The Incident Ends

During the standoff, Sal looked at the only free combatant on the other side, Sentomaru, who was wearing a bellyband. He raised his sword and asked him.

"You're Sentomaru, right? How about you and I have a little match too?"

"..."

Sentomaru clenched his teeth without making a sound, his expression extremely grim. Even if he was a bit simple-minded, he understood that he was no match for a man with Conqueror's Haki.

Kizaru realized that as well. Sentomaru was no match for Sal, and his eyes turned serious. He immediately planned to take Sal down first, having noticed the tremors in Sal's arm, though he could not understand why Sal's Conqueror's Haki was so disproportionate to his physical body.

Kizaru's entire body transformed into light as he tried to pass Rayleigh, but a longsword infused with powerful Armament Haki forced him out of his elemental form and back into solid flesh.

Rayleigh stood before him with his sword drawn.

"Looks like you won't let me pass easily, Dark King Rayleigh. Kusanagi."

Kizaru directly clashed with him using his light sword. Their dazzling sword techniques collided again and again, and neither side could gain the upper hand for the moment.

With the powerful enemy held back, the Straw Hat Crew was just about to retreat when a massive figure appeared before them. Slowly removing his gloves, he spoke in a deep voice.

"Straw Hat Pirates, if you were to travel, where would you want to go?"

At the sight, Sal could not help muttering to himself.

"You finally came. If you'd come any later, I would've left."

Though they appeared to hold the upper hand now, the longer this dragged on, the worse things would become. This place was far too close to Marine Headquarters Marineford and the holy land of Mary Geoise. Marine reinforcements could arrive at any moment.

Rayleigh, who was currently clashing with Kizaru, was already old. After fighting for a while, his breathing had become somewhat uneven. Even if he used Conqueror's Haki, it was still uncertain who would win. Besides, using Conqueror's Haki meant a fight to the death, and he would not take that risk unless necessary.

Seeing Tyrant Kuma seemingly about to attack the Straw Hat Pirates, Sentomaru immediately stepped in front of Sal, his resolute expression like that of a man ready to die.

"I will never let you pass, Augustus D. Sal."

"..."

"Crack... crack..."

Sentomaru's determination suited Sal just fine. He did not want to disrupt Kuma's actions, and just as Sal was about to put on an act, his sword blade, already covered in cracks, collapsed. It seemed Conqueror's Coating placed quite a heavy burden on weapons. This sword had been green-grade, a fine longsword.

It just so happened that he could only abandon his weapon and use his fists. Coated in Armament Haki, they turned into black iron fists. Sal lunged at him, raining dense punches upon Sentomaru and battering him into a sorry state.

After taking several punches to the face, Sentomaru was filled with confusion. Why was Sal not using that power capable of instantly killing Pacifistas? If it was only Armament Haki-coated fists, then with his body renowned as hard as steel, he could still endure it for now.

Meanwhile, on Tyrant Kuma's side with the Straw Hat Pirates.

Just as Usopp reached out to support Zoro, Tyrant Kuma appeared before them. His ungloved palm swung down, and the heavily injured Zoro vanished without any ability to resist, drawing terrified cries from the others.

"Zoro... X8"

The grief of losing their companion drove Usopp and Sanji to attack Tyrant Kuma in fury. But their moves were easily blocked, and with two backhanded slaps, he sent them both away.

"Sanji X6"

"Usopp X6"

Tyrant Kuma's next targets were Robin, Brook, and Chopper. As his companions vanished one by one, the severely injured and exhausted Luffy felt as though his heart were being cut apart. This was the first time since going to sea that he had felt such helpless despair.

Kuma appeared beside Franky, causing the cyborg, who wanted to resist, to vanish as well. Nami, her eyes full of terror, looked at Luffy, then at Sal, who was putting on an act, and cried out.

"Luffy... Mr. Sal, please help us."

