Chapter 189 - 189

"An Admiral in front of us… and a Warlord behind us."

Urouge forced himself to stand, blood running down the side of his face. Even so, the grin on his lips did not disappear.

"Is this where it ends?"

Beside him, Hawkins quietly drew another card.

"No," he said flatly. "The cards haven't shown your death yet."

Urouge glanced at him and gave a strained laugh.

"Hawkins of the North Blue… even as an enemy, you still know how to say something comforting. I'm grateful."

The Pacifista standing nearby gave them no time to continue.

Its eyes flashed red.

Then it raised one massive hand, aiming straight at Urouge.

Whoosh!

Just before the blow landed, a figure rushed in from the side.

X Drake slammed into the Pacifista with a heavy strike, sending its enormous body flying through the air.

Boom!

The Pacifista crashed into a nearby building, smashing through the wall and burying itself in rubble.

But only a moment later, the debris shifted.

The Pacifista climbed back out.

There was barely a scratch on it.

Seeing that, Urouge's body began to swell. His muscles expanded, his frame growing larger and larger until he looked almost like a small giant.

A fierce smile spread across his face.

"Being beaten down is shameful enough…"

He clenched his fists.

"But if there's still a chance to fight back… then I'll take it!"

From a rooftop, Scratchmen Apoo watched the scene with a wide grin, his arms spread as if he were enjoying a performance.

"Ha! Now this is getting good! Things are finally turning into a real show!"

At the same time, on another part of Sabaody Archipelago, the Straw Hat Pirates were also locked in battle with a Pacifista.

Every member fought together.

Even then, it was a desperate struggle.

The enemy possessed a steel-like body, overwhelming physical strength, and laser attacks modeled after Admiral Kizaru's power.

It was a weapon created by the World Government's genius scientist, Dr. Vegapunk.

A human weapon powerful enough to change the flow of a battlefield.

After a long and brutal fight, the sound of explosions finally settled.

The Pacifista collapsed.

The Straw Hats stood around it, panting heavily, their bodies covered in wounds and sweat.

They had won.

But it had taken everything they had.

Just as relief began to spread among them, two figures dropped from the sky.

Thud!

The ground shook beneath their feet.

Chopper, Usopp, and Brook screamed at the same time.

"Another Warlord?!"

One of the figures looked exactly like Bartholomew Kuma.

The same face.

The same massive body.

The same silent, emotionless stare.

But hadn't they just defeated him?

The other figure was a large man wearing a red bellyband, carrying an enormous axe over his shoulder.

Luffy stared at him.

"Who're you, axe guy?"

The man snorted.

"Hmph! Asking a man's name by pointing at his weapon? I'm not telling you anything!"

He proudly puffed out his chest.

"I'm the man with the tightest lips in the world!"

Usopp trembled as he pointed at him.

"Then why are you bragging about it?!"

The man folded his arms.

"I don't have to answer that. Like I said, I'm the tightest-lipped man in the world—Sentomaru!"

Usopp froze.

"So you just told us your name!"

Sentomaru blinked.

Then he looked away and clicked his tongue.

"That was something I was going to say anyway! It doesn't count as answering your question!"

He raised his axe and shouted.

"Go, PX-1!"

Boom!

The Pacifista moved again.

"Run!"

"Everyone split up!"

The Straw Hats scattered at once.

Seeing Luffy trying to escape, Sentomaru immediately rushed after him and blocked his path.

"Where do you think you're going, Straw Hat?"

The others tried to break away in different directions.

Then—

A golden flash cut across the battlefield.

In the next instant, Zoro was kicked straight into the ground.

"Zoro!"

The Straw Hats froze.

Sentomaru let out a breath of relief.

"So the old man finally showed up."

A tall man in a yellow-striped suit stood where the flash had landed, hands in his pockets, his expression slow and unreadable.

Nico Robin's eyes widened.

A chill ran through her body.

"Everyone… be careful."

Her voice was calm, but tense.

