Bartholomew Kuma was a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user—the Paw-Paw Fruit.
This ability was extremely broken. Not only could it repel any physical attack, it could even push pain and fatigue out of a person's body and transfer them onto someone else.
Although Kuma's body was massive, with the repulsive force of the Paw-Paw Fruit, he could perform near-instantaneous movement. His speed was astonishing.
In just a moment, he arrived at the slave auction house.
Kizaru, the CP0 leader, and Tsuru followed closely behind.
When the Supernovas saw a Warlord, a Marine Admiral, CP0, and a legendary Marine veteran all arrive together, they all sucked in cold breaths.
Capone "Gang" Bege didn't hesitate at all—he fled immediately.
In fact, he had already been quietly backing away long before this.
After all, as someone who made his living in the underworld, his sense for danger was exceptionally sharp.
Jewelry Bonney shrank her neck the moment she saw Kuma and Tsuru.
She had an unclear, complicated relationship with Kuma, the Marines, and the World Government. If she were discovered, things would become troublesome.
Bonney activated her ability, turning herself into a seven- or eight-year-old little girl. She slipped through the crowd and vanished in the blink of an eye.
On the rooftop—
Aside from Drake, Apoo, Urouge, and Hawkins were all inwardly panicking.
More and more major figures were appearing.
Their situation was becoming increasingly dangerous.
"Our survival rate has dropped to thirty percent now," Hawkins said.
Urouge laughed loudly.
"The legendary Fifth Emperor Luo Xing, Dark King Rayleigh, plus a Marine Admiral, CP0, and a Warlord… so many giants gathered in one place!"
"What an exhilarating moment! Even if I die here, I'd have no regrets!"
From the earlier conversations between Rayleigh and Franky, they had already learned Luo Xing's true identity.
All of them were shaken to the core.
No wonder he could casually clash Conqueror's Haki with Dark King Rayleigh—
He was the mysterious Fifth Emperor of the seas!
For the sake of this man, the Marines dispatching an admiral and CP0 was no longer strange at all.
Apoo's eyes flickered as he muttered,
"I really don't want to die here…"
But in his heart, he was already thinking—
The Beasts Pirates were now the strongest Yonko crew. They dared to kill Celestial Dragons and feared neither the Marines nor the World Government.
Only a pirate crew like that had the qualifications to stand at the very top.
Just like in the original timeline, Apoo had already begun considering defecting to the Beasts Pirates.
With the arrival of the Marines' top forces, the situation grew even more tense and delicate.
Even Rayleigh couldn't help feeling anxious.
One Beasts Pirates alone was already enough to keep him tied down.
Now the Marines had arrived as well—at least two admiral-level fighters among them.
At this point, he had no confidence at all in protecting Luffy completely.
Still, the Marines' arrival wasn't entirely bad.
The threat Luo Xing posed to the World Government was clearly greater than Luffy's.
The Marines and CP0's primary target should be Luo Xing.
If so, Rayleigh might be able to take advantage of the chaos and get Luffy out.
But something completely unexpected happened—
The first to move to save Luffy wasn't Rayleigh.
It was the Warlord Bartholomew Kuma.
With a sudden flash, Kuma appeared before the Cybertronian that had pushed the Straw Hat crew into despair.
He raised his palm and slapped forward, intending to blast the machine away.
However—
The third Cybertronian fired an energy pulse from midair.
With no choice, Kuma redirected his palm and aimed the paw pads at the incoming blast.
Boom!
The energy pulse was repelled, exploding violently in the distance!
"My, my… seeing Cybertronians again, huh?"
"And their creator too—the Fifth Emperor Luo Xing, a genius even greater than Dr. Vegapunk."
"This time, old man's going to wash away his past humiliation."
Encouraged by Sengoku's promise of a tenfold salary increase, Kizaru had no intention of slacking off this time.
He opened with a major technique.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
A massive area-of-effect attack that enveloped Luo Xing, Rayleigh, and the Supernovas alike.
Countless light bullets rained down like a golden storm.
Luo Xing narrowed his eyes.
"So dazzling…"
Enel snorted.
"Don't worry, Young Master. I'll take care of that shiny bastard!"
"Two Hundred Million Volts — Thunder Tiger!"
Lightning surged violently around Enel's body as he formed a gigantic thunder tiger between his palms and charged straight into the falling light barrage.
