"Ehh~? Is that Eustass Kid and the Warlord of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma?" Law, who had arrived unnoticed, came to a halt as he assessed the situation.
"This is the Sabaody Archipelago, right next to Marineford and the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. It's no surprise that all kinds of big shots are showing up," one of Law's crew members, a pirate who had escaped from the human trafficking ring, muttered.
"With a Warlord blocking our path and the Navy closing in from behind, Captain, what do we do now?" another crewmate asked anxiously.
Before Law could respond, a sudden explosion rocked the air.
"Boom!"
The Pacifista opened its mouth and fired a laser beam directly at Law, forcing him to leap aside to evade the blast.
"This thing attacks everything in sight," Kidd scoffed, barely fazed. He glanced at Law and sneered, "Trafalgar, I'd advise you to stay out of my way."
Law chuckled darkly. "Oh? Are you giving me orders now? Didn't I warn you not to?" He narrowed his eyes. "I've had my fill of dealing with big shots today—I don't intend to face an admiral too. So, even if you're a Warlord, I suggest you move."
At that moment, a new voice joined the conversation.
"Looks like you two have found yourselves in a bit of a predicament," Jack said, strolling up leisurely and stopping a short distance away. He observed the scene with a smirk.
"Tch, so the Straw Hat managed to escape after all?" Law muttered, clearly irritated.
Jack shrugged. "Obviously. Do you know who was standing next to him? If I had stepped in and started a real fight, and that man accidentally killed me, who the hell would I even complain to?" he said nonchalantly.
Law and Kidd exchanged glances but remained silent, their expressions tense as they watched Jack.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the archipelago, Luffy and his crew had successfully escaped with Rayleigh on the flying fish, eventually arriving at Shakky's place. It was there that the Straw Hat Pirates finally learned the true identity of the old man who had been helping them—Silvers Rayleigh, the legendary right-hand man of the Pirate King, and the former first mate of the Roger Pirates.
Even as Rayleigh shared stories about Gol D. Roger's final journey, Luffy refused to hear anything about Raftel. His words, "I don't want to rule the seas. The Pirate King is simply the freest person on the ocean!" earned Rayleigh's admiration.
Impressed by Luffy's unwavering spirit, Rayleigh agreed to coat the Thousand Sunny, allowing the crew to prepare for their journey to Fish-Man Island. Overjoyed, the Straw Hats went out to explore the island once more, even making plans to visit the amusement park—completely unaware that Admiral Kizaru had already arrived on Sabaody.
Suddenly—
"Boom! Boom!"
A series of deafening explosions echoed across the archipelago, immediately drawing Jack's attention.
"That flashy old man must have shown up. Looks like Kizaru's finally here," Jack mused, his gaze shifting toward the source of the destruction. He turned back to Kidd and Law, who were still struggling to stand. "Lucky for you two, I won't be hauling you in today... but I will be collecting your bounties."
Without another word, Jack stepped forward and, with a single devastating palm strike, shattered the Pacifista into pieces.
"???"
Kidd and Law could only stare in stunned disbelief. The so-called "Warlord of the Sea" had just been obliterated with a single blow. Neither of them could find the words to express their sheer shock.
"The total bounty of the Heart Pirates is close to 200 million berries. But aside from the captain's 200 million, the lowest bounty in the crew belongs to... a bear? Just 500 berries? Is he being treated like a pet, just like Chopper?" Jack muttered, amused, as he secured the captured members of the Heart Pirates.
At that moment, a notification from the system appeared, confirming that he had gained nearly 30,000 diamonds from the Heart Pirates alone.
The Kidd Pirates, on the other hand, contributed an even larger sum—47,700 diamonds. It seemed that, aside from Kidd and Killer, no one else in their crew carried a significant bounty, so Jack hadn't bothered capturing the rest.
With more than 70,000 diamonds gained from both crews, plus his own reserve of nearly 80,000, Jack's total finally exceeded 100,000 for the first time.
"Alright, I'm heading out. Now that Kizaru is here, this mess is no longer my problem," Jack said with a smirk, shrugging as he glanced at the two captured pirates, both now bound in handcuffs.
Kidd and Law exchanged wary looks, unsure whether Jack was bluffing. Was he really letting them go?
But Jack didn't spare them another glance. With Lena and the rest of his squad, he turned and walked away, heading toward Kizaru's location.
As soon as he was out of sight, Law effortlessly slipped free of his handcuffs.
"Eustass, I'd say we got really lucky today—especially you," Law remarked, cracking his wrists. "You know Rear Admiral Jack never lets pirates who prey on the weak go free. And yet, he just walked away. Looks like today's our lucky day."
Kidd remained silent, his expression dark. Whether it was luck or something else entirely, one thing was certain—Jack had no real intention of capturing them.
"Oh? Admiral Kizaru is here? Well then, I'll be heading back to headquarters," Jack remarked casually as he arrived at the scene, just in time to witness Kizaru's odd habit of calling everyone "scary" while effortlessly kicking them into oblivion.
"Oh my~ If it isn't Rear Admiral Jack. I wasn't expecting you here," Kizaru drawled, his voice carrying its usual lazy tone.
Jack shrugged. "One of my subordinates reported spotting Dark King Rayleigh in the area, so Garp-san sent me to investigate. After all, we're in no position to take on two legendary pirates right now."
For a brief moment, Kizaru's expression hardened—but then, just as quickly, he let out a slow chuckle. "Legends~ are really scary~~"
"Well, since you're handling things now, I'll take my leave. See you back at headquarters!" Jack said with a grin before turning away.
As he walked off, Kizaru refocused on his battle, lazily but precisely launching another devastating kick at Hawkins, reducing yet another of his scarecrows to dust.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Luffy and his crew had just left Shakky's cabin when they unexpectedly ran into a Pacifista. Mistaking it for Bartholomew Kuma, Zoro and the others instinctively braced themselves, their faces grim.
However, as the fight unfolded, they quickly realized something was off. This wasn't the real Kuma.
Pooling their strength, the crew managed to take down the humanoid weapon, but as they caught their breath, Sanji noticed the designation "PX-4" printed on its arm. Just as he was about to comment on it, an unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted him.
"You idiots! Look at what you've done!" A burly man wielding a long-handled axe stormed onto the scene, his clothing resembling a sumo wrestler. He glared at the defeated Pacifista lying in ruins before him. "Hey, PX-4, how the hell did you end up like this? Do you have any idea how expensive a Pacifista is? The cost of building one is as high as that of a full warship!"
As if the situation weren't bad enough, another identical figure—the same "Warlord of the Sea" that Luffy's crew had barely managed to take down—appeared behind him, unscathed.
"Who the hell are you, Axe Guy?" Franky shouted at the newcomer.
"Hey, hey! How rude! You can't just call someone by their weapon!" the man huffed. "Besides, it's pointless to ask. My defense is the strongest in the world, and my lips are sealed tight!"
"Then can you at least introduce yourself?"
"I have no obligation to answer you! But listen up—I'm the world's greatest secret-keeper, Sentomaru!" The man proudly announced, inadvertently revealing his name.
"Oh~ So it's Sentomaru!" The Straw Hat Pirates echoed in unison.
Sentomaru's face darkened. "I told you that on my own! That wasn't an answer!" he snapped. Then, shifting his stance, he commanded, "Alright, PX-1—get to work!"
At his signal, the "Bartholomew Kuma" standing behind him suddenly sprang into action.
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