The strategic positioning in advance made it clear—Sengoku and Kizaru were out for blood.
Kill if possible. Capture if necessary.
A star-like radiance gathered at Kizaru's fingertip, accompanied by an incessant sharp hum.
Biu—!
Though the buildup was slow and languid, the laser beam that followed was blindingly fast.
In an instant, the star-like light transformed into a golden beam and shot straight toward Law.
Clearly,
Kizaru hadn't forgotten the minor setback of being kicked away by Maude earlier. This time, he was determined to eliminate Law first.
At this moment, Law was utterly exhausted, his body weak and riddled with openings.
The strength he had painstakingly recovered had been drained once again by the repeated use of small-scale Room operations.
Standing upright was already a struggle—dodging Kizaru's laser was out of the question.
However,
With Maude by his side, he had no intention of dodging.
Maude extended his arm, placing it directly in the laser's trajectory.
The shadow wave enveloping his arm morphed into a massive jet-black hand, fingers spread wide as it seized the incoming laser beam in its grasp and clenched tightly.
A muffled explosion, like a firecracker submerged in water, erupted within the blackened hand as the laser beam detonated.
Faint light flickered through the gaps between the fingers before vanishing entirely, while the shadow-forged hand merely trembled slightly.
Just like that, the explosive force of the laser beam was effortlessly neutralized by Maude's shadow.
"Oh~ how terrifying~~~"
Watching Maude crush the laser in his palm, a rare glimmer of surprise flashed through Kizaru's eyes.
Since obtaining the Glint-Glint Fruit, he had never seen someone deal with his lasers in such a manner.
The sheer peculiarity of it made him habitually purse his lips before casually crossing his arms.
This was the preparatory stance for Yasakani no Magatama.
He was curious—if Maude could crush a single beam, could he do the same to a hundred in the span of a second?
Beep—Beep—
A piercing hum rang out.
A brilliant, star-like glow flickered within the small circle formed by Kizaru's thumb and forefinger.
Maude narrowed his eyes, retrieving his shadow hand before rotating his wrist, directing all the shadows toward Law.
Shadow Flow—Puppet Theater.
The surging shadows moved like flowing water, soaring through the air toward Law.
A flicker of confusion crossed Law's eyes. He had no idea what Maude intended to do.
Maude, however, offered no explanation.
The shadow wave enveloped Law in an instant, forming a tight, jet-black bodysuit that left only his eyes and nose exposed.
"Hmm?"
Law was momentarily startled, but realization dawned the next second.
Just as he pieced it together, the shadow armor propelled him forward at an incredible speed, carrying him dozens of meters away in an instant.
At that very moment, Sengoku's massive, Buddha-infused fist came crashing toward Maude.
Simultaneously, Kizaru's Yasakani no Magatama was fully charged. The brilliant glow condensed for a split second before unleashing a rapid-fire barrage of light bullets aimed straight at Maude.
With enemies attacking from both sides, Maude remained composed, a blade in one hand and a gun in the other.
Dual focus!
With a powerful swing, he unleashed a Hakoku shockwave toward Sengoku while simultaneously pulling the trigger repeatedly, firing lead bullets to intercept the countless light bullets in the air.
Bang! Bang!
The lead bullets clashed with the light bullets, triggering a chain of explosions in midair.
Meanwhile, Sengoku's fist collided with Hakoku.
With a resounding boom, the two shockwaves pressed fiercely against each other, generating turbulent blasts that spread in all directions.
For a moment, Maude's figure vanished within the chaotic shockwave turbulence.
As the residual force dissipated completely, thick smoke and dust billowed into the air.
Through live broadcast transmissions, this moment was seen by countless spectators.
"The Fleet Admiral and an Admiral attacking together…"
"Did he die?"
Countless eyes remained fixated on the screen, watching the explosion's aftermath.
Originally, multiple camera angles had been broadcasting the battle, but now only two remained.
One focused on Maude, engulfed in the explosion caused by Sengoku and Kizaru's combined assault.
The other captured Ace and the others being swept into the sky by a hurricane.
In mere minutes,
The audience had witnessed Ace's group escaping and seen Shiki, the Golden Lion, perish at Maude's hands.
The dramatic shifts in battle had hearts racing worldwide.
Just minutes ago, peace-loving citizens had been in awe of Maude's performance in the war, cheering for him in various ways.
But now, upon his renouncement of the Warlord title, they found themselves hoping that Sengoku and Kizaru's combined attack would put an end to him.
It wasn't about loyalty.
They simply longed for stability and peace.
As countless people held their breath, a shadowy figure suddenly shot out from the lingering smoke and dust—
It was Maude, completely unharmed.
In that instant,
Some cheered ecstatically, while others sighed in despair.
Even when facing the combined might of the Fleet Admiral and an Admiral, Maude had emerged unscathed.
Emerging from the smoke, Maude had a clear goal—to reach the shadow-armored Law as quickly as possible.
He had already obtained everything he wanted from this war.
Now, it was time to leave the battlefield immediately.
"Hmm~~~ I don't know why you're heading over there, but… as long as I stop you, that's enough~~~"
Kizaru's hands aligned, generating a swirling sphere of light between them.
Yata no Kagami!
A brilliant beam shot out from the light sphere toward Maude's position, forming a radiant pathway midair. In the blink of an eye, its endpoint appeared directly before Maude.
Then—
Kizaru's body transformed into light, instantly appearing at the end of the light path.
Strictly speaking, this was teleportation in all but name.
The moment he materialized before Maude, his right foot, gleaming with condensed light, was already upon him.
"Heh…"
Prepared in advance, Maude suddenly smirked.
Kizaru's brow furrowed slightly.
His radiant foot struck Maude squarely in the waist.
Boom!
A direct hit.
Maude was sent hurtling away like a cannonball.
"Hmm?"
Kizaru's casual demeanor momentarily froze as he watched Maude fly off.
His mind replayed Maude's seemingly insignificant movements just before impact—
That brief, deliberate deceleration to adjust the point of impact.
Had he been played…?
Under Kizaru's watchful gaze, Maude hurtled toward Law, who was still under the control of Puppet Theater.
More precisely, toward the shadow-controlled Law.
Under the shadow's manipulation, Law raised his arms and effortlessly caught Maude.
Having reinforced the impact site with Armament Haki, Maude was completely unscathed.
At that moment, only ten meters remained between them and Kuma.
Because of this, the fully modified Kuma's target-tracking mechanism activated, prompting him to move toward them.
Maude glanced at Kuma before shifting his gaze to Kizaru, flashing a grin.
"Kizaru, thanks."
"???"
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