"Yo, Kuzan. We've run into a pirate crew that's too strong to ignore." Kojin grinned.
The corner of Kuzan's mouth twitched, but he didn't reply.
"A little brat who managed to defeat Crocodile can't just be allowed to walk away. Letting someone that dangerous run wild across the seas would be the greatest insult to Justice," Kojin continued.
"That's enough." Kuzan shot him an annoyed look, then simply sat down on the grass and fell silent. It seemed he was thinking about how to deal with the Straw Hat crew heading their way.
Kojin smiled faintly and sat down on a nearby rock. "So, how are you planning to deal with the Straw Hats?"
Kuzan answered calmly, "What about you?"
"That's not a difficult question for me." Kojin grinned. "When it comes to pirates, my views are usually pretty close to Sakazuki's."
A gloomy look flashed across Kuzan's face. He knew his old friend well enough, and he understood exactly what it meant if Kojin decided to act. The Straw Hats' pirate journey would likely end right here.
"So you're going after them? They're just a bunch of kids," Kuzan sighed.
"Feeling sympathy for pirates doesn't sound like you, Kuzan," Kojin laughed.
"Straw Hat Luffy is Garp-sensei's grandson," Kuzan added.
"So what?" Kojin chuckled. "Doesn't Garp also have a son who's with the Revolutionary Army?"
Kuzan gave up talking. He turned and stared at his old friend, unable to figure out what he was really thinking. Just as he was about to speak again, the Straw Hat crew arrived.
"Huh? There are two weird guys here!" Luffy said with a bright smile.
After their encounter with PX-5 on Skypiea, they had fought through countless hardships before finally winning.
But after that battle, none of them had dared venture deeper into the forbidden zone. Especially after Robin explained what was hidden there, a Marine whose strength was downright terrifying.
"The weird ones are you people," Kuzan said with a gloomy expression.
Sitting on the rock, Kojin watched the group with great interest.
"I know who you are. I've seen you on wanted posters."
As he spoke, he somehow pulled out a thick stack of wanted posters from inside his coat, holding up the first one.
"Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy. Bounty: 100 million Berries. What a promising newcomer. Full of energy. And frightening," Kojin said with an admiring smile.
Meanwhile, Kuzan's expression grew even darker. He had completely lost track of what his old friend was trying to do.
At the same time, he finally realized why Kojin had insisted on riding his bicycle earlier. The man had already discovered the Straw Hats, which meant Kojin had come here specifically for them.
"Hahahaha! That's my wanted poster! Thanks for the compliment!" Luffy leaned forward and laughed loudly.
"Wait, Luffy! Stay away from them! That guy's a Marine!" Nami, who had just caught up, immediately shouted. She had noticed Kojin's spotless white Marine uniform.
"A Marine?!" Luffy blinked in surprise. After taking a closer look at the two men, he grinned again. "Even if they're Marines, they don't seem to have any bad intentions toward us. They look like good people."
Hearing that, Kojin couldn't help laughing. "A pirate like you isn't exactly qualified to decide who's a good person."
Then his eyes shifted to someone in the group, a woman who looked completely petrified with fear.
"Nico Robin. It's been a long time. I never expected you to become a pirate."
The simple greeting made Robin's whole body tremble. It was as if she had just seen the most terrifying thing in the world.
"L-Luffy! Get back!" Robin clenched her teeth and shouted.
Hearing the fear and urgency in her voice, Luffy finally realized something was wrong. He pushed off the ground and jumped backward, widening the distance between them.
"Robin, what's going on? You know them?" Sanji asked in surprise.
Zoro had already placed a hand on his sword, watching the two men warily.
"Marine Headquarters Admiral Aokiji." Robin took a deep breath and spoke the first name, her eyes fixed on Kuzan. Kuzan sat there calmly without reacting.
"An Admiral?!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper immediately turned pale and instinctively backed away.
"And... Marine Headquarters Admiral Kojin," Robin spoke the second name.
Her expression became even worse, and despair itself seemed to settle over her face. No pirate crew could survive facing two Marine Admirals at once, especially when one of them was Kojin.
Born in the West Blue and having personally lived through that war, Robin knew this man all too well.
The rest of the Straw Hats were equally stunned. Two Admirals?!
"Two Admirals?! What are you doing here?" Luffy asked loudly, still looking completely unaware of how serious the situation was.
