Kizaru's escape marked the definitive end of the entire Skypiea campaign.
When the Straw Hat Pirates emerged from the Hyperspace Hole and arrived near the battlefield where Luffy and the scarred man had been fighting…
The powerhouse who had relied on his awakened Zoan-type abilities to trade blows evenly with Luffy finally let go of the stubborn resolve in his heart.
Under Luffy's thunderous Thunder-God Battle Axe, he was smashed straight down into the solid island cloud, completely losing consciousness and becoming yet another captive aboard the Going Merry.
A short while later, on the deck of the Going Merry.
With the ship's cabins already packed full of prisoners, the deck was the only area left where the Straw Hats could still move freely.
"Time is tight and the situation is critical, so I'll keep this brief!"
Red gathered everyone together, light flickering in his eyes as he spoke in a solemn tone.
"Everyone! Although this live broadcast went beautifully—we not only executed the Celestial Dragons before the eyes of the entire world, but also defeated every single enemy who came to stop us…"
"But I have to remind you all…"
"Now is not the time to lower our guard. The real battle has only just begun!"
Red's words successfully dragged the Straw Hats out of the joy of victory.
Usopp, who had been celebrating just moments ago, froze on the spot.
Before his brain could even start processing things, Zoro spoke up in a low, heavy voice:
"He's right."
He shifted the three long swords at his waist and said quietly, "That Marine admiral who escaped… he knows far too much about us."
"Our future enemies may very well use that information to target us specifically."
Battles in the pirate world were never just simple brawls.
Just like how the Rust-Rust Fruit user Usopp defeated so easily could have been a deadly threat to Zoro…
Information itself was an equally lethal weapon in combat.
Tch.
Sanji lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and frowned.
"The others aren't too big a deal…"
"But if Kizaru managed to recognize the name of green-mosshead's sword style, that would indeed be bad news for us."
"Even if the chance isn't that high."
"But…" Luffy clasped his hands behind his head and asked Red with a puzzled look, "We never planned to completely hide our identities anyway, right?"
"Mm." Red nodded. "Completely hiding who we are was never realistic to begin with—unless we stopped using all Devil Fruit abilities altogether."
"It's just that, judging by how things turned out, our original plan to completely distance ourselves from the incident and frame the Whitebeard Pirates as the masterminds behind everything can no longer be carried out smoothly."
"And that means our future adventures will be filled with all kinds of danger."
"I have to say, Kizaru's escape—while it looked rather pathetic—turned out to be unexpectedly troublesome."
Red sighed softly.
But Luffy didn't care in the slightest. He grinned widely.
"So what!"
"When he finds us again, we'll be even stronger!"
"As long as we get stronger than our enemies before they come after us, that's all that matters!"
"…That's true."
Looking at Luffy's carefree grin, Red ultimately chose not to emphasize the terror of the World Government any further.
Infected by Luffy's smile, the corners of his mouth lifted as well.
"A World Government that can't even deal with a Yonko crew…"
"I guess I was worrying too much."
"Hey, hey! I can't pretend I didn't hear that!"
Ace bumped Red with his elbow, laughing as he cut in.
But deep down, he was once again shaken by the terrifying potential of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Perhaps it wouldn't be long before Red's casual disdain for the World Government would turn from a joke into an undeniable reality.
Laughter rang out across the deck once more, and the atmosphere grew relaxed.
And just as the Little Merry adjusted her heading and prepared to sail toward the shallower White Sea…
A Den Den Mushi that had been kept on the deck—nearly forgotten by everyone—suddenly rang.
"Huh?!"
Everyone froze.
Luffy exclaimed in surprise, "Ace, that looks like your Den Den Mushi!"
The Den Den Mushi wore an orange sunhat and showed off a muscular chest, shouting urgently.
"Could it be…?"
Ace's expression shifted from shock to joy. He dashed over and picked it up.
"Hello?! Is this Ace?!"
An anxious expression appeared on the Den Den Mushi's tiny face.
"That voice…" Ace paused for a moment, then broke into a grin of pure delight.
"It's Marco! Marco!!!"
"That's right—it's me!"
"Thank goodness you answered."
The Den Den Mushi let out a visible sigh of relief before anxiously asking, "Ace, how are things on your end? Are you still on Skypiea?!"
"You pulled off something this huge without a word—I really underestimated you before!"
