The Pluton Battleship tore through the clouds, sailing through the sky at astonishing speed. Its streamlined silver hull gleamed coldly in the sunlight, a creation of ancient technology out of place in this era.
"Waaah! So fast! This is even more exciting than a roller coaster!" Luffy pressed his entire body against the observation window, his rubber face distorted by the airflow as he shouted with excitement.
Ace gripped a fixed handle tightly, his face pale. "This speed is ridiculous! Are all Ancient Weapons monsters like this?"
Sabo curiously studied the flickering holographic interface on the console. "The energy level is only 1.7%. How fast would it go fully charged?"
Allen concentrated fully on piloting Pluton. The Ark Core connected to the battleship's main control system, sending vast streams of data into his consciousness. The Power of Zhulong helped him process this information, but the burden was still immense.
Warning: high-speed target approaching... Energy signature match: Marine Admiral Borsalino... Estimated time to contact: 3 minutes...
He's here! Allen's gaze sharpened. "Prepare for battle! An Admiral has caught up!"
Almost as soon as the warning sounded, a streak of golden light closed in on Pluton at terrifying speed! The light condensed into a human figure ahead of the bow-Borsalino, wearing a yellow-striped suit, stood in midair with his hands in his pockets and his mouth crooked, flying in pace with the battleship.
"How terrifying~" Kizaru pursed his lips exaggeratedly. "The Ancient Weapon Pluton~ You brats already have it up and running~"
Allen immediately gave the order. "Pluton, defensive mode! Energy shields to full!"
A pale blue energy shield instantly enveloped the hull. Kizaru watched with interest. "Oh~ A defense straight out of a sci-fi movie~ Let's see how much it can block~"
He extended a finger, golden light gathering. "Yasakani no Magatama~"
Countless light projectiles poured down like a torrential rain! They slammed into the energy shield with a barrage of bangs, sending ripples across it!
Shield energy down to 89%...
"Return fire!" Allen shouted. "Charge the main cannon! Lock on!"
Pluton's bow opened, revealing an enormous muzzle as terrifying energy began to gather!
Kizaru raised an eyebrow. "What terrifying firepower~ But it's meaningless if it can't hit me~"
The instant the main cannon fired, he turned into golden light and vanished! Pluton's destructive energy beam missed, vaporizing a distant sea of clouds!
"He's too fast!" Ace said anxiously. "We can't lock on at all!"
Golden light flashed, and Kizaru appeared directly in front of the bridge, pointing at the observation window. "Speed is weight~ Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light~?"
"Oh no!" Allen drove the Power of Zhulong to its limit. "Domain Expansion: Light Refraction!"
The instant Kizaru kicked, the light in front of the bridge warped violently! The light-speed kick veered off course, grazing the hull and destroying most of the starboard secondary cannon array!
"Oh?" Kizaru looked intrigued. "The ability to bend light? How interesting~"
He turned into golden light again, appearing above the battleship this time. "Then how about this~ Ame no Murakumo~"
A sword of light formed and slashed straight down! The energy shield fluctuated violently, cracks spreading across it!
Shield energy: 42%! Starboard damage: 17%!
"We can't keep this up!" Sabo shouted. "We have to restrict his movement!"
Allen's thoughts raced. "Ace! Use your flames to interfere! Sabo, calculate his movement patterns! Luffy... improvise!"
Ace rushed onto the deck, flames igniting around both fists. "Enjomo!" An enormous wall of fire spread through the air, blocking Kizaru's vision.
Sabo worked the console rapidly. "According to the data, he tends to change position within 0.3 seconds after attacking, favoring the upper-right quadrant!"
Luffy stretched his rubber arms. "Gum-Gum Fireworks!" His fists rained down on the predicted position!
Kizaru dodged the attacks with ease. "Nice teamwork~ But you're still too slow~"
Golden light flashed repeatedly as he broke through the wall of fire and appeared above the main turret. "Let's disable this troublesome weapon first~"
"Not a chance!" Allen charged out of the bridge, unleashing the full Power of Zhulong! His half-dragon form emerged, and his dragon-scaled arm forcibly blocked Kizaru's sword of light!
Clang! Sparks flew! The impact hurled Allen backward into the main turret, but he had successfully stopped Kizaru from destroying it!
"Oh~ Your strength improved quite a bit after transforming~" Kizaru tilted his head. "But it's still not enough~"
He instantly appeared on Allen's left, sweeping his light sword sideways! Allen deployed his Torch Dragon Domain, bending the light to deflect the blade while his dragon claw reached back to seize Kizaru's wrist!
Rip! Kizaru's sleeve tore, and three bloody scratches appeared on his arm!
"..." Kizaru looked at the wounds on his arm, his expression turning serious for the first time. "That really hurts~ Looks like I'll have to get a little serious~"
A terrifying aura erupted! Kizaru's speed increased again! He was no longer toying with them-this was genuine killing intent!
"Yata no Kagami!" He used light refraction to move through the air at extreme speed, creating countless afterimages!
Allen pushed his Observation Haki to its limit, his golden slit pupils narrowing as he anticipated the paths of the attacks!
Left! Right! Above! Behind! Every block was a narrow escape! His dragon scales were constantly sliced off by the light sword, then rapidly regenerated!