"That man is one of the Navy's three Admirals… Kizaru."

The moment they heard that name, the Straw Hats stiffened.

They had barely managed to defeat one Pacifista.

Now another Kuma-like weapon had appeared.

Sentomaru was blocking Luffy.

And on top of that, an Admiral had arrived.

Elsewhere on Sabaody, Hawkins, Urouge, Apoo, and the others had already been crushed.

A single kick.

A single beam.

That was all it took.

Against Admiral Kizaru, the Supernovas were still far too weak.

Kizaru looked down at Zoro, who was lying on the ground and breathing hard, his body already battered from the previous fight.

"Oooh… Pirate Hunter Zoro. One hundred and twenty million berries."

His tone was lazy, almost careless.

"I heard you were quite the swordsman… but you went down with one kick."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Well… looks like you were already half-dead."

Zoro coughed up blood and forced his fingers to tighten around his sword.

"Damn it…"

His voice was rough.

"So this… is an Admiral…"

Kizaru slowly raised one leg.

Golden light gathered around his foot.

"Rest well."

Luffy, pinned down and unable to reach him, screamed with everything he had.

"Usopp!"

Usopp snapped back to himself and immediately raised his slingshot.

"Don't you touch him!"

He fired again and again.

The shots passed straight through Kizaru's body in bursts of light.

Without Haki, they could not touch a Logia.

Brook rushed in next, drawing his sword and thrusting at Kizaru.

"Yah!"

But the blade pierced nothing but light.

At the same time, arms bloomed from the ground around Zoro.

Robin gritted her teeth and tried to pull him away using her Devil Fruit power.

But before she could move him far, Kizaru vanished.

In a flash of gold, he appeared beside Zoro again.

One foot came down, pinning Zoro to the ground and stopping Robin from dragging him away.

The light around Kizaru's raised leg shone brighter.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a silver-haired figure rushed in.

Silvers Rayleigh.

But just before he stepped into the battle, his eyes shifted.

He sensed something.

His movement stopped.

Instead of clashing with Kizaru, Rayleigh lifted Luffy from the ground and turned his gaze toward the Admiral.

Kizaru had sensed Rayleigh from the beginning.

As one of the Navy's highest combat forces, he did not panic.

But when Rayleigh stopped, Kizaru understood why.

Someone else had stepped onto the battlefield first.

A young man stood in front of him.

Kizaru's lazy expression lifted slightly.

"Oooh… you're the one who killed a Celestial Dragon, aren't you?"

His voice dragged in that familiar careless tone.

"How scary. And so young, too."

The young man looked at him calmly.

"So you recognize me already. First time meeting you, Admiral Kizaru."

He smiled faintly.

"My name is Namikaze Kirito."

Nami and Robin stared at him.

The rest of the Straw Hats also looked over, confused and stunned.

For some reason, the moment this man appeared, the pressure crushing them seemed to loosen.

They did not know him.

But his arrival made them feel as if they had finally been given room to breathe.

"Namikaze Kirito…"

Kizaru repeated the name slowly.

"Sounds like a name from Wano. But for a criminal who struck a Celestial Dragon to appear right in front of me…"

Golden light flickered around him.

"You really don't seem to fear the Navy."

Kirito glanced at Kizaru's raised leg.

"Hard to say."

Then he smiled.

"But Admiral… doesn't your leg get tired staying up like that?"

Kizaru paused.

Then, as if the question had genuinely made him think, he slowly lowered his leg and stepped off Zoro.

Robin did not waste the opening.

She immediately pulled Zoro back toward the Straw Hats.

"Zoro!"

The others rushed to him, glaring at Kizaru with tense faces.

Kizaru watched them leave and did not stop them.

His gaze remained fixed on Kirito.

"Well, since the main criminal has shown himself…"

Golden light gathered around Kizaru's body.

"I suppose the Straw Hat Pirates can wait."

In the next instant, he vanished.

A flash of gold appeared beside Kirito.

Kizaru's kick cut through the air like light itself.

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