East Sea
A massive fleet from Marine Headquarters was speeding towards Prometheus Island.
Upon leaving, the big-bearded man had contacted Marine Headquarters via Den Den Mushi on the warship.
As soon as Headquarters received the news, they dispatched Admiral Kizaru's warship, which bypassed the Calm Belt and headed towards the East Sea at maximum speed.
At this time, Garp was still in the New World, Aokiji was not at Headquarters, and Akainu had to remain at Headquarters for defense and to be ready for any summons from Mary Geoise.
Therefore, only Kizaru from the Science Department was available to go to the East Sea.
Moreover, only his fleet could reach the East Sea the fastest.
This fleet included not only Admiral Kizaru's main warship but also one Vice Admiral and five Rear Admirals.
A total of seven giant warships, lined up in a row, advanced forward against the colossal waves generated by the falling island.
By this point, they could already see the silhouettes of the two giant islands ahead. As for the original Prometheus Island, it had now completely disappeared into the sea.
At the bow of the largest warship.
A tall, thin figure, clad in a yellow and white striped suit, a purple tie, a dark green shirt, and white shoes, wearing a Marine justice coat, stood with his hands in his pockets, gazing forward.
This was the pinnacle of Marine strength, one of the Admirals of Marine Headquarters, codenamed "Kizaru," Borsalino.
With his naturally curly black short hair, a stubble around his face, and amber sunglasses, coupled with his somewhat aged appearance, he was affectionately called "Old Man" by those in the Science Department.
And we, from the world of anime, liked to call him Yellow Pikachu, or the seafood Admiral SpongeBob.
Because of his lewd way of speaking, he was also known as the "Glint-Glance Man" who might have eaten the "Lewd-Lewd Fruit."
Kizaru watched the waves crash one after another, muttering his catchphrase, "How scary!"
Beside Kizaru stood a man with a ridiculously tall hat, a long black beard reaching his chin, wearing an indigo suit and a Marine justice cape, who gazed at the islands ahead.
With a solemn expression, he said, "It seems the battle is over."
This was the Vice Admiral who had come along, "Straw Hat," who was under the command of Admiral Borsalino of Marine Headquarters.
"Yes! And it seems to have ended with Shiki's defeat."
Kizaru sighed slowly towards the front, "How scary! Silver Hair · Kong Kai."
"Whoa!"
Just then, a sky-shattering explosion erupted from the small island ahead.
Straw Hat stared at the island, exclaiming in surprise, "Is it not over yet? Are these two still fighting?"
Kizaru turned to Straw Hat and the five Rear Admirals behind him and instructed, "I'll go ahead and check, you guys catch up quickly."
With that, his body flashed with golden light, and he dissolved into photons, shooting towards the small island ahead.
This fellow was a Logia-type Paramecia Devil Fruit user, the Glint-Glint Fruit.
Commonly known as the Glint-Glance Man, he could transform any part of his body into light, possessing the speed of light, capable of light-speed attacks and movement.
He could use light speed to deliver heavy blows, and his body could emit a blinding flash, causing temporary blindness to enemies.
In the world of One Piece, if one were to rank the coolest and strongest Devil Fruits, his would surely be among the top five.
Kong Kai and the other person, who had just flown out of the palace, collided head-on with Kizaru.
Kong Kai stopped in mid-air, staring at the yellow figure coalesced from photons on the roof ahead, a look of annoyance on his face.
If only he hadn't eaten.
But he couldn't help it. After fighting for two days, he hadn't had a drop of water except for alcohol, and he was starving.
So, after giving the treasure vault two slashes, he had Indigo take him to the kitchen for a quick meal.
Who knew that a delay of a few minutes would lead him to encounter the person he least wanted to meet in the Marines.
He wished it had been Garp!
But it had to be this yellow monkey.
Thinking of this, he turned his head and spat on the ground beside him.
"What rotten luck."
He truly didn't want to fight this guy.
He glanced at Indigo beside him.
Bringing Indigo along wouldn't allow for instant movement, and flying wouldn't be as fast as Kizaru. It seemed a fight was unavoidable, at least to let Kizaru know that chasing him was futile.
Having made up his mind, he looked at Kizaru on the roof ahead, who seemed to be mocking everyone he looked at.
He pursed his lips, mimicking Kizaru's mannerism, and drawled,
"How scary! Isn't this the Marine Admiral Yellow Pikachu!"
"Oh, my bad, my bad, I got carried away."
Kong Kai waved his hands repeatedly, adjusting his expression.
"Yo! Isn't this Marine Admiral Kizaru? How scary!"
Kizaru watched Kong Kai's performance, feeling utterly bewildered, especially by the "Pikachu" remark. He felt insulted.
But he had no proof.
It was very vexing.
He shook his head, staring at Kong Kai. A red glint flashed in his eyes, but he detected no other powerful presences.
It seemed Shiki had been thoroughly defeated.
He didn't know if Shiki was dead or had escaped.
A hint of solemnity flashed in his eyes, but he showed no outward expression, maintaining his usual nonchalant, teasing demeanor.
Staring at Kong Kai, Kizaru jutted his chin forward and pouted teasingly, "How scary! Silver Hair · Kong Kai, you can even defeat Shiki, you're truly a monster!"
Kong Kai retracted his domain and lowered the door panel.
