Kizaru descended from the sky.
The shattered remains of buildings and broken branches from trees were scattered across the ground, forming a chaotic, multicolored mess. Yet now, everything appeared dim and lifeless under the overcast skies.
"King? One of the All-Stars, huh? How scary... I don't recall Fleet Admiral Sengoku mentioning you'd be here," Kizaru said lazily, his hands casually stuffed in his pants pockets. The scene fell silent for a moment.
"So... the ones who attacked the Celestial Dragon—was it you two?" he continued.
Only individuals with extraordinary strength and utter disregard for the world's laws could possibly assault a Celestial Dragon. No ordinary pirate would dare, much less have the power to try.
"Uh, you might not believe this, but... it actually wasn't us," Weiss said, shrugging slightly. "A pirate, in his dying moments, had a sudden stroke of madness and pulled the trigger. I was just about to leave the scene at the time."
Weiss wasn't ready to clash with the World Government just yet, so he offered a light explanation. If Kizaru didn't buy it and decided to pick a fight, Weiss wouldn't back down either.
"Who shot that pig isn't important," King said coldly. "What matters is that you hand over the Devil Fruit."
Whether Kizaru was present or not didn't matter to King. The only thing that did was securing the Devil Fruit so he could report back to Kaido.
In the original canon, those who dared to strike at a Yonko's crew were rare—and they were monsters in their own right.
"Hey hey, Admiral Kizaru! There's a pirate here threatening a peace-loving civilian. Aren't you going to do something about it?" Weiss unsheathed the sword hanging at his waist and took a battle-ready stance.
Kizaru still didn't move, nor did his posture change. "Little guy doesn't look that fragile to me. Don't think this old man needs to intervene just yet."
...
...
And just as those words faded—
Boom!
The battle exploded in an instant.
A violent shockwave burst from between the two combatants. The clash of their strength warped the skies themselves, causing thunder to crash down from the heavens, illuminating the battlefield in a blinding flash.
The earth couldn't withstand the overwhelming force. Cracks split the thick ruins, jagged rifts stretching outward in every direction. Stones blasted into the air, hurled by the sheer force of the collision, whistling through the sky like cannonballs. Some even struck Kizaru, scattering golden sparks off his body like glints of light dancing through him.
Claws met steel.
King's dark talons clashed with Weiss's blade, the steel sliding across his claws with a screech of sparks.
"Not bad, brat," King said from beneath his mask.
"As expected from one of the All-Stars," Weiss replied. After this initial exchange, he realized their strengths were evenly matched.
Clang!
Weiss pulled his sword free from King's grasp, the movement flaring with bright sparks. Both were clearly holding back, cautiously testing the waters. With Kizaru nearby, neither dared go all-out.
King was a pirate, and Weiss was suspected to be the heir of the Golden Lion.
"How about we call it a draw?" Weiss spun his sword in a lazy flourish. "I won't give you the Devil Fruit, and you stop trying to take it. Sound fair?"
King fell silent. Their brief clash had made it clear—this fight wouldn't end quickly. With an admiral watching from the sidelines, waiting like a hawk, things could spiral fast—and not in his favor.
"Fine," King said at last. He wasn't an impulsive brute like Jack, charging in regardless of the odds. After weighing the situation, he agreed to Weiss's proposal.
He had already obtained four Devil Fruits. Walking away now wasn't a loss.
Without another word, King transformed into his pteranodon form, flames licking off his wings as he prepared to take to the sky and leave.
"That won't do," Kizaru interrupted casually. "If you leave now, how am I supposed to report this to Sengoku? A Celestial Dragon was injured, after all."
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Kizaru's body turned into pure light, soaring into the sky like a golden star. Then—raining down like a meteor shower—the sky was filled with a storm of shining beads of light.
They sparkled like falling stars. Beautiful, yet deadly—each one powerful enough to send a person straight to hell.
"What the hell, Kizaru?! Are you getting overtime pay or something?!" Weiss cursed as the attack swept down, clearly including him in its range.
Black-armament Haki surged along his arms, coating his blade in obsidian. He spun his sword into a seamless wall of steel, blocking every incoming light particle with flawless precision.
Crack crack crack!
The light bullets struck the ground with explosive force, punching holes through the earth and triggering massive eruptions. It was like a volcanic eruption—the ground surged, cracked, and blew apart with terrifying violence.
When top-tier fighters clashed, the world itself could be destroyed.
Kizaru, a Logia user, was especially absurd.
King, who had only just taken flight, was forced back down by the relentless hail of light. He managed to land without injury—but that was all. This time, Kizaru wasn't aiming to hurt him—just to stop him from leaving.
"Hey, kid," Kizaru said as he descended slowly. "How about this? Help me keep that guy here, and I'll make sure you get a nice bounty reward."
"Pfft. Not interested." Weiss rested his sword on his shoulder, declining without hesitation.
"Now now now, that's a bit of a problem," Kizaru muttered thoughtfully. He was starting to realize—this might be the perfect chance to take King out. None of Kaido's crew were around.
King was alone.
If Weiss knew what Kizaru was thinking, he'd be stunned. This couldn't be the real Kizaru! Since when did he ever actively try to take down pirates?
Back in the original story, Kizaru's attitude toward the Supernovas at Sabaody was more like: "Let's see how much time I can waste." At Marineford, he practically coasted through the battle.
Now he wanted to eliminate an All-Star?
If you had to explain it—maybe it was because letting the Straw Hats escape alone would make it too obvious he was doing Garp a favor. So he let everyone go, and dragged back some random underlings to cover his tracks.
And at Marineford? Let's not even talk about it. If Sengoku hadn't stopped Garp, the old man would've crushed Akainu.
That final blast Kizaru unleashed on the ice... was he trying to kill Luffy, or save him? Only he knew the answer.
King slowly rose to his feet. He was starting to realize how serious the situation was. Even if Weiss stayed out of it, escaping from Kizaru would come at a heavy cost.
On the seas, trying to outrun Kizaru in a speed contest? That was suicide. Sure, he was a pteranodon, but he didn't have the powers of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
"I'll leave you two to it. I'm out," Weiss said, backing away as the tension rose again. It wasn't his fight, so why get involved?
But just then—
"You can't let that man leave, Admiral Kizaru. He's involved in the attack on Saint Jolarude!" a masked man suddenly stepped out from the edge of the battlefield.
"???" Weiss stared at him, bewildered. What the hell does that pig's injury have to do with me?!
If there was a connection, it might be that when the masked man went to deal with Weiss, someone else exploited the moment to shoot the Celestial Dragon.
Still, what did that have to do with him?
The masked man, however, felt fear just looking at Weiss—but someone had to take the blame. If he claimed a dying pirate had fired the shot, he'd be dead meat just like the others.
Didn't Latriss already get shot dead by an enraged Celestial Dragon?
Weiss was the perfect scapegoat.
After all, he was the strongest one present.
And the Celestial Dragons? They'd believe it.
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