Chapter 162: Deal Closed, The Five Elders Decide
It did not take long for a colossal Marine armada of more than twenty warships to approach the nameless island like a moving mountain range of iron.
Aside from five ships built specifically to detain giants, the rest were vessels from Sakazuki's expeditionary force.
They had sat idle during the previous battle. Now they were here to rendezvous with Borsalino and the others.
Before the fleet even reached shore, the ships spread into a strict formation across the water.
Rows upon rows of gun barrels aimed at the tiny island. A lethal chill filled sea and sky, as if the slightest misstep would see the island erased from the map.
On the beach, Borsalino and Garp stepped onto the sand first, a squad of elite Marines at their backs.
Sailors carried two heavy, tightly sealed metal containers.
"Long time no see, Old Man Garp. And you, Mr. Borsalino."
Kai stepped forward to greet them with a friendly smile. "Eaten yet? If you do not mind, there is some fresh roast over here. Pretty good."
"Appreciate the offer, but I am trying to lose weight lately."
Borsalino waved theatrically, then pinched a belly that did not exist, doing a fine impression of a man deep in a midlife crisis.
"You know how it is. Middle age is when the pounds pile on. Feels like my attractiveness has taken a hit."
He eyed Kai with mock envy. "Heard you are popular with the ladies, Kai-boy. Any special tricks? Teach me."
Kai shrugged. "Simple. If you like a girl, ask her out to dinner."
Of course, that move depends on the model.
Borsalino's eyes drifted over Kai's handsome face and tall frame. He curled his lip and wisely decided not to learn that technique.
While they bantered, Garp stood off to the side with arms folded, stone-faced and silent.
When he saw Kuzan, Sakazuki, and several vice admirals bound in layered Seastone chains and dragged down into view, his chest heaved once, and a volcanic pressure nearly burst free.
After a few pleasantries, Borsalino pushed up his sunglasses and got to the point. "We brought the people and the data. As agreed, the exchange, yes?"
"No rush." Kai shook his head, calm. "Let me confirm my friends are all right first."
"No problem."
Borsalino took out a Den Den Mushi and murmured a few orders.
Soon, under the escort of Vice Admiral Raiden, four giants trussed up like zongzi shuffled off the warship with heavy steps.
"Kai?"
Dorry spotted Kai standing on the beach with casual ease. His massive face lit up with joy, then fell. "Did they catch you, too?"
What kind of look is that?
Kai's mouth twitched. "No. Quite the opposite. I came to take you home."
He looked to Borsalino. "Release my friends first."
"No, no, no." Borsalino wagged a finger lazily. "An exchange requires rules. One hand for one hand. That is the foundation of a trustworthy deal."
They quickly settled on vice admirals for giants.
"Brother! Wuuu—"
Hearing that Kai had captured Marine admirals to trade for them, the four mountain-sized giants bawled like children, snot and all.
Kai could only pat one arm here and one shoulder there to comfort them.
On the other side, five vice admirals freed from Seastone shackles felt their faces burn. Shame and humiliation threatened to drown them.
A mission that should have been handled with ease had devolved into a scramble. It was mortifying.
"Apologies. We were not up to the task," Vice Admiral Gion said, bowing her head, her voice tight.
The four vice admirals behind her bowed together, mortified.
"Stop that foolish talk." Garp's folded arms stayed firm, and his voice boomed without a hint of blame. "So you lost once. Big deal. Heads up, all of you."
If one loss meant life and death, he would have died a thousand times by now.
"What about the next exchange?" Borsalino asked.
The main event remained. Two admirals had not yet been traded back.
"Take it easy." A mysterious smile curved Kai's lips. He pointed toward the clouded sky. "The finale has arrived."
Before the words finished, thick clouds above were ripped apart like a curtain by brute force.
A monstrous dragon's head lunged out, icy slit pupils sweeping over the tiny figures and ships below.
"How scary."
Borsalino stroked his lightly stubbled chin. His voice stayed lazy, but his eyes sharpened. "Our little deal drew a Yonko in person, did it?"
Kai only smiled. "Seems familiar on both sides."
Old foxes meeting an old tale.
"Kaido. King. And Vinsmoke Judge."
Borsalino named the arrivals one by one, wearing an exaggerated look. "All big names of the sea. Planning to take the chance and wipe us out?"
"Worororo, not a bad idea."
Kaido bared a savage smile and drew his beloved spiked kanabo from beneath his cloak.
"Hmph." Garp clenched his fist and stepped forward. "If it is a fight you want, this old man will oblige."
Whoops. Maybe inviting Kaido was not the best call.
Kai grimaced and spoke up quickly before tensions exploded. "Hey, hey. Save the fight. We are here to trade."
Fortunately, both sides chose restraint. Provocation did not turn into blows.
"Judge!" Kai called. "Check those two crates."
With expertise in biology and materials, Judge was the best to verify the data's authenticity.
Two and a half tense hours passed in a delicate stalemate.
Marines and pirates stood on opposite sides of the beach like oil and water, eyes meeting with wary appraisal.
At last, Judge looked up from the opened metal containers, unable to hide his excitement. "The data is good!"
What followed was simple.
One crate of data for one admiral. A CP0 agent, battered and ugly, was thrown in as a sweetener.
Soon, the deal was done.
Kaido did not waste words. He shifted into his azure dragon form, wrapped the four giants and two crates in flame clouds, then flicked his tail and shot into the sky, vanishing into the clouds.
Kai and King followed close behind.
"They sure do fly fast."
Borsalino tipped his head, shading his eyes as their silhouettes shrank. "Garp-san… shall we?"
Garp's smile sharpened; a familiar shine kindled in his gaze. "Heh. Time to see them off."
