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"Conqueror's Nation!!"
Logan's eyes sharpened. His Observation Haki locked onto Kizaru, and he unleashed a massive energy beam, easily over ten meters wide.
Boom!
The beam tore through the air, a deafening thunderclap bursting behind it.
Using the demon blade Thousand Edge as a conduit, then stacking lightning power, Ryuo, and high-level swordsmanship on top… Conqueror's Nation was Logan's strongest attack so far.
Feeling the terror behind that strike, Kizaru's pupils constricted. Every hair on his body stood up.
If that beam hit his vitals, he was dead. No question.
All ten of Kizaru's clones paled at once. Their Tensōgen swords swung out together, Observation Haki pushed to its limits.
"Kizaru!!!"Far away, Garp's face dropped in shock.
He could feel it clearly—Kizaru's life was hanging by a single moment.
Garp didn't care about anything else. He blasted away the hundreds of snake-vines coiled around him and shot toward Kizaru like a meteor.
Even if he had to get hurt, Kizaru could not die.
The snake-vines shook their heads once, then locked onto him again and gave chase.
"Fine, I'll fight you to the bitter end!"Kizaru's expression twisted, fury bursting out. His nine clones rushed forward together, Tensōgen swords flashing.
If he stayed put, he'd die. But if he could buy even one second, he might dodge the killing blow and survive with minimal damage.
Conqueror's Nation landed a heartbeat later, shredding all nine clones instantly, then continued barreling toward the real Kizaru without losing strength.
Kizaru trembled, face twitching uncontrollably.
Instant kill.He didn't even get a single breath's worth of time.
"Ice Wall!!"
At the last critical moment, Admiral Aokiji finally arrived, freezing energy swirling around him.
He swept his arm out.
Boom. Boom. Boom!
Three thick ice walls, each several meters wide, erupted from the ground in front of Kizaru.
Kizaru's eyes lit up. He turned sideways, ready to escape.
Aokiji… you really are my best bro.
But the thought had barely formed when—
Conqueror's Nation hit.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The beam smashed through all three ice walls like they were paper, then continued forward toward Kizaru with unstoppable force.
Kizaru's face froze in horror. The attack sliced past his shoulder in a flash, then shot off into the horizon until it vanished.
"Kizaru!!!"
"Kizaru!!!"
The shout came from two directions at once.
Garp and Aokiji both arrived beside him. The moment they saw Kizaru, their scalps went numb.
His entire right arm was gone, cut clean off. Blood spurted like a fountain.
His severed arm lay on the ground, still warm.
Kizaru's face went ghost-white. He staggered.
Two seconds of numbness passed—then pain crashed into him all at once.
"Aaaaahhh!!!"
A scream tore across the sky. Kizaru turned his head, eyes full of disbelief.
Gone. His arm was gone.
"Kizaru," Aokiji muttered. He and Garp exchanged a grim look.
A Navy admiral, losing an arm like this… no one could swallow that humiliation.
"Logan…"A frigid voice rumbled across the battlefield, cold enough to freeze blood.
Garp snapped his head toward Logan, murderous intent pouring off him.
Logan's face darkened.
So close.A little more and he would've killed Kizaru outright.
If not for Aokiji buying him that tiny sliver of time, Kizaru would've taken the beam head-on and died on the spot, not just lost an arm.
Aokiji stared back at Logan, expression heavy.
If he hadn't been rushing to save Robin as fast as he could, Kizaru would be a corpse right now.
"Logan, stop this already!" Garp roared, blocking in front of Kizaru.
"Stop?" Logan laughed like he'd heard the funniest joke alive. "When you two were trying to kill me earlier, why didn't you 'stop'?"
"Kizaru, weren't you just bragging that Garp was mad? And then what?"
"I'm standing here completely fine. Meanwhile you—if Aokiji hadn't shown up, do you really think you'd walk away with just one missing arm?"
Kizaru stumbled again, pain twisting across his face. He didn't dare say a word back.
Winners talk. Losers don't.
"Enough, Logan." Aokiji's expression hardened, ice spreading around him.
Say what you want, Kizaru was still a Navy admiral. Letting a kid insult him like this was going too far.
"Logan! We're here to help!"
"Captain! Are you okay?!"
Nami and Robin came flying over on a sky-island cloud.
