Kizaru looked slightly unsettled.
When the Pacifista had identified Renji earlier, it was not like he had not noticed.
But he knew very well how strong Sentomaru was.
Being the chief bodyguard of Vegapunk already proved everything.
Renji was only a vice captain. Even if he was favored by Edward Newgate, he was still just a vice captain.
With Sentomaru's strength, even facing a division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates would not be a problem.
And yet.
Even someone Kizaru trusted had been instantly defeated by Renji.
"You," Kizaru said slowly, "are quite interesting."
Now Kizaru was no longer paying attention to Silvers Rayleigh.
"Admiral Kizaru is going to make a move!"
The Marines around them immediately became excited.
Especially the ones who had arrived with Kizaru.
Six Supernovas had nearly been defeated one kick at a time earlier.
That kind of power was enough to make anyone feel secure.
"Just surrender already. Having an Admiral personally deal with you is already giving you face."
Someone even started provoking Renji.
"The Marines are not like pirates who fight to the death every time. If you surrender, at least your life will be spared. If you keep resisting, well…"
Renji glanced in their direction.
That statement was not entirely wrong.
Even pirates imprisoned on the sixth floor of Impel Down, people dangerous enough to threaten the world, had not been executed.
Even the legendary pirate Shiki had only been imprisoned rather than killed.
But did he need to surrender just to stay alive?
"Renji of the Whitebeard Pirates," Rayleigh murmured quietly from the side.
Although he had retired, the network he possessed was still powerful.
Information from the New World was extremely important to every major force, especially intelligence about the Four Emperors.
Rayleigh naturally knew who Renji was.
"He received personal guidance from Whitebeard, but he is still too young," Rayleigh thought. "If he wants to fight Kizaru, even Marco would probably only manage to hold him off rather than counterattack."
"So Renji has even less chance."
Rayleigh was not optimistic.
Still, anyone valued by Whitebeard must have something special.
Right now the most important thing was getting the Straw Hat Pirates out of danger.
Rayleigh glanced at Renji, especially at Sentomaru beneath his foot.
"Hopefully you can hold out for a while."
With that, Rayleigh stopped paying attention to Kizaru and headed toward Monkey D. Luffy and the others.
Kizaru looked at Renji calmly.
"Young man."
"The person under your foot happens to be my nephew."
"Would you mind letting him go?"
"Oh?"
Renji raised an eyebrow.
That was something he did not know.
He glanced down at Sentomaru and smiled faintly.
"If I did not know this, I might release a captured enemy to avoid fighting an Admiral."
"But now that you told me…"
Renji grabbed Sentomaru by the neck and lifted him up, using him as a shield.
"Do you think I would be stupid enough to release an Admiral's relative?"
"If I propose a trade right now, you would surely be interested."
Kizaru scratched his head slightly.
"A hostage, huh."
"But I do not think I have anything you want."
Renji shook his head.
"How could that be?"
"Just let us leave."
But in the next moment Kizaru moved.
He appeared in front of Renji almost instantly.
His hand transformed into golden light.
With incredible speed he bypassed Sentomaru and stabbed straight toward Renji's heart.
"Tch."
Renji clicked his tongue.
Faced with such a lethal strike, he had no choice but to abandon Sentomaru and retreat rapidly.
"Great!"
Seeing Kizaru force Renji back with a single move made the Marines even more excited.
"As expected of an Admiral!"
"You were acting so arrogant just now. Try being cocky again!"
The Marines who had been shocked by Renji's effortless destruction of five Pacifistas and Sentomaru suddenly regained their confidence.
They stood straighter.
Their morale shot up.
"The instructor of the Whitebeard Pirates? That's all?"
Renji ignored them.
He had been careless.
Earlier he had been watching the fight between Kizaru and Rayleigh while collecting attributes.
His eyes could follow Kizaru's speed.
But he forgot that seeing and reacting physically were two completely different things.
Still, that did not mean Renji had no way to deal with Kizaru.
The speed boost from the Glint-Glint Fruit was terrifying.
But Renji had that power too.
"Thank you, old man," Sentomaru said after being rescued, forcing himself to move aside despite the injuries from Renji's quake attack.
He had been completely beaten and frightened by Renji.
"Old man, be careful."
"This guy is not ordinary."
Kizaru nodded.
"Of course."
After all, Renji had defeated Sentomaru.
"But what does that change?"
"Stand aside."
"I will handle this."
Kizaru's gaze returned to Renji.
His expression became exaggerated again.
"The instructor of the Whitebeard Pirates."
"What a terrifying man."
His words said one thing.
His attitude said another.
Renji rubbed his nose.
Kizaru's current attitude was exactly the same as when he dealt with the Supernovas earlier.
It seemed his earlier mistake had made Kizaru underestimate him.
"I also think I'm a very terrifying person," Renji said calmly.
He glanced toward Rayleigh.
Rayleigh was already helping move Luffy and the others away.
Black-purple Armament Haki wrapped around Renji's fists.
"But the question is whether you're enough to handle me."
"Pfft!"
The Marines burst out laughing.
Kizaru had not even responded yet.
"You?"
Kizaru was one of the strongest forces in the Navy.
An Admiral.
And the oldest among the three Admirals.
No one knew which Admiral was strongest, but greater age usually meant more combat experience.
None of them believed Renji could defeat or even properly contend with Kizaru.
Especially after Kizaru had retrieved Sentomaru with a single move.
"You should stop pretending and just surrender."
"At least then we might still have something to talk about."
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