He had actually only planned to come over and go through the motions.
In Kizaru's mind, Amon's strength should at most be on the level of a Warlord of the Sea, a Shichibukai.
From the intel they had, that was exactly how it looked. Whether it was Amon's performance in battle in the Goa Kingdom, or the recorded footage of his duel with Koushirou back in Shimotsuki Village, everything clearly suggested he was only around Shichibukai level.
Yet after arriving in person, he discovered something that made him curse inwardly.
Amon's strength had already climbed near admiral level, comparable to top monsters of the sea.
Even if Kizaru went all out, he could not completely suppress him.
In that case, what was the point of continuing to fight?
...
After yet another violent clash, Kizaru saw Amon preparing to charge at him again. He hurriedly waved his hands.
"Oh, how terrifying, how terrifying. I am done, I am done."
Done?
Amon, who had been enjoying himself immensely, had not expected Kizaru to suddenly throw in the towel. He had not even truly unleashed the power of his Level 8 martial arts yet.
In the distance, the Marines who had accompanied Kizaru here almost dropped their Den Den Mushi in shock when they saw their top combat force, a Marine admiral, voluntarily admit defeat.
"Th... the admiral surrendered?"
"Lord Borsalino actually gave up?"
"How is that possible? Are admirals not supposed to be Marine Headquarters' strongest fighting force?"
Most of them were new recruits. In their eyes, an admiral was someone who stood high above the clouds. To them, an admiral was invincible. Now, the invincible figure in their hearts had backed down, and just like that.
It was hard for them to accept. It felt as if their belief had shattered.
However, just as they thought this battle was going to end in a mutual compromise, Amon's next sentence nearly made their knees buckle.
"No. You have to keep fighting. I am not done yet."
Amon had finally found a worthy opponent. How could he possibly be satisfied already?
Besides, if the other side could come whenever they wanted and leave whenever they wanted, would that not make him lose all face?
"He thinks it is not enough?"
A few of the Marines felt their eyes were about to pop out of their heads.
Kizaru had not expected that even after he surrendered, Amon still wanted to continue.
Watching Amon charge at him again, Kizaru could only give a wry smile. He turned completely into light, elementalized, and used his speed to slip away from all of Amon's attacks.
"Forget it, I am really not fighting anymore."
Seeing the other man dodging over and over, refusing to trade blows, Amon quickly lost interest as well. He stopped in midair.
"Whew, now that is more like it. There is no need to always solve things with killing and fighting, right."
Kizaru spoke while quietly letting out a sigh of relief.
He did not want to keep brawling with this monster called Amon.
...
Amon looked at Kizaru's stubbled, greasy uncle face and felt utterly speechless.
Hey, hey, hey, where is your pride? You are an admiral. How can you be this shameless?
On the small boat, Sanji and the others were already so shocked that they did not even know what to say.
Especially Sanji. He had originally thought Amon was just an ordinary merchant. Who would have guessed this man could beat an admiral into surrender.
He might just be a kid, but his background was not small. He was originally the third son of the Vinsmoke family, that infamous clan from the North Blue. No one here understood better than him how terrifying a Marine admiral truly was.
"Mr. Amon is absolutely terrifying."
"The aftershocks of their battle alone were enough to scare me half to death."
"But this ship is really something. Its defense is incredible, I hardly see a single crack on it."
After a few seconds to calm their nerves, the chefs began chattering at once, all talking at the same time.
...
While Kizaru and Amon reached their strange peace, the Marines who had come along with Kizaru transmitted news of the admiral's defeat back to Marine Headquarters through a Den Den Mushi.
At Marine Headquarters, inside the fleet admiral's office, Sengoku was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, casually reading the day's newspaper.
Suddenly, a Marine rushed in from outside in a panic.
"Hm? What is it? Why so flustered?"
Putting down the newspaper, Sengoku fixed the incoming soldier with a stern, commanding stare.
"Reporting, Fleet Admiral. A message just came from the East Blue. Admiral... Admiral Kizaru has been defeated."
"What! Kizaru was defeated? That is impossible. The opponent's strength should only be at the level of a Shichibukai. How could Kizaru lose? Hurry, bring me the battle footage."
Sengoku, who had still been somewhat indifferent a moment ago, shot up from his chair as soon as he heard that Kizaru had lost. He grabbed the Marine by the collar with one hand.
"F... Fleet Admiral, sir..." The Marine was so frightened by Sengoku's grip that he completely panicked, stuttering as he spoke.
"How did this happen? Explain it clearly."
Realizing he had lost his composure, Sengoku released the young Marine and motioned for him to speak properly.
"Yes, sir."
The Marine let out a silent sigh of relief when he was set down, then handed over the recording from the East Blue.
...
"What terrifying destructive power. His swordsmanship is on par with Mihawk's. His martial arts and Armament Haki are already close to Shanks' level. Where did this monster come from? So young, and yet with such strength."
Sengoku muttered to himself as he watched the footage the Marine had brought.
When he saw the part where Kizaru admitted defeat, Sengoku's lips twitched violently. He looked like he wanted to scold someone but could not even find the words.
This guy really did not have the bearing of a Marine Headquarters admiral.
...
"What do you all think?"
In another part of Marine Headquarters, the Five Elders stared silently at the battle footage Sengoku had delivered.
"Do we continue sending people after him, or do we compromise?"
"This man's strength seems bottomless. He has already reached admiral-emperor tier. If we do not eliminate him, he might become a great threat in the future."
"Not wise. From what I see, he does not really want to make enemies of the Marines. Otherwise he would not have ended the battle with Kizaru like that. If we keep sending people after him, we might completely push him to the other side."
"If we could kill him, that would be one thing. But if he manages to escape, what awaits us might be a disaster."
"Besides, this boy is so young, yet his strength is already astonishing. Whether it is martial arts or swordsmanship, he has reached extremely high levels. Who can guarantee he does not have a teacher or a powerful family training him behind the scenes?"
"The wrath of a hidden great clan is not something we can afford to provoke. If Lord Imu blames us for that, who among us can bear the responsibility?"
The Elder sitting on the left spoke up, objecting to the suggestion of killing Amon.
His words made the others fall silent.
He was right. With someone this young and this powerful, who could say for sure that there was no great force standing behind him?
...
"Since no one objects, I suggest we have Sengoku send a message to Kizaru and tell him to return. At the same time, we cancel the order for Amon's capture."
Seeing that no one spoke, the Elder on the left spoke again.
"Fine. We will do it your way."
After careful deliberation, the Five Elders finally made their decision.