They'd already moved far from the battlefield, practically off the island, because the three-way clash was too destructive.
After defeating Onigumo and Dalmatian, they rushed straight here.
"Robin…"Aokiji's gaze softened for a moment. She really had found a good captain and good companions.
But unfortunately—
What Logan did today was unforgivable.The Navy had to punish him.
Logan shot Aokiji a glance and walked toward the two women.
Garp didn't stop him.
Logan's teleportation was too dangerous. He didn't dare stray far from Kizaru.
If Logan got close, teleported next to him, and finished Kizaru off, it would be over.
Under the hateful glares of three top Navy fighters, Logan approached Nami and Robin.
A cold voice drifted out behind him.
"Aokiji, consider that move just now my repayment for saving Robin all those years ago."
"Next time we meet, I won't hold back."
As the words faded, Logan teleported away with Nami and Robin.
"Ugh—!"Kizaru coughed up a mouthful of blood and fainted on the spot.
Marineford — Navy Headquarters
Garp and Aokiji rushed Kizaru to the medical wing.
When the soldiers saw the unconscious admiral and the severed arm in Aokiji's hand, they turned pale.
Who could've done this?!
Did Admiral Kizaru run into a Yonko during the mission?!
No…He had the Glint-Glint Fruit. Even if he couldn't win, he could always escape.
But the rumor spread quickly. Kizaru's condition went from one soldier to another, then to hundreds.
Bang!!
Inside the conference room—
Sengoku slammed his fist on the table, face dark.
"Garp. Tell me exactly what happened. Every detail!"
Right after Kizaru was taken for treatment, Sengoku called an emergency meeting.Every Vice Admiral and above dropped what they were doing and rushed over.
When they heard an admiral lost an arm, the room fell silent.
Every gaze locked onto Garp.
Garp looked nothing like his usual carefree self. After recalling everything, he finally spoke.
"...and that's how it happened. Logan cut off Kizaru's arm."
The room exploded.
"Teleportation?! Logan actually mastered teleportation?!"
"And he's a lightning-type Logia user!"
"His Armament Haki is already advanced?!"
"This can't be real…"
The officers stared at each other, horrified.
A rookie pirate? With this level of power?
Even a Yonko wouldn't be much stronger.
"Enough."Sengoku's voice cut through the panic.
Silence returned instantly.
He turned to Garp. "What's your assessment of Logan?"
Garp had actually fought him. His judgment mattered most.
Garp frowned. After thinking, he answered, "The scariest thing about Logan is his unpredictable teleportation. Everything else… troublesome, but manageable."
A fair evaluation.
Lightning Logias were strong, but not unheard of.Advanced Armament? Plenty of people had it.
Sengoku nodded, then turned toward the silent Aokiji.
"Aokiji. Why didn't you report finding Robin?"
Aokiji's heart sank.This was the question he'd been dreading.
"Ahh… Fleet Admiral Sengoku, about that… I… well…"He fumbled for words.
Thank goodness Garp didn't repeat Logan's final threat.If Sengoku heard that, Aokiji would be in deep trouble.
"Explain it later. Alone," Sengoku said impatiently.
Finding Robin should've been good news, but right now all he could think about was Logan .Bringing up Robin was just a way to vent his frustration.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Vice Admiral Tsuru spoke up, "we should inform the Five Elders. This situation is far too serious."
In just over a month since his first bounty, Logan had already reached admiral-killing strength.
If they let him keep growing, what next?Attack Mary Geoise?
The other officers agreed.Even Kizaru fell to him. What could they do?
Sengoku rubbed his forehead. It felt like it would burst.
Too much had happened in a single day.
Enies Lobby destroyed.Kizaru amputated. Logan becoming a major threat.
The Five Elders were going to tear him apart.
"Tsuru, raise Logan's bounty. I'll report everything to the Five Elders."
"How much?" Tsuru asked.
Sengoku froze, opened his mouth, then shook his head. "Forget it. Let the Five Elders decide."
He stood. "Everyone, be cautious on missions. If you encounter Logan, avoid conflict when possible."
The officers forced bitter smiles.
Since when did the Navy have to be careful around pirates?
But they understood.A young pirate with rare powers and a dangerous temper… he would kill them if provoked.
The meeting ended. Officers filed out.
Only Sengoku and Garp remained.