"Allen!" Ace wanted to help, but he could not keep up with their speed at all!
"Stay back!" Allen shouted. "Protect the battleship!"
Kizaru's light sword grew faster and faster. "You can still spare attention for others? How confident~"
Thwack! A light-speed kick broke through Allen's defenses and slammed into his abdomen! He spat blood as he flew backward, crashing through several layers of decking!
"Big brother!" Luffy's eyes widened with fury. "Gum-Gum Giant Bazooka!" His enormous rubber fists blasted toward Kizaru!
"It's no use~" Kizaru easily turned into golden light and evaded them. "Logias are invincible~"
Just then, Sabo suddenly shouted, "Allen! Use that! Seastone!"
Allen abruptly remembered! Pluton's armory contained Seastone ammunition! Enduring the intense pain, he rolled over and rushed into the armory. "Pluton! Load Seastone scattershot! Saturate the entire area!"
Command confirmed. Loading Seastone scattershot... Fire!
Countless specially made pellets fired from gun ports all over the hull, blanketing the entire airspace! Kizaru's expression shifted slightly, and he dodged at high speed, but the barrage was too dense!
Pfft! A Seastone pellet grazed his arm! His ability instantly failed! Kizaru stumbled, his speed plummeting!
"Now!" Allen spread his dragon wings and shot skyward! "Torch Dragon Secret Art: Light and Darkness Burst!"
Light and dark energy gathered into a sphere in his palm, which he slammed toward Kizaru, whose ability had failed!
Boom!!! An enormous explosion blossomed in the air! Kizaru took a direct hit and fell, trailing black smoke!
"Did it work?" Ace asked in delighted surprise.
But Allen's expression remained grave. "No! An Admiral isn't that easy to defeat!"
Sure enough, the falling Kizaru suddenly turned into golden light and steadied himself! Though somewhat battered, he clearly still had strength to spare!
"That really hurt..." He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze turning utterly cold. "It's time to end this game~"
He pressed his palms together, and an unprecedented radiance began to gather. "Let me show you... the true power of light..."
Terrifying energy fluctuations made the entire airspace tremble! This strike was far more powerful than any before it!
Extremely high energy reaction detected... Emergency evasion recommended...
But Pluton was far too large to dodge in time!
"We're done for..." Ace's face went pale.
At that moment of despair, inspiration struck Allen! He established a deeper connection between the Ark Core and Pluton's main control system! The Power of Zhulong circulated in a way it never had before!
"Pluton Final Protocol... unlock!" Allen roared. "In the name of Portgas... awaken the sleeping colossal god!"
The entire Pluton Battleship began to transform! Its hull unfolded, exposing the complex structures within! Enormous energy wings extended! The main cannon reconfigured itself into a gigantic dragon-head-shaped muzzle!
Final mode: Firmament Dragon God... activating... Insufficient energy... Estimated duration: 17 seconds...
Pluton transformed into an enormous mechanical dragon god! Its dragon-head muzzle aimed at Kizaru as terrifying energy began to gather!
Kizaru's expression finally changed drastically. "This power... impossible!"
"Firmament Destruction Cannon... fire!!!" Allen roared as he pressed the firing button!
An indescribable torrent of energy erupted! Space warped wherever it passed! Kizaru defended with all his strength. "Yata no Kagami: Absolute Defense!"
The ultimate clash of light against light! The entire sky seemed to tear apart! The dazzling radiance temporarily blinded everyone!
When the light faded, Kizaru hovered in midair, panting, half his body charred black. He was clearly badly wounded!
Pluton had also exhausted its energy, reverting to battleship form and slowly falling.
"What... terrifying power..." Kizaru struggled to remain airborne. "I nearly died..."
But he soon smiled. "Still, it looks like you're out of energy too~ Time to say goodbye~"
Golden light gathered in his hand once again...
At that critical moment, something unexpected happened!
The sea below suddenly churned violently! Countless Sea Kings surfaced! Leading them was that enormous sea turtle!
"Poseidon's emissary... The Sea Kings have come to honor the pact!"
Blue light shimmered around Luffy once again, and he unconsciously issued a command. "Protect us!"
The Sea Kings hummed in unison, their enormous bodies forming a wall of flesh in front of Pluton!
Kizaru's light projectiles struck the Sea Kings' thick hides with limited effect!
"Tch... troublesome sea monsters..." Kizaru clicked his tongue. "Looks like that's all for today~"
He gave Allen a long look. "Next time we meet, it won't be this easy~"
He turned into golden light and vanished into the horizon.
The crisis had passed for now. With the Sea Kings' help, Pluton slowly descended onto the sea.
Allen slumped onto the bridge, wounded all over and nearly spent.
"We... survived..." he panted, giving a victorious smile.
Ace and Sabo busied themselves checking the damage, while Luffy excitedly communicated with the Sea Kings.
Watching it all, Allen knew this was only the beginning.
Their direct confrontation with an Admiral meant they had officially placed themselves in opposition to the World Government.
The road ahead would be even more treacherous.
But at least for this moment, they had won a precious chance to catch their breath.
Pluton floated on the sea, sailing slowly toward its next destination.
And deep beneath the sea, an ancient being opened its eyes and looked in Pluton's direction.
"The gears of fate... have finally begun to turn..."
A new storm was brewing.