'Whoosh...'
A light breeze swept past, stirring up trails of dust.
Luffy's pupils contracted. The smile that had been on his face moments ago was gone, replaced by stunned disbelief. Sanji, Zoro, Nami, Chopper, and the others all seemed frozen in place.
"Robin?!" Nami muttered. Then her eyes shifted to the other figure lying on the ground, eyes rolled back and completely motionless. "Usopp!!"
It had happened too fast. Everything had unfolded in the blink of an eye. Before anyone could react, two members of their crew had already been taken down.
Until now, only the Pacifista they had faced on Skypiea had given them such a shocking experience. But the tall man standing before them now carried an even greater sense of danger and oppression.
'Thud!'
Robin's smoking body crashed heavily onto the ground, sending dust flying. The Straw Hats' hearts sank with it.
"I'm not a gentle man when it comes to pirates, Nico Robin," Kojin murmured as he let out a long breath. "That lonely little girl who used to sit quietly in the library, studying all by herself... So you've finally found companions you treasure."
As he spoke, his eyes swept over the Straw Hats. Fear, anger, tension, every expression was reflected in his gaze.
'Crackle!'
Electric arcs flashed across his body. Kojin grinned.
"I've heard you've caused quite a stir lately."
He stepped forward, towering over them as he bent down slightly and looked at them from above.
"If you act recklessly in this world before obtaining real strength... you're bound to pay a heavy price. It seems none of you understand that."
His faint laughter echoed out. Only then did the Straw Hats finally snap back to reality.
Luffy shouted the names of his fallen crewmates in rage. Sanji's face darkened as he immediately launched an attack, swinging a vicious kick toward Kojin. Faced with a kick full of openings, one whose speed and power were nowhere near enough, Kojin simply raised an arm.
'Bang!'
His arm didn't move even slightly. Instead, Sanji's leg trembled from the recoil, shock filling his eyes. It felt like he had kicked solid steel. No, this man's arm was even harder than steel.
"Then let's play, young pirates," Kojin chuckled. His right hand suddenly moved, grabbing Sanji's ankle.
"Not good!" Sanji's expression changed instantly. But before he could react, an overwhelming force surged through his body.
'Boom!'
His entire body was smashed ruthlessly into the ground.
"Cough!"
The terrifying impact left his mind blank for a moment. Blood spilled from his mouth as his body went limp, dangling from Kojin's grip.
"You're as immature as three-year-old children. So this is what you're calling a pirate adventure?" Kojin mocked.
"Sanji!!!" Luffy's expression changed drastically. Unable to hold back any longer, he charged forward with his fist raised. "Gomu Gomu no..."
But Kojin casually swung the Sanji he was holding. Sanji's face was practically scraping the ground as he was hurled away like a discarded sack. In an instant, he flew directly into Luffy's path, interrupting the attack.
'Bang!'
The violent collision sent Luffy flying backward.
"You bastard!" Zoro roared.
All three swords left their sheaths at once. With a leap, he appeared before Kojin. Brilliant sword light flashed through the air as the three blades slashed down mercilessly.
"Pirate Hunter Zoro. I know who you are." Kojin looked up and suddenly smiled. At the same time, he extended a single finger, casually, effortlessly, and pressed it against the exact point where the three blades converged.
'Bang!'
A ripple spread through the air. Zoro's swords stopped, unable to move another inch.
"How is this possible?! Just one finger?!" Zoro's arms trembled violently. He pushed down with all his strength, his face turning red, yet that single finger remained there, light, relaxed, unmovable. It felt as though he was trying to cut through a mountain.
For the first time, he truly understood the gap between them. A man who could stop his full-power three-sword strike with one finger... his strength was beyond imagination. Robin had been right. This was unquestionably the strongest opponent they had ever faced.
"Is that all you've got?" Kojin shook his head, then he flicked his finger.
The explosive force released in that instant made Zoro's expression change dramatically. His three swords nearly flew from his hands, and his body spun through the air before landing on the ground, sliding dozens of meters before finally stopping.
"Playing with children has its own kind of entertainment," Kojin laughed. He simply stood there, yet he felt like an enormous mountain standing before the Straw Hats, an overwhelming presence that made every one of them feel suffocated by the difference in strength.
Kuzan remained seated cross-legged, silent as ever. No one knew what he was thinking.
