"Heh! Trying to get out."
Kong Tai's eyes flickered red as he tilted his head, staring in the direction Kapu had appeared from. A mocking smile curved his lips.
The black sword in his hand was the "Black Hole Sword," also known as the "Spatial Blade," which he had created by controlling compressed space during this period. It was indeed powerful, but it could only be used within the spatial domain. Once outside, it would be rejected by the world.
He couldn't use it outside unless he intended to break space itself.
As for Kapu...
Kong Tai thought for a moment, and the killing intent in his eyes receded.
Overall, he had a great deal of admiration for the old man.
The old man had upheld his justice his entire life. The pirates he had taken down, the evils he had eradicated, all worthy of the title "hero."
If he were to truly keep Kapu here, forget the Marines, the pirates would be the first to descend into chaos.
Especially the pirates in the East Blue.
Why was the East Blue known as the weakest sea? It was precisely because of the presence of a Marine hero. He often returned to his hometown and regularly apprehended notorious pirates, thus turning the East Blue into a relatively peaceful sea compared to the other four.
His hometown was in the East Blue, on the island where the Isshin Dojo was located. In the more than a decade he had spent growing up there, he hadn't encountered a single pirate, which was a testament to the Marine hero's influence.
Of course, this was also due to the efforts of the Marines at the naval base in their sea area.
But without Kapu, wouldn't it be impossible for the East Blue Marines to have such an easy time?
Therefore, he had no intention of keeping Kapu.
He had already let many Marines go. What was wrong with letting Kapu go? He had that much magnanimity.
Moreover, he truly didn't consider himself a pirate.
Pirates killing Marines was a war between factions. The death of either side was only natural.
But he was not a pirate.
He was an adventurer. Although he might break the law and slaughter the detestable Celestial Dragons, that didn't mean he could casually kill a truly righteous person who embodied justice, a hero in the eyes of the world, the Marines, the East Blue, and countless civilians.
*Bang!*
A black fist slammed forcefully against the spatial wall of the domain.
*Crack! Crack! Crack!*
Centered on Kapu's fist, countless cracks spread out like a spiderweb, instantly pervading the entire domain.
The blades of Shusui and Zankou, which were about to reach Kapu's back, stopped in their tracks due to this impact. The intangible pressure that had been shrouding the blades vanished in an instant.
The pressure pinning Kapu down also disappeared.
"So it was like this?"
Feeling the pressure on him vanish, Kapu's eyes narrowed. He stared at the cracked spatial wall in front of him and exerted force with his right hand again.
With a "crack," he directly punched through the spatial wall.
Zankou and Shusui had only paused for a moment before quickly striking Kapu's back.
However, Kapu paid no attention to Shusui and Zankou who had landed on his back, as the blades posed no threat to him without the absolute power granted by the spatial domain.
Instead, he used the force from the blades to propel himself forward, shattering the spatial barrier like breaking a mirror, and instantly burst out into the open.
The domain that had enveloped the area behind him shattered into countless pieces and disappeared as he broke free.
"Haha! I knew that old man wouldn't lose," Ace shouted excitedly, looking at the shattered domain in the distance and a unharmed Kapu. "That silver-haired guy isn't all that!"
"Oh... is that so?"
A strange smile appeared on A-Tao's face. He didn't even glance at Ace. "No rush, you'll know soon enough."
Ace soon understood.
His laughter abruptly ceased, and his face was filled with shock as he stared at the distant battlefield.
The moment Kapu appeared outside, the silver-haired figure had somehow appeared directly in front of him.
The domain, which should have disappeared, once again enveloped the battlefield, obscuring their vision. Just like before, only partial afterimages could be seen.
"You see now!" A-Tao pulled a cigarette from his lips, turned to look at the stunned Ace, and chuckled. "Kong Tai's spatial domain can't trap Admirals, but his domain is endless."
"Even if your grandfather breaks through one layer, there are more layers, countless layers. This is why we believed Kapu was doomed the moment we saw Kong Tai use his domain."
"Understand now!"
Ace didn't turn back, his gaze fixed on the distant battlefield. He remained silent.
If it was as this guy beside him said, then the old man was in serious trouble this time.
He didn't know if the silver-haired man expended energy within the domain, but judging by the old man's desperate attempts to break out, it was likely that he wasn't comfortable within it.
It was possible that he realized he would eventually be defeated within the domain, which was why he had tried to break out so quickly.
During the moment they were spectating, the domain shattered again, and Kapu reappeared outside. But before Ace could cheer, just as A-Tao had said, the domain once again enveloped Kapu.
"Is it truly endless?"
Kapu, trapped within the domain, shared the same doubt as Ace.
*Bang! Bang!*
After forcefully throwing Zankou and Shusui away, Kapu looked up at Kong Tai, who was leisurely drinking wine not far away with a spectator's expression, his eyes filled with helplessness.
"Stop looking, old man."
*Gulp!*
Kong Tai tilted his head back and took a swig of wine. He sat leisurely in the void, exhaled a breath of alcohol, and then, noticing Kapu's complicated gaze, his lips curled into a light smile. "My domain may not be able to trap someone of your caliber, but it's not something you can easily break out of."
"You should have felt it, right?"
"You have to expend a lot of energy to break out."
"And me..."
He paused slightly at this point, a slightly arrogant smile appearing on his lips. "And me, I can regenerate a domain with a single thought, and these two swords don't cost me much energy."
"So, old man, from the moment I started fighting with my domain, you were already defeated."
"Even without it..." Kong Tai turned his head, looking at the black sword suspended to his right, which he had sealed in place to prevent it from devouring space. A hint of seriousness flickered in his eyes.
In fact, the Spatial Blade wasn't created out of thin air. It had cost him a lot of effort. He believed it was enough to kill Kapu, but since he didn't intend to kill Kapu, he couldn't let the Spatial Blade continue to devour space.
After all, this thing, in essence, was compressed space, the power of a black hole formed by the collapse of space.
From the moment it appeared, it was constantly devouring space. If he didn't stop it, in the outside world, it could instantly consume the entire Sabaody Archipelago.
This was also why Kapu would find this thing incredibly dangerous.