Knock, knock, knock!!!
Knock, knock, knock!!!
Dragon was bowing his head, organizing the batch of documents regarding the Heavenly Tribute.
He sighed, his expression slightly troubled. "What other crew members should I arrange for Luffy..."
Hearing the knock, he looked up.
"Come in."
A small Revolutionary Army leader entered, looking anxious and incredibly agitated.
Huff... puff...
"Please knock a little gentler next time." Dragon's gaze remained on the documents, his voice steady as usual.
"When handling matters, one must be even more composed. Even if Mount Tai collapses in front of you, your expression should not change. That is how we should be."
"Something terrible has happened!!! Mr. Dragon!" The small leader almost shouted.
"What is it?" Dragon looked up, asking calmly.
"Bonney... Miss Bonney was captured by Kizaru!!"
"Oh?" Dragon straightened up slightly, leaning forward a bit.
But after thinking for just a moment, he returned to his previous posture, even picking up the document again. His tone carried a calmness born of understanding.
"It's fine. Kizaru won't do anything to Bonney. He knows better than anyone which family stands behind her."
"Here, pass on my order. Send Betty. Have her try to rescue Bonney from Kizaru, provided she ensures her own safety first."
After waiting for a while, Dragon looked up again, realizing the subordinate in front of him had no intention of moving. Instead, the man looked at him with even more urgency.
Dragon asked, confused, "Is there something else?"
"Mr. Dragon... Mr. Chrollo is also at the scene... and he is currently fighting Kizaru! Should we..."
"What?!!" Dragon stood up in shock, the documents at his hand scattering to the floor with a whoosh.
His voice made the small leader's eardrums ring.
Dragon placed both hands on the man's shoulders and asked with extreme seriousness, "You're saying Mr. Chrollo is fighting Kizaru?"
The small leader nodded numbly.
He thought only they were anxious about Mr. Chrollo being in danger. He didn't expect their boss to be even more frantic than them!
It was the first time he had seen Dragon lose his composure like this.
"We want to go support him... Mr. Dragon," the small leader hesitated but still spoke up.
"Mr. Chrollo gave us the precious Heavenly Tribute supplies and perfected the path and direction of the revolution for us."
"He has shown us kindness. We discussed it... we can't just leave him to die."
Dragon shook his head with a serious expression.
Seeing this, the small leader's heart sank.
As expected, Mr. Dragon always prioritizes the big picture.
He wouldn't let the Revolutionary Army's years of infiltration in Loguetown go to waste just for one Mr. Chrollo.
Mr. Chrollo... I'm sorry, he silently recited in despair.
Dragon shook his head and said, "I'll go personally—"
"..."
"ﾟДﾟ"
The small leader's eyes widened.
Dragon said no more. He walked towards the door with incredibly hurried steps, his expression becoming more and more serious.
"Mr. Chrollo is the ideological pioneer who created the theory of 'people-centric'! He is the godfather of the revolution!"
For Dragon, Chrollo's life was more important than anything else!
He viewed Chrollo as the true spark of the revolutionary cause.
"For this world... anyone can meet with misfortune. Even if I die, it doesn't matter..."
Dragon's eyes suddenly turned sharp:
"But Chrollo must not be harmed!!!"
"His life is above everything—"
---
Back on the battlefield.
Buzz—
A dimensional door appeared on the scorched ground.
Chrollo stepped out of the [Fourth-Dimensional Mansion].
An attack requiring charge-up time like that could never hit Chrollo, who possessed spatial abilities.
However, Kizaru's attack wasn't over.
The moment Chrollo appeared, Kizaru had already flashed behind him at light speed.
A long sword formed of condensed light beam particles was raised high in his hand.
"Ama no Murakumo—" (Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven)
Then, with a swish, he slashed down at Chrollo with incredible speed—
The blade cut through the air, causing a sharp hum—
CLANG—
With extreme speed, Chrollo pulled Nobunaga's "Oto" and "Kogarashi" from the [Fourth-Dimensional Mansion] and crossed them in front of his chest to block.
Under Kizaru's blow, he was sent flying violently—
Immediately after, Kizaru didn't stop. He elementalized into a beam of light in mid-air, reformed in front of Chrollo, and brought the Ama no Murakumo down again!
CLANG—
The second strike numbed Chrollo's hands, blood seeping from the webbing between his thumbs and fingers as he flew backward again.
Chrollo's breathing became heavy, his eyes graver than ever before.
Fighting until now, he clearly realized—the most difficult and dangerous moment had arrived!
With the robust physical fitness brought by "Distorted Future" and his endless stream of Nen abilities, he could manage to maneuver against Kizaru in close combat for a while.
But Kizaru was a hexagonal warrior...
His swordsmanship was also top-tier, at the level of a Great Swordsman.
Borsalino with the Ama no Murakumo unsheathed was the true, complete form of a Navy Admiral getting serious!
Light sword swinging like a gale.
Kizaru's slashing speed had surpassed the limit of visual tracking, leaving only continuous golden trails of light.
Chrollo was completely suppressed. All space to dodge or maneuver was sealed off. He had no time to use his various abilities and could only passively block.
However, Chrollo's swordsmanship level... was nothing in front of Kizaru!
Even more terrifying was that Ama no Murakumo, formed entirely of photons.
Every slash contained the high-frequency vibration unique to light particles. Not only was it incomparably sharp, but it also carried a crushing impact force.
Chrollo couldn't block it!
Chrollo was continuously sent flying under Kizaru's slashes—
Ripples appeared in the air one after another, generated by friction as he was knocked back.
Large and small wounds began to appear on his body.
However, the physical pain was secondary. The main problem was...
His ten seconds... Pfft!
His ten minutes of being a "real man" were almost up...
Once he returned to his normal stats, he wouldn't be able to maneuver against Kizaru at all.
"Can't wait any longer!"
At this life-or-death juncture, a ruthless look flashed in Chrollo's eyes. He activated [Instant Displacement] for the second time.
His figure suddenly blurred. In the next instant, he appeared on a mountain peak a hundred meters away.
However, he didn't even have time to catch his breath—
"Trying to use the same move twice in front of me?"
Kizaru's voice, laced with teasing, sounded from behind him like a ghost!
The golden figure followed him like a shadow. The Ama no Murakumo was raised high with the momentum of judgment, shining dazzlingly.
But just as the blade was about to fall, Kizaru's eternally lazy expression showed a hint of genuine surprise again.
He saw that at some point, a pair of custom-made, wrap-around black sunglasses had appeared over Chrollo's eyes.
Wearing sunglasses at night? Doubts flashed through Kizaru's mind...
In the next second, Chrollo gave him the answer.
The corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a savage grin:
"You aren't the only one who uses light. I know a thing or two about light as well~"
"BINK—"
An incredibly blinding white light erupted from Chrollo's body, illuminating the surrounding night as if it were day.
[Flash Master · Bink (Conjuration)]
One of Chrollo's 23 Nen abilities.
[The user first generates a pair of super-effective sunglasses over their eyes, then conjures intense light from their body, enveloping everything around them in blinding whiteness.]
In an instant, Kizaru's eyes squinted under the stimulation of the light, and the sword in his hand paused.
Using this moment, Chrollo used his third [Instant Displacement] to distance himself from Kizaru.
His body shot straight up into the sky, flying towards the top of the clouds—
He was going to unleash... his final ultimate move—