"If this is all you've got... then this boring children's game is about to end," Kojin said with a faint smile. His gaze swept across the battlefield. Robin and Usopp were already unconscious on the ground. Then he slowly raised his right hand and extended a finger.
'Crackle!'
Blue lightning danced at his fingertip, radiating danger.
"AAAAAH!" Chopper saw the finger pointing toward him and immediately screamed in panic.
"If you never experience the depths of despair... how can you ever stand alone at the summit?" Kojin said lightly.
Nearby, Kuzan's eyes flickered. He looked up, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Then, in the next instant, Kojin's finger shifted. It pointed at Nami.
'Crackle!'
A blue bolt shot out and pierced her body almost instantly.
"NAMI!!!" Luffy screamed in horror, his entire body trembling. Sanji and Zoro's expressions changed dramatically, every hair on their bodies standing on end.
'Thud!'
Nami collapsed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The battlefield suddenly became quiet. Only ragged breathing and pained groans echoed through the air.
"N-No..." Luffy trembled.
A cold light flashed through Zoro's eyes as he slowly raised his head, then he looked at Sanji. The cook's face was grim and determined, like a man prepared to die.
'Flick.'
A cigarette slid into his mouth and was lit. Sanji took a deep drag, blood still staining the corner of his lips. "Haaa... Hey, moss-head. This might be the last time we fight side by side."
"Hah. Maybe," Zoro replied. He leaned forward slightly, a sharp gleam appearing in his eyes.
The man before them was unfathomably powerful. What they had seen so far was merely a glimpse of his strength, yet it was already a mountain they couldn't hope to climb.
This battle's outcome was impossible to predict. No, their chance of survival was practically zero. And there was still another Admiral sitting nearby. How many pirate crews in history had ever faced two Admirals at the same time?
"What a hopeless situation," Zoro muttered. His body tensed, his hands tightened around his swords, and the blade clenched in his mouth bit down harder.
In the next moment, two figures shot forward, one from the left, one from the right, both charging toward the towering man.
"You youngsters are full of energy," Kojin chuckled.
In the blink of an eye, they were upon him. Attacks rained down from both sides, yet Kojin moved casually, effortlessly avoiding every strike. One attack after another was neutralized. Most shocking of all, he never even moved from where he stood.
The unbelievable sight made both men's hearts shudder. They sucked in sharp breaths.
"We can't hit him at all!"
"It's like he can predict everything we're going to do!"
"How the hell is he doing this?!"
The phenomenon was so bizarre, so far beyond their understanding, that disbelief filled their eyes.
"If you want to survive on these seas... you still have a lot to learn," Kojin grinned. Then his figure suddenly blurred.
"He's gone!" Sanji's pupils shrank. The man had vanished from directly in front of him, as if he had disappeared into thin air.
"SANJI!!!" Zoro shouted a warning.
Sanji immediately sensed a gust of wind above him and spun around.
"Let me teach you how to really throw a kick, curly-brow," Kojin smiled. Standing directly before Sanji, the difference in their size was striking. Then he raised his right leg to its limit and brought it down mercilessly. "Rankyaku."
Sanji's pupils contracted, his scalp tingling with danger. That clean, decisive kick felt as sharp as one of Zoro's sword strikes. Acting purely on instinct, he leaped backward.
'Boom!'
Kojin's kick struck the ground, and the entire island seemed to shake. Then...
'Crack!'
The earth split apart. A massive fissure tore across the island, racing into the distance all the way to the sea. The ocean itself was split in two before the attack finally stopped.
"W-What kind of joke is this?!" Sanji's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Zoro was trembling too. This single kick shattered everything he thought he knew. A human body made of flesh and blood... could unleash a slash this terrifying? "You monster...!"
Kojin slowly turned around, the smile never leaving his face. "Surprised? But that's only one of the Marine Rokushiki techniques. It's called Rankyaku."
The two men were shaken to their core, engraving that name into their memories. They would never forget the sight of a single kick splitting both the earth and the sea.
The next second, they attacked again. But this time, something even more shocking happened. Kojin didn't dodge, not even once. Their attacks landed squarely on him.
"My sword can't cut through him?!"
"My kicks aren't doing anything?!"
Zoro and Sanji's hearts sank. Kojin looked up and smiled again. "This is Tekkai."
Nearby, Kuzan slowly covered his forehead. Once again, he couldn't understand his old friend at all. 'What exactly are you trying to do? You came here to capture them... so why have you started teaching them instead?'
'(End of Chapter)'
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