Before the sentence finished, the sand cratered beneath his feet as his legs bunched. He launched skyward like a human cannonball.
His thick right arm drew back to its limit. Haki surged onto his iron fist.
"Galaxy Impact"
At the same time, Borsalino's body became a scatter of golden light and reappeared high beside Garp.
He crossed his hands before his chest, thumbs and forefingers touching to form a ring. Countless light points gathered in the O.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
A heartbeat later, a sky-ripping shockwave wrapped in black and red lightning braided together with a torrent of dazzling golden light bullets like a meteor storm. In the blink of an eye, the fusion strike caught up to Kai's group.
"Can we not end a trade quietly for once?" Kai sighed at the rear, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He turned slowly in midair.
Faced with a joint attack that could wipe out a fleet, Kai's gaze sharpened. He threw his dragon maw wide.
Vast energy and Conqueror's Haki flooded into his throat.
"Dragon Pulse!"
A shockwave far thicker and denser than any he had released before, wreathed in crackling black-red, blasted from his jaws to meet the combined apex of Marine power head-on.
Boom!
The three forces crashed in the sky.
For a moment, it was as if the heavens split. The blast shook the clouds. Marines far below felt their eardrums stab with pain.
A violent shock front rolled like a tsunami. The giants inside Kaido's flame clouds swayed and nearly lost their footing.
"So strong!"
Brogy steadied himself, awe carved across his immense features.
The other three giants nodded in unison.
King beat his wings to cut the wind; his eyes, behind his mask, filled with wordless shock.
This was the Marine Hero and an Admiral, striking in tandem.
If it were him, even with Lunarian durability, he would have had to dodge in disgrace.
Yet Kai met it head-on.
That kind of power may already be enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with Kaido.
But—
Was it really good for the Beast Pirates to have two top-tier monsters so close in strength?
Kaido did not bother with such complications. He just laughed.
"Worororo! See that, King? Every time, the brat surprises me again."
He could not wait for the battles to come.
In the air, Kai grinned. "One good turn deserves another. Since you sent such a warm farewell gift, let me return the favor."
He slashed a claw at the sky without looking to see the result, then pivoted and streaked after Kaido without a glance back.
Garp and Borsalino did not chase.
Both men looked up, their faces solemn.
"Garp-san, if I am not mistaken."
Borsalino's lazy tone held rare gravity.
"Get ready," Garp said, jaw set.
The sky changed before they finished speaking.
The blue firmament turned crimson.
Below, every Marine who had fought in the previous encirclement of Kai felt their pupils contract and the blood drain from their faces.
"That move again!" Terror-struck screams broke loose.
Before the baffled could ask, sharp-eyed sailors pointed upward with a cry of despair.
"Meteors! So many meteors!"
Under a red sky, dozens of massive meteors with long flaming tails howled toward the sea and the small island.
Freed from Seastone, Sakazuki and Kuzan locked eyes, nodded once, and launched with Geppo toward the falling stones.
They could not let them slam down intact.
Fortunately, meteors were still only rocks. To two Logia monsters, they posed no threat.
Even injured and starved for five days, they could still smash one with each blow.
With Garp and Borsalino already aloft, the four apex Marine powers wove a net of destruction across the sky.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions rolled like fireworks overhead.
One by one, the massive meteors shattered under their ferocious attacks, crumbling into showers of stone that rained down like a storm.
Most splashed into the surrounding sea in soaring pillars of spray. A few struck the barren island and pocked it with fresh craters.
Spectacular, but thanks to the four working together, the meteor storm failed to inflict serious losses on the Marines.
Back on the scarred beach, Borsalino eyed the island, now ploughed into furrows, and for once put away his flippancy. He rubbed his chin and muttered, "Maybe I should have eaten a Mythical Zoan."
Against Kai, it felt like Logia had fallen out of the meta.
Sakazuki and Kuzan ignored him. They headed for the flagship's conference room with the five captured vice admirals and gave Sengoku a brief report.
"That is how it happened."
Sakazuki's fists clenched so hard his knuckles whitened. "Next time, I will capture Kai's entire crew."
He did not make excuses or wallow in regret. That was weakness.
He only needed results.
The others kept silent, but the set of their jaws showed the same resolve.
"I understand the details," Sengoku said, steady as ever, with a hint of relief beneath. "I trust your abilities. This setback was due in part to unreliable intel."
At first, he had thought Kai had defeated and captured the two admirals in a straight two-on-one.
If that had been true, Kai's threat would rival Rocks from back then, perhaps worse.
As it stood, it was still thorny, but at least within bounds of understanding and response.
Sakazuki and Kuzan had suffered most from the natural disadvantage against Conqueror's Haki.
"Your top priority now is to recover. We will discuss everything in detail once you return to HQ," Sengoku said, soothingly.
When the call ended, Sengoku did not pause. He dialed another line that ran straight to the top of the Red Line.
The Five Elders were waiting for a full report.
In the Chamber of Power, their faces were grave as they listened, though the tension eased a shade by the end.
"It seems we worried too much. Kai is not that one."
"But we cannot relax. Whatever means he used, he did defeat and capture a Marine admiral one-on-one. That kind of strength can shake the balance of the sea."
"He reminds me of someone."
"Another Rocks?"
"Hmph. And what of Rocks? He still fell easily to Imu-sama."
"True, but if we require Imu-sama's hand for every matter, does that not make us look incompetent?"
"Rest easy. His Fruit does not match the records. The D. lineage was wiped out at God Valley. He cannot be tied to that history. Fate's path is fixed. In the end, he is only a slightly stronger ant in the long flow of time."
"To be certain, he must be eliminated quickly."
"Then raise the research priority of the Pacifista and Seraphim projects. By design, they will be the most powerful tools of rule in these seas."
"Seconded."
"Seconded."