Just as Borsalino's foot reached Chenos's ear—about to land the kick—
The faint look of shock on Chenos's face vanished.
In its place appeared a smile.
A smile of success.
"No."
That single word left his mouth calmly.
Everything up to this point had been Chenos's plan.
From the instant Kizaru appeared, Chenos had been thinking about only one thing:
How to defeat him.
Yes—defeat, not escape.
A fighter at roughly Vice Admiral level, facing someone with Admiral-tier power, and his first thought wasn't running.
It was winning.
From the start, Chenos understood one brutal truth:
Kizaru's long-range attacks were absurdly oppressive.
If Kizaru kept his distance and continuously fired lasers, then no matter how strong Chenos's absorption ability was, there would eventually be a limit.
He would be overloaded.
Which meant—
He had to force Kizaru into close combat.
Or at least force him to attempt it.
And how do you do that?
Simple.
Make long-range attacks useless.
That was why, after absorbing Kizaru's first laser, Chenos deliberately reflected it back.
He wanted Kizaru to notice his Devil Fruit ability.
With Kizaru's cautious personality, once he realized something strange was going on, his natural response would be to test—using even more ranged attacks.
And once those were absorbed too…
Kizaru would draw a conclusion:
Ranged attacks don't work on this guy.
At that point, there was only one option left.
Close combat.
Chenos knew Kizaru.
He'd read the original manga.
Kizaru's close-range combat was his weakest aspect.
Even Zephyr, Kizaru's former teacher, had criticized him for this—
Kizaru relied far too much on his Devil Fruit.
His fruit was so powerful that he never needed to polish his physical techniques.
Combined with his insane speed, he rarely lost.
Which made him careless about hand-to-hand combat.
Kizaru's close-combat options were extremely limited:
Light-Speed Kick
Ame no Murakumo Sword (the light sword)
But as a test attack, the most likely choice was obvious.
Few people would open with a high-commitment technique like the light sword.
The safer probe—
Light-Speed Kick.
To raise the odds even further, Chenos deliberately acted exhausted after absorbing Yasakani no Magatama.
He staggered.
He breathed heavily.
He turned his back—pretending to check on his companions.
From Kizaru's perspective, the choice became trivial:
Long-range attacks → ineffective → discarded
Light sword → requires preparation → might miss the opening → discarded
Light-Speed Kick → instant, precise, perfect for exploiting a gap → chosen
Step by step—
Kizaru walked straight into Chenos's trap.
The rebound force Chenos had prepared beneath his feet erupted.
In an instant, his body vanished from Kizaru's sight—
—and reappeared behind him.
Armament Haki exploded over Chenos's hand.
He seized Kizaru's arm—extended backward mid-kick—
And in Kizaru's stunned expression, Chenos swung him.
Hard.
Straight into the ground.
"Light-Speed Version—Loki Slam!"
The energy Chenos had absorbed from Kizaru's lasers detonated in his grip.
His arms blurred into afterimages as he smashed Kizaru repeatedly into the earth.
The small island began to shake.
The ground cracked.
Stone shattered.
Dust and debris exploded upward—
And then both figures disappeared from sight.
A massive pit had been carved into the island.
With every slam, it grew deeper—
Until even their shadows vanished beneath the surface.
At that moment, another presence rushed in across the sea.
When the figure revealed himself, he froze, staring at the swirling dust cloud in disbelief.
"Rayleigh… you're here!"
The newcomer was Silvers Rayleigh.
He had sensed Admiral-level combat erupting near Sabaody and rushed over, worried that Chenos and Fisher Tiger wouldn't be able to handle it.
From the sea, he'd seen Yasakani no Magatama rain down and feared the worst.
But now—
He sensed something else entirely.
Rayleigh burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Looks like I wasn't needed after all."
"Shakky was worried sick about little Chenos… never imagining that the kid she dotes on could beat down someone at Admiral level!"
Meanwhile, Kizaru was utterly stunned.
Completely.
He had never imagined that he would be caught—
let alone overpowered—by someone so young.
Chenos's Armament Haki locked him down, preventing full elemental escape.
Counterattacks were impossible.
His arm was seized.
His body was being swung at light speed.
He couldn't move.
Couldn't react.
Could only endure.
Whenever he tried partial elementalization, Chenos would interfere with Haki—treating Kizaru's body like a weapon, wrapping Armament Haki around him and forcing solidity.
In the end, Kizaru had no choice but to fully coat himself in Armament Haki to defend.
But Kizaru wasn't a physical monster.
His body wasn't built for this kind of punishment.
After being smashed again and again—
Half his life was already gone.
Chenos finally raised his fist.
Every ounce of his Armament Haki.
All stored rebound energy.
It gathered into one blow—
Aimed at Kizaru's head.
Then—
It stopped.
The fist hovered in midair.
Kizaru, barely conscious, thought death had arrived.
He waited.
Nothing happened.
At first, he thought Rayleigh had intervened.
But when he opened his eyes—
It was Chenos.
Stopping himself.
"Borsalino," Chenos said calmly.
"How about a deal?"
"If you agree… I'll let you live."
Kizaru stared into Chenos's eyes.
There was no mockery there.
Only sincerity.
"Go on," Kizaru replied.
"In the future—if you encounter my companions…"
"Let them go."
Kizaru was genuinely surprised.
He had expected an outrageous demand.
Instead, it was… simple.
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure."
"…Fine. I agree."
Chenos dispersed the energy around his fist, released Kizaru's arm, and hurled him away.
Kizaru flew backward.
Before leaving, he turned and looked deeply at Chenos—
As if engraving the face of the man who had defeated him…
And spared him.
Then, in a flash of yellow light, he vanished.
Rayleigh looked at Chenos with curiosity.
"You had the chance to kill him. That man has Admiral-level power."
"If you let this go… you might never get another chance."
"Why didn't you finish him?"
Chenos stared at the sky where Kizaru had disappeared and let out a long sigh.
"Because…"
"I'm still too weak."
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