The person forced to reveal himself by Sage in the air is Kizaru!
The cadres all stood up at this moment, each adopting a battle stance, but spontaneously surrounded the Heavenly Celestial Dragon.
"Navy Admiral!"
Rosward saw the person in the air and shouted: "Kill them, kill these lowlifes who dare insult us!"
Smack!
The shiny blade hit his mouth hard, knocking out one of his teeth and splattering some blood droplets.
Lily held White Thunder horizontally, pressing it against his neck, "Say any more, and I'll kill you."
"Low, low..."
Facing the threat of death, Rosward stammered twice but couldn't say any more.
The Heavenly Celestial Dragons aren't idiots. They're just arrogant, treating people less than human. It doesn't mean they're dumb... At least not all of them are.
With a sword at his neck, speaking harsh words is pointless, and it might cost his life.
"Is it Kizaru?"
Urouge chuckled ominously, his body tensed, "I didn't expect my first battle after joining the Disaster Pirates to be against a Navy Admiral. What an intense fight, is this the first battle for the Disaster Pirates?!"
"You're overthinking it; even if we all band together, we wouldn't be his match."
Hawkins stood on the other side, drew a tarot card, glanced at it, and said calmly: "The only one who can fight an Admiral is Sage. Hmm... the odds of defeat are 12%, chances of withdrawal are 98%. We're not in danger this time."
It's obvious; the Heavenly Celestial Dragon... is an excellent hostage.
No matter what, there won't be any danger.
Bang!
The sound in the air intensified; two figures collided and disappeared quickly. In the eyes of the crowd, only a cluster of light appeared on the other side, and then a figure pursued it, finally revealing form.
Sage kicked towards Kizaru's head position, but a longer leg bent to block it. Sage grinned viciously, his arm moved with an invisible speed, throwing out a Haki Bullet, hitting Kizaru's body but only striking a rapidly dispersing cluster of light.
Boom!
The bodies of both appeared again in another corner of the venue and clashed swiftly once more.
Each time they appeared, Sage used both fists and feet, either punching or kicking, but regardless, Kizaru responded with just one leg, while other attacks were quickly nullified into light.
It's so fast that shadows are almost invisible; those who watch can only catch glimpses of their forms at the moment they appear.
Even as Lily's eyes darted around, this speed was too fast for her to catch, causing her to instinctively grip the sword hilt tighter.
The gap is too large...
Just this speed alone renders them powerless.
Bang!
Bam bam bam!
The two flashed around inside the venue, clashing several times. Then Kizaru swiftly flashed beneath the ceiling, crossing his arms in an 'OK' sign.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
A stream of laser bullets burst forth from his hands like rain.
Sage grinned, revealing white teeth, as his hands floated a mass of flowing black fire-like Haki, "Tenha Kassatsu: Meteor Shower!"
Hundred Times Speed!
The extreme speed made Sage's arms vanish, replaced by a massive barrage of Haki Bullets, as fierce as the laser rain, colliding with it, sending waves of air rippling out.
"Oh~ it's increased in number, how curious, did you get something, Disaster?" Kizaru shouted at Sage with pursed lips.
The intensity of the Haki hasn't changed, but the quantity has dramatically increased; he couldn't achieve this level before. This is an improvement.
Quantitative change can lead to qualitative change.
Bang!!
Haki Bullets and laser rain collided in the air, erupting continuously, causing waves of air that blew away the nearby seats, crashing into the walls, turning the venue's center into a flat ground, and raising a massive dust cloud.
In this dust cloud, Kizaru, as light, was about to head towards the Heavenly Celestial Dragon on the stage.
"Did you think I wouldn't know what you're planning?! Moonwalk: Instant Sky!"
Just as the light began to move, a figure appeared before the scattering light, legs entwined with Haki, kicking fiercely, the dispersed Kizaru revealed surprise and quickly sped up but only allowed Sage's leg to pass through the light, kicking empty space.
Meanwhile, his body appeared above those legs, hands in pockets, delivering a powerful kick to Sage's head.
Bang!!
Sage's body shot backward like a cannonball, but when it reached the stage, he suddenly paused down, smashing straight into the stage floor, creating a depression.
Sage crossed his arms over his face, Haki coiled among them, but smoke emerged from them.
He lifted his gaze from the crossed hands, his face full of ferocity and provocation.
Hovering in the air, Kizaru chuckled: "You can now match my speed? You're no longer a rookie, truly terrifying."
"Stop joking; no matter how fast, it can't be faster than light."
Sage loosened his grip, shaking it off, sneering: "But keeping up with you isn't an issue. On your own, you can't stop me, Kizaru!"
No one can be faster than light; no one at sea can achieve such a feat.
But in this narrow space, with Sage's speed base enhanced a hundredfold, keeping up with Kizaru is not a problem.
He now... has the qualifications to give an Admiral a headache!
"So confident... did you get something at Impel Down, Disaster? The Navy wants your information, can you tell me directly?" Kizaru asked with a smile.
"Heh heh heh..."
Sage let out a low laugh, pulled out a gun from his waist, aiming at Kizaru's position, "See for yourself, isn't it more accurate? Southern Dipper Bullet Strike!"
Bang!
The moment the bullet shot out from the barrel, it became a blurred shadow, heading upward, increasing in size rapidly from a small lead bullet to a size larger than a cannonball, its speed unabated, rushing into Kizaru's body.
Kizaru's eyes showed surprise, his body transforming into light, shifting to the side, while the cannonball smashed into the ceiling.
Boom!!
The cannonball ascended, exploding into a massive black firework.
"Ho ho ha ha ha, such wonderful fireworks, Lily-san, Hawkins-san!"
Sage laughed loudly, holding the gun: "Monkey, can this let you report back? But I am very dissatisfied; why suppress the news of me storming Impel Down? You know how much this hinders my plans? I can't advance to the New World!"
To storm Impel Down, such big news, but not a single word on the newspaper, he felt it wasn't big enough, tried to punch Impel Down remotely, collapsing half of it.
Even so, it was suppressed.
"The World Government needs face; the Navy needs face too."
Kizaru looked at Sage, speaking slowly: "So you really are the 'World Destroyer;' you've obtained an incredible ability. Now, let's discuss terms. Having captured the Heavenly Celestial Dragon, what do you truly want?"
Fight?
No need.
Ensuring the safety of the Heavenly Celestial Dragon, the rest is negotiable, especially concerning this completely troublesome Disaster.
This guy's ability... can utterly destroy the Shampodi Islands.