Sakazuki finally stopped, his eyes locked on Kavi, quietly memorizing the man's face.
This person—who dared to block the Buster Call—he would remember. One day, he would kill him with his own hands.
His gaze shifted to the ground, where he spotted Kuzan, Saul, and Olivia. A thought flashed across his mind.
Without warning, he thrust his magma-covered fist into the air.
"Meteor Volcano!"
A furious barrage of flaming fists erupted skyward, igniting the skys.
Magma meteors rained down, blanketing the land in a fiery apocalypse.
The earth trembled as if ushering in the end.
Kuzan's face darkened. He knew what this meant.
This attack would annihilate everything—civilians included.
"Ice Time: Pheasant Beak!" Kuzan's arm swept forward, launching a barrage of sharp ice shards toward the falling magma.
Steam hissed violently where fire and ice collided, turning the sky black with cooled magma dust.
Hardened chunks crashed to the ground, narrowly avoiding catastrophe.
Sakazuki's face contorted in rage.
"Are you betraying the Navy too, Kuzan?!" he snarled.
Kuzan glared back, his voice cold. "I'm protecting civilians. Isn't that what a navy man is supposed to do?"
The two Vice Admirals stood locked in a silent, heated standoff. Amid their tension, Kavi hovered quietly, arms folded.
They were ignoring him again.
How rude.
"Shave."
In the blink of an eye, Kavi appeared before Sakazuki.
His sheer speed was incomprehensible—even with Observation Haki.
Because Kavi wasn't just fast—he was using a superior form of Conqueror's Haki.
One that suppressed weaker haki completely.
Only a handful in the world could do this—Shanks had barely crossed that threshold.
By the time Sakazuki realized what had happened, it was too late.
Boom!
A jet-black fist crashed into his face, sending him flying like a meteor back to the earth.
He slammed into the ground with explosive force, a massive crater forming where he landed.
His body lay half-buried in the dirt, unmoving, blood dripping from his mouth.
If not for the subtle rise and fall of his chest, one would have thought he'd died.
Kuzan winced and rushed over, dragging Sakazuki's battered body out from the soil.
He looked at the dent in his comrade's skull and exhaled in disbelief.
"…If he had punched me instead, I'd be the one down there."
There was no doubt now—the Buster Call couldn't continue.
Kavi clapped his hands. "You've got a Den Den Mushi, right? Call Sengoku. I'll speak with him."
Kuzan nodded and pulled out the snail.
"Brrrm… Brrrm… Brrrm…"
The Den Den Mushi clicked and transformed into Sengoku's mustached visage.
"Hello? Kuzan?"
Kavi leaned in curiously, studying the talking snail. "Fascinating technology…"
Kuzan tried to explain, but hesitated, struggling for words. So, Kavi took the receiver himself.
"Hello, Marshal Sengoku. About your Buster Call—it's targeting my hometown. Could we perhaps cancel it?"
A pause. Sengoku blinked, dumbfounded.
"I'm sorry, who are you?"
'Cancel a Buster Call? As if it were a dinner reservation?'
Kavi smirked, expecting that reaction.
A good negotiation always starts with the impossible—so your actual demands sound reasonable by comparison.
"Name's Kavi. I'm a friend of Garp. Is he with you?"
Sengoku glanced over.
Garp was sneaking senbei from Sengoku's hidden stash.
A black vein popped on Sengoku's forehead.
WHAM!
Garp flew into the wall from Sengoku's kick.
"Garp. You know anyone named Kavi?"
Rubbing his head, Garp nodded. "Of course. Met him back in the Roger era. Good guy. Why?"
"He's asking to cancel the Buster Call. Apparently, O'Hara's his home."
"O'Hara? Is he a historian too?" Garp asked.
Before Sengoku could respond, Kavi's voice rang out through the snail, "No, I'm just a regular resident, thanks."
Silence.
Sengoku blinked. He forgot the line was still open.
Garp took the receiver, speaking directly. "You want to leave with the girl and Saul, right? No one's gonna stop you."
Kavi understood. Sengoku was bound by duty—but Garp could speak freely.
"Fair enough. But the Navy started shelling before the civilians even finished evacuating. That's not right."
He glanced back at Olivia, who was helping guide people to safety.
"I'm no saint. But these people… they matter to someone."
Sengoku's voice hardened. "That's not how it was supposed to go. I gave explicit orders to wait until all civilians were clear."
Kavi chuckled darkly. "Then you should've had a leash on Sakazuki. If I weren't here, the island would be nothing but ash."
Sengoku and Garp exchanged a knowing look. 'Yeah… that sounded like Sakazuki.'
"Thank you," Sengoku said sincerely. "For saving those lives. Is Sakazuki nearby?"
Kavi gave a sideways glance at the unconscious man in Kuzan's arms.
"He is. Don't worry—I already 'educated' him."
Kavi didn't wait for a response. "Anyway, back to the point. I'm not looking to start a war. Let me take Olivia and Saul, and you can bomb O'Hara to your heart's content."
Sengoku frowned.
That girl—Olivia—was marked for execution by the World Government. Letting her escape would cause trouble.
But Saul? He was no longer with the Navy. Not an issue.
Sengoku looked at Garp again. Garp responded with a small nod, signaling quiet approval.
Sengoku relented.
"Alright. You can leave. But we hope you don't see the Navy as your enemy. What's your relationship with the scholars of O'Hara?"
Kavi looked at Olivia.
"A junior of mine is a historian." His voice softened just slightly.
"As for the rest? I don't really know them. Saving them was just… convenience."
He had killed no one. Sakazuki was still breathing.
Kavi wasn't a hero. But he wasn't a villain either.
The Navy got what it wanted: civilians saved, mission technically complete, and a dangerous conflict avoided.
And Kavi?
He got what he came for.
Olivia. Saul. And the freedom to walk away.
Only Sakazuki, unconscious and humiliated, had truly lost today.
And as for Sengoku—he'd have to answer to the World Government.
But with his usual wit and polished lies, he'd manage.
Like always.