Meanwhile, on Hachinosu, after the Phoenix Pirates' main force had set sail, the island's remaining combat power was stretched thin.
Far out at sea, a Marine warship cut through the waves toward the island. On deck, a Marine Rear Admiral stepped forward and reported, "Vice Admiral Garp, Admiral Zephyr, Hachinosu is just ahead. According to intelligence, this is where the Phoenix Pirates are holding Admiral Kizaru."
Garp's lips curled into a grin. "We're finally here!"
Zephyr's expression darkened. "So CP7 couldn't get Borsalino out?"
"No, sir." The Rear Admiral shook his head, face solemn. "The Phoenix Pirates' security around Admiral Kizaru is extremely tight. The agents couldn't even get close."
Garp burst into booming laughter. "Hahahaha! Then it can't be helped—we'll just have to smash our way in."
Zephyr, however, replied in a low, heavy voice, "Charging in is the worst option. I'm worried they'll just kill Borsalino."
Garp's tone also turned serious. "There's no other choice. Their defenses are too solid. According to our intel, the walls of the cell holding Borsalino are made entirely of Seastone—no Devil Fruit user can get inside. Outside, pirates stand guard in shifts, twenty-four hours a day. If we want to rescue him, we can only break through by force."
"As for whether they'll kill Borsalino… that's already beyond our control. Even if the chances are slim, we still have to try and save him."
Zephyr let out a quiet breath. In the end, he nodded.
Garp straightened up, baring his teeth in a feral grin. "Alright then, next comes the surprise attack. According to CP7's intel, Borsalino is locked in the deepest level of the dungeon. To rescue him, we have to move so fast they don't even have time to react."
With that, Garp strode to the stern. He drew back his fist and unleashed a terrifying punch. The blow detonated the air with a sonic boom, crashing into the sea and creating a massive reverse shockwave. The force hurled the entire warship up out of the water, sending it soaring through the sky toward Hachinosu.
On the island, the Phoenix Pirates left behind as guards stared up, dumbfounded, at the warship suddenly looming overhead. Before they could process what was happening, Garp stamped his foot on the deck and launched himself off the ship. His fist was wrapped in Armament Haki and Haoshoku as he roared:
"Galaxy Impact!"
In the blink of an eye, a monstrous shockwave crashed down onto Hachinosu. The central plaza collapsed under the force of the blow, the ground caving in. The violent aftershocks blasted through the surroundings, hurling the unprepared Phoenix Pirates in all directions.
Zephyr's shout rang out over the chaos. "Marines, attack! Capture the pirates and rescue Admiral Kizaru!"
"Oh!!!!!"
The Marines surged forward like an unstoppable spearhead. Though many pirates still remained on the island, the Marine assault sliced through their defenses as if cutting through paper.
Deep beneath Hachinosu, in the dungeon cell where Kizaru was imprisoned, the ceiling trembled. Kizaru glanced up, a faint look of puzzlement in his eyes.
He cocked his head, curious. Suddenly, a series of sharp "hissss" sounds echoed through the room. The noise made him tense—he recognized it. A moment later, a strange odor reached him, and his body abruptly grew weak.
The cell door slammed open and a group of pirates in gas masks rushed in, their eyes locking onto Kizaru chained inside. Thick Seastone shackles cuffed his neck, wrists, and ankles, the other ends bolted deep into the wall.
The Admiral was already on the brink, drained by the 100% pure Seastone. Now, with the stinging reek of poison gas in his lungs, his head swam and his legs nearly gave out.
Even through the masks, he recognized them at a glance—his jailers. Their sudden arrival could only mean trouble.
"Hey, hey, hey, barging in all of a sudden like this is very impolite," Kizaru drawled weakly.
The purple‑haired pirate at the front fixed him with a chilling stare. He and the pirates beside him drew pistols from their waists in unison and leveled them at Kizaru.
A cold dread settled in Kizaru's chest. Bound by pure Seastone, poisoned, his strength sapped to the limit—he could barely stay on his feet, let alone fight back.
The purple‑haired pirate spoke with open displeasure. "I've got some good news and some bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Under these circumstances, what good news could there be..." Kizaru muttered, already sensing the killing intent rolling off them.
The purple‑haired pirate didn't bother to circle around his purpose. "The good news is, someone's here to save you. The bad news is, at best, they'll be taking your corpse."
"So, you're here to kill me?" Kizaru replied, as if he'd already resigned himself to that answer.
"Captain Marco said from the start," the pirate continued, "if anyone actually comes to rescue you, you're to be killed on the spot, no matter what. You're an Admiral. We can't let anyone succeed in rescuing you."
Kizaru let out a bitter smile. During his time rotting in this old cell, Marco had come by a few times. He knew very well how cautious Marco was.
Pinned down by the pure Seastone, lungs burning from the poison gas, and with guns aimed at him at this distance—even with the fastest speed in the world, there was no way he could dodge. He opened his mouth, trying to stall with a few more words, but the purple‑haired pirate cut him off immediately.
"Kill him."
He was the executioner Marco had personally chosen from among the Phoenix Pirates—cold and efficient.
Seven pistols fired at once. Kizaru instinctively raised his hands to shield himself.
Bang, bang, bang
The bullets tore into his body. At such close range, escape was impossible. The Seastone's purity had sealed away ninety percent of his power, and the poison gas left his whole body limp. He couldn't even muster the strength to coat himself in Haki.
After the first magazines ran dry, the seven pirates stared in disbelief—Kizaru was still standing, still in a defensive stance, still breathing. Gritting their teeth, they slammed in fresh magazines and opened fire again.