The moment her voice fell, Nami too was slapped away and vanished. Sal could only sigh at this. Not to mention that Tyrant Kuma was saving them, even if they fought, Sal in his current condition was no match for Tyrant Kuma unless he used his trump card.

The scene fell silent, with only Luffy's heart-wrenching cries of agony remaining. Other than Luffy, all the Straw Hat Pirates had gone traveling—literally.

Tyrant Kuma, the user of the Paw-Paw Fruit. His ability allowed him to use the paw pads on his palms to unleash shockwaves, absorb others' attacks, and repel their injuries and fatigue. More importantly, he could slap people to any place in the world—essentially sending them on a trip around the world.

Kuma was a hexagonal warrior who possessed attack power, defense, healing, and speed all in one.

Tyrant Kuma's hidden identity was that of a founding officer of the Revolutionary Army. He was a subordinate of Monkey D. Luffy's father, Dragon, as well as an important companion. On the surface, the World Government held leverage over him and controlled him, but in truth, he was an undercover agent devoted to the Revolutionary Army.

The World Government used his leverage and his daughter to threaten him, forcing him to let Vegapunk modify his body. Kuma's body had now been transformed into a semi-cyborg, and the emotions within him were gradually disappearing.

After the helpless Luffy vanished as well, Tyrant Kuma looked at Sal, flashed directly before him, and spoke in a deep voice.

"If you want to travel, where do you want to go?"

Seeing Tyrant Kuma approach, Sal let go of the bruised and battered Sentomaru. Looking the little giant straight in the eyes, he slowly answered.

"A Paw-Paw Fruit user, huh? I'm no match for you. But if I have to pick a place, I want to go to the Kuja Kingdom. I hear the women of Amazon Lily are really something."

"..."

Even Kuma, who was always calm and steady, was rendered speechless by that answer. He could only say helplessly.

"Fine."

The enormous palm came down, and Sal vanished from Sabaody Archipelago as well. Only after everyone had disappeared did Rayleigh and Kizaru stop fighting. Kizaru said in his usual flippant tone.

"I heard that people slapped away by Tyrant Kuma drift to some corner of the world and never appear again. Aren't you worried, Rayleigh?"

Rayleigh wore an expression that said, This old man is too old for this, and replied.

"There's nothing to be done about it. I'm old now. I can't stop an Admiral and a Shichibukai working together. This is their fate."

Rayleigh was not worried. He had encountered Tyrant Kuma on his way here, and Kuma had explained his intentions. If Kuma had not needed to send his daughter Bonney away first, he would have arrived long ago.

"This old man can leave now, right, brat Kizaru? I can't handle a prolonged battle."

"Rayleigh, shouldn't I be the one saying that? A monster like you is the last person I want to fight."

Kizaru transformed into light and flew to Sentomaru's side, speaking in his usual flippant tone.

"Sentomaru, you got beaten up pretty badly."

"Old man, next time I definitely won't lose."

Sentomaru spoke with a look of grief and indignation. Kizaru shook his head, then took him away. Losing at sea was not frightening; what was frightening was not getting another chance.

With the two gone, the Sabaody Archipelago Incident came to an end. On the pirate side, aside from a few unlucky pirates being captured, not a single Supernova-level pirate was caught.

Though when Kizaru arrived, he had kicked one Supernova after another and severely injured four of them, Sal's appearance had drawn him away during the arrests, allowing those four Supernovas, who had narrowly escaped death, to flee.

Sal's body was wrapped in a bubble created by the Paw-Paw Fruit as it sped through the sky, then rapidly descended. When it neared the ground, the bubble thoughtfully slowed down, allowing Sal to land safely.

Experiencing the Paw-Paw Fruit's travel function for the first time, Sal found it quite novel. It was far better than flying on an airplane in his previous life, comparable to skydiving from one.

Sal looked around and saw nothing but dense forest. Only after climbing to the top of a tree did he spot a cluster of buildings in the distance.

"After flying for two days, is this Amazon Lily?"