Luffy will be coming out of Impel Down soon enough. You'll have plenty of chances."
Xia Te smiled.
After all—
Luffy would never miss the Summit War.
And don't forget—
in Level 5.5 of Impel Down,
there's Emporio Ivankov, one of Dragon's top commanders.