Sengoku gathered his papers and asked casually, "Garp. What's on your mind?"
He'd noticed Garp's restlessness.
Garp didn't bother hiding it. "Sengoku, I'm taking a few days off. I'm going to find Luffy."
"…?"
Sengoku paused, then understood instantly.
"You're afraid Logan will go after your grandson, aren't you?"
Garp nodded with a bitter smile.
After what happened at Enies Lobby, he and Logan were enemies for life.
If Logan ever found out Luffy was his grandson, Luffy wouldn't stand a chance.
He had to get Luffy back to East Blue before that happened.
"Not listening?!"
Fine. Let him ignore me one more time—I'll break his legs myself.
A broken leg is better than an early grave.
Even he couldn't do anything about Logan. Luffy and Garp both rubbed their foreheads in exasperation.
"One slash. No more than that."
Sengoku understood exactly how Garp felt. They'd been comrades for decades, after all. He immediately nodded. "Find him as soon as possible. Tell him to stop being a damn pirate."
Then Sengoku fixed his eyes on Garp, his tone deadly serious."Garp, I'm not exaggerating. If Logan ever learns about your connection to Luffy… the kid's guaranteed to die."
"If you don't want to bury your own grandson, you'd better—"
Whoosh!!!
Before Sengoku could even finish, Garp vanished like a gust of wind, blasting straight out of the conference room.
Luffy, your grandpa is coming for you!
Papers swirled up in the air. Sengoku watched them scatter, rubbed his temples, and sighed helplessly.
Holy Land, Mariejois.
Power collided behind closed doors as the Five Elders erupted in fury.
Thunderous shouts rattled all of Pangaea Castle. Government agents outside trembled in fear.
"Sengoku! You useless pack of rice-eaters!!!"
"The World Government gives you all that military funding every year! What the hell are we feeding you for?! You couldn't even protect Enies Lobby!"
"We sent both Kizaru and Garp—both—and they still couldn't catch a small— what was that brat's name again?!"
"Seal the news immediately! If this gets out, the whole world will laugh its head off. Useless, the lot of you!!"
"Sengoku, you've disappointed us far too much. Are you even fit to be Fleet Admiral anymore? If not, we'll find someone who is!!!"
Spit flew everywhere as the Five Elders unloaded on him.
Sengoku's head buzzed. His mind went blank.
At first, he tried to save face… but after ten minutes of nonstop scolding, he gave up resisting.
Damn, the Five Elders were truly something.They chewed him out for half an hour straight without repeating a single insult.
Guess that's what eight hundred years of heritage gets you.
Only when their throats started drying out did the elders finally wind down.
Sengoku wiped his face and let out a long breath. Thank god it was over.
"How's Kizaru?" the blond Elder asked, face dark as a storm cloud.
Sengoku shook his head regretfully. "He's being treated now. His life shouldn't be in danger, but his arm—"
He stopped himself.
The atmosphere in the hall grew heavier.
"The real priority is dealing with that man, Logan," the sword-bearing Elder said calmly.
Maybe because of his years following the way of the sword, he didn't lose his temper as easily as the others.
Hearing him speak, the other four Elders forced down their anger and turned their attention to the matter at hand.
"What do you suggest we do about his teleportation ability?" the blond Elder asked, brows tightly furrowed.
The rest of Logan's abilities didn't worry them.
But teleportation—
Sure, they called the Navy useless to their faces, but everyone here knew the truth.
Kizaru might slack off, but his strength was undeniable.
On top of that, he was the Glint-Glint Fruit user—his speed was unmatched on the seas.
And even he couldn't react to Logan's teleportation. What chance did anyone else have?
Unless you were someone like Garp, Kaido, or Big Mom—monsters with bodies forged by heaven itself.
The sword-bearing Elder frowned. "Teleportation is troublesome… but not unbeatable."
Everyone's eyes lit up—Sengoku's included—waiting for the rest.
The Elder paused, then said calmly, "If the Lord steps in, he'd be dealt with easily."
Sengoku blinked. The Lord? Who the hell is that?
The other four Elders:That was basically nothing. Thanks for wasting oxygen.
"Ahem." Noticing the strange tension, the sword-bearing Elder coughed lightly and shook his head.
"Aside from that… I don't have any good ideas."
"....."