"But we're not doing too badly ourselves! Old man led us in a massive fight at Marineford, and now the Navy's chasing us down!"
"Once we shake them off, we'll come rescue you!"
"Rescue me?" Ace blinked, turning to glance at the Marine 'rice dumplings' overflowing from the cabins.
Are you sure you're coming to rescue me… and not to drag the entire Navy over here?
"W-wait, Marco!" Ace quickly interrupted. "Please don't come looking for me!"
Red had already warned them—there was a massive Marine fleet lying in ambush in the seas beneath Skypiea.
Coming now would be walking straight into a trap.
"Let me handle this."
At that moment, Red suddenly reached out and took the Den Den Mushi from Ace, speaking directly into it.
"Marco-senpai, you said you just attacked Marine Headquarters? How did the battle go?"
"And… who's chasing you right now?"
"With Whitebeard-senpai's strength, the Navy actually dares to pursue you on the open sea?"
"Who else could it be?" Marco replied immediately. "Of course it's Garp and Sengoku!"
"Old man got furious and split Marineford clean in half, but because of that, those two bastards managed to ambush him and injure him."
"I see." Red nodded in understanding, quickly grasping what had happened on the seas.
Then he continued, "Marco-senpai, you can rest easy. Ace is with us."
"What you need to do now is focus on shaking off the Navy."
"Once you're safe, follow Ace's Vivre Card to find us."
"We'll wait for you in a secure location."
"Huh?" Marco blinked in confusion. "Uh… who are you, exactly?"
What answered him was nothing but the busy tone of a disconnected Den Den Mushi.
Marco: ???
"Hey! Marco, did you get in touch with Ace?!"
Just then, Vista dropped from the sky after intercepting a cannonball, landing beside Marco.
Shaking his numbed arm, he shouted loudly.
The title of 'Marine Hero' Garp truly wasn't just for show.
Without Marco's support, even commanders like them found it incredibly difficult to stop the cannonballs Garp hurled.
"Got it!"
Marco had no time to think further. He immediately transformed into his Phoenix Form, soaring into the air and firing pale-blue flames to intercept the incoming barrage.
Though his words over the Den Den Mushi sounded casual, the reality was far harsher.
To minimize casualties among the Whitebeard Pirates, Whitebeard had practically held the line alone—one man standing against ten thousand.
With sheer force, he drove back the Navy's entire formation and used his Devil Fruit powers to destroy Marineford itself.
But doing so drastically drained the already illness-ridden Whitebeard, allowing Sengoku and Garp to grievously wound him in a joint assault.
High above, tens of thousands of meters in the sky, Red had already pieced together the truth from Marco's brief remarks.
…
…
"So Marineford was destroyed in the end… Was it fate?"
"But judging by the situation, Whitebeard's condition must be far from good—otherwise the Navy wouldn't dare pursue them."
"Fortunately, Marco sounded prepared. Escaping shouldn't be a problem."
Countless thoughts flashed through Red's mind.
He then looked up, gave Ace a reassuring smile, and turned to Luffy.
"Well then, Captain. With Skypiea wrapped up, isn't it time to give the order?"
"Hehehe! You're right~!"
After the battle, Luffy—stronger than ever—leapt onto the bow of the Going Merry.
Standing in the captain's exclusive spot, he threw his arms wide and leaned back, laughing brilliantly.
"Everyone! Our Skypiea adventure is over!"
"Hoist the sails—set sail!!!"
"It's time to search for our next adventure!"
"OHHH!!!"
The Straw Hats roared in unison.
After such a fierce battle, everyone's fighting spirit burned hotter than ever, eagerly anticipating what lay ahead.
The Little Merry became the perfect helmsman and sailor, guiding the ship as it sped toward the end of the White Sea.
…
…
Meanwhile, on the ocean far below Skypiea.
Aboard a massive Marine battleship, Kuzan wore a complex expression—part shock, part resignation—as he looked at Kizaru, who was lounging in a sun chair sipping black tea.
Rubbing the deep wrinkles on his forehead, Kuzan sighed.
"So you're saying…"
"Over a thousand Marine officers and Cipher Pol agents, plus three CP0 operatives, were completely wiped out by a Whitebeard Pirates Second Division commander and his allies?!"
"And you're the only one who escaped?!"
"Correction…"
"It was Ace and that mysterious Akatsuki organization—the same two who personally executed the Celestial Dragons…"
"I know, I know."
