The infamous Seven Warlords of the Sea, of course, are more famous than ordinary pirates, and Hawkins naturally knows them.
Sage turned around and eyed this giant up and down.
This guy is about the same height as Moriah, wearing a trapezoidal hat with white spots, and the hat even has two bear ears. Under the hat, he wore rimless glasses that glimmered with white in the lightning, adding a touch of mystery to his unsmiling face.
"It took so much effort to persuade others... what are you doing here? I don't remember you Seven Warlords of the Sea getting along very well?"
Sage laughed: "Here to have a meal with Moriah?"
"Kuma!"
Moriah raged: "This is between Sage and me, no need for you to interfere, get out of here!"
Kuma just stood there, like a statue, not moving an inch. After a while, the pupils behind those rimless glasses shifted slightly, and he spoke in a calm voice completely at odds with his physique.
"Norton Sage, I'm mainly here for you."
Kuma said: "The World Government asked me to deliver a message..."
Upon hearing this, Sage was momentarily dazed.
"As long as you obediently surrender to the Emperor... no, the World Government, lots of gold?"
With a strange expression, he said: "You're not seriously telling me this, right?"
Kuma paused and nodded, "Quite concise."
"Your danger level is high, but cooperation is possible. As long as you reveal the secrets obtained from Alabasta and provide them with more secrets, and stop privately studying the Poneglyph, then the position left by Crocodile, you can take it... that's what they said."
Sage stared blankly at Kuma, as if witnessing something utterly unbelievable, his mouth curling into an exaggerated arc, bursting into laughter.
"Hahaha! Hohohoho!"
He laughed heartily, "This is the biggest joke I've ever heard!"
Sage pointed to himself, not losing his smile, "You want me to become a Warlord of the Sea? Me, who has plundered member countries of the World Government, robbed so many nobles and tycoons, seized islands under direct control of the World Government, to become a Warlord of the Sea? Hahahaha!"
Kuma didn't respond, just quietly watched him.
"Alright, alright, wonderful!"
Sage laughed again and said: "Go tell the World Government, the latter part we can talk about, but not the former, after all, I'm just an illiterate, hohohoho!"
"Seems like a refusal."
Kuma said slowly, as he put away the book in his hand and took off one of his gloves, "Then, execute the order issued by the Navy Fleet Admiral Sengoku..."
As the glove was removed, a gust of wind sounded around Sage. In the blink of an eye, though Kuma had just taken off the glove, time seemed to leap, and the palm appeared beside him.
Bang!!
A massive air blast surged around, flinging numerous shattered stones into the walls of the hall.
A huge dent appeared beneath Sage and Kuma's feet, as Sage's fist was covered with a jet-black flowing fire, fiercely clashing with the incoming palm.
In the palm, resisted by the fist, there was a strange, even somewhat cute, paw.
"The Fleet Admiral's order?"
Sage's eyes showed ferocity, his fist exerting force, actually rebounding Kuma's palm, while his leg shot upward like a sword, piercing straight toward Kuma's head, "I'm afraid you won't be able to complete it today!"
Bang!
Kuma swung his hand, striking Sage's attacking leg, and it seemed to have some elasticity, as it quickly bounced Sage's leg to the side, the massive rebound force even causing Sage's torso to spin.
Kuma's expression remained unchanged, and as Sage spun and turned his back toward him, Kuma swiftly extended his hand, the paw at the palm touching his body, instantly covering him in a bear paw-shaped air bubble.
Crack!
As soon as the air bubble appeared, Sage's eyes widened, and a layer of black flame, as if burning, enveloped him as he shot straight up, shattering and fracturing the air bubble like glass.
The black energy surged into Sage's legs, and as he continued to spin 180 degrees, facing Kuma, the sound of breaking the sky could be heard as he fiercely kicked toward Kuma's head.
And at that moment, Kuma once again pushed his palm forward, landing it on Sage's chest.
Bang!!
The huge body tilted to the side, tumbling heavily to the ground, deepening the initially formed dent into a larger pit.
Simultaneously, Sage's body was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the wall. As his back slammed against the wall, it brought out a tremendous impact, creating a semi-circular dent in the wall, with his limbs embedded in it.
Sage lifted his limbs, landed on the ground, spat a mouthful of blood to the side, and chuckled quietly: "Shockwave, huh..."
Kuma stood up from the ground, ignoring the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, extending his five fingers, the paw at the palm aiming at Sage.
"An ability... truly convenient, even capable of deflecting my attacks."
The earlier massive bear paw air bubble, with its high elasticity, if not timely resisted by Haki, he wouldn't know where he'd be bounced to.
And the subsequent attack, that was purely a shockwave, with considerable power, penetrating through his body, and that shockwave alone possesses power similar to internal destruction.
Whether it's the use of ability or Haki, they're both very good.
"What a pity..."
Sage shook his head: "A real pity indeed."