As the storm of bullets tore into him, Kizaru felt his consciousness slipping away, growing dimmer with every impact. In those dying moments, his mind wandered back over his life. When he was young, he'd worked as a bounty hunter for a time, then joined the Marines, clawing his way up from a low-ranking grunt to the seat of an Admiral.
All his life, he'd followed that so‑called "ambiguous justice"... only to be gunned down by a handful of nobodies.
If he'd known it would end like this, he would have preferred to die at Marco's hands back then.
The pirates burned through magazine after magazine. The Kizaru before them was soon reduced to a mangled heap, his body riddled with bullet holes. The arms he'd raised in defense had long since fallen limp, and at last he collapsed completely, sprawled in a pool of blood.
Two hours later, Hachinosu was fully under Marine control.
They had already captured many of the pirates left on the island and forced out the exact location of Kizaru's prison cell. But now that they were closing in, a heavy unease weighed on their hearts.
At last, in the deepest mound of shattered stone on Hachinosu, Garp and Zephyr found him. Kizaru's body lay buried in rubble, torn beyond recognition, all traces of life long gone.
The sight froze every Marine in stunned silence. This mission was supposed to be a rescue—bring Admiral Kizaru home. Instead, it had ended with his corpse.
Thinking of that, Garp and Zephyr both clenched their fists until their knuckles went white. Garp suddenly grabbed a purple‑haired pirate by the front of his shirt and hauled him into the air. "You bastards..."
"Cough... cough... just kill me, Hero Garp..." The purple‑haired pirate let out a twisted grin. "For a small‑time pirate like me, being able to kill a Marine Admiral in this lifetime is the highest honor! Hahahaha..."
"You bastard..." Garp roared, driving his fist straight into the pirate's face and knocking him out cold.
Zephyr said nothing. His relationship with Borsalino had never been warm, but they were still sensei and disciple. Staring down at his student's ruined body, Zephyr could picture all too clearly the torment Borsalino must have suffered before he died.
Even he—"the Admiral who doesn't kill"—felt a murderous rage boiling up inside him that he could barely contain.
But he knew these men weren't the true culprits. The ones who pulled the trigger were just small fry. The real murderers were the ones who gave the order.
Garp's gaze hardened. "That Phoenix punk is even more ruthless than Whitebeard. These guys were ordered that if anyone came to rescue Borsalino, they were to kill him on the spot."
Zephyr's face was grim. "Yeah. The soldiers just confirmed it. Looks like we all underestimated that kid. He's not just strong—he's ruthless and decisive."
Garp fell silent. Zephyr straightened and barked his command:
"All units, lock up every last pirate and confiscate all treasure and provisions on this island!"
"Yes, sir!"
Zephyr gave his order, then said solemnly, "I hope we can use the lives of these pirates to exchange for those remaining few thousand Marines."
"I heard those Marines were handed over to Big Mom by Marco a long time ago so she could drain their lifespans. Now they probably..." Garp trailed off. He didn't finish, but everyone understood—their comrades were likely in dire straits.
Zephyr understood what Garp was implying, but at this point, all they could do was cling to a sliver of hope. "Return to base..."
—
On Egghead Island, the battle raged on.
The Marines were still under crushing pressure. Ordinary soldiers were completely outmatched by the cadres of the Three Emperors Alliance. Even Rear Admirals and Commodores were struggling and being pushed back by those elite fighters.
Marco continued his assault on Nusjuro, but Nusjuro, empowered by God's Blood, had reached King-level strength—worlds apart from how strong he'd been back on Whole Cake Island. His overwhelming sword pressure alone made Marco wary of clashing head-on.
After all, every arc of his blade carried Conqueror's Haki infusion and chilling ice attributes—both extremely effective against Marco.
"Your strength really has improved a lot. You're the strongest I've faced till now," Marco admitted, unable to hold back his exclamation as he grew more cautious of Nusjuro's sword slashes.
But in truth, Saint Nusjuro was in worse shape than Marco. His Shodai Kitetsu was wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, a frigid aura seeping from the blade. He watched Marco with a grave, focused expression.
Marco drew in a deep breath. He knew he couldn't keep going like this. He had to get stronger, here and now.
In both speed and power, Nusjuro was no weaker than him. After using God's Blood, all of Nusjuro's "six attributes" had skyrocketed. On top of that, Marco had burned through a huge amount of Conqueror's Haki to defeat Mars earlier, leaving him unable to maintain overwhelming Conqueror's Haki suppression.
Thinking this through, Marco made up his mind to invest more points.
As long as he took down Nusjuro, he'd earn 20,000 attribute points. Forcing back the Marines and the Gorosei to complete his mission would give him another 10,000. With 30,000 attribute points to pour into his Haki later, there was no reason to hold back now.
He opened his system panel:
Name: Marco
Age: 43
Attribute Points: 23,000
Devil Fruit: Zoan-type – Phoenix Form (Awakened)
Devil Fruit Awakening Ability: Flames of Destruction
Haki: Armament Haki (Top), Observation Haki (Top), Conqueror's Haki (Legendary)
Physical Techniques: Soru (Top), Rankyaku (Advanced), Moonwalk (Advanced), Tekkai (Top), Finger Pistol (Advanced), Kami-e (Advanced)
Strength: 42,054
Speed: 24,900
Defense: 13,800
Recovery: 60,000
Stamina: 25,100
Mental Power: 18,300
System Combat Power Assessment: King Level
Marco didn't hesitate. He immediately added 13,000 points to Mental Power and 10,000 points to Defense. To maintain continuous use of Conqueror's Haki, he had to bolster his mental power first.
His Defense increased to 23,800, mental power increased to a total of 31,300.
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