As the overall commander of this mission, Kuzan spoke with an indescribable look in his eyes.
"But no matter how you put it, this is still absurd."
"I'll report everything truthfully to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. What he decides to say after that is out of my hands."
"You should've done that from the start."
Kizaru nodded nonchalantly, sipping his hot tea while flipping through a tabloid.
As for his injuries, they had already vanished under the effects of Six Powers · Life Return.
Given a bit more time, even the scars might disappear completely.
Still, Kizaru had already ordered the Marines to photograph his miserable state when he fell from Skypiea as evidence for the report.
Not because he wanted to slack off…
But because he'd already seen clearly that continuing the fight would yield nothing.
He hadn't forgotten—the mysterious support fighter had been holding back almost the entire time after their initial exchanges.
Logia abilities consumed immense stamina, and with Zoro and the others continuously inflicting wounds…
If things dragged on and his strength faltered—if that mysterious powerhouse seized the opening and he lost in such an embarrassing way…
That would have been truly humiliating.
So once he realized things were hopeless, Kizaru chose to retreat without the slightest hesitation.
For that pitiful salary, why risk his life?
Besides, the first scapegoat would definitely be CP0.
As an intelligence agency tasked with protecting the Celestial Dragons, they not only allowed a public execution, but also failed to properly investigate their enemies—resulting in total annihilation.
The CP0 director was absolutely going to be chewed out by the Five Elders.
And Kizaru himself?
He had held off multiple enemy powerhouses alone—including two criminals who executed the Celestial Dragons.
Just as victory seemed within reach…
He was surrounded due to CP0's failure to hold the line.
Even under such dire circumstances, he still preserved an admiral-level combatant for the World Government.
Kizaru genuinely couldn't see what he'd done wrong.
Desertion?
Impossible!
If the Five Elders didn't reward him, that would be unjust.
Kuzan, well aware of Kizaru's personality, ultimately said nothing.
They'd been partners for too many years—he understood him all too well.
If the sky fell, Fleet Admiral Sengoku would handle it. What did it have to do with a mere admiral?
Just as Kuzan was thinking about how to report upward, a sudden commotion erupted from the other end of the battleship.
"Hm?!"
He and Kizaru both set down their documents and newspapers, looking up toward the sky.
A tiny black dot was plummeting downward from high above.
And its landing point seemed to be the exact center of their battleship!
"That is…"
Sensing familiar auras reappearing, Kizaru's eyes widened behind his brown-tinted glasses.
"Hey, hey, hey… you've gotta be kidding me! Why now?!"
He sprang to his feet.
Though he couldn't understand why they'd choose this moment to descend from Skypiea, if the enemy had reappeared, then overtime it was.
Still… he truly couldn't fathom why they'd choose such a suicidal method.
In an instant, Kuzan and Kizaru exchanged a glance.
The next moment, they launched upward—one turning into a beam of light, the other forming slender ice pillars beneath his feet—as they rushed toward the falling Going Merry.
But the Marines, completely focused on the ship above, failed to notice…
That deep beneath them, a colossal presence was slowly rising toward the surface.
…
…
"This distance…"
"It's about time!!!"
At the same moment, Red sensed Buggy and the others' psychic marks beneath the sea.
He grinned and turned to Issho beside him.
"The rest is up to you, Uncle Issho!"
"No problem!"
Issho drew his blade in a single motion. A surge of gravitational force burst forth, enveloping the entire Going Merry.
The ship's free-fall speed rapidly decelerated.
At the same time, Kizaru and Kuzan's Observation Haki detected the massive sea creature appearing below the battleship.
But having already leapt skyward in pursuit, they could no longer address the anomaly beneath them.
They could only grit their teeth and continue the assault.
Then—
A massive spatial wormhole suddenly appeared between them and the Going Merry.
Before Kizaru and Kuzan could react, the still-descending ship fell straight into the wormhole and vanished before their eyes!
The enormous sea monster below, having completed its rendezvous mission, quietly sank back into the deep.
And just like that, the Straw Hat Pirates…
Before everyone's eyes, under the attack of two Marine admirals…
Completely disappeared—as if it had all been nothing more than an illusion.
Only Kizaru and Kuzan remained, suspended thousands of meters in the air.
Staring at each other in silence.
"..."
"..."
(End of Chapter)