He looked up at Kizaru on the eaves, activated his instant movement, and appeared before Kizaru in an instant, even using his catchphrase.
"Speed equals weight. Have you ever been kicked at light speed?"
His right foot, imbued with Armament Haki, twisted, and he launched a mid-air kick towards Kizaru's head, as if kicking a soccer ball.
Kizaru, seeing Kong Kai suddenly appear before him, his pupils contracted.
"What was that?"
It wasn't speed; he would have sensed speed.
When he heard Kong Kai utter his own frequent words, Kizaru's lewd expression almost cracked. His mouth twitched.
"What's with this guy? Not only is he imitating my speech, but he's also imitating my moves."
Looking at the incoming kick, he had a thought and easily dodged it by elementalizing just his head.
Then, he elementalized his entire body, turning into photons, and instantly materialized above Kong Kai. His right foot flashed with golden light, and he mimicked the kicking motion.
"So, have you experienced the Glint-Glance Kick?"
With that, he kicked towards Kong Kai's head, who was still in the kicking posture.
This guy was trying to pay him back in kind.
His kick passed straight through Kong Kai.
A beam of yellow laser shot through the rooftop, followed by an explosion from below.
Looking again, the kick hadn't hit Kong Kai at all; it had only struck an afterimage.
And Kong Kai had once again used instant movement to appear above Kizaru the moment Kizaru's foot was about to land.
The same motion, the same Haki-imbued foot, the same kick towards Kizaru's head.
Of course, it also felt like kicking air.
Completely ineffective.
Kizaru's photonized form materialized less than a meter above Kong Kai.
He dropped the lazy, mocking expression he usually wore, revealing a rare look of seriousness.
If it were just a race of speed, he would definitely be faster than Kong Kai.
However, this guy could teleport, which made him troublesome.
Kong Kai couldn't hit him, and he couldn't hit Kong Kai.
Staring at Kong Kai, a hint of solemnity flashed in his eyes, and he said sternly, "Silver Hair · Kong Kai, it seems everyone has underestimated you."
His gaze flickered to the sword at Kong Kai's waist, and he continued, "Not only are you a great swordsman, but you've also eaten a space-type Devil Fruit. Truly terrifying!"
Apart from Devil Fruit abilities, he couldn't fathom what else could enable someone to teleport.
Kong Kai offered no explanation, simply unhooked the sake gourd from his waist, raised it, and took a gulp.
Then, he looked down at Kizaru, a mocking smile on his face, "You Marines aren't busy catching the remaining pirates on this island, so why are you fighting me, a law-abiding citizen!"
He pointed at the massive beasts charging towards them, drawn by the sound of explosions, and said, "You have to capture these as well. Otherwise, they'll be a disaster for the East Sea!"
"Pirate, don't forget your place. It's not your turn to tell us Marines what to do."
Kizaru stared blankly at Kong Kai.
He didn't need Kong Kai to tell him the danger these beasts posed.
The least problematic elements on this island were actually the pirates.
Kong Kai shrugged, looking at Kizaru, and proposed, "Listen, Uncle Pikachu, let's just pretend we never met. You can't do anything to me, right?"
He paused, then added, "Besides, your salary doesn't allow you to risk your life against me!"
Kizaru nodded, thinking to himself that this guy was actually quite right. His salary truly didn't permit him to go all out against Kong Kai.
Moreover, his mission this time was not to arrest Kong Kai.
Then, with a powerful kick, he sent flying a beast that had just approached and attempted to ambush him.
What was that? He was almost led astray by this guy. He wasn't a Marine for the sake of his salary!
He looked up at Kong Kai, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes, "Don't go around giving people nicknames! I am Kizaru, Kizaru, not some Pikachu."
"Got it, Uncle Pikachu."
Kong Kai kicked away a beast, saying indifferently.
Then, ignoring Kizaru, he instantly moved to Indigo's side and patted his shoulder, "Let's go."
"Oh! Alright."
Indigo recognized Kizaru the moment he saw him.
Any pirate who paid even a little attention to the news would know the three Admirals of the Marines.
These three were currently the strongest trio promoted by the Marines.
They were the face of the Marines.
Initially, he had worried about Kong Kai, thinking that even though Kong Kai had defeated Shiki, he might not be a match for a Marine Admiral.
He knew how much Shiki's strength had declined.
However, when Kong Kai used his instant movement, he breathed a sigh of relief.
No wonder he could defeat Shiki. Being able to fly and teleport, he probably had other abilities too.
It seemed he had chosen the right captain. He could go toe-to-toe with a Marine Admiral.
Kong Kai looked up at Kizaru, who was now fighting the beasts, and could clearly see that the Admiral was slacking off, just going through the motions.
He activated his spatial domain, controlling the door panel to fly into the sky.
In reality, he and Kizaru had reached an unspoken understanding when the beasts appeared: to go their separate ways.
He couldn't do anything to Kizaru, and Kizaru couldn't do anything to him.
Furthermore, Kizaru's determination to arrest him wasn't strong, so he was allowed to leave.
Kizaru on the ground kicked away a beast and looked up at the door panel flying higher and higher into the sky, sighing.
"The Marines and the World Government will have a headache again."
But none of this concerned him. He was just an old Marine earning a meager salary.
He had returned to his usual demeanor.
One kick per beast, one mouthful at a time, "How kawaii (scary)!"