The capital of the Kingdom of Phil.
Bang! Bang!
Waves of energy spread unchecked, and golden light enveloped almost the entire capital.
"Say, young Sabo, have you ever been kicked by light?"
"Light-Speed Kick!"
Sabo's expression changed drastically. He was about to raise his hands to block, but it was already too late.
With a strange laugh, Kizaru flashed behind Sabo like light and sent him flying with a swift kick.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking rang out clearly.
The two Military District Commanders beside them, Grey Crow and Morley, paled. They wanted to move in to help, but found themselves in danger as well.
"Gentlemen, since you're in such a hurry to join him, why don't I oblige you?"
"Light-Speed Kick!"
Kizaru was simply too fast.
His body flowed like golden particles. In the blink of an eye, he closed in on the two and sent them flying with vicious kicks, one after the other.
The sight shocked everyone whose battles had already ended.
But Kizaru did not stop. He attacked again.
He no longer concealed his strength...
Or rather, he had never concealed it. He simply had never fought seriously.
"Members of the Revolutionary Army, whatever your objective, your actions today have crossed Marine Headquarters' bottom line. You'll have to come back to headquarters with me."
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
He rose a short distance into the air and struck an unusual pose.
Golden light flashed abruptly as he fully unleashed the power of the Logia Glint-Glint Fruit.
Golden projectiles filled the sky and poured down like a torrential rain, heading straight for Revolutionary Army officer Sabo, Military District Commander Morley, and Military District Commander Grey Crow, whom he had just defeated one by one.
Faced with this wide-ranging attack, Sabo and the other two, already pushed to their limits, struggled up from the rubble and wiped the blood from their mouths. All three expressions changed drastically.
"Kizaru... so he really was just toying with us earlier? If he'd shown his true strength from the start, we never would have lasted this long!"
As early as the outbreak of unrest in the Kingdom of Phil the previous night, Sabo had displayed overwhelming combat power.
He had forcibly killed the commander of the King's Army amid thousands of troops, then led the civilian forces in an unstoppable advance.
They had nearly wiped out the Phil Royal Family and were on the verge of overthrowing the Kingdom of Phil.
But before they could celebrate, Marine Admiral Kizaru and Admiral candidate Momousagi had unexpectedly arrived, personally leading a small fleet.
Ever since its founding, the Revolutionary Army had aimed to overthrow the World Government and liberate the world.
As a force under the World Government, Marine Headquarters naturally could not tolerate people like the Revolutionary Army operating in the shadows.
A disagreement between the two sides had erupted into a bloody battle.
At the start of the battle, Sabo had attacked first and fought Kizaru.
But against this long-established Marine Admiral, Sabo had quickly fallen into an utterly disadvantageous position, even though his opponent was not fighting seriously.
This had forced the two Military District Commanders, who had not intended to reveal themselves, to join the battle.
The two sides had begun another round of clashes.
Although all three were formidable, they could barely hold on against someone as powerful as Kizaru.
That battle had lasted from the previous night until now.
Sabo's strength had even improved a little during the night of fighting.
Yet in the end, it could not turn the tide.
Because Kizaru was still Kizaru.
He fought as he pleased, his strength unfathomable.
But now, Kizaru no longer intended to drag things out with Sabo and the others. He was ready to end the battle.
"As expected of Admiral Kizaru. He really is powerful. It looks like we can only make one last desperate attempt today.
"If we fail, I'm afraid we'll be joining Ivankov and the others. Still, I'm very curious whether we'll have a chance to experience the contingency left behind back then."
"Don't talk like that. Kizaru may be strong, but we're no pushovers either. Besides, we've already achieved the objective of this operation.
"As for whether Roy and the others can leave Impel Down, that's no longer our concern."
The three made up their minds... they would retreat.
But first, they had to block Kizaru's lethal attack.
"Push-Push: Boulder Wall!"
Military District Commander Morley acted first, activating his Push-Push Fruit ability.
He pressed both hands against the ground. The earth swelled, and an enormous wall rose up.