Kojin laughed. "It's nothing important. I just wanted to see what kind of pirate could defeat one of my subordinates. I also heard you're Garp-sensei's grandson?"
The moment Garp's name came up, fear flashed in Luffy's eyes. "You know Grandpa?"
Kojin smiled and jumped down from the rock. "Of course. He's my most respected teacher."
Luffy froze for a moment. Then it seemed like he remembered something, and his expression suddenly turned serious. "I remember now! Kojin! I've heard that name before! Grandpa always used you as an example and told me to be more like you."
Kojin smiled lightly. "I'm honored the old man thinks so highly of me."
The conversation sounded friendly enough, but Luffy's face had already become unusually grave, more serious than ever before.
"I heard you want to become the Pirate King?" Kojin asked with a smile.
"That's right! I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!" Luffy shouted.
The moment those words left his mouth, Robin's expression changed drastically, while Kuzan covered his forehead with one hand. Saying something like that in front of this man was practically asking for death.
"The last Pirate King was captured by me and sent to the execution platform. So where exactly do you get the courage to say those words so boldly in front of me?" Kojin said with a smile.
"Wait, wait! Captured the Pirate King? He's talking about Roger?" Usopp exclaimed.
"That's right," Robin's voice trembled. "He's the man who captured Roger and brought the previous era to an end."
In an instant, the entire Straw Hat crew tensed up.
Zoro drew his sword with a sharp 'shing', his eyes filled with seriousness.
"Since you're Garp-sensei's grandson, I'll naturally take good care of you, Monkey D. Luffy." Kojin slowly bent forward and looked down at the entire crew. "How about this? Surrender peacefully and come with me to Impel Down. What do you say?"
Luffy blinked, then immediately refused. "No way!"
"That makes things difficult. Do we really have to fight?" Kojin shook his head helplessly and glanced toward Kuzan.
"Hey, Kuzan. Are you really just going to sit there and watch?"
Kuzan didn't answer. Instead, he lay down on the grass and closed his eyes, clearly having no intention of getting involved.
"That's a pretty blatant way for a Marine to go easy on pirates," Kojin muttered, then he looked back at the Straw Hats. "You shouted that slogan with a lot of confidence. Straw Hat Luffy, you seem pretty sure of your own strength."
Luffy shouted back, "Even if you're a Marine Admiral, I'm not afraid of you!"
But the moment he finished speaking, the man in front of him vanished. At the same time, a flash of lightning flickered, and a tall figure appeared directly above him.
"You've got spirit. Let's see how much resolve you really have," the quiet words reached his ears. Then, almost instantly, a fist slammed into his stomach.
'Bang!'
Luffy's body folded around the punch. Blood sprayed from his mouth, his face turned pale, and disbelief filled his eyes. A moment later, his entire body shot away like a cannonball.
"Luffy?!" Sanji's face changed dramatically. He rushed forward and caught him, but the force was so overwhelming that even he was dragged backward dozens of meters before finally stopping.
"What monstrous strength...!" Every member of the Straw Hat crew turned pale.
"Be careful!" Robin shouted with a trembling voice. "He's practically the strongest Marine in history!"
Zoro's pupils contracted as his gaze fell on the sword at Kojin's waist.
"Sorry, everyone," Kojin smiled lightly. "But your pirate journey may end here." As he spoke, he raised a single finger.
'Crackle!'
In an instant, lightning burst forth, piercing straight through Usopp's body. Usopp was blasted backward, smoke rising from his charred body. Even after he hit the ground, confusion still lingered in his eyes.
"He's the user of the strongest Logia-type Devil Fruit, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!" Robin cried out. "He's hundreds, even thousands of times stronger than that machine we fought on Skypiea!"
Her hands trembled as she activated her Devil Fruit. Arms instantly sprouted from Kojin's neck, twisting to snap it.
"Nico Robin. You've really disappointed me."
'Crack!'
His neck broke, and his massive body crashed heavily to the ground. But only a moment later, lightning flashed all over him as he stood back up.
'Whoosh!'
In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind Robin, standing back-to-back with her.
"I once had high hopes for you," his calm voice echoed beside her ear. The next second, blue lightning exploded outward and engulfed her entire body.
Robin's eyes rolled back. Smoke rose from her body as she collapsed to the ground.
Faintly, she could hear her crewmates' panicked screams calling her name.
'(End of Chapter)'
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