After being enhanced by Dragon-level Monster Cells, Enel's Rumble-Rumble Fruit had evolved.
In the past, two hundred million volts had been his limit.
Now, his maximum had risen to one billion volts.
Two hundred million volts had become a casual mid-level attack.
The enormous thunder tiger completely wiped out the incoming light bullets.
Kizaru was visibly startled.
"A Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit user… this is the first time I've seen one this strong."
"And he's already joined the Beasts Pirates. How troublesome…"
Tsuru and the CP0 leader were equally shocked.
Their intelligence had stated that Luo Xing had brought only two followers.
Both were unknown figures—not the famous Calamities or Flying Six.
That was why the Five Elders believed an admiral and CP0 would be sufficient to eliminate him.
Yet they never expected—
Those two "unknown followers" were monsters.
One swordsman was actually fighting Dark King Rayleigh head-on.
The other was a powerful Logia-type lightning user, fully capable of contending with Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit.
"This is getting complicated," Tsuru sighed.
She had known from the beginning that the Fifth Emperor would never be easy to deal with.
After all, she had been the first major Marine figure to clash with the Beasts Pirates—
And the first to suffer heavily from the Monster Cells Luo Xing created.
Back when she was escorting the Heavenly Tribute, she had been beaten nearly to death by Page One and Ulti.
Enel pressed the advantage.
After blocking the light bullets, he condensed terrifying lightning into a spear in his hand.
"Three Hundred Million Volts — Thunder Spear!"
The lightning lance pierced through the air and arrived before Kizaru in an instant.
Kizaru tilted his mouth.
"How scary…"
Whoosh!
The thunder spear pierced straight through his body.
Violent currents exploded, blasting his form into scattered particles.
"Impossible! Admiral Kizaru is dead?!"
"What kind of monsters are under the Fifth Emperor?!"
"This is insane—run, now!"
The Supernovas were completely terrified.
This level of battle was far beyond anything they could comprehend.
But Kizaru was not so easily killed.
Particles of light gathered together, and in the blink of an eye, his body reformed—completely unharmed.
"Yata no Kagami."
Kizaru brought his palms together as radiant golden light shot out, forming a reflective path in midair.
He traveled along the light corridor and instantly appeared behind Enel, rubbing his chin.
"Speed is power."
"Have you ever seen a light-speed kick?"
A glowing foot slammed into Enel's side.
Enel's eyes widened in shock.
He hadn't expected this shining bastard to be that fast.
Fortunately, the Dragon-level Monster Cells had greatly enhanced his physical abilities as well. His reaction was just fast enough.
Layers of lightning instantly covered his body.
"Five Hundred Million Volts — Thunder Armor!"
Boom!
Enel was kicked flying.
Buildings collapsed one after another as dust filled the sky.
He rose from the rubble, covered in soot but largely unharmed thanks to the thunder armor.
Still, the humiliation burned fiercely.
He had promised Luo Xing more than once that he wouldn't disgrace him.
"Damn it, you shiny bastard!"
"I'll kill you!"
Enel roared in rage and shot into the sky as a bolt of lightning.
Dark clouds began to gather overhead, carrying a terrifying pressure of heaven itself.
Even the ever-lazy Kizaru grew serious.
"A thunderstorm…?"
"This guy isn't planning to wipe out all of Sabaody, is he?"
On the other side, CP0—who had been preparing to attack Luo Xing—also halted and looked skyward.
"A Devil Fruit that controls lightning…"
"What a troublesome ability."
Years ago, the Five Elders had ordered CP0 to search for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit at all costs.
But it had long since been eaten by Enel of the Sky Islands.
They had searched for years without finding a single clue.
Crack!
A deep rumble echoed within the clouds, shaking everyone's hearts.
Kid's crew, the Straw Hats, Apoo, Urouge, Hawkins, Drake—
All of the Supernovas turned pale.
Before such terrifying heavenly might, they felt unbearably small.
"Hahahahaha!"
Standing at the center of the thunder, Enel laughed madly.
"You trash who dare oppose the Young Master—"
"All of you can die!"
"Eight Hundred Million Volts — Thunder Kirin!"
Under Enel's control, boundless lightning condensed into a colossal thunder kirin hundreds of meters tall!
The lightning beast roared, baring its fangs as it dove from the sky—
Charging straight toward Kizaru, CP0, the Marines—
And the Supernovas whose faces had turned deathly pale!
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