Bang! Bang!
Yet against the golden spheres filling the sky, the massive wall did not last even a few seconds before it shattered, destroying only a handful of the golden spheres.
Morley bore the brunt of the attack. The spheres reached him in an instant, striking his enormous body several times.
"Pfft!"
He spat blood on the spot and crashed to the ground.
Sabo and Grey Crow, who had remained on guard, paled and frantically pushed their abilities to the limit to defend themselves.
"Dragon Claw!"
"Dance of the Crows!"
Sabo used the signature technique personally taught to him by Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, meeting the spheres head-on.
Grey Crow activated his ability, conjuring hundreds of grey crows to meet the rays of light.
Bang! Bang!
Even with both of them giving everything they had, the gap between them and a serious Kizaru remained immense.
In a single exchange, they shattered several spheres and avoided some attacks with Observation Haki, but ultimately could not block them all.
In an instant, the golden rain of light struck them.
Despite coating themselves in Armament Haki and attempting Logia elementalization, Kizaru's attack still severely wounded them.
Bang! Bang!
Terrifying energy exploded. Both coughed up copious amounts of blood and collapsed, clearly unable to fight any longer.
The sight left the many defeated Revolutionary Army members and civilian forces of the Kingdom of Phil shocked and despairing.
They could not believe it. After a night of bloody fighting, the three had still been able to trade blows with Kizaru.
So why had they now been crushed in just two moves?
"It's over... Sabo and the others lost. We have no hope left."
"Mr. Dragon, what should we do?"
The defeated Koala looked ashen, her eyes filled with despair.
They had been defeated by the Marine Soldiers led by Momousagi after a night of fierce fighting.
Now that Sabo and the other two had fallen as well, they truly could see no hope at all.
"Heh, that blond young man really does have impressive talent and strength. Otherwise, he wouldn't have improved further while fighting Admiral Kizaru."
Seeing this, Momousagi chuckled beside them, but her words conveyed a cold truth.
"Even so, compared with Admiral Kizaru, he's still a frog at the bottom of a well, ignorant of how vast the world is."
She suddenly raised her voice and mocked them without mercy:
"That young man may be a genius. But don't forget, Admiral Kizaru himself is a monster, one of the Marines' former three great monsters!"
The surrounding Marine Soldiers unconsciously straightened their backs.
That was right.
Admiral Kizaru had defeated countless geniuses, and every last one of those geniuses had called him a monster.
Sabo was certainly strong, but at most, he had only just reached Admiral Kizaru's threshold.
Those words plunged Koala and the other Revolutionary Army members deeper into despair.
That was right.
Kizaru was a Marine Admiral who had intimidated the seas for years.
Sabo could not possibly win.
Even so, they still turned their eyes toward the center of the battlefield, hoping for a miracle.
At the center of the battlefield.
Tap, tap.
With both hands in his pockets, Kizaru walked up to the three severely wounded men, his languid smile returning.
"Ooh, how scary. My apologies, members of the Revolutionary Army. It's time for me to return and report."
Despite his words, a faint sense of unease arose in Kizaru's heart.
He kept feeling that something was going to happen.
"Cough, cough... as expected of a Marine Admiral. You really are as strong as a monster. I'm still far behind."
Hearing Kizaru's words, Sabo, Morley, and Grey Crow came to their senses.
But their flesh and bones were severely damaged, and they could barely get up.
Sabo's injuries were the worst.
During the earlier battle, he had served as the main attacker and drawn the most fire.
Morley was a Giant, while Grey Crow was a Logia user. Both had greater advantages against Kizaru than he did.
As a result, he was the most severely injured.
What frustrated him even more was this: he had considered himself a genius, fought opponents everywhere, and even grown stronger with each clash.
Yet in the end, Kizaru had still defeated him overwhelmingly.
More seriously, although they had completed their mission,
successfully held a Marine Admiral in check,
and overthrown the royal family of the Kingdom of Phil,
they had still lost in the end.
Before you continue