Kizaru arrived with the Marines.
His arrival completely sealed the Straw Hat crew's final escape route.
Three directions were blocked by Pacifistas.
The last direction faced a Marine Admiral.
Not only that.
The already exhausted Straw Hat crew had just finished defeating two Pacifistas.
It would not be an exaggeration to say they had almost no fighting strength left.
The crew was pushed into the greatest crisis they had ever faced.
"Old man, did you mistake the watch Den Den Mushi for a communication Den Den Mushi again?"
Seeing Kizaru arrive, Sentomaru looked at him with obvious dissatisfaction.
His face was filled with complaint.
"How should I put it…"
Kizaru's thoughts drifted back to earlier.
He could not quite remember the names of those six Supernovas.
But they were not important to him anyway.
The purpose of this mission was to capture the pirate who struck a Celestial Dragon.
His gaze shifted to the Straw Hats.
"So these are the pirates known as Straw Hat Luffy and his crew?"
"Don't change the subject!"
Sentomaru nearly lost his mind seeing Kizaru casually switch topics.
"I've taught you how many times already?"
"How can you still not remember?"
"Now then."
"The operation to capture Straw Hat Luffy begins."
Kizaru ignored Sentomaru again.
He commanded the Marines around him while moving forward himself.
With the speed of the Glint-Glint Fruit, he crossed more than ten meters instantly.
His voice had not even finished traveling through the air.
Yet he was already standing in front of Monkey D. Luffy.
"You are Luffy?"
"Y-Yes… that's me."
Luffy looked at him.
Even someone as fearless as Luffy felt pressure.
Kizaru looked lazy.
But the aura coming from him made it hard for Luffy to breathe.
"What do you want?!"
"Oh. Then it's you."
Kizaru nodded.
He kicked.
Boom.
Luffy was sent flying instantly.
"Luffy!"
Seeing Luffy get hit, the rest of the Straw Hat crew panicked.
Usopp and Brook were closest.
They rushed toward Kizaru immediately.
"Bastard, take this!"
Usopp did not even check which kind of shell he had loaded.
He fired his slingshot repeatedly.
One shot. Two shots. Three shots.
Brook attacked as well.
Without even using a technique, he thrust his cane sword toward Kizaru.
Anger and worry for Luffy pushed both of them beyond their limits.
Their attacks were sharp.
But they achieved nothing.
"Ridiculous."
Sentomaru sneered from the side.
"You really think your attacks could affect an Admiral?"
It was a brutal mockery.
"And besides."
"The old man is a Logia user."
"You don't even have Armament Haki."
"You don't even deserve a glance from him."
The words were harsh.
But they were true.
[You picked up one Devil Fruit growth experience.]
Hidden among the Marines, Renji quietly picked up another attribute.
Thinking about his time with the Edward Newgate Pirates, he recalled something.
Logia Devil Fruits were among the most troublesome abilities.
Without Armament Haki, even someone far stronger could not harm them.
While thinking about that time, Renji looked toward Kizaru.
A trace of confusion appeared in his eyes.
Something felt off.
It was not that Renji had seen Kizaru before.
But the way Kizaru was fighting Luffy felt different from how he fought the Supernovas earlier.
Exactly what was different?
Renji could not pinpoint it yet.
"Run!"
At that moment, Luffy struggled back to his feet after being kicked away.
"Split up and run!"
He was afraid.
Completely afraid.
After taking Kizaru's kick, Luffy fully understood the gap between them.
If Pacifistas were enemies the crew could defeat together...
Then Kizaru was someone they could never beat.
To Luffy, Kizaru had the same untouchable ability as Smoker.
But his strength was far beyond imagination.
If they tried to fight head-on...
His crew would be wiped out.
"Run!"
"Split up!"
"Escape if you can!"
Everyone froze.
Especially Roronoa Zoro and Sanji.
They stared at Luffy in disbelief.
They had sailed together for a long time.
But they had never seen Luffy like this.
"Everyone…"
Luffy stood up.
His expression was grave.
"This isn't a fight we can win right now."
"We can only have a future if we survive."
"Meet at the Thousand Sunny!"
Hearing those words, the others hesitated.
"Alright."
Sanji nodded first and began running.
Nami, Nico Robin, and the others scattered.
An Admiral was not someone they could fight.
They should not even look at him.
That was the terror of the Marines' highest combat power.
"Trying to run?"
Kizaru watched them with mild curiosity.
Boom.
He stepped down.
Brook was pinned under his foot.
"Brook!"
The others noticed immediately.
Some of them began turning back.
"Don't worry about me!"
Brook shouted.
Tears flowed from his empty eye sockets.
"I was already dead once."
"Being able to live again and meet all of you is already a miracle."
"So let me hold him back!"
"You all run!"
Brook reached up to grab Kizaru's leg.
His hand passed straight through.
"So touching."
Kizaru's emotionless voice echoed.
His foot kicked Brook again without hesitation.
"Urgh!"
Brook spat out something like stomach acid.
No one knew how a skeleton could even produce such a thing.
"Now I see."
[You picked up one Strength attribute.]
Renji's eyes suddenly lit up.
After watching Kizaru attack several times, he finally understood the difference.
The way Kizaru fought the Straw Hats was not the same as how he fought the Supernovas
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